Tag Archives: Gordon B. Hinckley

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Gordon B. Hinckley View the Gordon B. Hinckley Church Leader profile →

LDS prophet (1995-2008) known for media savvy and temple building. Made controversial statements in interviews.

Nothing to Hide?

President Gordon B. Hinckley, top leader of the Church (1995-2008) addresses several issues related to the church’s history and practices in an interview on Christmas Day in 2005. The interview covered many topics but here we’ll look closely at what he said about polygamy and fundamentalist Mormons and church history and transparency. Polygamy and Fundamentalist …

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Some scholars say historical records point to discrepancies with the official church history. How do you reconcile the differences? And what is the church's position on historical scholarship? "Well, we have nothing to hide. Our history is an open book. They may find what they are looking for, but the fact is the history of the church is clear and open and leads to faith and strength and virtues." - Gordon B. Hinckley, LDS Church President Answering Associated Press questions about the LDS Church, Dec 25, 2005 | wasmormon.org
Some scholars say historical records point to discrepancies with the official church history. How do you reconcile the differences? And what is the church's position on historical scholarship? "Well, we have nothing to hide. Our history is an open book. They may find what they are looking for, but the fact is the history of the church is clear and open and leads to faith and strength and virtues." - Gordon B. Hinckley, LDS Church President Answering Associated Press questions about the LDS Church, Dec 25, 2005

President Oaks Fibbing For The Lord Again – Prompt and Public Disavowal of Racism?

The church celebrates its own decision to stop the racially discriminatory practice of banning the priesthood from anyone of African descent in 1978. To show that they are not racist, they wanted to point out that it has now been 40 years since they stopped being racist. There was a big self-congratulatory spectacle planned for …

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I Know The Church Is True

Nearly every speaker in a testimony meeting says “I know the church is true.” This is a nonsensical statement, but considering the Illusory Truth Effect we can see what the church may be after. We know that repetitions don’t make statements any more true, but psychologically we do tend to believe things we’ve heard repeatedly. …

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Cherish Your Doubts

This reading for worship, from the Unitarian Universalize Association, emphasizes the value of doubt as an essential and positive element in the pursuit of truth and knowledge. It contrasts doubt with unquestioning belief, arguing that beliefs immune to questioning can lead to error and incompleteness. Doubt, in this context, is portrayed as the key to …

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King: I know that the Church is opposed to gay marriage. HINCKLEY: Yes. KING: Do you have an alternative? Do you like the idea of civil unions? HINCKLEY: Well, we're not anti-gay. We are pro-family. Let me put it that way. And we love these people and try to work with them and help them. We know they have a problem. We want to help them solve that problem. President Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live in 2004 | wasmormon.org
King: I know that the Church is opposed to gay marriage.HINCKLEY: Yes.KING: Do you have an alternative? Do you like the idea of civil unions?HINCKLEY: Well, we're not anti-gay. We are pro-family. Let me put it that way.And we love these people and try to work with them and help them. We know they have a problem. We want to help them solve that problem.President Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live in 2004
Larry King: You are the prophet, right? Does that mean that, according to the church canon, the Lord speaks through you? Hinckley “I think he makes his will manifest, yes.” Larry King: So if you change things, that's done by an edict given to you. How do you receive it? Hinckley: “Yes, sir. Well, various ways. It isn't necessarily a voice heard. Impressions come.” - President Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live in 2004 | wasmormon.org
Larry King: You are the prophet, right? Does that mean that, according to the church canon, the Lord speaks through you? Hinckley “I think he makes his will manifest, yes.” Larry King: So if you change things, that's done by an edict given to you. How do you receive it? Hinckley: “Yes, sir. Well, various ways. It isn't necessarily a voice heard. Impressions come.” - President Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live in 2004
KING: A problem they caused, or they were born with? HINCKLEY: I don't know. I'm not an expert on these things. I don't pretend to be an expert on these things. The fact is, they have a problem. KING: Do you favor some sort of state union? HINCKLEY: Well, we want to be very careful about that, because that - whatever may lead to gay marriage, we're not in favor of. President Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live in 2004 | wasmormon.org
KING: A problem they caused, or they were born with?HINCKLEY: I don't know. I'm not an expert on these things. I don't pretend to be an expert on these things. The fact is, they have a problem.KING: Do you favor some sort of state union?HINCKLEY: Well, we want to be very careful about that, because that - whatever may lead to gay marriage, we're not in favor of.President Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live in 2004
"KING: President Hinckley, though, couldn't He have prevented this? HINCKLEY: Oh, I suppose so. I believe he's all powerful, yes. I don't know His will. I don't know how He operates. His wisdom is greater than mine. He sees beyond what I see." - President and Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live in 2001 regarding 9/11
"KING: President Hinckley, though, couldn't He have prevented this?HINCKLEY: Oh, I suppose so. I believe he's all powerful, yes. I don't know His will. I don't know how He operates. His wisdom is greater than mine. He sees beyond what I see." - President and Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley on Larry King Live in 2001 regarding 9/11
We have basic cornerstones on which this great latter- day Church has been established by the Lord and built, “fitly framed together.” They are absolutely fundamental to this work—the very foundation, anchors on which it stands... The second cornerstone is the First Vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith... Without it as a foundation stone for our faith and organization, we have nothing... It is an essential foundation stone, a cornerstone, without which the Church could not be “fitly framed together.” - Gordon B. Hinckley regarding the First Vision | wasmormon.org
We have basic cornerstones on which this great latter- day Church has been established by the Lord and built, “fitly framed together.” They are absolutely fundamental to this work—the very foundation, anchors on which it stands... The second cornerstone is the First Vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith... Without it as a foundation stone for our faith and organization, we have nothing... It is an essential foundation stone, a cornerstone, without which the Church could not be “fitly framed together.” - Gordon B. Hinckley regarding the First Vision

