A Glimpse Into the Life of Gordon B. Hinckely

During 2017, we will be studying the teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley. What an incredible man and a much loved prophet he was! As I studied the section, “The Life and Ministry of Gordon B. Hinckley,”1 it was a great way to remember some of the great moments in his life and also to learn a few new things. Here is a small glimpse into his incredible life.

Gordon B. Hinckley was born on June 23, 1910 to Bryant and Ada Hinckley. He was raised in a loving home where the gospel was taught and lived. He graduated from high school in 1928 and began attending college that fall. His mother passed away in 1930 from cancer, which was particularly difficult for 20-year old Gordon. He graduated from the University of Utah in 1932, with a major in English and a minor in ancient languages. During this time, he had also begun dating Marjorie Pay and was thinking about marrying her. His desire was to attend Columbia University School of Journalism in New York City when he got a call from his bishop asking him to consider going on a mission. Because of the Great Depression, not many young men were financially able to go. But Gordon’s father and brother offered to help pay for his mission, adding to what he personally had saved for his education. So he decided to go on a mission. Shortly after making his decision, the bank failed where his savings account was and he lost all his money. Not long after that, the family found a small savings account Ada had established in which she had put years’ worth of change from her grocery shopping that was specifically set aside for her sons’ missions. This is just one of the ways Elder Hinckley felt the love and support of his mother while he served his mission.

As Elder Hinckley was leaving to serve in the European Mission, his father could sense his uneasiness about the financial burden he was leaving his family. He handed his son a card, on which he had written “Be not afraid, only believe.” After arriving in England, Elder Hinckley’s allergies caused him a lot of grief. He missed home and family and Marjorie. There were not many opportunities to teach investigators, only teaching in the small branches on Sunday. It was discouraging. Feeling it was a waste of time and money, he wrote home to his father. His father’s response, added to the five words on the card he had previously written, was valuable advice not just then but throughout his entire Church service – “Forget yourself and go to work.”

Recalling that experience, President Hinckley said, “I pondered his response and then the next morning in our scripture class we read that great statement of the Lord: ‘For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it’ (Mark 8:35). That simple statement, that promise, touched me. I got on my knees and made a covenant with the Lord that I would try to forget myself and go to work. I count that as the day of decision in my life. Everything good that has happened to me since then I can trace back to the decision I made at that time.”2

When he returned home from his mission, he had been given an assignment from his mission president to meet with the First Presidency to discuss some of the needs in the British and European Missions. Two days after his meeting, he was offered a job with the Church as executive secretary to the Radio, Publicity and Mission Literature Committee. Instead of attending graduate school to become a journalist, he accepted the job, which included researching and writing about Church history, writing pamphlets for the missionaries, working on scripts for radio programs and filmstrips, and developing relationships with media pioneers. Interesting how this early employment would help in his later assignments. Many years later, he was asked to help develop the film for the temple. Likewise, his familiarity with the media proved to be a great blessing to the Church. He interacted often with the media, appearing on “60 Minutes” and “Larry King Live,” as well as being interviewed during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and holding press conferences on many occasions. With the exception of a couple of years working for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, President Hinckley spent his career working at Church Headquarters.

On April 29, 1937, Gordon married Marjorie Pay in the Salt Lake Temple. They had five children – Kathleen, Richard, Virginia, Clark and Jane. Shortly after their marriage, Gordon built a small home which he designed so he could add on to it as their family grew. With what little spare time he had, he would remodel his home. It was his way to relax. Even on a Thanksgiving, he dug the footings for his home. His son Richard said, “It seems our home was always a year or two behind the family growth, and Mother constantly had to deal with some unfinished aspect of home or yard. When they moved into a condominium years later, Mother said, ‘At last, brick walls that Dad cannot knock out or change!’”3

Like his home as a child, the Hinckley home was one where the gospel was taught and lived. Family home evening and family prayer were a regular part of life. Of their home life, their daughter Kathy said, “There was great comfort growing up in a home where life was stable. We knew that circumstances could change, but that Dad’s values and commitments never would. We felt secure and cared for, which created an environment in which we were free to live, grow, develop, and become – because the basics were solidly in place.”3 Describing his father’s influence on him as a young man, Dick said, “He was like an anchor. Not because he talked overtly about his feelings, but I simply sensed that he knew. God was real and personal to him. And when he prayed, I learned about the depth of his faith. He prayed for us, for those who were ‘downtrodden and oppressed’ and ‘alone and afraid.’ One phrase he used often was ‘We pray that we may live without regret.’”3

Throughout his entire life, President Hinckley kept an incredibly busy schedule. His daughter Virginia said it was his humor that sustained him. She said the best part of her father’s jokes was watching him tell them. “He laughs so hard as he approaches the punch line that he can hardly speak.”3 His humor was something I think we all enjoyed!

President Hinckley’s life was spent in the Lord’s service. He was called to be an Apostle on October 5, 1961. From 1981 to 1995, he served as counselor to three Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, Ezra Taft Benson and Howard W. Hunter. On March 12, 1995, he became the President of the Church. When asked by the press what his theme would be, he replied, “Carry on. Yes. Our theme will be to carry on the great work which has been furthered by our predecessors.”2

With the call in 1958 to be an Assistant to the Twelve in 1958, traveling became commonplace. He oversaw the work of the Church in all of Asia. When he was called as an Apostle in 1961, his travel increased, supervising the work from Asia to South America to Europe. Just during the time he was the prophet, he traveled more than a million miles – and this while he was between the ages of 84 and 97!

He cherished the time spent with the members of the Church around the world. One of his greatest desires was to have temples close to the saints. He said, “If temple ordinances are an essential part of the restored gospel, and I testify that they are, then we must provide the means by which they can be accomplished. The temple ordinances become the crowning blessings the Church has to offer.”4 His vision of constructing smaller temples allowed that to become a reality for many. With these smaller temples, his hope was to have 100 operating temples by the year 2000. During his time as President of the Church, he announced the construction of 79 temples. And of the 124 temples in operation at the time of his death, he had dedicated or rededicated 95 of them.

Through all the years and much of the travel, Sister Hinckley was by her husband’s side. After returning home from a trip to Africa in January of 2004, Sister Hinckley’s health declined. That April was the first time in 46 years that she had not attended general conference with her husband. Two days later, Sister Hinckley passed away. It is hard to forget the picture of President Hinckley at his wife’s graveside. He missed her immensely. But, true to his own motto, he carried on.

Soon President Hinckley’s health began to decline. He started using a cane. More often than not, he used his cane to wave at the members of the Church. President Hinckley’s doctor was a little concerned about the way he was using his cane. The doctor told Thomas S. Monson, “The last thing we want is for him to fall and break a hip or worse. Instead, he waves it around and then doesn’t use it when he walks. Tell him the cane has been prescribed by his doctor, and he needs to use it as it was meant to be used.” President Monson replied, “Doctor, I am President Hinckley’s counselor. You are his doctor. You tell him!”1

In January of 2006, at age 95, President Hinckley was hospitalized for the first time in his life. He was diagnosed with cancer. Two years later, on January 27, 2008, President Hinckley passed away. While to many he was larger than life, he was still somehow down to earth. Combined with his deep love, wonderful sense of humor, incredible work ethic and devotion to the Lord, his humility completed this incredible man. A glimpse of that humility is found in a journal entry shortly after President Hunter passed away, knowing he would soon be sustained as the prophet. He said, “I hope that the Lord has trained me to do what He expects of me. I will give Him total loyalty, and I will certainly seek His direction.”1 He did give total loyalty, which began on that summer day in 1933 when he covenanted with the Lord to forget himself and go to work.

What a marvelous example President Hinckley has been for us. If we can live the things we learn as we study his life and teachings this upcoming year, how incredibly blessed our lives will be!