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Beloved LDS Church President Dies At 97

	LDS President, Gordon B. Hinckley died Sunday night at the age of 97.	Moapa Valley Progress President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through twelve years of global expansion, has died at the age of 97. Hinckley was the 15th president in the 177-year history of the Church and had served as its president since 1995. The Church president died at his apartment in downtown Salt Lake City at 7:00 p.m. Sunday night from causes incident to age. Members of his family were at his
	bedside. A successor is not expected to be formally chosen by the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles until after President Hinckley’s funeral within the next few days. “President Hinckley will be greatly missed,” said Asahel Robison, President of the LDS Logandale, Nevada Stake. “He was much beloved by all. The great scope of his work; including his focus on preserving the family, expanding the number of temples throughout the world and his focus on missionary work; are the things that we as members of the church ought to look to. We look forward to sustaining the next First Presidency just as we have sustained President Hinckley and his presidency.” Hinckley was known, even at the age of 97, 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, now numbering 13 million in 171 nations. A profoundly spiritual man, he had a great fondness for history and often peppered his sermons with stories from the Church’s pioneer past. In recent years, a number of major developments in the Church reflected President Hinckley’s personal drive and direction. In calling for 100 temples to be in operation before the end of the year 2000, the Church president committed the Church to a massive temple-building program. In 1999 the Church had 56 operating temples. Three years later that number had doubled. Hinckley was the most traveled president in the Church’s history. His duties took him to more than 60 countries. In 2005, he traveled nearly 25,000 miles on a seven-nation, nine-day tour to Russia, South Korea, China, Taiwan, India, Kenya, and Nigeria. Hinckley announced the construction of a new Conference Center in 1996 and dedicated it four years later. Seating 21,000 people, it is believed to be the largest religious and theater auditorium in the world. Hinckley was born 23 June 1910 in Salt Lake City, a son of Bryant Stringham and Ada Bitner Hinckley. He earned a bachelor of arts degree at the University of Utah and then served two years as a full-time missionary for the Church in Great Britain. Upon successfully completing his missionary service in the mid-1930s, he was asked by Heber J. Grant, then president of the Church, to organize what has become the Church’s Public Affairs Department. President Hinckley began serving as a member of the Sunday School general board in 1937, two years after returning home from missionary service in Great Britain. For 20 years he directed all Church public communications. On 6 April 1958, while serving as president of the East Millcreek Stake in Salt Lake City, President Hinckley was appointed as a general authority of the Church. In this capacity he served as an assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles before being appointed to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on 5 October 1961. President Hinckley was awarded the Silver Buffalo Award by the Boy Scouts of America; was honored by the National Conference for Community and Justice (formerly the National Conference of Christians and Jews) for his contributions to tolerance and understanding in the world; and received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 2004, President Hinckley was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in the White House. President Hinckley married Marjorie Pay in the Salt Lake Temple in 1937. They have five children and 25 grandchildren. Sister Hinckley passed away 6 April 2004.