Gordon B. Hinckley

Gordon B. Hinckley
Hinckley speaking at general conference in 2007
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15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
March 12, 1995 (1995-03-12) – January 27, 2008 (2008-01-27)
Predecessor	Howard W. Hunter
Successor	Thomas S. Monson
President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
June 5, 1994 (1994-06-05) – March 12, 1995 (1995-03-12)
End reason	Became President of the Church
First Counselor in the First Presidency
November 10, 1985 (1985-11-10) – March 3, 1995 (1995-03-03)
Called by	Ezra Taft Benson
End reason	Dissolution of First Presidency on the death of Howard W. Hunter
Second Counselor in the First Presidency
December 2, 1982 (1982-12-02) – November 5, 1985 (1985-11-05)
Called by	Spencer W. Kimball
End reason	Dissolution of First Presidency on the death of Spencer W. Kimball
Counselor in the First Presidency
July 23, 1981 (1981-07-23) – December 2, 1982 (1982-12-02)
Called by	Spencer W. Kimball
End reason	Called as Second Counselor in the First Presidency
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
October 5, 1961 (1961-10-05) – July 23, 1981 (1981-07-23)
Called by	David O. McKay
End reason	Called as a Counselor in the First Presidency
Apostle
October 5, 1961 (1961-10-05) – January 27, 2008 (2008-01-27)
Called by	David O. McKay
Reason	Hugh B. Brown added to First Presidency
Reorganization at end of term	D. Todd Christofferson ordained
Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
April 6, 1958 (1958-04-06) – October 5, 1961 (1961-10-05)
Called by	David O. McKay
End reason	Called to the
Personal details
Born	Gordon Bitner Hinckley June 23, 1910(1910-06-23) Salt Lake City, Utah
Died	January 27, 2008(2008-01-27) (aged 97) Salt Lake City, Utah
Cause of death	"Causes incident to age"
Resting place	Salt Lake City Cemetery 40°46′28″N 111°51′49″W / 40.774497°N 111.86348°W / 40.774497; -111.86348
Alma mater	University of Utah (B.A.)
Spouse	Marjorie (Pay) Hinckley (m. 1937, d. 2004)
Children	Kathleen Richard (b. 1941) Virginia (b. 1945) Clark Jane
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom Silver Buffalo Award
Website	gordonbhinckley.org

Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 12, 1995 until his death. Considered a prophet, seer, and revelator by church members, Hinckley was the oldest person to preside over the church in its history.^[1]

Hinckley's presidency was noted for the building of temples, with more than half of existing temples being built under his leadership.^[2] He also oversaw the reconstruction of the historic Nauvoo Illinois Temple and the building of the 21,000 seat Conference Center. During his tenure, the Proclamation on the Family was issued and the Perpetual Education Fund was established. At the time of Hinckley's death, approximately one-third of the church's membership had joined the church under Hinckley's leadership.

Hinckley was awarded ten honorary doctorate degrees, and in 2004, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush. Hinckley also received the Boy Scouts of America's highest award, the Silver Buffalo, and served as chairman of the Church Boards of Trustees/Education.^[1] Hinckley died of natural causes on January 27, 2008 and was survived by his five children. His wife, Marjorie Pay, died in 2004. He was succeeded by Thomas S. Monson as President of the Church.

Biography

Early years

A fourth-generation^[3] Latter-day Saint, Hinckley was born in Salt Lake City, Utah to prominent LDS writer and educator Bryant S. Hinckley and Ada Bitner Hinckley. He graduated from LDS High School in 1928. After attending the University of Utah where he earned his undergraduate degree, Hinckley became a missionary for the LDS Church, an unusual occurrence for Depression-era Latter-day Saints. He served in the London-based British Mission from 1933 to 1935.

