President Gordon B. Hinckley turned 95 on June 23. In late July and early August, he plans to embark upon a trip around the world, a journey most people his age wouldn't even think about and, truth be told, is daunting for many half his age.
In a meeting with members of the news media in the Church Administration Building on June 20, he spoke, among other topics, about his birthday and the celebration of it in the Conference Center on July 22. After the party, he said, he plans to travel on Church business.
The main purpose of his travels will be to dedicate the Aba Nigeria Temple, but he is taking a roundabout route in order to "take care of other business in other places," he said. Stops en route to Nigeria will include Vladivostok, Russia; Seoul, Korea; Taipei, Taiwan; Hong Kong, China; New Delhi, India; and Nairobi, Kenya. There will be brief stops elsewhere for refueling and rest. "That's my 95th-year trip," he said.
When a member of the media commented that the trip seemed rather ambitious for someone embarking upon his 96th year and might be more suited to someone in his 40s, President Hinckley replied, "I say it's work that keeps you alive — challenge, optimism. If you dwell on the negative, it will hurt you, it will depress you. It will really destroy you. If you dwell on the positive and work at it, seek to bring it to pass, it will enliven you, it will brighten you and make you younger."
Work was one of the topics most often mentioned during the press conference and, he concurred, is what helps keep him so full of energy.
"When you get to this age, people look at you as if you were an artifact in a museum," he said. "The key, the secret, when you get to this age, is to keep busy. Work. Work. Work is the best antidote for loneliness, for incapacities, for any other thing that happens to impede your progress. You just have to keep working. That's the only antidote I know. And that's been the secret of my conduct, particularly since I lost my beloved wife (on April 6, 2004). It's work that has saved me and been an offset to the sorrow and loneliness that I've felt."
In response to a question about what he might be doing had he not been called into a lifetime of service in the Church, President Hinckley said, "I wouldn't be living this long. It's those things that have kept me alive. People die when they don't have any challenge. I've had a challenge all these years. That keeps me going. It's wonderful, really. I'm so grateful to have something to do every morning when I wake up. I love a life when there's something to do. There is always more to be done than I get done. I have scores of projects in my mind. I know a lot of things I would like to do."
In addressing the topic of aging and realizing his mortality, President Hinckley said, "I have assurance of the immortality of the human soul. There isn't any question in my mind that we will go on living after we leave here. I don't dwell on it a lot. I just accept it and move forward from day to day. When all is said and done, you get up each morning, and if you have the strength to get out of bed, you go to work and keep living."
Asked about the value of taking time to ponder things, President Hinckley said, "Ponder and then go to work. Think about your problem. Take time to think and pray and consider. Just ponder, arrive at conclusions, then consult with others and then move ahead. That's the way we try to do things."
The topic of today's youth arose twice. Asked how a 95-year-old leader can identify with 12-to-18-year-olds, "You just talk to them, have fun with them. Enjoy them. Just have a good time with them. They're just younger than you are, and you have to kind of step down to them a little bit. That's all right. I have a gang of them among my posterity. They're all wonderful kids and we have a great time."
Later in the press conference, he said, "I think we have in the Church the finest, strongest generation of young people that we have ever had." He said they are bright, smart, well educated, are respectful and ambitious, "and they're on the right track. It's true that a few of them fall between the cracks, and that's unfortunate. By and large, I'm satisfied that we've never had a generation as fine as the generation we have today," he declared.
When asked what legacy he will leave, President Hinckley said that he has not worked alone. "We all work together," he said. "I've had many able and wonderful associates." He added, "During the years of my presidency, I have seen some really remarkable things." He spoke of the growth of the Church; construction of temples, meetinghouses and other buildings, including the Conference Center; historic restoration work; distribution of the Book of Mormon; advances in educational institutions, and humanitarian relief.
"I think that it's been a wonderful era in the history of the Church and, hopefully, that momentum will continue into the future," he said.
Responding to a question about how he uses his leadership to address difficult challenges in society, President Hinckley said that he has many opportunities to speak in many places and in many circumstances.
"I hope that my voice is a voice of encouragement and hope and bringing out the good that can be enjoyed in life. I see so much of domestic violence and child abuse and all these terrible things that are going on. It breaks my heart, and I try with all the powers that I have to give a message of hope and reconciliation, and peace and love and harmony among the people.
"I had the good fortune to marry a truly wonderful woman, with whom I lived for 67 years. Our marriage was idyllic. We didn't always have a lot, but we had each other. We had our children and we had a good time, and we lived happily together. I can honestly say that I have no recollection of ever any difficulty of any serious nature between us. I wish with all my heart that every family could live in such fashion. If that could happen, it would be a vast and different world."
Asked if there is anything he still hopes to do or if there are things he is concerned will happen or that he worries about, President Hinckley said, "There are lots of things I hope will happen. We have, for instance, almost doubled the number of temples since I have been president. I hope that will continue. We will go forward with that. I won't tell you where we're going to build them, but we have some in mind, and will continue with that.
"Now, I don't worry much about the future. I'm an optimist. I just think that come what may, this work will go on, will survive. We will continue to do good, and will grow as we have done in the past, and possibly at a more exponential rate than we have in the past."
Skip Moss, who has had varying disabilities most of his 27 years and whose birthday is also June 23, was an observer at the press conference. In his behalf, the Church News asked President Hinckley what counsel he has for those who carry heavier burdens than others through life from challenges such as birth defects, accidents or loss of loved ones. President Hinckley said, "My heart reaches out to all who are unfortunate, who have various problems, who are bowed down with grief, who just seem to have so many difficulties. You just have to make the best of it. You do the very best you can with what you have, and leave the rest to the Lord. That's really all you can do."
Asked if this is the life that he imagined for himself, President Hinckley replied, "Oh, no. Never in my fondest dreams and hopes as a young man did I ever think of such a thing. I say not. No."
Looking at the gathering of news media representatives, he said, "At one time I had an ambition to do what you're doing. Think of what a wonderful thing it was that I escaped that."
At the conclusion of the press conference near noon, President Hinckley was asked how he feels at age 95. "If I get my lunch, I'll feel better," he responded, then added, "I feel all right, for my age."
He commented on the cane, which he often has a tendency to carry parallel to the ground rather than use as a walking stick. "I walk with a cane," he said. "That's just how I stay in style. Brigham Young used a cane. John Taylor used a cane. Wilford Woodruff used a cane. Lorenzo Snow used a cane. I wanted to be in style."
E-mail to: gerry@desnews.com
