Since the passing of President Hinkley, I have been doing some thinking on the amazing way Heavenly Father works. I loved President Hinkley and miss him already. What an wonderful man! He and Sister Hinkley are heros of mine and continue to inspire me to "stand a little taller". However, it is so incredible to see how the Lord had everything under control! It has been especially interesting because this whole process is taking place simultaneously with the democratic/republican political campaigns. What a difference!

It has been really interesting to me to listen to media and non-members who study the church and their take on this whole process of ordaining a new prophet. It is just so hard for them to understand how this whole change could take place so smoothly and without anyone having thier own agenda or "campaigning" for the job! Last night they had a woman who was a non-member but has spent her career studying LDS church history. Courtney and I had to chuckle when she was saying something to the effect of . . "it will be interesting to see what direction President Monson will take the church". She also thought the appointment of Elder Uchdorf was a move to give an international face to the church. . . .all very understandable conclusions- if you don't understand how the Lord works through his servants. The older I get, the more I realize that the Prophet doesn't necessarily have a "direction" in mind. I don't think he makes decisions based on the "face" he wants to present. His direction is the Lord's direction. That is a very comforting thought to me.

It has been fun to watch the girls observe this too. Since the night we got the news that President Hinkley had died, Emmy continued asking in every prayer for Heavenly Father to bless President Hinkley. Courtney explained after a few days that President Hinkley is in Heaven now, and that he is happy and doing fine. He told her that it would be good for her to ask Heavenly Father to bless the apostles during this important time. The next prayer she said, she began by saying, "Please bless the . . . ." After a long pause, she said excitedly, ". . .the Nephites!"

Yesterday after they announced that President Monson had been ordained as president of the church, I told Kate that we had a new prophet. She smiled and said, "Great Mom! Who is it?" I told her it was President Monson and she quickly replied, "Yeah! Was that the one who you were cheering for?"

Needless to say, our family home evening lesson was an attempt at explaining how this process works! As I laid in bed last night and thought about it all, I smiled and thought about how miraculous it all is. I am so thankful to have a prophet, who communicates with God and who will guide me and my family. I'm thankful for the way the Lord prepares the apostles and blesses them with the talents and strengths that are neccessary at that current time. Watching this whole process has helped me better understand that the Lord knows what direction he wants his kingdom to go. He knows what is needed, and He works through righteous individuals who are focused on serving Him and able to follow that direction. I realized that because of this testimony, Kate was right. . .I'm already cheering for President Monson!