Work for the church

Hinckley returned to the United States in 1935 after having completed a short tour of the European continent, including preaching in both Berlin and Paris. He was given an assignment by his mission president, Joseph F. Merrill, to meet with the First Presidency of the church and request that better materials be made available to missionaries for proselytizing purposes. As a result of this meeting, Hinckley received employment as executive secretary of the Radio, Publicity and Missionary Literature Committee of the church (he had received schooling as a journalist in college). Hinckley's responsibilities included developing the church's fledgling radio broadcasts and making use of the era's new communication technologies. Starting in 1937, he also served on the Sunday School General Board. After the Second World War Hinckley served as executive secretary to the Missionary Committee of the church. He also served as the church's liaison to Deseret Book, working with Deseret Book's liaison to the church, Thomas S. Monson.^[4]

In the early 1950s, Hinckley was part of a committee that considered how to present the temple ordinances at the Swiss Temple. The concern was how this could be done when there would be a need to provide them in at least ten languages; the concern was eventually solved through the use of a film version of the Endowment.^[5] Hinckley's background in journalism and public relations prepared him well to preside over the church during a time when it has received increasing media coverage.^{[citation needed]}

Family

On April 29, 1937, Hinckley married Marjorie Pay (November 23, 1911 – April 6, 2004) in the Salt Lake Temple. They had been married for nearly 67 years at the time of her death. They had five children, including Richard G. Hinckley, a general authority of the LDS Church since 2005, and Virginia Hinckley Pearce, a former member of the general presidency of the church's Young Women organization.

Another of their daughters, Kathleen Hinckley Barnes Walker, co-authored several books with Virginia, and ran an events company. Her first husband, Alan Barnes, died in 2001 and in 2004 she married Milton Richard Walker. The Walkers served for a time as president and matron of the Salt Lake Temple and as of 2010 began presiding over the Missionary Training Center in Preston, England.^[6][7]

The Hinckleys' second son, Clark, has served in several church leadership positions. Starting in 2009 he served as president of the Spain Barcelona Mission of the LDS Church.^[8]

General authority

In 1958, Hinckley became a general authority of the Church in the now-discontinued position of Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In September 1961, he became an apostle in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Member of First Presidency

On July 23, 1981, Hinckley became a counselor in the First Presidency. As the 1980s progressed, the health of both President Spencer W. Kimball and his aging counselors N. Eldon Tanner and Marion G. Romney led to Hinckley's being the only healthy member of the First Presidency. When Tanner died in 1982, Romney succeeded him as first counselor and Hinckley succeeded Romney as second counselor in the First Presidency. Because of the ill health of Kimball and Romney, Hinckley was involved in much of the day-to-day affairs of running the church.^[4]

The Mark Hofmann document forgeries, bombings, and investigation occurred during this time. Several books^[9] describe the arrangements for acquiring supposed historical documents for the church by Hinckley and others. For example, the Stowell forgery implicating Joseph Smith in gold digging was purchased for $15,000 by Hinckley on behalf of the church from Hofmann on the promise of confidentiality. However, two years later Hofmann leaked its existence to the "Mormon intellectual underground."^[10] Upon inquiry, church spokesman Jerry Cahill denied that the church possessed the document.^[11] Hinckley corrected Cahill and released the letter to scholars for study.^[12] The document was later found to be a forgery.

After Kimball's death in November 1985, then-former President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Ezra Taft Benson became president of the church and named Hinckley his first counselor. Fellow apostle Thomas S. Monson was named second counselor, and, for a while, all three members of the First Presidency were able to perform their duties. In the early 1990s, however, Benson developed serious health problems that removed him from public view, and Hinckley again carried out many of the duties of the president of the church until Benson died in 1994. After Benson’s death, Howard W. Hunter became President and retained Hinckley and Monson as counselors in the First Presidency. At the same time, Hinckley became President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by virtue of seniority.

President of the Church

Hinckley and his counselors meet with George W. Bush, August 31, 2006 in the Church Administration Building in Salt Lake City, Utah.

When Hunter died after a presidency of nine months, Hinckley succeeded to the presidency of the church at the age of 84, on March 12, 1995. On November 2, 2006, Hinckley surpassed David O. McKay to become the oldest president in Church history.^[13]

Hinckley was known for his acceleration of the building of temples. Before he became president in 1995 there were 47 operating temples in the Church; at the time of his passing, there were 124—over two-thirds of which had been dedicated or rededicated by Hinckley—and 14 announced or under construction.^[14] Hinckley oversaw other significant building projects, including the construction of the Conference Center and extensive renovations of the Salt Lake Tabernacle.

