Ends of the earth were destinations of prophet
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At the end of a long journey that had taken President Gordon B. Hinckley to the corners of the earth — one of hundreds while serving as the Church's 15th president — he stood at general conference and reiterated a firm statement:
"I do not enjoy travel."
The statement was ironic for the most-traveled Church president in history, who traversed the world, logging more than 1 million miles and visiting more than 160 countries, many of them dozens of times.
"But," President Hinckley added during the 1996 address, "I do enjoy looking into the faces and shaking the hands of faithful Latter-day Saints."
Since being set apart as president of the Church on March 12, 1995, President Hinckley set out at a vigorous pace — determined to meet and encourage Latter-day Saints across the globe.
"If it were possible I would turn all of the day-to-day administrative matters of the Church over to others, and then I would spend my time out among our people, visiting those in small branches as well as those in large stakes," said President Hinckley after rededicating the Freiberg Germany Temple in 2002. "I would wish to gather with the Saints wherever they may be. I feel that every member of this Church is deserving of a visit. I regret that because of physical limitations I can no longer shake hands with everybody. But I can look them in the eye with gladness in my heart and express my love and leave a blessing."
As a result of that desire, President Hinckley's travels became legion.
He became the first Church president to visit mainland China, going there in May 1996, the first Church president to visit West Africa, in February 1998 and the first Church president to visit Russia and Ukraine, former republics of what once formed part of the Soviet Union, in September 2002.
During his travels he met with media representatives and government leaders; he was among 26 religious leaders, for example, who met at the White House in Washington, D.C., with U.S. President George W. Bush regarding the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington D.C., on Sept. 11, 2001. More important, he dedicated dozens of temples and addressed millions of Church members.
His trips were long and arduous. In May 1997, President Hinckley toured the South Pacific nations of New Zealand and Australia, speaking 15 times in seven cities to a total of more than 55,000 members. Three months later he delivered 12 addresses to an estimated 56,000 people in four nations of South America. And in October of that year he addressed 52,500 members in eight islands of the Pacific.
In February 1998, he undertook a nine-day tour of Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The next month he addressed more than 53,000 members in 10 cities of northern Mexico.
The rapid pace continued throughout his presidency. In the summer of 2005, at the age of 95, he traveled 24,995 miles on a tour of Asia and Africa. On the around-the-world, seven-nation, nine-day tour, he spoke to members in Vladivostok, Russia; Seoul, Korea, Taipei, Taiwan; Hong Kong, China; Delhi, India; Nairobi, Kenya; and Aba, Nigeria.
Travel, at times, was a hardship for President Hinckley and his wife, Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley.
In April 2004, President Hinckley announced that his wife, for the first time in 46 years, was not in attendance at general conference. "Earlier this year, we were in Africa to dedicate the Accra Ghana Temple," he explained. "On leaving there we flew to Sal, a barren island in the Atlantic, where we met with members of a local branch. We then flew to St. Thomas, an island in the Caribbean. There we met with a few others of our members. We were on our way home when she collapsed with weariness. She has had a difficult time ever since." Sister Hinckley died two days later, April 6, 2004.
Still, President Hinckley expressed gratitude for his numerous travel opportunities, which allowed him to see many of the world's glorious sites.
"As a result of good health, long life, and various opportunities and obligation arising from responsibilities in the Church," wrote President Hinckley in his book, Standing for Something, "...I have walked on China's Great Wall, toured Vietnam during its season of intense conflict and seen first-hand the spoils and ravages of war, listened to bullets zing by my hotel window during a coup in Seoul, mourned with the survivors of a deadly shipwreck in the South Pacific, searched for earthquake victims in Peru and viewed hurricane devastation in Honduras and Nicaragua.
"Such experiences have taken me across the seas south and west and east. The world's sights have been glorious to behold. I have wondered at the symmetry of Fujiyama in Japan and marveled at the transcendent beauty of the great mountains of Switzerland, France, and Italy. I have seen the Taj Mahal by moonlight in Agra, India; the orchards of Russia in the bloom of spring; and the rice lands of China at harvest time. I have admired the pampas of Argentina and the towering peaks of Bolivia, and walked in the great and beautiful cities of Europe. I have known the beauties of New Zealand, the expanse of Australia, the highlands of Andes, the exotic fauna of the Amazon, and the peaks and plains of every nation in South America. I love the peoples of the world!"
In addition to traveling the globe, President Hinckley also found he could reach the membership of the Church through electronic means. On Jan. 11, 2003, the first global leadership training meeting was held for priesthood leaders and transmitted by satellite in 56 languages to more than 97 percent of the Church's priesthood leaders. And the first satellite broadcast for children commemorated the 125th anniversary of the Primary organization Feb. 8, 2003.
In addition, members worldwide participated in the dedications of the Palmyra New York, the Nauvoo Illinois, and the Winter Quarters Nebraska temples via the Church satellite system. Later, President Hinckley participated in stake and regional conferences throughout the world via satellite broadcasts.
During each address, President Hinckley influenced members on a personal level. In 1998, for example, President Hinckley toured areas devastated by Hurricane Mitch in Nicaragua and Honduras and spoke to 19,000 members. In all, the Church sent 840,000 pounds of relief supplies to the affected areas.
After the trip, President Hinckley talked during the annual First Presidency Christmas Devotional of a 2-year-old girl he met in Honduras who was left an orphan in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch. "I would hope that at this Christmas season, when there will be no gift-giving among these devastated people, this small orphan girl might receive perhaps a little taste of candy, something sweet and delicious. I must see that that happens," he said.
By noon the next day, representatives of five major candy companies had contacted Church headquarters, offering to send candy to Central America. Also, members of the Church — individuals, families, wards and stakes — and many who are members of other churches responded, dropping off packages of candy and toys to be included in shipments to Central America.
"People are the same everywhere, really," said President Hinckley during an Aug. 6, 2005, press conference in Aba, Nigeria. "There isn't a place I've been across this broad world that I have not met people whom I love. It doesn't matter the slant of their eyes, the color of their skin or anything of that kind; what matters is the kindness of their hearts."
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