BEIJING,
Jan. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- Gordon B. Hinckley, the Mormon church's oldest president
died of complications in Salt Lake City on Sunday at the age of 97, media
reported Monday.
Hinckley was president for nearly 13 years since he
took over as president and prophet on March 12, 1995.
During his presidency, the number of temples
worldwide more than doubled, from 49 to more than 120 and church membership grew
from about 9 million to more than 12 million.
Born on June 23, 1910, in Salt Lake City, Hinckley
graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in arts. He planned to
attend graduate school in journalism but a church mission took him to the
Britain.
His grandfather knew church founder Joseph Smith and
followed Brigham Young west to the Great Salt Lake Basin.
He was frequently under the influence of the story of
the Mormon heritage of pioneer sacrifice and its importance as a model for the
modern church.
Hinckley had been diagnosed with diabetes and was
hospitalized in January 2006 for the removal of a cancerous growth in his large
intestine. In April of the same year, he told a church conference he was
"totally in the hands of the Lord."
Before Hinckley, the oldest church president was
David O. McKay who died at 96 in 1970.
(Agencies)
