An idyllic childhood filled with the adventures and enthusiasm of youth characterized the early life of President Howard W. Hunter.

The first president of the Church born in the 20th century, he was reared on the outskirts of an Idaho city where his traits of kindness, energy and love of being active emerged early.On Nov. 14, 1907, in a small corner house in Boise, Idaho, the first baby of John William and Nellie Rasmussen Hunter was born. They named the baby Howard William. Because his father was not a member of the Church, the baby was later given a blessing by the local bishop.

When Howard was 2, his family moved to a new subdivision on the outskirts of town. There, while Will Hunter built the home, Howard pounded on nails on the floor with a small hammer. Their new home provided a window on the outdoors for Howard and his sister, Dorothy, two years younger. They explored irrigation ditches, thickets and cattail patches. During their early years, the two Hunter children grew fond of animals and kept pets.

Once Howard saw neighborhood boys tormenting a cat, "entertaining themselves by putting the animal in a sack and throwing it into the canal. When the kitten crawled out, they threw it back again. . . . Howard rescued the animal and took it home to dry out.

"It won't live," his mother said, but he wouldn't give up.

"Mother, we have to try," he told her.

They placed the cat under the stove where it soon revived and became a household pet for many years. (Howard W. Hunter, by Eleanor Knowles, Deseret Book, 1994, p. 22.)

"There was a wooded area there that I loved to go to after school or on Saturdays," recalled Elder Hunter many years later in an interview with the Friend. "My dog was my pal, and we went there together and sailed boats or made whistles out of willows. We watched the beavers make dams and the fish swim in the water. We watched the birds build nests and hatch their young."

Howard developed a reputation for good manners and hard work. These were blended as he joined a Scout troop sponsored by the local ward. He became Boise's second Eagle Scout in 1923.

About this same time, he entered a sales contest sponsored by a music store and eventually won second prize, a marimba. His mastery of this instrument led to his learning to play drums, saxophone, clarinet and trumpet as well as the piano and violin. A year later he organized the "Hunter's Croonaders" band which performed in hotels, dance clubs and even aboard a cruise ship to Asia.

As a young man he held a number of jobs in Idaho. Despite the fact that he worked six days a week, his wages were still low. So in 1928 he traveled to Southern California to visit a friend he'd met while on the cruise ship. This visit turned into a permanent move where the young man took a number of jobs, ranging from performing with a band to selling shoes.

Later, as an aspiring young banker, he dated Clara May (Claire) Jeffs. In his 24th year - 1931 - they became serious about marriage. So, with mission hopes dim, they decided to be married. Their partnership in a land of opportunity began a future of remarkable accomplishment for the couple.