The Prophet Who Didn't Make Prophecies: Gordon B. Hinckley Dies at 97

I wasn't going to post about it. I have done a good job just letting Mormonism fall by the wayside and move on with more interesting things in my life. I consider myself to be recovered from its influence (except for the occasional clashes of opinion given forth by members of my family who are still involved in it).

Late Sunday night, the leader of the Mormon religion, Gordon B. Hinckley, passed away at the old age of 97, after battling colon cancer. During this period of time between the passing of one "prophet" and the installation of a new "prophet", the body of the church is in a slight state of upheaval. True, by tradition, the next in line is the President of the Quorum of 12, and that would be Thomas Monson. But, Boyd K. Packer, who has been acting President since Thomas Monson has been 1st counselor to the past three "prophets", could be named the next "prophet", because he is older than Monson and has served in the capacity of President of the Quorum for longer than Monson. A person like Packer is likely to even argue the case for himself, and could cause discord and even a schizm within the Quorum who is supposed to be receiving "divine inspiration" regarding the next to be called "Prophet, Seer and Revelator".

I can only hope for such a thing. It would demonstrate that the leaders are merely men, and Jesus doesn't have any say in the matter.

What is a prophet? One would assume that he has the ability to "speak with God, receive instructions from God, or be able to warn of troublesome events". Gordon Hinckley, like all of his predecessors, had neither the ability to see future events, but he also did not even know basic fundamental teachings of his predecessors, and denied many times in public discourse that such things as: "Man is what God once was." and "Blacks are never to receive the priesthood power because of their linage from Cain." These are truths that Brigham Young taught from the pulpit, and all his successors for over 100 years taught and believed, and sent their missionaries out to preach to all the world.

During the course of his "calling", he preferred to be called President of the Church. He shied away from the title of Prophet. He knew in his heart that he didn't have the power to lead by divine providence, only by precedent and tradition had he been handed the reigns of the leadership in the Mormon religion. And, the next "prophet" will be named in the same way, without having to demonstrate one iota of ability to make prophecies, or even have a bright light shine down on him from above, with a heavenly angel declaring that he shall be the chosen seer. It seems a shame that nobody else gets to have the scene with God and Jesus, just Joseph Smith (and we have his word on that).

I personally can't believe how many people are actually surprised that he died. He was 97 years old. He had cancer. It's a no-brainer.

While I'm here, I thought I would bring with me some quotes from Gordon through the years, and then maybe somebody out there can explain to me what exactly makes him so special, and why he gets the title of "prophet".


"Now we are at war. Great forces have been mobilized and will continue to be. Political alliances are being forged. We do not know how long this conflict will last. We do not know what it will cost in lives and treasure. We do not know the manner in which it will be carried out. It could impact the work of the Church in various ways."

"No one knows how long it will last. No one knows precisely where it will be fought. No one knows what it may entail before it is over. We have launched an undertaking the size and nature of which we cannot see at this time."

"I do not know what the future holds. I do not wish to sound negative, but I wish to remind you of the warnings of scripture and the teachings of the prophets which we have had constantly before us."

"Now, I do not wish to be an alarmist. I do not wish to be a prophet of doom. I am optimistic. I do not believe the time is here when an all-consuming calamity will overtake us. I earnestly pray that it may not. There is so much of the Lord’s work yet to be done. We, and our children after us, must do it. I can assure you that we who are responsible for the management of the affairs of the Church will be prudent and careful as we have tried to be in the past. The tithes of the Church are sacred."
- The Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Times in Which We Live,” October 2001 General Conference (Ensign, Nov. 2001, Page 72)


"I hope that prayer will take on a new luster in our lives. None of us knows what lies ahead. We may speculate, but we do not know."
- The Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, October 2001 General Conference “Till We Meet Again,” (Ensign, Nov. 2001, Page 89)

During an CNN interview after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Larry King asked Hinckley if God could have prevented the attacks:

KING: President Hinckley, though, couldn't He (God) have prevented this?

