President Gordon B. Hinckley on the divine witness of nature

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008) was called to the Quorum of Twelve in 1961. He served as a counselor in the First Presidency from 1981-1995, then as Church President until his death in 2008.

"John says of the creation that 'all things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.' (John 1:3.)

"Can any man who has walked beneath the stars at night, can anyone who has seen the touch of spring upon the land doubt the hand of divinity in creation? So observing the beauties of the earth, one is wont to speak as did the Psalmist: 'The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.' (Ps. 19:1–2.)

"All of beauty in the earth bears the fingerprint of the Master Creator, of those hands which, after they took the form of mortality and then immortality, Thomas insisted on touching before he would believe."

- Gordon B. Hinckley, "Be Not Faithless," General Conference April 1978
Click here to read or listen to the full talk

What a privilege it is to enjoy the majesty of God's creations each day! In the springtime we seem particularly blessed by the beauty of the awakening land, and our thoughts are led to the Creator in gratitude.

The day before sharing this post, I had the privilege of spending the entire daylight hours (and a few non-daylight ones) in a somewhat remote, inaccessible wilderness area. I did walk beneath the stars at night, and witnessed many of those touches of spring. I had countless opportunities through the day to ponder President Hinckley's message about the world displaying God's handiwork, and the majesty of "the fingerprint of the Master Creator" all through the earth!

Truly, the hand of the "Master Creator" is visible throughout the earth. May we notice it more frequently, and pause to give thanks when we do!

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2018)