For the last several months I have spent reading the conference talks given by President Gordon B. Hinckley. He was the prophet of my mission and for most of my adult life.  President Hinckley’s charisma and powerful stories both moved and inspired me on numerous occasions.
While courting my wife, we visited his funeral memorial and witnessed the hollow shell of a once great and powerful prophet of God. His lifeless body looked almost fake and plastic as he slumbered in the casket. I had never been that close in proximity to President Hinckley or any prophet for that matter. Yet, even in death President Hinckley seemed to be smiling, his wit and humor seemed to push beyond the boundaries of death and time.
This definitely is true with the countless words President Hinckley has shared over the years. From my studies I learned that during his life that President Hinckley spoke 237 times in General Conference. In fact, from the time he was called as an assistant to the 1st presidency in 1958 until he died in 2008 he spoke in every single General Conference, with the only exception of the  October 1961 General Conference.
Incidentally, this was the conference he was called and ordained as an apostle. President David O. McKay, the prophet of the time, probably felt that the new calling was overwhelming enough without adding the requirement to speak (though, I have no doubt that President Hinckley would have gladly spoke).
Below I have collected and linked to every single conference talk given by President Hinckley. LDS.org actually only has the General Conferences from 1971 to present day. So, I had to hunt down the rest, which I found at the LDS Scripture Citation Index (another great site to find old talks is the Corpus of LDS General Conference, which lets you see how many times any particular word was mentioned in General Conference).
I initially wanted to read every single talk before publishing this post, but I quickly realized that at the rate I am going it will be 10 years before I finish. So, I plan to update this post as I add new quotes, search tags, thoughts, and even word clouds.
President Hinckley has offered so much wisdom throughout his vast life that I invite any and all to share in the comments their favorite quotes (both from General Conference and elsewhere). Â ~Paul
MY RESEARCH RESOURCES
- MY GOOGLE SEARCH
- ARCHIVED CONFERENCE REPORTS
- HISTORY OF PRESIDENT HINCKLEY
- BYU GENERAL CONFERENCE DATABASE
- LDS SCRIPTURE CITATION INDEX
- CORPUS OF LDS GENERAL CONFERENCE
- OFFICIAL CHURCH SITE
GENERAL CONFERENCE TALKS FROM GORDON B. HINCKLEY (1958 to 2007)
1958
- APRIL:Â An Expression of Gratitude
Notable Quote: “No man proceeds alone. We grow according to the help given us by those who teach us and lead us.”
Tags: Gratitude, Examples, Respect, Teachers
- OCTOBER:Â God’s Kingdom Is Here
Notable Quote: “I recall a little widow in New Zealand, the mother of seventeen children. Her husband was gone. A number of her children were gone. As she knelt about the altar with the beautiful children who were left to her and received the assurance that all that she had lost would also be hers, she wept. And all who were with her on that sacred occasion in that dedicated room, wept also. As I have witnessed these and many more inspiring situations during the past six months in these widely scattered lands, I have felt to sing with that convert from the steel mills of Sheffield: “We thank thee, O God, for a Prophet, to guide us in these latter days.”
Tags: Temples, Temple Work, Prophets, Missionary Work
1959
- APRIL:Â Prepare for Missionary Service
Notable Quote: “One of the great compliments paid the Savior was that he taught as one having authority. The missionary who knows scripture and can quote it speaks with the voice of authority. It is not essential to memorize five hundred citations, nor even three hundred. Fifty well chosen verses of scripture will become a remarkably effective tool in the hands of a missionary. May I suggest that in our family night gatherings we make it a project to memorize one scripture citation a week pertinent to this work. At the conclusion of a year our children will have on their lips a fund of scripture which will remain with them throughout their lives.”
