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Home > Archive > Feb 7, 2008

Southern Utah Responds to the Passing of President Hinckley
By Cathy Wentz
Staff Writer
President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Gordon B. Hinckley passed away, Jan. 27, around 7 p.m. at the age of 97 in his Salt Lake City home.
According to the Web site, www.lds.org/ldsnewsroom, Hinckley was the Church’s 15th president in its 177-year history. He was known 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.”
According to a press release from the office of United States Senator Orrin G. Hatch, the Senator eulogized Hinckley on the behalf of the Church on the floor of the Senate.
“We have lost our friend, our leader and our fellow servant,” Hatch said.
He also said, “In our effort to follow in President Hinckley’s footsteps, Latter-day Saints found they had to lengthen their stride to keep up with him. Even in the sunset of his life, President Hinckley was indefatigable. He set a vigorous pace, traveling the world and sharing his message of service, love and compassion with millions of all faiths.”
Hinckley was born June 23, 1910, in Salt Lake City, according to the Web site, www.lds.org/ldsnewsroom. His parents were Bryant Stringham and Ada Bitner Hinckley.
Hinckley’s first job was newspaper carrier for the Deseret News in Salt Lake City. Having attended public school in Salt Lake City, he went on to attend college at the University of Utah and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He also served with distinction as a full-time missionary for the Church in Great Britain.
After Hinckley completed his missionary service in the mid-1930s, Heber J. Grant, who was then president of the Church, asked him to organize what has become the Church’s Public Affairs Department. Then for 20 years he directed all church public communications.
Hinckley has served the church in several capacities. In 1951 he was named executive secretary of the General Missionary Committee, managing the church’s entire missionary program for about seven years. Then in 1958, while serving as stake president of the East Millcreek Stake in Salt Lake City, he was appointed as a general authority, or senior full-time leader of the church. In that capacity he served as an assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and was then appointed to that body in October 1961.
In 1995 Hinckley became the president of the Church and served in that position right up to his death.
He has received numerous honors in his lifetime that include the Distinguished Citizen Award and an honorary doctorate from Southern Utah University. He received other honorary doctorates from Brigham Young University, Utah State University, the University of Utah and several other colleges in the state.
Among many civic honors, he has received the Silver Buffalo Award by the Boy Scouts of America. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush in 2004.
Stake president for the Enoch area, Larry Brough, said Latter-day Saints revered and honored him as the president of their church and their prophet.
“We honor his life and we sure appreciate him,” Brough said.
Clifford Dunn, Green Valley Stake president, said that when St. George experienced flooding in 2005, Hinckley was personally concerned about the damage done.
“He wanted to make sure people knew of his concern and his prayers,” Dunn said.
Students around Southern Utah expressed their respect for Hinckley and observed his passing by wearing their Sunday clothes to school on Monday.
Brian Stucki, a senior at Snow Canyon High School, said he was talking with his friends Sunday night, and they were talking about wearing their Sunday clothes to school the next day. He said he felt like he could do that too.
“To show love and appreciation, I decided to wear my Sunday clothes to class,” Stucki said.
Carly Stewart, a junior at Canyon View High School, said she had a lot of respect for Hinckley and she dressed up in her Sunday clothes Monday to “show her respect and to show everyone else she has respect for him.”
Hinkley's funeral was held Saturday, Feb. 2, at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, and was broadcast on television and radio stations throughout the state of Utah. It was attended by political and religious leaders from across the country, as well as thousands of members of the LDS Church.

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