Gordon B. Hinckley: President of the LDS Church, Dead at 97

Gordon B. Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, has died at the age of 97. President Hinckley was the 15th president and had served in that position since March 1995. Hinckley reportedly died in his home in Salt Lake City on Sunday, January 27, 2008. Surrounded by family, his passing was due to simply his age.

President Hinckley is noted as the most traveled president in the Church's history, he also more than doubled the number of LDS temples in operation across the world - the architecture of smaller temples allowed more of the sacred buildings to reach farther parts of the globe - and he was featured frequently as an interview subject on programs such as 60 Minutes and Larry King Live.

President Hinckley was born June 23, 1910 in Salt Lake City, UT, a son of Bryant Stringham and Ada Bitner Hinckley. His first job was as a newspaper carrier for the Deseret News, a Salt Lake City daily. He later organized the LDS church's Public Affairs Department, and has been credited for using media as a positive tool to reach Church members across the world.

After attending school in Salt Lake City, 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. President Hinckley married Marjorie Pay in the Salt Lake Temple in 1937. They have five children and 25 grandchildren. Sister Hinckley passed away April 6, 4.

President Hinckley received numerous academic honors including awards from Southern Utah University, the University of Utah, Westminster College, Utah State University, University of Utah, Brigham Young University, Utah Valley State College and Salt Lake Community College. The University of Utah also established the Gordon B. Hinckley Endowment for British Studies, a program focused on the arts, literature and history of the United Kingdom, a place Hinckley cared for deeply since his mission.

President Hinckley was also honored by the National Conference for Community and Justice, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and in 2004 President George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

President Hinckley wrote several books as well as manuals, pamphlets and scripts. His time as head of the Public Affairs Department had him in a cramped office with nothing more than an old desk, a typewriter and a ream of paper. Beyond his church-specific publications, Hinckley published a best-selling book, Standing for Something, aimed at a general audience. In it he promoted the virtues of love, honesty, morality, civility, learning, forgiveness, mercy, thrift and industry, gratitude, optimism and faith.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will remember President Hinckley for his wit, wisdom and steadfast dedication to serving all people. A man who, despite his age, remained bright, brilliant and prepared to guide through a righteous example.

The church will not announce a successor until after Hinckley's funeral.