Tags: Missionary Work
- OCTOBER:Â The Stick of Joseph
1960
- APRIL:Â The Cornerstone
- OCTOBER:Â “I Have Witnessed Miracles”
1961
- APRIL:Â Ready to Harvest
1962
- APRIL:Â The Church in the Far East
- OCTOBER:Â Report from the Correlation Committee
1963
- APRIL:Â The Force of Family Prayer
- OCTOBER:Â Â “Except the Lord Build the Home’
1964
- APRIL:Â “The Heavens Are Not Stayed”
- OCTOBER:Â Â The Dimension of the Spirit
1965
- APRIL:Â A Principle With Promise
Notable Quote:Â “There is belief but there is no faith. . . One cannot read the testimony [of the Word of Wisdom] without recognizing that true freedom lies in obedience to the counsels of God. It was said of old that “. . . the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light” (Prov. 6:23). The gospel is not a philosophy of repression, as so many regard it. It is a plan of freedom that gives discipline to appetite and direction to behavior. Its fruits are sweet and its rewards are liberal . . .”Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Gal. 5:1). “. . . where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Cor. 3:17).”
Tags: Addiction, Word of Wisdom, Smoking
- OCTOBER:Â A Charter for Youth
Notable Quote:Â Can we expect stability out of instability? Is it any wonder that many of our youth wander in rebellion when they come from homes where there is no evidence of love, where there is a lack of respect one for another, where there is no expression of faith? We hear much these days of the Great Society, and I do not disparage the motives of those who espouse it, but we shall have a great society only as we develop good people, and the source of good people is good homes.
Tags: Youth, Homes, Education, Faith, Patriotism, Rebellion
- OCTOBER:Â Â Mission Calls and Selective Service
1966
- APRIL:Â The Miracle That Is Jesus
- OCTOBER:Â Appreciation for Our Men in Military Service
1967
- APRIL:Â A Challenge From Vietnam
- OCTOBER:Â Feed the Spirit–Nourish the Soul
1968
Notable Quote:Â “I make no defense of the war from this pulpit. There is no simple answer. The problems are complex almost beyond comprehension. I seek only to call your attention to that silver thread, small but radiant with hope, shining through the dark tapestry of war–namely, the establishment of a bridgehead, small and frail now; but which somehow, under the mysterious ways of God, will be strengthened, and from which someday shall spring forth a great work affecting for good the lives of large numbers of our Father’s children who live in that part of the world. Of that I have a certain faith. I have seen a prototype of what will happen as I have witnessed the development of this work in others of the ancient nations of Asia–in Korea, in Taiwan, in Okinawa, in the Philippines, and in Japan, where altogether we now have more than 25,000 Latter-day Saints. This marvelous membership is the sweet fruit of seed once planted in dark years of war and in the troubled days immediately following, when good men of the priesthood, both civilian and military, through the example of their lives and the inspiration of their precepts, laid a foundation on which a great work has been established.”
Tags: Missionary Work, War, Faith
- OCTOBER:Â “Rise, and Stand Upon Thy Feet”
1969
- APRIL:Â The Wonder of Jesus
- OCTOBER:Â “Be Not Afraid, Only Believe”
1970
- APRIL:Â Contend Not With Others, But Pursue a Steady Course
- OCTOBER:Â From My Generation to Yours, With Love
1971
Notable Quote:Â “True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well being of one’s companion. Companionship in marriage is prone to become commonplace and even dull. I know of no more certain way to keep it on a lofty and inspiring plane than for a man occasionally to reflect upon the fact that the help-meet who stands at his side is a daughter of God, engaged with Him in the great creative process of bringing to pass His eternal purposes. I know of no more effective way for a woman to keep ever radiant the love for her husband than for her to look for and emphasize the godly qualities that are a part of every son of our Father and that can be evoked when there is respect and admiration and encouragement. The very processes of such actions will cultivate a constantly rewarding appreciation for one another.”
Tags: Marriage, Husband, Wife, Anger, Prayer, Honesty, Respect, Tithing, Finances
- OCTOBER:Â “If Ye Be Willing and Obedient”
Notable Quote:Â “What marvelous things happen when men walk with faith in obedience to that which is required of them! I recently read the interesting story of Commander William Robert Anderson, the naval officer who took the submarine Nautilus beneath the polar ice from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, a daring and dangerous feat. It recounted a number of other exploits of similar danger. It concluded with a statement that he carried in his wallet a tattered card that had on it these words, which I commend to you: “I believe I am always divinely guided.I believe I will always take the right road.I believe God will always make a way where there is no way.” I too believe that God will always make a way where there is no way. I believe that if we will walk in obedience to the commandments of God, if we will follow the counsel of the priesthood, he will open a way even where there appears to be no way.”