On September 23, 1995, Hinckley released The Family: A Proclamation to the World, a statement of belief and counsel regarding the sanctity of the family and marriage prepared by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve.^[15]

In February 1996, Church membership in countries other than the United States surpassed that of the U.S. membership.^[16]

The year 1996 also saw the broadcast of a 60 Minutes interview of Hinckley by Mike Wallace during a segment on the LDS Church.

In November 2000, Hinckley spoke to the youth of the church and gave them six traits to work on, named the "Six Be's" (Be Grateful, Be Smart, Be Clean, Be True, Be Humble, Be Prayerful), which were first introduced in his New York Times Bestseller Standing for Something^[17] and later expanded on in Way to Be.

On March 31, 2001, he announced the Perpetual Education Fund, a large endowment that provides loans to students in developing nations.^[18] On October 22, 2002, Hinckley participated in the dedication of the Gordon B. Hinckley Building at Brigham Young University–Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho. This was the first building at BYU–Idaho to be named for a then-living Church President.^[19]

The Gordon B. Hinckley Building at BYU-Idaho

In April 2003, Hinckley gave a sermon in which he addressed the ongoing war in Iraq. He said, "…as citizens we are all under the direction of our respective national leaders. They have access to greater political and military intelligence than do the people generally," adding, "Furthermore, we are a freedom-loving people, committed to the defense of liberty wherever it is in jeopardy." He also noted that "It may even be that [the Lord] will hold us responsible if we try to impede or hedge up the way of those who are involved in a contest with forces of evil and repression."^[20]

In March 2005, Hinckley, together with Thomas S. Monson and James E. Faust, celebrated their tenth anniversary as the First Presidency—the first time in the history of the church that a First Presidency had continued for such a period of time without personnel changes.

On January 24, 2006, Hinckley underwent surgery to remove cancerous growths from his large intestine.^[21]

In June 2006, Hinckley traveled to Iowa City, Iowa to speak at a commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the start of the Mormon handcart companies. On June 23, 2006—his 96th birthday—Hinckley participated in a groundbreaking ceremony at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah for a new building that was to be named in his honor. The building was named the "Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center" and was completed and dedicated on Hinckley's 97th birthday.^[22]

On March 31, 2007, Hinckley rededicated the Salt Lake Tabernacle after extensive renovation.^[23] Hinckley's last public appearance was on January 4, 2008, when he offered the prayer at the rededication of the Utah State Capitol.^[24]

During his tenure as president, Hinckley gave over 2000 speeches,^[25] and traveled nearly a million miles over a lifetime to more than 160 countries, as he met with church members and dedicated chapels and temples.^[26]

Temple dedications

At the time Hinckley became president of the church, he had dedicated 23 of the church's 47 temples and had rededicated four of the remaining 24.^[27] While president of the church, Hinckley presided at the dedication of 65 additional temples.^[28] Hinckley also rededicated five temples while president of the church, four of which he had dedicated initially. In all, Hinckley dedicated or rededicated 92 different temples — 87 while president of the church — at 97 different dedicatory services.

Awards

Hinckley receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President George W. Bush in 2004

On June 23, 2004 (Hinckley's 94th birthday), U.S. President George W. Bush awarded Hinckley the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a ceremony at the White House. The press release put forth by the White House stated:

"Gordon B. Hinckley [...] has inspired millions and has led efforts to improve humanitarian aid, disaster relief, and education funding across the globe."

Hinckley received many educational honors, including the Distinguished Citizen Award from Southern Utah University, Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Utah, and 10 honorary doctorates from schools including Westminster College, Utah State University, Utah Valley University, University of Utah, Brigham Young University, Weber State University, and Southern Utah University. He received the Silver Buffalo Award, which is the highest honor bestowed by the Boy Scouts of America, and was honored by the National Conference for Community and Justice for his contributions to tolerance and understanding in the world.

