History and Growth of the Church under Gordon B. Hinckley

Gordon B. Hinckley was involved in Church leadership from the time he was very young. In 1935, at the age of 25, President Hinckley was called to serve on the Radio, Publicity, and Mission Literature Committee of the Church. He worked hard in this calling, making visual and audio materials for missionary use. Over the years his calling required him to write several radio and motion pictures scripts as well as pamphlets for the missionaries. This devotion to using modern technology to promote the Church stayed with President Hinckley and he became the first modern-day prophet to appear on national television. In 1996, he accepted the invitation for an interview with Mike Wallace on Sixty Minutes. Two years later, he accepted an interview with Larry King on Larry King Live. Both of these interviews were highly publicized and achieved the goal of getting national exposure to the Church to wipe away remaining prejudice and teach people the true character of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In 2000, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued their testimony of Jesus Christ in a document entitled “The Living Christ.” Soon after his call to the presidency, President Hinckley read an even more impressive document in the 1995 General Relief Society meeting. This document, a proclamation to the world of the divinity and importance of the family, has been referenced countless times in the years since. As the family continually comes under attack from the world and society, the Saints have “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” to study and apply in their lives. This call to arms to protect the eternal nature of the family was intended to strengthen all families in the world, and will do so for all those who heed its admonitions.

President Hinckley will always be remembered for his focus on temple work and his initiative to build more temples. In his thirteen years serving as president of the Church, the number of temples more than doubled from forty-eight to one hundred twenty-four. More temples are announced each General Conference, and the eternal blessings of the temple continue to be brought to Saints all over the world. Though many still must make huge sacrifices to attend the temple closest to them, which may be a several-day journey, it is now an achievable goal. President Hinckley understood that there are no blessings in this life more important than temple ordinances, which allow us to be sealed together as families for all eternity.

• Hong Kong China Temple
• Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple
• St. Louis Missouri Temple
• Vernal Utah Temple
• Preston England Temple
• Monticello Utah Temple
• Anchorage Alaska Temple
• Colonia Juárez Chihuahua México Temple
• Madrid Spain Temple
• Bogotá Colombia Temple
• Guayaquil Ecuador Temple
• Spokane Washington Temple
• Columbus Ohio Temple
• Bismarck North Dakota Temple
• Columbia South Carolina Temple
• Detroit Michigan Temple
• Halifax Nova Scotia Temple
• Regina Saskatchewan Temple
• Billings Montana Temple
• Edmonton Alberta Temple
• Raleigh North Carolina Temple
• St. Paul Minnesota Temple
• Kona Hawaii Temple
• Ciudad Juárez México Temple
• Hermosillo Sonora México Temple
• Albuquerque New Mexico Temple
• Oaxaca México Temple
• Tuxtla Gutiérrez México Temple
• Louisville Kentucky Temple
• Palmyra New York Temple
• Fresno California Temple
• Medford Oregon Temple
• Memphis Tennessee Temple
• Reno Nevada Temple
• Cochabamba Bolivia Temple
• Tampico México Temple
• Nashville Tennessee Temple
• Villahermosa México Temple
• Montréal Québec Temple
• San José Costa Rica Temple
• Fukuoka Japan Temple
• Adelaide Australia Temple
• Melbourne Australia Temple
• Suva Fiji Temple
• Mérida México Temple
• Veracruz México Temple
• Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple
• Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple
• Caracas Venezuela Temple
• Houston Texas Temple
• Birmingham Alabama Temple
• Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple
• Boston Massachusetts Temple
• Recife Brazil Temple
• Porto Alegre Brazil Temple
• Montevideo Uruguay Temple
• Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple
• Guadalajara México Temple
• Perth Australia Temple
• Columbia River Washington Temple
• Snowflake Arizona Temple
• Lubbock Texas Temple
• Monterrey México Temple
• Campinas Brazil Temple
• Asunción Paraguay Temple
• Nauvoo Illinois Temple
• The Hague Netherlands Temple
• Brisbane Australia Temple
• Redlands California Temple
• Accra Ghana Temple
• Copenhagen Denmark Temple
• Manhattan New York Temple
• San Antonio Texas Temple
• Aba Nigeria Temple
• Newport Beach California Temple
• Sacramento California Temple
• Helsinki Finland Temple

In the year 2000, at the October General Conference of the Church, President Hinckley announced that Church membership exceeded 11 million and that the one-hundredth temple (the Boston Massachusetts Temple) had just been dedicated. At the close of President Hinckley’s administration, Church membership was rapidly approaching 13 million. President Hinckley is responsible for much good done in the Church and for helping the Church find ways to reach more of its members worldwide more effectively.