White House visits by Church leaders
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Church presidents have a history of being received in the White House, dating back to 1839 when Joseph Smith met with President Martin Van Buren when the Prophet pled the case for Latter-day Saints who had been persecuted and driven from the state of Missouri. President Van Buren rebuffed the Prophet.
In more recent years, President Ezra Taft Benson made his first trip outside Utah after becoming president of the Church when he visited President Ronald Reagan in the White House in January 1986.
President Gordon B. Hinckley visited the White House five times. The first three visits were with Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. President Hinckley visited the White House twice during President George W. Bush's administration. The first time was in 2001 when President Bush invited a number of religious leaders to meet in the aftermath of Sept. 11 terrorist attacks; the second time was in 2004 when President Bush awarded President Hinckley the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
