Be Thou An Example

I've read so many beautiful posts, today, about the recent death of our prophet, expressing the bittersweet feelings of loss for his sweet presence and joy for the welcoming he's surely enjoying. Many of your words so closely mirrored my own feelings, that I was thinking it was unnecessary for me to share my thoughts on the subject. I couldn't stop thinking about all the reasons he will be missed -- his strength, his energy and enthusiasm, his optimism -- but I think for me it all comes down to his wonderful example. It made me want to share my own story of the time I was fortunate enough to meet the prophet.

I can't remember exactly how long ago it was. Quite awhile ago, because I was still in college and working for USU Catering. I was extremely grumpy because I had been called in, along with 3 of my friends, to set up a banquet last minute. Someone had lost the paperwork and the dinner had nearly been forgotten. Now four of us were being asked to give up our fun weekend plans to set up a party for a bunch of strangers, and none of us were exactly thrilled.

We usually had a piece of paper with he details of the evening -- the name of the group and whether or not they had a speaker, but this was missing. It was important information because it usually helped us guess how long we'd be stuck there. It there were young people it usually meant a bigger mess to clean up. If there was a speaker, it meant we'd have to clock out and wait forever -- not getting paid a dime -- while they finished before we could clean up and go home.

I still remember our mood as we set up the party. Usually we enjoyed setting up for the banquets. It was fun to decorate and see how nice we could make the room look -- and we got to gossip with our friends or sing to the radio while we did it. Not that night. We were all stomping around the room, slamming down plates and threatening that these people just better hurry up and leave so that we could get back to our important plans. I remember that none of us was being especially pleasant that night.

I also remember how suddenly the mood in that banquet room changed as people started coming in. One girl, who happened to not be a member of our church, suddenly spoke up with "You know, I don't think tonight's gonna be so bad". I was still busy setting up my station, so I didn't notice the room filling with elderly gentlemen until one of my other friends, a return missionary, nearly dropped her tray. "Omigosh! That's President Hinckley!"

It just so happens that this group stayed FOREVER that night. They did have a speaker and all four of us spent our break listening to him outside the door. I don't remember what he said that night, but I do remember that he took the time to thank each of us for a wonderful evening before he left. That touched us all (we were usually just part of the background at these things) but what made the biggest impression on me was his ability to completely change the feeling in the room, just by entering it. I remember thinking to myself that that is the kind of person I would like to be. That someday I would like to be able affect people for the better, merely because of my presence.

I'm still working on attaining that goal, I'm pretty sure it will take my entire life (probably longer) but I'll never stop being grateful for the beautiful example he set for all of us that night.