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Discourses of President Gordon B. Hinckley, Vol. 1: 1995-1999
Rare glimpses into the living prophet’s ministry among the people Follow President Gordon B. Hinckley from the set of 60 Minutes to an obscure chapel in Ghana, from a missionary meeting in Veracruz, Mexico, to a branch fireside in Hanoi, Vietnam. Witness for yourself the fulfillment of President Hinckley’s wish, expressed in the October 1995 general "I have a desire to get out with the Latter-day Saints across the world, to look into your faces, to shake your hands wherever possible, to share with you in a more personal and intimate way my feelings concerning this sacred work, and to feel of your spirit and your love of the Lord and His might cause." This landmark volume · 78 addresses, many never published before · Excerpts from press interviews · Index for handy reference · A wealth of prophetic counsel in one source
578 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
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About the author
Gordon B. Hinckley
100 books362 followersPresident 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 16, 2019
Sage words from a man I greatly respect. He was the President of our church while I was a missionary for the church, which is a time I cherish, so my appreciation for his wise words is definitely affected by that. Took my time with this book, I see that I started it in 2011, so its been 8 years!!
Highly recommended. Go through my status updates if you are curious to the content.
Highly recommended. Go through my status updates if you are curious to the content.
May 4, 2010
Gordon B. Hinckley is a very funny and spiritual man. I started reading this while he was still prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, under the theory that the prophet one should listen to most is the one who's alive. (Just ask those who ignored Noah, or Pharaoh refusing to let the children of Israel go.)
Pres. Hickley taught a practical, down-to-earth, nuts-and-bolts, Christ-centered gospel, very much like Brigham Young. He saw a problem, received revelation on how to solve the problem, and then pursued the solution relentlessly. This compilation of his teachings reflects that. In this period of his presidency, he focused on humility (avoiding self-righteousness), taking the temple to the people (building small temples), retaining new converts, and strengthening the family.
During this period, Pres. Hinckley traveled all over the world to meet with people of the church, and the selection of member meetings reflects his travels. The book is not exhaustive, and it's probably a good thing. Pres. Hinckley gave several hundred talks and held even more meetings during this time period.
Pres. Hickley taught a practical, down-to-earth, nuts-and-bolts, Christ-centered gospel, very much like Brigham Young. He saw a problem, received revelation on how to solve the problem, and then pursued the solution relentlessly. This compilation of his teachings reflects that. In this period of his presidency, he focused on humility (avoiding self-righteousness), taking the temple to the people (building small temples), retaining new converts, and strengthening the family.
During this period, Pres. Hinckley traveled all over the world to meet with people of the church, and the selection of member meetings reflects his travels. The book is not exhaustive, and it's probably a good thing. Pres. Hinckley gave several hundred talks and held even more meetings during this time period.
May 19, 2012
Scarcely a page goes by that I don't find markings everywhere as I highlight gems of inspired wisdom that I wanted to make sure I didn't forget. Sometimes it is repetitive, yes. But his willingness to repeat himself is a mark of his discipline of staying on point with what his audience needs to hear. My favorite section is the final 300 pages where he is outside of the general conference setting and speaking at local meetings or to the general public. Here we get to see him become slightly more personal, more open, and less formal than in a more constrained general conference setting. It is fun to see the way he adapts his message and his tone when speaking to missionaries, to men, to women, to young adults, to BYU students, to members in Europe, Asia, Africa, and also Mike Wallace. We also get to see how quick he is on his toes as we read talks for which he did not prepare anything or in impromptu Q&A sessions with members and non-members. He inspires, he chastizes. He advises with principles, he advises with concrete suggestions for action. I'm looking forward to reading Volume 2.
November 14, 2012
The book is divided into three sections: (1) General Conference and Other General Meetings, (2) Member Meetings that includes missionary meetings, devotionals and regional conferences and (3) Messages to the General Public that includes the 60 Minutes interview with Mike Wallace and other community speaking engagements.
I particularly enjoyed the messages to the general public as they were great examples of how to articulate the beliefs of the Gospel.
I particularly enjoyed the messages to the general public as they were great examples of how to articulate the beliefs of the Gospel.
Want to read
February 17, 2008I'll start this one after I finish Teachings...
July 11, 2008
Great book...every LDS family should have this and Volumne 2 in their libraries..
January 8, 2009
A must read.
April 27, 2010
What a life and what a great man ! It is wonderful to read and enjoy this book over and over again. Now on to Vol. 2 !!!
February 25, 2012
Excellent talks. Very inspiring
February 12, 2017
Savored this one for over a year. What a mighty warrior was Gordon B Hinckley.
October 25, 2018
I loved reading this book 📚 A must read and it’s a great use & resource for doing talks just use in our everyday lives. I love Gordon B. Hinckley.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews