Gordon B Hinckley

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Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008), religious and fifteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1995, when his predecessor died Howard W. Hunter, until his death in 2008. As President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he is regarded by members as a prophet, seer, and revelator of God with the right of revelation on behalf of all mankind.

Life

Gordon Bitner Hinckley was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, on June 23, 1910, into a family whose LDS roots date back to the days of the Mormon pioneers. His parents were descendants of Mormon settler Ezra B. Hinckley whose wife died en route to Utah Territory, leaving her father to care for her only child.

Hinckley was baptized by his father, Bryant, on April 28, 1919, and graduated from high school in 1928. After earning a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Utah (1932) and before beginning graduate studies at the University of Columbia, served as a missionary for his Church in London, England in 1933. He returned to the United States in 1935 where shortly thereafter he accepted a job offer to lead his Church's new public relations department. His responsibilities included developing the broadcasts of the new Church radio and making use of new communication technologies. Beginning in 1937 he served in the Sunday school general presidency of the Church. On April 29, 1937, he married Marjorie Pay (1911-2004) in the Salt Lake City Temple. The couple had three daughters and two sons.

Quorum of the 12 Apostles

He was appointed a General Authority of the Church as an assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1958, a position that currently does not exist. In 1961 he was named to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the youngest at that time.

In the first half of the 1980s, the ill health of President Spencer W. Kimball and his counselors N. Eldon Tanner and Marion G. Rommey led the presidency of the Church by resorting to the occasional practice of adding to an additional counselor to the First Presidency, and Hinckley filled this position on July 23, 1981. With Tanner's death in 1982, Romney was called to be first counselor and Hinckley second.

In those days, Hinckley carried much of the burden of the first presidency itself on his shoulders. And although he was officially the second counselor, he was referred to in the press as "temporary president of the Church." Kimball and Romney remained largely out of the public eye until President Kimball died in November 1985.

First Presidency

Ezra Taft Benson, who had long been president of the twelve, was ordained president of the church at Kimball's death and appointed Hinckley as his first counselor. Romney succeeded Benson as president of the twelve, although he never exercised the duties of this position. Thomas S. Monson was called to serve as second counselor, and for a time the three members of the first presidency were able to carry out their duties.

Church President

United States President George W. Bush with Gordon B. Hinckley.

In the first half of the 1990s, Benson developed serious health problems that removed him from public life, and First Counselor Hinckley again performed many of the duties of the President of the Church until Benson died in 1994. Howard W. Hunter, who had succeeded Romney as president of the Twelve, was called to serve as president of the First Presidency and confirmed Hinckley and Monson as his counselors; automatically making Hinckley the president of the Twelve because of his seniority as an apostle. And when Hunter died after a presidency of only nine months, Hinckley was called to be president of the Church at the age of 84, after being unanimously supported by the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

Strong beyond his age, Hinckley led the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from March 12, 1995, becoming the oldest president in Church history and the second to lead the Church through a millennial shift (Lorenzo Snow led the Church from the 19th century to the XX). Hinckley traveled the farthest around the world compared to the 15 presidents who preceded him, covering more than 400,000 kilometers in dozens of nations. At the age of 95, Hinckley traveled some 40,000 kilometers on a seven-country tour: Vladivostok, Russia; Taipei, Taiwan; Hong Kong, China; Delhi, India; Nairobi, Kenya; Aba, Nigeria; and Seoul, South Korea.

Hinckley was known for his great desire to build temples. Under his direction, the Church of Jesus Christ expanded the number of temples from 27 to 119 (May 2005, with 10 announced or under construction). In 2000 alone, Hinckley built more temples (34) than had existed when he was called to the presidency. Hinckley has also overseen other construction projects such as the Conference Center that took the place of the old tabernacle where Latter-day Saints meet in semi-annual conferences or general conferences. The building covers over 130,000 m², accommodating more than 21,200 people each conference in its main auditorium.

On September 23, 1995, he announced and read the document The Family: A Proclamation to the World, a document emphasizing the meaning of the family and the counsel given by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve.

Hinckley has stressed the sacred nature of the human body and has encouraged members of the Church to refrain from getting tattoos. At the Relief Society general conference held in September 2000, she stressed against the practice of men wearing earrings or women wearing more than one pair of earrings. This advice has had a great impact on the behavior and choices of Church members regarding their appearance. In March 2001 she announced and launched the Perpetual Education Fund.

On July 22, 2005, friends of President Hinckley held a celebration commemorating his 95th birthday. In addition to the twenty-two thousand people who attended in person, the event was broadcast on BYU television and to various campuses and chapels around the world via the Church's satellite system. Renowned American journalist Mike Wallace of the 60 Minutes program chronicled Hinckley's life and achievements. Then the president spoke thanking everyone present saying "let's do this again in five more years."

One aspect of Gordon B. Hincley's tenure was public acknowledgment of the Mountain Meadows Massacre in 1857, along with family members, civic leaders, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held posthumous reunions in honor of these tragic events.

Honors

Gordon B. Hincley was praised for his sense of humor and physical stamina, both by those who are faithful to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and by those who do not belong to it. On June 23 In 2004, then-U.S. President George W. Bush honored Hinckley with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the highest honors bestowed by the United States, at a White House ceremony. In the press release proposed by the White House he indicated:

Gordon B. Hinckley [...] has inspired millions and led efforts to improve humanitarian aid in times of disaster, and educational funds throughout the world.^{[chuckles]required]}

More than any other president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hinckley drew on the history of the past in order to convey optimism about the future. His presidency was characterized by an affinity for public relations and a personal desire to travel among his faithful and build temples in their countries and communities.

Hinckley also received honors from the education sector, 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 (1992), Brigham Young University, and Southern Utah University. In 1994 he received the "Silver Buffalo" award, created by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America for Distinguished Service to Youth, and was honored by the National Conference of Community and Justice (of English, National Conference for Community and Justice ), for his contributions to the good of tolerance and understanding in the world. A similar recognition was granted by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

He was not always free from controversy, some criticized the ambiguity of his responses to the media and his failure to face controversial issues in Mormon theology. For example, in an interview on August 4, 1997 by Richard N. Ostling, a well-known religious writer for Time magazine, Hinckley evaded the question of whether God was ever human by saying he did not know. questioned if blacks descended from Cain and received their color and flat nose as a result of a divine curse, Hinckley responded that that doctrine and its meaning was a stain. in history that it had to be left in the past. In an October 1997 General Conference address, Hinckley noted that interviews were not always used with the correct interpretations and that certain things—unspecified—should have been done in a different way. different way.

Death

Hinckley was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus and later hospitalized in 2006 to remove a section of his colon due to a malignant tumor.

On January 27, 2008, at approximately 7:00 p.m. (local time), Hinckley died of incidental causes at his age, aged 97. Surrounded by his family, Hinckley died in his apartment in Salt Lake City.Hinckley's replacement in the First Presidency, Thomas S. Monson, was called the following week for funeral services.

Funeral Services

Funeral Services were held on February 2, 2008 at 11 a.m. local time or 1800 UTC at the Salt Lake City Conference Center in Utah. This event was broadcast worldwide via internet and satellite. Services were followed with great solemnity by members gathered in their stake centers throughout the world, with simultaneous translation in their local language.

Predecessor: Howard W. Hunter	President of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Last Day Saints 12 March 1995 - 27 January 2008	Successor: Thomas S. Monson.