During the 35 years that I've worked at Church News, I've traveled to many events with President and Sister Hinckley. In the days before he had a private jet at his disposal, we often were on the same plane, rode in the same vehicles, and ate at the same tables. I'm hard pressed to relate just one story of my travels and associations with President and Sister Hinckley.
One experience that I remember with fondness is a visit to Preston, Lancashire, England.
In July 1987 President Hinckley went to England for events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the beginning of missionary work in the British Isles. One of the events was the dedication of a marker in Avenham Park along the bank of the River Ribble at Preston.
President Hinckley reveled in returning to Preston, where he had served as a missionary 54 years earlier. He spoke of his walks along the River Ribble, where the first baptisms in the British Isles took place on July 30, 1837. I was an eye witness to President Hinckley's sentimental journey back to his mission field as I rode with him and Sister Hinckley around Preston and from Preston to Birmingham for a meeting with members of the Church.
Peter Treblecock, who was then bishop of the Preston Ward, had arranged for President and Sister Hinckley to be driven to some sites of interest to the history of the Church in Preston. Bishop Treblecock sat in the passenger seat in front; President and Sister Hinckley and I were in the back seat. As we started out, President Hinckley told Bishop Treblecock that there was a particular place he'd like to visit, of which the bishop was probably unaware. President Hinckley then gave directions to the driver, telling him what street to take and where to turn.
We ended up at 15 Wadham Road, a tidy home of red brick, white stucco and sparkling windows. Bishop Treblecock seemed puzzled; this address wasn't on any list of sites of Church significance. "I lived here when I was a missionary," President Hinckley said.
I felt a twinge of photographer's excitement: "A great photo opportunity!" I surmised. I asked if President Hinckley and Sister Hinckley would pose for a photo in front of the house. He said they'd be happy to do so.
As we were preparing to take the photo, the resident of the home, Eleanor Porter, came outside to greet us, obviously curious about her unannounced visitors. President Hinckley introduced himself and said he had lived in the house as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He told her when he had served in Preston and said that he had many memories of Preston, and of this house in particular. He asked if he could go inside. Mrs. Porter invited President and Sister Hinckley in. The bishop, the driver and I waited outside.
When President and Sister Hinckley came out, he was misty eyed. He spent a few more minutes with Mrs. Porter, thanking her for her hospitality and telling her how much the visit to her home had meant to him.
Back in the car, President Hinckley took a deep breath, let out a long sigh and began talking. He was quite emotional. He explained that once inside, he had asked Mrs. Porter if he and Sister Hinckley could go upstairs to the bedroom he had occupied. "I had to go upstairs to that room," he said, his voice trembling and his eyes misting. "That is where I experienced a day of decision."
He explained that he had become discouraged as a young missionary because he had arrived in Preston in poor health and no one seemed interested in hearing his message. "I wrote a letter home to my father and told him I felt I was wasting my time and his money. My father wrote back a very short letter: 'Dear Gordon, I have your letter. I have only one suggestion: Forget yourself and go to work.'
"I went upstairs to that bedroom and got on my knees, and said to the Lord, 'I will try to forget myself and go to work. I will try to lose my life in Thy service, but I need help.' That was my day of decision."
President Hinckley told us that marvelous things had happened to him since then, and that he had traveled throughout the world on the Lord's errand. "And it all started here in Preston," he said.
I had never heard that account, but in coming years I heard him speak of it many times and it has become a classic pertaining to missionary work. Each time I hear it repeated, I remember that July day in 1987 when I sat in the back seat of a car in Preston, England, with President and Sister Hinckley and heard him tell of that turning point in his life.
E-mail to: gerry@desnews.com
