{prophets}

I felt inclined to write down my thoughts on the dear prophet Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley, and our newly sustained prophet-- Pres. Thomas S. Monson. This past weekend concluded the 178th Annual General Conference for the church! My heart is always full, and my spirit elevated after each conference comes-- and wonderful messages from the prophets and leaders of our church are given. I feel my testimony is strengthened and my desires to "do a little better" and "try a little harder"
(wonderful counsel from Pres. Hinckley) are always on my mind. So I felt like my experience with the prophet Pres. Hinckley being a very unique one to say the least, must be written down, and shared with those I love. Before I begin, I must say I feel truly humbled at my experience, and a great sense of reverence for what I am about to share. I had the profound experience of meeting the prophet Pres. Hinckley, as I had the opportunity to care for him after he had undergone colon surgery two years ago! I was assigned to be his nurse, and had the privilege of taking care of him for 2 nights in a row. Words really are not enough to express the feelings I had those two nights, as I attended to the needs of this profound man. I remember as I held my stethoscope to listen to his heart that first night, I had a surreal feeling come over me, that I was listening to the prophets heart beat! I will always hold that stethoscope dear to me--as I know it will always hold a special place in my heart! I realized that he is a man just like you and me, and he experiences pain, and all of the other "discomforts" that goes along after a major surgery. What struck me...but came as no surprise of course, was his quick wit and wonderful sense of humor. I'll never forget that he complained about the jello we served him, and it just made me smile to see him, as he struggled to not be able to "get back to work" as soon as possible. Even as he was lying in a hospital bed, his thoughts were with the members of the church, and the the great work that still needed to be accomplished! During those quiet hours, my heart was truly changed forever, and I can testify to you that prophets are called by God! It is by divine inspiration that we have a living prophet to lead and guide us today--Pres. Thomas S. Monson. I also had the privilege of meeting him briefly and shaking his hand while working at the hospital as well. I was still fairly new, so I didn't really know my way around the whole hospital yet, and he had come up to my floor to visit someone, and had stopped to ask me where "X-Ray" was located!!! I felt pretty stunned to see who it was--that was asking me for directions, and felt pretty silly to tell him that I had no idea where X-Ray was....(I soon figured it out really quick after that) and felt with that brief encounter, with Pres. Monson's-- of his love and gentle kindness that he carries with him. I sustain Pres. Monson as a prophet of God, and know that he is inspired and receives relevation for the church and it's members. I am grateful for the opportunity we have to listen to General Conference, and for these wonderful men.... that we call prophets!!