Hinckley
SALT LAKE CITY (AP):
Thousands of be-lievers were in mourning yesterday following the death of Gordon B. Hinckley, the head of the Mormon church who added millions of new members and laboured long to burnish the faith's image as a world religion. An announcement of his successor was not expected for days.
Hinckley, the 15th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died Sunday of complications arising from old age, church spokesman Mike Otterson said. He was 97.
Praised by Bush
In a statement, President George W. Bush praised Hinckley as a "deeply patriotic man''.
''While serving for over seven decades in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gordon demonstrated the heart of a servant and the wisdom of a leader. He was a tireless worker and a talented communicator who was respected in his community and beloved by his congregation,'' Bush said.
The church presidency is a lifetime position. Before Hinckley, the oldest church president was David O. McKay who was 96 when he died in 1970.
Hinckley, a grandson of Mormon pioneers, was president for nearly 13 years. He took over as president and prophet on March 12, 1995, and oversaw one of the greatest periods of expansion in church history. The number of temples worldwide more than doubled, from 49 to more than 120 and church membership grew from about nine million to about 13 million.
Dozens of mourners gathered Sunday night outside Mormon church headquarters to honour Hinckley. College students sang hymns by the light of their cellphones.
Hinckley became by far his church's most travelled leader in history. The number of Mormons outside the United States surpassed that of American Mormons for the first time since the church, the most successful faith born in the United States, was founded in 1830.
Hinckley worked to show that his faith was far removed from its peculiar and polygamous roots. Still, during his tenure, the Roman Catholic Church, Southern Baptist Convention and United Methodist Church the three largest US denominations each declared that Mormon doctrines depart from mainstream Christianity.