Death

On January 27, 2008, Hinckley died at the age of 97 while surrounded by family in his Salt Lake City apartment.^[29][30] According to a church spokesman, the death was due to "causes incident to age." A Deseret Morning News article states that Hinckley had just gone through a treatment of chemotherapy a few days earlier, and had "worked until the very end."^[31] Thomas S. Monson became the presidential successor on February 3, 2008.^[32] Funeral services were held on February 2, 2008 at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.^[33] Hinckley was buried at the Salt Lake City Cemetery next to his wife, who had died almost four years earlier. Some of the soil that was used to bury him was imported from the grounds of the Preston England Temple in Lancashire; this was done because Hinckley had been a missionary in this region of England.^[34]

Publications

• Hinckley, Gordon B. (2008), My Dear Sisters: Inspiration for Women from Gordon B. Hinckley, Covenant Communications, ISBN 1598115952 
•    (2006), One Bright Shining Hope: Messages for Women from Gordon B. Hinckley, Deseret Book, ISBN 1-59038-355-9 
•    (2005), Discourses of President Gordon B. Hinckley (2 vols. ed.), Deseret Book , ISBN 1-59038-431-8 (vol. 1), ISBN 1-59038-518-7 (vol. 2)
•    (2002), Way to Be!: Nine Ways to Be Happy and Make Something of Your Life, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-7432-3830-3 
•    (2001), Truth Restored: A Short History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Revised ed.), LDS Church, OCLC 49300018 . Reprint in part of What of the Mormons?
•    (2001), Stand a Little Taller, Eagle Gate, ISBN 1-57008-767-9 
•    (2000), Standing for Something: Ten Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes, Times Books, ISBN 0-8129-3317-6 
•    (1997), Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, Deseret Book, ISBN 1-57345-262-9 
•    (1989), Faith: The Essence of True Religion, Deseret Book, ISBN 0-87579-270-7 
•    (1981), Be Thou An Example, Deseret Book, ISBN 0-87747-899-6 
•    (1951), James Henry Moyle, the story of a Distinguished American and an honored churchman, Deseret Book, OCLC 13963049 
•    (1947), What of the Mormons? A Brief Study of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, LDS Church, OCLC 7241540 
•    (1943), A Brief Statement of Principles of the Gospel Based Largely Upon the Compendium (Richards/Little) with Excerpts from Other Writings: Including Also Church Chronology, Priesthood Ordinances, Selected Hymns, LDS Church, OCLC 13965791 

See also

Biography portal

• Alonzo A. Hinckley - uncle who was also an LDS Apostle
• May Green Hinckley - stepmother

