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He Was So Kind and Nice

Kim Moss shared this story with me. He was there and he was the witness. He tells the story of a time when he was serving as a host and tour guide on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. He was giving a man a tour of the Conference Center. As they approached the fountain area on the plaza level, right where you look up to the highest levels of the building, the man Kim was guiding said, “Excuse me, may I tell you a story?”

“Absolutely.” Brother Moss said.

“I am not a member of your faith,” the man said. “I am from North Carolina, but I helped with the construction of this building. Right here in this spot where the fountain is, we had scaffolding set up that went all the way to the ceiling. The scaffolding was wrapped with a green tarp on all four sides, all the way from the top, down to the last level where there was a slit in the tarp about 8 feet off the ground. We [would] go up and down the scaffolding a dozen times a day and we were pretty good at it. I could come down from 100 feet in the air to ground level in just a few seconds. On this particular day I was coming down swinging on the bars like a monkey, flying down from level to the next level. I popped out the slit in the green tarp, hit the ground, and the next thing I knew I was face down, spread eagle on the tile floor. I heard a voice behind me saying, ‘Boys, Boys let him up.’ As I was released, I rolled over on my back, looking into the face of the kindest old man, holding a cane, bent over with his arm stretched out saying, ‘Here, I’m Gordon, let me help you up, these boys get a little excited sometimes.’ He was so kind and nice as we visited, I will never forget him.”

The kind old man was President Gordon B. Hinckley. He and his security detail just happened to be touring the Conference Center, which Kim said President Hinckley often called his “baby,” on a quiet day during construction and they just happened to be walking by the scaffolding when the man popped out of the curtain directly in front of President Hinckley. The highly trained security men reacted immediately to the perceived threat and took him down. President Hinckley instantly read the situation and with characteristic humor and kindness rescued the poor worker.

I will never forget President Hinckley either. Of all the prophets I’ve ever known, he was so down to earth and spoke so directly to me. I love him. I miss him.