Tags: Faith, Obedience, Relying on the Lord
1972
1973
- APRIL:Â “The True Strength of the Church”
- OCTOBER:Â “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet’
1974
- APRIL:Â “The Marriage That Endures”
- OCTOBER:Â “A City Set Upon a Hill”
1975
- APRIL:Â The Symbol of Christ
- OCTOBER:Â “Opposing Evil”
1976
- APRIL:Â “An Honest Man–God’s Noblest Work’
- OCTOBER:Â “Everything to Gain–Nothing to Lose”
1977
- APRIL:Â “Joseph the Seer”
- OCTOBER:Â Welfare Responsibilities of the Priesthood Quorums
1978
- APRIL:Â Â “Be Not Faithless’
Notable Quote: “To all within the sound of my voice who may have doubts, I repeat the words given Thomas as he felt the wounded hands of the Lord: “Be not faithless, but believing.” Believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the greatest figure of time and eternity. Believe that his matchless life reached back before the world was formed. Believe that he was the Creator of the earth on which we live. Believe that he was Jehovah of the Old Testament, that he was the Messiah of the New Testament, that he died and was resurrected, that he visited these western continents and taught the people here, that he ushered in this final gospel dispensation, and that he lives, the living Son of the living God, our Savior and our Redeemer.”
Tags: Faith, Resurrection, Christ, Thomas, Belief
- OCTOBER:Â “Behold Your Little Ones’
1979
- APRIL:Â And Peter Went Out and Wept Bitterly
- OCTOBER:Â “An Angel from on High, the Long, Long Silence Broke’
1980
- APRIL:Â “What Hath God Wrought through His Servant Joseph!’
- Â OCTOBER:Â “Of You It Is Required to Forgive’
1981
- APRIL:Â The Joseph Smith III Document and the Keys of the Kingdom
- OCTOBER:Â Faith: The Essence of True Religion
- OCTOBER:Â Four B’s for Boys
- OCTOBER: “Charity Never Faileth”
1982
- APRIL:Â Tithing: An Opportunity to Prove Our Faithfulness
- APRIL:Â Five Million Members–A Milestone and Not a Summit
- OCTOBER:Â What This Work Is All About
- OCTOBER:Â The Priesthood of Aaron
- OCTOBER:Â Reach Out in Love and Kindness
1983
- APRIL:Â He Slumbers Not, nor Sleeps
- APRIL:Â Overpowering the Goliaths in Our Lives
- APRIL:Â “Fear Not to Do Good’
- OCTOBER:Â Except Ye Are One
- OCTOBER:Â Be Not Deceived
- OCTOBER:Â God Grant Us Faith
- OCTOBER:Â Let Us Go Forward!