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} "Biography of President Gordon B. Hinckley". http://www.lds.org/newsroom/biography/0,15609,3959-1----37,00.html. Retrieved October 30, 2006. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ LDS Church Almanac, 2008 Edition, p. 507-509
3. ^ "Line: Lucien Noble -> Angeline Wilcox Noble -> Bryant Stringham Hinckley -> Gordon B. Hinckley" familysearch.org [1] Accessed January 29, 2008.
4. ^ ^{a b} Dew, Sheri L. (1996). Go Forward with Faith: The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book. pp. 304, pp. 395–401. ISBN 1-57345-165-7. 
5. ^ Westwood, Brad (June 1997). "Houses of the Lord". Ensign: p. 9. http://www.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=866a57b60090c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1. Retrieved November 7, 2007. 
6. ^ Church News. Nov. 6, 2010
7. ^ Deseret Book bio of Kathleen Hinckley Barnes Walker
8. ^ Church News, March 7, 2009
9. ^ For e.g., The Mormon Murders, Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders, Victims: The LDS Church and the Mark Hofmann Case, Tracking The White Salamander.
10. ^ The Mormon Murders pg. 146.
11. ^ The Mormon Murders pg. 171-172, Victims: The LDS Church and the Mark Hofmann Case pg 101-102.
12. ^ Allan D. Roberts, "The Truth is the Most Important Thing: A Look at Mark W. Hofmann, the Mormon Salamander Man"
13. ^ Arave, Lynn (November 2, 2006). "LDS leader ties record for longevity". Deseret Morning News. http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650203647,00.html. Retrieved November 4, 2006. 
14. ^ Deseret News, 2007 Church Almanac
15. ^ "The Family: A Proclamation to the World," Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102
16. ^ Fidel, Steve (February 26, 1996). "Members living abroad outnumber LDS in U.S.". Deseret News. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/473945/MEMBERS-LIVING-ABROAD-OUTNUMBER-LDS-IN-US.html. Retrieved June 11, 2011. 
17. ^ Amazon.com
18. ^ Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Perpetual Education Fund," Ensign, May 2001, 51
19. ^ Brigham Young University - Idaho Scroll^{[dead link]}
20. ^ "War and Peace". LDS General Conference Archives. April 2003. http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,49-1-353-27,00.html. Retrieved November 11, 2007. 
21. ^ "President Hinckley in Recovery". LDS Newsroom. January 26, 2006. http://www.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=35315e876b68f010VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRD&vgnextchannel=9ae411154963d010VgnVCM1000004e94610aRCRD. Retrieved November 7, 2007. ^{[dead link]}
22. ^ "President Hinckley Celebrates 96th Birthday". LDS Newsroom. June 23, 2006. http://www.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=de5b22526078f010VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRD&vgnextchannel=9ae411154963d010VgnVCM1000004e94610aRCRD. Retrieved November 7, 2007. ^{[dead link]}
23. ^ "Salt Lake Tabernacle Reopens". LDS Newsroom. March 31, 2007. http://www.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=dbf60e11ee8a1110VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRD&vgnextchannel=9ae411154963d010VgnVCM1000004e94610aRCRD. Retrieved November 7, 2007. ^{[dead link]}
24. ^ Robert Gehrke, "Three years, $227M later, state Capitol reopens", Salt Lake Tribune, January 4, 2008.
25. ^ "Saturday's funeral services for Mormon leader may mirror wife's in 2004", Salt Lake Tribune, January 31, 2008."
26. ^ "LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley dies at age 97", Deseret Morning News, January 27, 2008.
27. ^ 2008 Deseret Morning News Church Almanac (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Morning News, 2007) pp. 507–508.
28. ^ 2008 Deseret Morning News Church Almanac (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Morning News, 2007) p. 513. One of these was the Apia Samoa Temple, originally dedicated by Hinckley in 1983 but burned in an accidental fire in 2003.
29. ^ "President Gordon B. Hinckley dies at age 97", deseretnews.com, January 27, 2008.
30. ^ "Beloved Church President, Gordon B. Hinckley, Dies at 97", newsroom.lds.org, January 27, 2008.
31. ^ "World mourns beloved leader", deseretnews.com, January 28, 2008.
32. ^ LDS Newsroom - Thomas S. Monson Named
    16th Church President
33. ^ LDS Newsroom - Funeral Services for President Hinckley Announced
34. ^ "Millions Pay Tribute to President Hinckley, ‘Giant Among Men’". Newsroom. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. February 2, 2008. http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/millions-pay-tribute-to-president-hinckley-giant-among-men. Retrieved February 5, 2008. 

Further reading

• Dew, Sheri L. (1996). Go Forward with Faith: The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book. ISBN 1-57345-165-7. 
• McCune, George M. (1996). Gordon B. Hinckley: Shoulder For The Lord. Salt Lake City, Utah: Hawkes Publishing. ISBN 0890365830. 
• Garff, Melinda T. (1998). Gordon B. Hinckley: Fifteenth President of the Church. Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft. ISBN 157008534X. 

External links

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• Obituary in The Times, January 29, 2008
• Official Church History - Basic Facts about Gordon B. Hinckley
• A biography of three recent Church Presidents: Ezra Taft Benson, Howard W. Hunter and Gordon B. Hinckley
• Larry King Live - Gordon Hinckley: Distinguished Religious Leader of the Mormons (Aired December 26, 2004)
• Transcript: National Press Club Q&A with President Gordon B. Hinckley (Questions from Jack Cushman, The New York Times)
• Feature story — President Gordon B. Hinckley on lds.org
• Official Church tribute to Gordon B. Hinckley
• Quotes, teachings, stories, and videos of President Hinckley
• Grampa Bill's G.A. Pages: Gordon B. Hinckley
• Gordon B. Hinckley at Find a Grave

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints titles
Preceded by Howard W. Hunter	President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints March 12, 1995–January 27, 2008	Succeeded by Thomas S. Monson
	President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles June 5, 1994–March 12, 1995	Succeeded by Thomas S. Monson
	Quorum of the Twelve Apostles December 2, 1961–February 25, 1994	Succeeded by N. Eldon Tanner

Persondata
Name	Hinckley, Gordon B.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 23, 1910
Place of birth	Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Date of death	January 27, 2008
Place of death	Salt Lake City, Utah, United States