Bill Bennett: “last night Gordon B. Hinckley, the oldest serving president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the…”

“last night Gordon B. Hinckley, the oldest serving president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the history, passed away. He was 97 years old. Many might think that in lasting until 97 he passed away as a wasted, worn-out man. That is not true. President Hinckley was energetic and enthusiastic and fully engaged within just a day or two of his passing. With my senior colleague Senator Hatch, I have had meetings with him and the other leaders of the church and was always amazed at how well connected he was. He read the papers. He watched the television. He knew what was going on in the world outside the church every bit as much as we did. His memory was phenomenal. There are many people who were 20 to 30 years his junior who could not remember current items of news as well as he could. So it is appropriate we take a moment or two to comment on the stewardship and contribution of this great man at the time of his passing. We do not mourn for him. He has joined his wife, his parents, and those others who have gone before him who may have a little sense of 'Gordon, what took you so long?' But he stayed at his job and he fulfilled his stewardship in an impressive manner. The mourning we have on this occasion is mourning for ourselves, for the loss we have sustained in seeing this great and good man go on. I have made mention of his energy. I should also mention his enthusiasm. He had a great zest for life.”