Major Victories for Satan

LDS Church leader, Russell Nelson, has for decades wanted to do away with the nickname of the church. It seems to have been a pet peeve of his, and he single-handedly announced a plea to use the full name of the church in 1990 when he was a junior apostle. The next conference, however, President …

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Don’t Say Mormon

Marc Oslund and John Dehlin discussed Russell M. Nelson’s “Victory for Satan” talk on Mormon Stories Episode #1424. They discuss that the blind belief in only the living prophet’s words is unsustainable and Nelson’s war on ‘Mormon‘ has been his own personal pet peeve from the beginning. The message from President Nelson that using the …

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Is this the teaching of the church today, that God the Father was once a man like we are? Hinckley: "I don’t know that we teach it. I don’t know that we emphasize it. I haven’t heard it discussed for a long time in public discourse. I don’t know. I don’t know all the circumstances under which that statement was made. I understand the philosophical background behind it. But I don’t know a lot about it and I don’t know that others know a lot about it." Gordon B Hinckley interview transcript for TIME Magazine article Kingdom Come of August 1997, in context compared to the printed article. | wasmormon.org
Is this the teaching of the church today, that God the Father was once a man like we are? Hinckley: "I don’t know that we teach it. I don’t know that we emphasize it. I haven’t heard it discussed for a long time in public discourse. I don’t know. I don’t know all the circumstances under which that statement was made. I understand the philosophical background behind it. But I don’t know a lot about it and I don’t know that others know a lot about it." Gordon B Hinckley interview transcript for TIME Magazine article Kingdom Come of August 1997, in context compared to the printed article.
"Never before has the Church had a better reputation than it has now... The media have been kind and generous to us. This past year of pioneer celebrations has resulted in very extensive, favorable press coverage. There have been a few things we wish might have been different. I personally have been much quoted, and in a few instances misquoted and misunderstood. I think that’s to be expected. None of you need worry because you read something that was incompletely reported. You need not worry that I do not understand some matters of doctrine. I think I understand them thoroughly, and it is unfortunate that the reporting may not make this clear. I hope you will never look to the public press as the authority on the doctrines of the Church." - President Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference, October 1997, immediately following the TIME Magazine article quoting him. | wasmormon.org
"Never before has the Church had a better reputation than it has now...The media have been kind and generous to us. This past year of pioneer celebrations has resulted in very extensive, favorable press coverage. There have been a few things we wish might have been different. I personally have been much quoted, and in a few instances misquoted and misunderstood. I think that’s to be expected. None of you need worry because you read something that was incompletely reported. You need not worry that I do not understand some matters of doctrine. I think I understand them thoroughly, and it is unfortunate that the reporting may not make this clear. I hope you will never look to the public press as the authority on the doctrines of the Church." - President Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference, October 1997, immediately following the TIME Magazine article quoting him.

As Man Now Is, God Once Was; As Now God Is, Man May Be – Lorenzo Snow

Lorenzo Snow coined a couplet that famously explains a complex doctrine of Mormon theology which is closely tied to the idea of eternal progression. It also gets Mormon theology in deep water with most other Christian denominations. It challenges (or changes) the nature of God and our relationship with him as mankind. It proclaims that …

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On whether his church still holds that God the Father was once a man, he sounded uncertain, "I don't know that we teach it. I don't know that we emphasize it... I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don't know a lot about it, and I don't think others know a lot about it." - President Gordon B. Hinckley Interview TIME Magazine: Mormons, Inc. August 1997, Kingdom Come Article | wasmormon.org
On whether his church still holds that God the Father was once a man, he sounded uncertain, "I don't know that we teach it. I don't know that we emphasize it... I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don't know a lot about it, and I don't think others know a lot about it." - President Gordon B. Hinckley Interview TIME Magazine: Mormons, Inc. August 1997, Kingdom Come Article
At first, Hinckley seemed to qualify the idea that men could become gods, suggesting that "it's of course an ideal. It's a hope for a wishful thing," but later affirmed that "yes, of course they can." (He added that women could too, "as companions to their husbands. They can't conceive a king without a queen.") On whether his church still holds that God the Father was once a man, he sounded uncertain, "I don't know that we teach it. I don't know that we emphasize it... I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don't know a lot about it, and I don't think others know a lot about it." - President Gordon B. Hinckley Interview TIME Magazine: Mormons, Inc. August 1997, Kingdom Come Article | wasmormon.org
At first, Hinckley seemed to qualify the idea that men could become gods, suggesting that "it's of course an ideal. It's a hope for a wishful thing," but later affirmed that "yes, of course they can." (He added that women could too, "as companions to their husbands. They can't conceive a king without a queen.") On whether his church still holds that God the Father was once a man, he sounded uncertain, "I don't know that we teach it. I don't know that we emphasize it... I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don't know a lot about it, and I don't think others know a lot about it." - President Gordon B. Hinckley Interview TIME Magazine: Mormons, Inc. August 1997, Kingdom Come Article

President Gordon B Hinckley Interview with San Francisco Chronicle

Gordon B Hinckley, then church president, was interviewed by Don Lattin on April 13, 1997 for SFGate, the digital home of the San Francisco Chronicle. The interview was in his room at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel, just before he delivered an address to the World Forum of Silicon Valley. Here is the transcript of the interview as reported …

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