- OCTOBER: Live Up to Your Inheritance
1984
- APRIL:Â The Miracle Made Possible by Faith
- APRIL:Â Special Witnesses for Christ
- APRIL:Â Small Acts Lead to Great Consequences
- OCTOBER:Â The Good and Faithful Servants
- OCTOBER:Â The Cornerstones of Our Faith
- OCTOBER:Â Live the Gospel
- OCTOBER:Â “If Thou Art Faithful’
1985
- APRIL:Â To Please Our Heavenly Father
- APRIL:Â The Victory over Death
- APRIL:Â God Has a Work for Us to Do
- OCTOBER:Â Joined Together in Love and Faith
- OCTOBER:Â Questions and Answers
- OCTOBER:Â Rejoice in This Great Era of Temple Building
- OCTOBER:Â “Let Us Move This Work Forward’
- OCTOBER: Ten Gifts from the Lord
1986
- APRIL:Â The Question of a Mission
- APRIL:Â Come and Partake
- APRIL:Â Solemn Assembly and Sustaining of Church Officers
- OCTOBER:Â The War We Are Winning
- OCTOBER:Â The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
1987
- APRIL:Â Reverence and Morality
- APRIL:Â The Lengthened Shadow of the Hand of God
- OCTOBER:Â Take Not the Name of God in Vain
- OCTOBER:Â “Lord, Increase Our Faith’
1988
- APRIL:Â The Aaronic Priesthood–a Gift from God
- APRIL:Â The Empty Tomb Bore Testimony
- OCTOBER:Â To the Bishops of the Church
- OCTOBER:Â The Healing Power of Christ
1989
- APRIL:Â Magnify Your Calling
- APRIL:Â Let Love Be the Lodestar of Your Life
- OCTOBER:Â The Scourge of Illicit Drugs
- OCTOBER:Â An Ensign to the Nations
- OCTOBER:Â A Word of Benediction
- OCTOBER:Â Rise to the Stature of the Divine within You
1990
- APRIL:Â Keeping the Temple Holy
- APRIL:Â Blessed Are the Merciful
- APRIL:Â “Sacred Resolves’
- APRIL:Â Rise to a Larger Vision of the Work
- OCTOBER:Â “This Work Will Go Forward’
- OCTOBER:Â “In … Counsellors There Is Safety’
- OCTOBER:Â Mormon Should Mean “More Good’
1991
- APRIL:Â The State of the Church
- APRIL:Â What God Hath Joined Together
- APRIL:Â His Latter-day Kingdom Has Been Established
- OCTOBER:Â Christ Is the Light to All Mankind
- OCTOBER:Â Our Solemn Responsibilities
- OCTOBER:Â Our Mission of Saving
- OCTOBER:Â Daughters of God
1992
- APRIL:Â “Believe His Prophets’
- APRIL:Â “A Chosen Generation’
- APRIL:Â Our Great Mission
- OCTOBER:Â Sin Will Not Prevail
- OCTOBER:Â Building Your Tabernacle
- OCTOBER:Â The Church Is on Course
1993
- APRIL:Â Some Lessons I Learned as a Boy
- APRIL:Â This Peaceful House of God
- APRIL:Â “A Prophet’s Testimony’
- OCTOBER:Â My Testimony
- OCTOBER:Â Bring Up a Child in the Way He Should Go
1994
- APRIL:Â God Is at the Helm
- APRIL:Â The Greatest Miracle in Human History
- OCTOBER:Â The Solemn Assembly Sustaining of Church Officers
- OCTOBER:Â Don’t Drop the Ball
- OCTOBER:Â Save the Children
1995
Notable Quote: “We are becoming a great global society. But our interest and concern must always be with the individual. Every member of this church is an individual man or woman, boy or girl. . . This work is concerned with people, each a son or daughter of God. In describing its achievements we speak in terms of numbers, but all of our efforts must be dedicated to the development of the individual. . . Service in behalf of others, study, and prayer lead to faith in this work and then to knowledge of its truth. This has always been a personal pursuit, as it must always be in the future.”
Tags: Missionary work, the Church, individual
- APRIL:Â This Is the Work of the Master
- APRIL:Â We Have a Work to Do
- APRIL:Â The Light within You
- OCTOBER:Â As We Gather Together
- OCTOBER:Â Of Missions, Temples, and Stewardship
- OCTOBER:Â Stay the Course–Keep the Faith
Notable Quote:Â How glorious is the past of this great cause. It is filled with heroism, courage, boldness, and faith. How wondrous is the present as we move forward to bless the lives of people wherever they will hearken to the message of the servants of the Lord. How magnificent will be the future as the Almighty rolls on His glorious work touching for good all who will accept and live His gospel, and even reaching to the eternal blessing of His sons and daughters of all generations through the selfless work of those whose hearts are filled with love for the Redeemer of the world.