HINCKLEY: Oh, I suppose so. I believe He's all powerful, yes. I don't know His will. I don't know how He operates.
- Larry King Live CNN Interview, September 14, 2001,
link here

"Brigham Young said if you went to Heaven and saw God it would be Adam and Eve. I don't know what he meant by that." Pointing to a grim-faced portrait of the Lion of the Lord, as Young was called, Hinckley said, "There he is, right there. I'm not going to worry about what he said about those things." I asked whether Mormon theology was a form of polytheism. "I don't have the remotest idea what you mean," Hinckley said impatiently."
- Hinckley Interview in "Lives of the Saint", New Yorker, January 2002
link here

"Beyond the wonderful and descriptive words found in sections 76 and 137 [D&C 76; D&C 137] we know relatively little concerning the celestial kingdom and those who will be there. At least some of the rules of eligibility for acceptance into that kingdom are clearly set forth, but other than that, we are given little understanding."

"The next question you ask is why Eve was created from Adam. I can only respond that an all-wise Creator did it that way...."

"Now, Virginia, you call attention to the statement in the scriptures that Adam should rule over Eve. (See Gen. 3:16.) You ask why this is so. I do not know."

"You ask whether men are more important than women. I am going to turn that question back to you. Would any of us be here, either men or women, without the other?"
- The Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, November 1991 Young Womens Conference, “Daughters of God,” (Ensign, Nov. 1991, Page 97)

Question: "There are some significant differences in your beliefs [and other Christian churches]. For instance, don't Mormons believe that God was once a man?"

Hinckley: "I wouldn't say that. There was a little couplet coined, "As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become." Now that's more of a couplet than anything else. That gets into some pretty deep theology that we don't know very much about."
- Interviewing Gordon B. Hinckley, San Francisco Chronicle, April 13, 1997, p 3/Z1

From an interview Jan 29th, 2002 conducted by reporter Helmut Nemetschek, ZDF television, Germany, at Salt Lake City, Utah, in the Church Administration Building:

Question: "Until 1978 no person of color attained the priesthood in your church. Why it took so long time to overcome the racism?"

Hinckley: "I don’t know. I don’t know. (long pause) I can only say that. (long pause) But it’s here now. We’re carrying on a very substantial work on Africa for instance and in Brazil. We’re working among their people developing them."

Question: "Now, Mr. President, one question which is a little bit complicated for me to understand but I heard it an one colleague asked me to ask you. What will be your position when DNA analysis will show that in history there never had been an immigration from Israel to North America? It could be that scientists will find out?"

GBH: "It hasn’t happened. That hasn’t been determined yet. All I can say is that’s speculative. No one really knows that, the answer to that. Not at this point."
- Interview Jan 29th, 2002 conducted by reporter Helmut Nemetschek, ZDF television, Germany, at Salt Lake City, Utah, in the Church Administration Building.
link here

From an interview on the Australian Broadcasting Company's Sunday night television show COMPASS:

COMPASS:: So in retrospect was the Church wrong in that [denying blacks the priesthood]?

HINCKLEY: No I don't think it was wrong. It, things, various things happened in different periods. There's a reason for them.

COMPASS: What was the reason for that?

HINCKLEY: I don't know what the reason was.

COMPASS: Is it a problem for the Church that it is still.. has a tag of being racist?

HINCKLEY: No, I don't think so. I don't see that anymore.

- Australian Broadcasting Company, COMPASS, April 8, 2005


Question: "Is this the teaching of the church today, that God the Father was once a man like we are?"

Hinckley: "I don't know that we teach it. I don't know that we emphasize it. I haven't heard it discussed for a long time in public discourse. I don't know. I don't know all the circumstances under which that statement was made. I understand the philosophical background behind it. But I don't know a lot about it and I don't know that others know a lot about it."
- Interviewing Gordon B. Hinckley, Time Magazine, Aug 4, 1997
link here


When asked about the church's posture towards Homosexuals, Hinckley said he knows they "have a problem." So Larry King asked him if they were born with this "problem:"

KING: A problem they caused, or they were born with?

HINCKLEY: I don't know. I'm not an expert on these things. I don't pretend to be an expert on these things. The fact is, they have a problem.
- Larry King Live CNN Interview, December 26, 2004,
link here


Regarding the Mountian Meadows Massacre, the Prophet said: "No one can explain what happened in these meadows 142 years ago. We may speculate, but we do not know. We do not understand it. We cannot comprehend it. We can only say that the past is long since gone."
- The Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, Mountain Meadows Massacre Monument Ceremony, September 11th, 1999,
link here


When is a "prophet" speaking as a man? Apparently every time he opens his mouth...