A Study of the Book of Mormon

With the flood tide news of the passing of President Gordon B. Hinckley, perhaps it's only fitting that I take an entry to express some thoughts related. President Spencer W. Kimball is the first prophet that I have recollections of in my early childhood, followed by President Ezra Taft Benson, and then briefly President Howard W. Hunter. But by far, President Hinckley is the living prophet whose teachings have had the most impact upon my life and the direction that I've taken. I was seventeen when he became the prophet. It was the decisive year of my youth. The major life changes that have affected who I am today have been made during his tenure as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I choose to serve a full-time mission at the tender age of nineteen. When I received my call to serve a mission, his signature was on the paper that sent me to spend two years of my life serving the people of Costa Rica. This was a decision that has had a more profound i...