For young Latter-day Saints, President Gordon B. Hinckley may be the only prophet they remember. After Hinckley died on Sunday night, text messages spread asking students to wear their Sunday clothes to school on Monday to honor him. "There was a text going around that said to show respect for him, dress up," said Kimberly Nelson, a freshman at Provo High School.

She said she received around 20 text messages urging her to wear her Sunday clothing.

BYU freshman Michelle Garrett said dressing up shows reverence. She said she wears her best on Sunday to show reverence for God. Dressing up Monday was meant to show respect for Hinckley.

"I think it's something he would want. It's respectful just to look nice for him," Garrett said.

News of Hinckley's death also spread via text. Garrett found out about it from a friend who received a text message.

Hinckley is known to many for his accomplishments during his nearly 13-year presidency, including increasing the number of church temples. He is also known as being a man willing to embrace new technology to spread the Latter-day Saint message.

"If there was something new out there that could help convey the message of the church, well, President Gordon B. Hinckley, he knew about it," said Robert Freeman, a professor of church history and doctrine at BYU.

Hinckley was born just after the advent of radio and used radio and television to promote the message of the church even before he became a general authority. Hinckley even planned to work as a journalist while he was studying at the University of Utah, but after his mission, he worked for the church and never became a news reporter.

Freeman remembered Hinckley as a man who was very keen on current events, who read several papers each day and could converse about events during many of his speeches at BYU.

"He had a remarkable handle on the world events," Freeman said.

Katie Morgan, a junior at Provo High School, dressed up to honor the man who has led the church since she was 4 years old.

Freeman said young people tend to become attached to the leader of their teenage years. He said he vividly remembers being 22 when Spencer W. Kimball, president of the church from 1973 to 1985, died.

"I think there's just a special kind of impact and relationship that happens," Freeman said.

Students at BYU also placed flowers, candles and messages near the sign at the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center on campus.

• Brittani Lusk can be reached at 344-2549 or at blusk@heraldextra.com.