Gordon B. Hinckley

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born

June 23, 1910 in Salt Lake City, Utah, The United States

died

January 27, 2008

website

http://www.gordonbhinckley.org/

genre

Religion & Spirituality

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President Hinckley was known, even at the age of 95, as a tireless leader who always put in a full day at the office and traveled extensively around the world to mix with Church members, now numbering nearly 13 million in 171 nations.

His quick wit and humor, combined with an eloquent style at the pulpit, made him one of the most loved of modern Church leaders. A profoundly spiritual man, he had a great fondness for history and often peppered his sermons with stories from the Church’s pioneer past.

He was a popular interview subject with journalists, appearing on 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace and on CNN’s Larry King Live, as well as being quoted and featured in hundreds of newspapers and magazines over the years. During...morePresident Hinckley was known, even at the age of 95, as a tireless leader who always put in a full day at the office and traveled extensively around the world to mix with Church members, now numbering nearly 13 million in 171 nations.

His quick wit and humor, combined with an eloquent style at the pulpit, made him one of the most loved of modern Church leaders. A profoundly spiritual man, he had a great fondness for history and often peppered his sermons with stories from the Church’s pioneer past.

He was a popular interview subject with journalists, appearing on 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace and on CNN’s Larry King Live, as well as being quoted and featured in hundreds of newspapers and magazines over the years. During the Salt Lake Olympics of 2002, his request that the Church refrain from proselytizing visitors was credited by media with generating much of the goodwill that flowed to the Church from the international event.

In recent years, a number of major developments in the Church reflected President Hinckley’s personal drive and direction. In calling for 100 temples to be in operation before the end of the year 2000, the Church president committed the Church to a massive temple-building program.

In 1999 — 169 years after the Church was organized by its founder, Joseph Smith — the Church had 56 operating temples. Three years later that number had doubled, largely because of a smaller, highly practical temple architectural plan that delivered these sacred buildings to Church members in far-flung parts of the world. Many more Church members can now experience the sacred ceremonies that occur only in temples, including marriages for eternity and the sealing of families in eternal units.

President Hinckley was the most traveled president in the Church’s history. His duties took him around the world many times to meet with Latter-day Saints in more than 60 countries. He was the first Church president to travel to Spain, where in 1996 he broke ground for a temple in Madrid; and to the African nations of Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Cape Verde, where he met with thousands of Latter-day Saints in 1998. In 2005, he traveled nearly 25,000 miles on a seven-nation, nine-day tour to Russia, South Korea, China, Taiwan, India, Kenya, and Nigeria.

At a general conference of Church members in April 2001, President Hinckley initiated the Perpetual Education Fund — an ambitious program to help young members of the Church (mainly returning missionaries from developing countries) receive higher education and work-related training that they would otherwise likely never receive.

Closer to his Salt Lake City home, President Hinckley announced the construction of a new Conference Center in 1996 and dedicated it four years later. Seating 21,000 people, it is believed to be the largest religious and theater auditorium in the world and has become the hub for the Church’s general conference messages to the world, broadcast in 54 languages.

Even before his term as president, President Hinckley’s extensive Church service included 14 years as a counselor in the First Presidency, the highest presiding body in the government of the Church, and 20 years before that as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

President Hinckley was born 23 June 1910 in Salt Lake City, a son of Bryant Stringham and Ada Bitner Hinckley. One of his forebears, Stephen Hopkins, came to America on the Mayflower. Another, Thomas Hinckley, served as governor of the Plymouth Colony from 1680 to 1692.

President Hinckley’s first job was as a newspaper carrier for the Deseret News, a Salt Lake City daily. After attending public schools in Salt Lake City, he earned a bachelor of arts degree at the University of Utah and then served two years as a full-time missionary for the Church in Great Britain. He served with distinction and ultimately was appointed as an assistant to the Church apostle who presided over all the Europe(less)

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Average rating: 4.65 · 14,849 ratings · 1,049 reviews · 28 distinct works

	Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes 4.69 avg rating — 6,862 ratings — 8 editions	My rating:
	Way to Be!: 9 Rules For Living the Good Life 4.66 avg rating — 3,003 ratings — 5 editions	My rating:
	Stand a Little Taller 4.68 avg rating — 2,217 ratings — published 2001 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Truth Restored 4.32 avg rating — 1,122 ratings — published 1947 — 4 editions	My rating:
	One Bright Shining Hope: Messages for Women from Gordon B. Hinckley 4.69 avg rating — 523 ratings — published 2006 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley 4.62 avg rating — 313 ratings — published 1997	My rating:
	My Dear Sisters: Inspiration for Women from Gordon B. Hinckley 4.62 avg rating — 206 ratings — published 2008	My rating:
	Be Thou An Example 4.60 avg rating — 132 ratings — published 1981 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Faith: The Essence Of True Religion 4.41 avg rating — 107 ratings — 3 editions	My rating:
	Discourses of President Gordon B. Hinckley, Vol. 1: 1995-1999 4.59 avg rating — 96 ratings — published 2004 — 3 editions	My rating:

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Quotes by Gordon B. Hinckley

“Life is to be enjoyed, not endured”
― Gordon B. Hinckley

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“Try a little harder to be a little better.”
― Gordon B. Hinckley

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“If Life Gets Too Hard To Stand, Kneel.”
― Gordon B. Hinckley

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Gordon B. Hinckley

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