Timeline

1937 April 29

Married Marjorie Pay.

1937

Called to Deseret Sunday School Union General Board.

1946

Called as counselor in the East Millcreek Stake Presidency.

1951

Appointed general secretary of the General Missionary Committee and assisted in introducing uniform missionary lessons.

1956 October 28

Called as president of the East Millcreek Stake, a third-generation stake president.

1958 6 April

Sustained as an Assistant to the Twelve.

1961 October 5

Ordained an Apostle by President David O. McKay.

1981 July 23

Called as counselor to President Spencer W. Kimball.

1982 December 2

Called as second counselor in First Presidency.

1985 November 10

Called as first counselor to President Ezra Taft Benson.

1994 June 5

Age 83 Called as first counselor to President Howard W. Hunter.

1995

• 12 March – Set apart as 15th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• 1 April – Sustained by Church members as 15th president of the Church
• 17–23 June – Held meetings with members in Alaska, the first time a president of the Church has done so
• 23 September – Read “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” at general Relief Society meeting
• 13 November – Met with president of the United States at White House to discuss importance of families

1996

• 6 April – Announced construction of a new meeting hall in Salt Lake City that would hold three to four times more people than Salt Lake Tabernacle
• 7 April – Interviewed by Mike Wallace of CBS’s 60 Minutes
• 26 May – Dedicated Hong Kong China Temple

1997

• 4–5 October – Announced plans to begin building smaller temples around the world

1998

• 14–22 February – Toured five nations in Africa – Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa – speaking to more than 30,000 people; he became first Church president to ever visit West Africa
• 16 February – Announced plans for temple in Ghana, the first in West Africa
• 4–5 April – Announced plans to construct an additional 30 smaller temples
• 8 September – Appeared on CNN’s Larry King Live

1999

• 4 April – Made surprise announcement to rebuild Nauvoo Temple
• 11 September – Dedicated monument honoring memory of 120 people killed in Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857 in southern Utah
• 24 October – Broke ground for reconstruction of Nauvoo Illinois Temple
• 14 November – Dedicated Halifax Nova Scotia Temple the same day the Regina Saskatchewan Temple was dedicated by President Boyd K. Packer, the first time in Church history two temples were dedicated on the same day
• 24 December – Interviewed on Larry King Live

2000

• 22 February – His book Standing for Something: Ten Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes went on sale
• 27 February – Dedicated Hermosillo Sonora Mexico Temple, the 50th temple he had dedicated or rededicated
• 1–2 April – Presided over first general conference held in new Conference Center
• 6 April – Dedicated Palmyra New York Temple; an estimated 1.3 million members participated in the dedication in stake centers in six time zones
• 11–18 June – Dedicated Fukuoka Japan Temple (June 11), Adelaide Australia Temple (June 15), Melbourne Australia Temple (June 16) and Suva Fiji Temple (June 18), the first time in Church history a president has ever dedicated four overseas temples in one trip
• 1 October – Dedicated Boston Massachusetts Temple, marking the fulfillment of President Hinckley’s goal to have 100 operating temples by the end of the 20th century
• 8 October – During Sunday morning session of general conference, dedicated 21,000-seat Conference Center as a gathering place for members
• 12 November – Spoke to more than 21,000 young adults at newly dedicated Conference Center and thousands more around the world via satellite — the first meeting of its kind

2001

• 31 March – Announced Perpetual Education Fund during priesthood session of general conference
• 14 September – Appeared on CNN’s Larry King Live and delivered message of hope and comfort to citizens of the United States in the wake of the September 11 attacks
• 21 September – Along with 27 other religious leaders, attended a private prayer meeting for President George W. Bush at the White House

2002

• 7 February – Participated in Olympic torch relay
• 8 February – Met with President Bush and first lady Laura Bush during their visit to Salt Lake City for Olympics

• 9 February – Met with Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations, during his visit to Salt Lake City for Olympics
• 13 February – Met with Susanne Riess-Passer, vice chancellor of Austria, during her visit to Salt Lake City for Olympics
• 22 February – Olympic interview with Tom Brokaw aired on NBC
• 22 February – Met with German President Johannes Rau during his visit to Salt Lake City for Olympics
• 8–24 February – Interviewed by NHK, ORF, ARD, NOS and numerous other international and national media organizations

• 29 April – With Elder Henry B. Eyring, met with Vicente Fox, president of Mexico
• 20 May – With President James E. Faust, met with Patrick Manning, prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago
• 27 June – Dedicated rebuilt Nauvoo Illinois Temple
• 9–10 September – Visited Kiev, Ukraine, and Moscow, Russia, becoming the first Church president to visit those nations

2003

• 8 February – On the 125th anniversary of the Primary, addressed nearly one million Latter-day Saint children around the world during historic satellite broadcast from the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah

2004

• 11 January – Met with Ghana president John Agyekum Kufuor following the dedication of the Accra Ghana Temple
• 6 April – President Hinckley’s wife, Marjorie Pay Hinckley, passed away at age 92
• 23 June – Was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in the White House

2005

• 12 March – The First Presidency observes ten years together
• 2-3 April – President Hinckley delivers a powerful message on gambling during the 175th Annual General Conference
• 22 May – President Hinckley dedicates the Church’s 120th temple in San Antonio, Texas

• 23 June – President Hinckley celebrates his 95th birthday
• 31 July – 9 August – Traveled nearly 25,000 miles on a seven-nation tour to Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, China, India, and Africa

2006

• 31 August – President George W. Bush visited the First Presidency

2007

• 31 March – Salt Lake Tabernacle opened after a two-year renovation and seismic upgrade
• 26 June – Announced Church membership has surpassed 13-million
• 26 June – Announced one-millionth missionary since The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in 1830

• 6 October – Announced Elder Henry B. Eyring as Second Counselor in the First Presidency and Elder Quentin L. Cook as new apostle

2008

• 27 January – Died at his apartment in downtown Salt Lake City at 7:00 p.m.