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'Gordon Bitner Hinckley' (born June 23 1910) has been the fifteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since March 12, 1995. He is the oldest person to preside over the LDS Church in its history.^[1] As president of the LDS Church, he is considered by its members to be a prophet, seer, and revelator. His administration has been noted for the building of new temples and the creation of the Perpetual Education Fund.
Hinckley also serves as Chairman of the Church Board of Education and Board of Trustees that governs the Church Educational System.

Contents

Biography

Early years

Work for the church

Family

General authority

Member of First Presidency

President of the Church

Awards

Further reading

Publications

See also

Notes

External links

Biography

Early years

Born in Salt Lake City, Utah to prominent Latter-day Saint writer and educator Bryant S. Hinckley and Ada Bitner, Hinckley completed high school in 1928. After attending the University of Utah, 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. Out of this meeting Hinckley received a job 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.^[2]

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 are the parents of five children, including Richard G. Hinckley, who is currently serving as a member of the LDS Church's First Quorum of the Seventy, and Virginia Hinckley Pearce, a former member of the general presidency of the church's Young Women Organization.

General authority

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

Member of First Presidency

On July 23, 1981, Hinckley became a counselor in the First Presidency. As the 1980s progressed, the health of both Church 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.
During this time period, several controversial documents purporting to be Mormon historical documents began to surface, and Hinckley oversaw the purchase of some of these documents. The documents—one of which was the Salamander letter—turned out to be forgeries by Mark Hofmann. Because of his responsibility to oversee the purchase of historical documents for the LDS Church, Hinckley became a key figure in the investigation of Hofmann.
After Kimball's death in November 1985, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Ezra Taft Benson became church president 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 church president and chose Hinckley and Monson as his counselors; at the same time, Hinckley became President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by virtue of seniority.
During the years of declining health for both Kimball and Benson, Hinckley dedicated several temples for the church. He had dedicated nearly half of the LDS Church temples worldwide when he became president of the church.

President of the Church

When Hunter died after a presidency of only nine months, Hinckley succeeded to the presidency of the church at the age of 84.
On November 2, 2006, Hinckley surpassed David O. McKay to become the oldest president in church history.^[3]
Hinckley is known for his aggressive building of temples. Before he became president in 1995 there were 47 temples in the church. Over two-thirds of all LDS Church temples were dedicated by Hinckley. Hinckley has also overseen 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 '', a statement of belief and counsel regarding the sanctity of family and marriage prepared by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve.^[4].
In February 1996, church membership in countries other than the United States surpassed that of the U.S. membership.
On March 31, 2001, he announced the Perpetual Education Fund, a large endowment that provides loans to students in developing nations.^[5]
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 living person.
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.
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 23 June 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.
On March 31, 2007, Hinckley rededicated the Salt Lake Tabernacle after extensive renovation.

Awards

On 23 June 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:^[6]
: "Gordon B. Hinckley [...] has inspired millions and has led efforts to improve humanitarian aid, disaster relief, and education funding across the globe."
Hinckley has received many educational honors, including the Distinguished Citizen Award from Southern Utah University, Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Utah, and honorary doctorates from Westminster College, Utah State University, University of Utah, Brigham Young University, and Southern Utah University. He has received the Silver Buffalo Award of the Boy Scouts of America, and has been honored by the National Conference for his contributions to tolerance and understanding in the world.

Further reading

★ Go Forward with Faith: The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley, , Sheri L., Dew, Deseret Book, 1996, ISBN 1-57345-165-7

★ 2004 Presidential Medal of Freedom Remarks by President George W. Bush

Publications

★ Be Thou An Example, Hinckley, Gordon B., , , Deseret Book, 1981, ISBN 0-87747-899-6

★ 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, Hinckley, Gordon B., , , , 1943,

★ Discourses of President Gordon B. Hinckley, Hinckley, Gordon B., , , Deseret Book, 2005, ISBN 1-59038-431-8 (vol. 1), ISBN 1-59038-518-7 (vol. 2)

★ Faith: The Essence of True Religion, Hinckley, Gordon B., , , Deseret Book, 1989, ISBN 0-87579-270-7

★ James Henry Moyle, the story of a Distinguished American and an honored churchman, Hinckley, Gordon B., , , Deseret Book, 1951,

★ Hinckley, Gordon B. (2006). ''One Bright Shining Hope: Messages for Women from Gordon B. Hinckley.'' Deseret Book. ISBN 1-59038-355-9.

★ Stand a Little Taller, Hinckley, Gordon B., , , Eagle Gate, 2001, ISBN 1-57008-767-9

★ Standing for Something: Ten Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes, Hinckley, Gordon B., , , Times Books, 2000, ISBN 0-8129-3317-6

★ Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, Hinckley, Gordon B., , , Deseret Book, 1997, ISBN 1-57345-262-9

★ Way to Be!: Nine Ways to Be Happy and Make Something of Your Life, Hinckley, Gordon B., , , Simon & Schuster, 2002, ISBN 0-7432-3830-3

★ What of the Mormons? A Brief Study of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hinckley, Gordon B., , , The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1947, (part reprinted in 1969 under the title ''Truth Restored: A Short History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints'')

See also

★ Alonzo A. Hinckley : an uncle who was also an LDS Apostle

★ May Green Hinckley : stepmother

Notes

1. Biography of President Gordon B. Hinckley
2. Dew, Sherry. "Go Forward With Faith"
3. LDS leader ties record for longevity Lynn Arave
4. "The Family: A Proclamation to the World," Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102
5. Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Perpetual Education Fund," Ensign, May 2001, 51
6. Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Gordon B. Hinckley

External links

★ Biography of President Gordon B. Hinckley

★ Official Church History - Basic Facts about Gordon B. Hinckley

★ A biography of three recent LDS church presidents: Ezra Taft Benson, Howard W. Hunter and Gordon B. Hinkley

★ Larry King Live - Gordon Hinckley: Distinguished Religious Leader of the Mormons (Aired September 8, 1998)

★ Transcript: National Press Club Q&A with President Gordon B. Hinckley (Questions from Jack Cushman, The New York Times)

★ Road to Salvation: Interview with Gordon B. Hinckley by Richard Ostling