Mourners brave cold to pay last respects to Mormon president
Friday, February 1, 2008 1:03 PM PST
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Josh Rich clutched an envelope as he paid his last respects to Mormon church President Gordon B. Hinckley.
Inside: a hand-drawn picture of heaven and a letter from the 9-year-old to a man he revered as prophet of his religion.
In the picture, Josh explained, heaven looks ‘‘kinda like the temple, except bigger.’’ A message scrawled across the top of the page read, ‘‘You passed the test. Welcome home.’’ Hinckley died Sunday at age 97 after nearly 13 years as president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Hundreds of the faithful flocked to the church conference center to view Hinckley’s body Thursday as the Mormon church began three days of public mourning for its leader, capped by a funeral Saturday.