Pres. Hinckley hospitalized for colon cancer
We don't like to think about the mortality of our leaders. Especially when they are our leaders for the remaining span of their lives.
Gordon B. Hinckley is a wonderful man and a beloved leader. (Not in the sense of "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il, more along the lines of "he's a high figure in our church and he has some endearing qualities".)
Here is a man who has spent his entire life in the service of his God and his Church. He is incredibly personable, and wants to meet everyone. I have shaken hands with him; ParaTed2k has pictures, even.
He has been the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1995. We believe that as the President of our Church, he is also positioned to receive revelation from the Lord in regard to our lives and our behaviors. He is a prophet of God. And since 1995, he has traveled the world many times over, meeting and bringing heavenly messages to people in every continent. He has dedicated over 70 of our 110+ temples which dot the world over, from Salt Lake City to Johannesburg, South Africa to Sydney, Australia to Seoul, South Korea.
In fact, last time I saw him in person was in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, where he was dedicating the San Antonio Temple and accepting a Stetson cowboy hat from the Temple Committee. He promised to wear it in that year's "Days of '47" parade, whcih he always appears in. Even at 95 years old.
And now he's ill. He's in the hospital, in fact.
SALT LAKE CITY -- Gordon B. Hinckley, the 95-year-old president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was "resting comfortably" at a Salt Lake City hospital Wednesday after a cancerous portion of his large intestine was removed, a church spokeswoman said.
"We expect that he will recover rapidly and resume his normal duties soon," said church spokeswoman Kim Farah.
The cancerous growth was found during a routine medical screening - presumably a colonoscopy - and was removed through a laparoscopic procedure Tuesday, a church statement said. It was not known whether there were any indications of additional cancer or what treatment might be planned.
In the meantime, his counselors, Thomas S. Monson and James E. Faust, will handle the work, as is routine when the church president is indisposed, Farah said.
Hinckley has been president of the 12 million-member Mormon church since 1995. In 2001, he received a heart-regulating pacemaker in an outpatient procedure. Last summer, on his 95th birthday, he said that he had diabetes.
A third-generation Mormon, Hinckley has worked for the church for 70 years. He is its most-traveled president and remains active in church affairs despite his age. In December, he attended a 200th anniversary celebration in Sharon, Vt., marking the birth of church founder Joseph Smith.
Presidents of the Mormon church serve for life. The oldest president was David O. McKay, who was 96 when he died in 1970.
Thoughts and prayers go out to President Gordon B. Hinckley, our prophet.