Gordon B. Hinckley - President of The Church

President of The Church

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.

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 death, there were 124—over two-thirds of which had been dedicated or rededicated by Hinckley—and 14 announced or under construction. 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.

In February 1996, church membership in countries other than the United States surpassed that of the US.

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 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. 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.

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 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."

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 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.

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

During his tenure as president, Hinckley gave over 2000 speeches, 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.