President Gordon B. Hinckley, leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sat down today with members of the media to reflect on his life and service as he nears his 95th birthday on Thursday.
President Hinckley announced that he will make an around-the-world trip in late July and early August to dedicate a new temple in Aba, Nigeria, and visit with Church members in Russia, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Italy and France.
The leader of the world's 12.2 million Latter-day Saints attributed his remarkable energy and vitality to keeping busy.
"Work, work, work is the best antidote for loneliness, for incapacity, for any other thing that happens to impede your progress," President Hinckley said.
"It's keeping busy that's kept me alive," he added. "I've had a challenge all of these years, and that keeps me going."
During the interview, President Hinckley discussed the continuing growth of the Church during his 10 years of leadership. He pointed to increases in Church membership, in temple and meetinghouse construction, in humanitarian aid, in distribution of the Book of Mormon and in student enrollment in the Church education system as indicators of progress.
When asked what he wants
people to understand about the Church he leads, he responded, "I'd
like to speak to the whole world and declare the goodness of this
Church and the strength of its programs and the desire of its
leaders to cultivate peace and goodwill and harmony and good
relationships among the diverse peoples of the world."