President Gordon B. Hinckley, in his address during the priesthood session of the April 1996 general conference, focused on the interview he had with Mike Wallace for broadcast on the CBS television program "60 Minutes." In introducing his remarks, President Hinckley spoke of his efforts to get out among the members of the Church and of how, during his travels, he has been interviewed by many media representatives. He pointed out that while those interviews aren't always exactly enjoyable, they do serve a purpose.

"We have something that the world needs to hear about, and these interviews afford an opportunity to give voice to that," he said.

President Hinckley's openness has been a leading factor in the Church coming out of obscurity at an accelerated pace during his five years as president. He and other Church leaders have met with countless media representatives and the media — print and broadcast — have published news of the Church throughout the world.

The highest profile events were three nationally broadcast interviews President Hinckley gave. His meeting with Mr. Wallace resulted in a segment of the April 7, 1996, "60 Minutes." That was followed by two interviews with Larry King on his programs broadcast on CNN radio and television networks. The first was on Sept. 8, 1998, and the second was Christmas Eve of 1999.

Other interviews with media, business and government representatives have been held by General Authorities over the past five years through a "bridge-building" campaign set up by Edelman Public Relations Worldwide with corporate headquarters in Chicago and New York. The Church engaged that firm to help it increase its public exposure in a positive way.

Besides such outreach, Church events and expansion during President Hinckley's tenure have attracted the attention of the world. For example:

• A dramatic increase in temple building has led to local media coverage. For example, the dedication of the Billings Montana Temple resulted in a cover story in the city's daily Billings Gazette and in a cover photo and four inside pages about the temple and the Church in a weekly visitors guide.

• Coverage of the construction of the new Conference Center has included a photo and report in The New York Times that covered two-thirds of the front page of it's "National Report" section.

• Interest in the Church sparked by its coverage of the Pioneer Sesquicentennial led to Austria's largest circulation newspaper cooperating with members of the Church there in a nationwide family history project.

  The Pioneer Sesquicentennial, particularly the 1996-1997 re-enactment of the first pioneer wagon train to the Salt Lake Valley, generated a remarkable amount of media coverage around the world. More than 1,000 newspaper articles were written about the trek, and there were also numerous magazine articles published. Many television broadcasts originated from the trail and documentaries were made.

While the Church may still be relatively unknown to many people, President Hinckley's encouragement to actively spread its message whenever and wherever possible will increasingly bring it out of obscurity and into the light.