The passing of a truely great person

As I wrote a few days ago, I was struck with the public sadness concerning the death of Heath Ledger. He was a good actor, but was a great person? I kept asking myself, what did this man do for others? What did he do that caused so many strangers to mourn for his loss?

And then yesterday everything was put into perspective (well at least for me it was). Gordon B. Hinkley, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, died at the ripe old age of 97. Reading a detailed obituary in the Deseret Morning News (http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695247765,00.html), I was struck at the quality life that this man led. He spent most of his life in the service of others. He was a truly great leader. He became prophet not long after I got married, and so I think that I paid closer attention to his leadership as prophet than I did to any prophets that had led this church in my lifetime.

Thus, I think this explains my melancholy mood. I never met President Hinkley, but felt close to him. I admired the way he led, by example. He was an energetic man, who seemed to be everywhere. I knew that the Lord must have been giving him strength, as he was doing all of this in those years that most spend relaxing and playing golf. He made some policy changes that I really liked (namely the "raising the bar" standard for prospective missionaries).

I think that losing this prophet hurts me the most because he was always so visible, and it was rather sudden (as sudden it can be when a 97 year old dies).

I will miss him, but I am happy that he is with his lovely wife once more. God speed. I hope I am worthy to be with you in the next life.

My Thoughts on Heath Ledger's Untimely Death.

Yesterday, as I was finishing up work, a coworker mentioned to me that Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain, Ten Things I Hate About You, A Knight's Tale) was found dead in his bedroom in his apartment in Manhattan. He was 28. Signs point to an overdose of prescription drugs, however no cause of death has been identified, as of this writing. Many are comparing his death to that of James Dean, who died at a young age, seemingly at the beginning of a promising acting career.

As I watched the news last night, I was amazed at the degree to which the mainstream media has reacted to the death of this person. What has he done? Has he fought for his country? Has he saved countless lives with some amazing invention or by dedicating his life to the service of others? No. He simply has pretended to be other people, and received awards, fame and fortune for doing so. He was a good actor, but I would not call him gifted yet. He had not made that many movies. I can understand the gay community's sadness, as he was the iconic star of a film that they think is brilliant and "speaks to them." The only thing that makes his death remarkable is that he was famous. Yet, so many are mourning him as if they were his friend. For some reason, we as people become emotionally connected to celebrities simply because we watch them on TV or read about them in newspapers and tabloids.

I find it fascinating that when some actor, who has done so little is mourned like a hero, while so many who have done so much for this country, are forgotten about so quickly. Let us all take this time to remember those who have paid the ultimate price so that we all are able to live free in this country. These men and women, who have died in defense of freedom, are the ones who deserve our tears.