Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author

r who served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints (LDS Church) from March 12, 1995, until his death. Considered a prophet, seer, and revelator by church members, Hinckley was the oldest person to preside over the church in
its history.[1]
Hinckley's presidency was noted for the building of temples, with more than half of existing temples being built under his leadership.[2] He also oversaw the reconstruction of the Nauvoo
Illinois Temple and the building of the 21,000 seat Conference Center. During his tenure, "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" was issued and the Perpetual Education Fund was
established. At the time of his death, approximately one-third of the church's membership had joined the church under Hinckley's leadership.
Hinckley was awarded ten honorary doctorate degrees, and in 2004, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush. Hinckley also received the Boy Scouts of
America's highest award, the Silver Buffalo, and served as chairman of the Church Boards of Trustees/Education.[3] Hinckley died of natural causes on January 27, 2008, and was survived
by his five children. His wife, Marjorie Pay, died in 2004. He was succeeded as church president by Thomas S. Monson, who had served as his first counselor in the First Presidency, and,
more importantly, was the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; therefore, according to LDS doctrine and practice, Monson was Hinckley's anticipated successor.
Contents
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1Early years
2Church employment
3Family
4LDS Church service
4.1Local leadership
4.2General authority
4.3Member of First Presidency
4.4President of the Church
4.5Temple dedications
5Awards
6Death
7Publications
8See also
9Notes
10Further reading
11External links
Early years[edit]
The child of a multi-generational Latter-day Saint,[4] Hinckley was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to prominent LDS writer and educator Bryant S. Hinckley and Ada Bitner Hinckley. He
graduated from LDS High School in 1928. He grew up on a residential farm in East Millcreek. His home library contained approximately a thousand volumes of literary, philosophical and
historical works.[5] Hinckley was known for his optimism and plain-speaking. Hinckley attended the University of Utah, where he earned an undergraduate degree in English, and minored
in ancient languages. He studied Latin and could read ancient Greek.[6] 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. He would later write the words for LDS hymn no. 135, "My Redeemer Lives".[7]
Church employment[edit]
Hinckley returned to the United States in 1935 after completing 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 church's First Presidencyand request that better materials be made available to missionaries for proselytizing. As a result of this
meeting, Hinckley received employment as executive secretary of the church's Radio, Publicity and Missionary Literature Committee (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.
One of the projects Hinckley oversaw in the late 1930s was development of the church's exhibit for the Golden Gate International Exposition.[8]
Starting in 1937, he served on the Sunday School General Board. After the Second World War, during which he left full-time LDS Church employ to work for a time with the Rio Grande
Western Railroad, Hinckley served as executive secretary to the church's Missionary Committee. He also served as the church's liaison to Deseret Book, working with Deseret Book's
liaison to the church, Thomas S. Monson.[9] At various times, especially in the late 1940s, Hinckley was also a reporter for the Church News, a publication of the Deseret News.
In the early 1950s, Hinckley was part of a committee that considered how to present the temple ordinances at the Swiss Temple. The concern was how this could be done when a need
existed to provide them in at least 10 languages; the concern was eventually solved through the use of a film version of the endowment.[10] Hinckley's background in journalism and
public relations prepared him well to preside over the church during a time when it has received increasing media coverage.[citation needed]
In 1957, Hinckley was named to the board of directors of KSL. Shortly after he was named to the executive committee of the board.[11]