Tags: Missionary Work, Optimism, Faith
- OCTOBER:Â The Fabric of Faith and Testimony
- OCTOBER:Â Stand Strong against the Wiles of the World
1996
- APRIL:Â “Be Ye Clean’
- APRIL:Â This Glorious Easter Morn
- APRIL:Â “Remember … Thy Church, O Lord’
- APRIL:Â Stand True and Faithful
- OCTOBER:Â Listen by the Power of the Spirit
- OCTOBER:Â “This Thing Was Not Done in a Corner’
- OCTOBER:Â Women of the Church
- OCTOBER:Â “Reach with a Rescuing Hand’
1997
- APRIL:Â May We Be Faithful and True
- APRIL:Â Converts and Young Men
- APRIL:Â “True to the Faith’
- APRIL: Our Testimony to the World
- OCTOBER:Â Drawing Nearer to the Lord
- OCTOBER:Â Some Thoughts on Temples, Retention of Converts, and Missionary Service
- OCTOBER:Â Look to the Future
- OCTOBER:Â Latter-day Saints in Very Deed
1998
- APRIL:Â We Bear Witness of Him
- APRIL:Â Living Worthy of the Girl You Will Someday Marry
- APRIL:Â Testimony
- APRIL:Â New Temples to Provide “Crowning Blessings’ of the Gospel
- OCTOBER:Â Welcome to Conference
- OCTOBER:Â To the Boys and to the Men
- OCTOBER:Â What Are People Asking about Us?
- OCTOBER:Â Benediction
- OCTOBER:Â Walking in the Light of the Lord
1999
- APRIL:Â The Work Moves Forward
- APRIL:Â The Shepherds of the Flock
- APRIL:Â “He Is Not Here, but Is Risen’
- APRIL:Â Thanks to the Lord for His Blessings
- APRIL:Â Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep
- OCTOBER:Â Welcome to Conference
- OCTOBER:Â Why We Do Some of the Things We Do
- OCTOBER:Â At the Summit of the Ages
- OCTOBER:Â Good-bye to This Wonderful Old Tabernacle
2000
- APRIL:Â To All the World in Testimony
- APRIL:Â The Stake President
- APRIL:Â My Testimony
- APRIL:Â A Time of New Beginnings
- OCTOBER:Â A Great Family in Reverence and Worship
- OCTOBER:Â “Great Shall Be the Peace of Thy Children’
- OCTOBER:Â This Great Millennial Year
- OCTOBER:Â “An Humble and a Contrite Heart’
- OCTOBER:Â Your Greatest Challenge, Mother
2001
- APRIL:Â The Work Goes On
- APRIL:Â The Perpetual Education Fund
- APRIL:Â The Miracle of Faith
- APRIL:Â Good-bye for Another Season
- APRIL:Â How Can I Become the Woman of Whom I Dream?
- OCTOBER:Â Living in the Fulness of Times
- OCTOBER:Â Reaching Down to Lift Another
- OCTOBER:Â The Times in Which We Live
- OCTOBER:Â “Till We Meet Again’
2002
- APRIL:Â The Church Goes Forward
- APRIL:Â Personal Worthiness to Exercise the Priesthood
- APRIL:Â We Walk by Faith
- APRIL:Â We Look to Christ
- OCTOBER:Â “O That I Were an Angel, and Could Have the Wish of Mine Heart’
- OCTOBER:Â To Men of the Priesthood
- OCTOBER:Â The Marvelous Foundation of Our Faith
- OCTOBER:Â Each a Better Person
2003
- APRIL:Â The Condition of the Church
- APRIL:Â Loyalty
- APRIL:Â War and Peace
- APRIL:Â Benediction
- APRIL:Â You Are a Child of God
- OCTOBER:Â The State of the Church
- OCTOBER:Â The Shepherds of Israel
- OCTOBER:Â An Ensign to the Nations, a Light to the World
- OCTOBER:Â Let Us Live the Gospel More Fully
- OCTOBER:Â To the Women of the Church
2004
- APRIL:Â The Church Grows Stronger
- APRIL:Â “I Was an Hungred, and Ye Gave Me Meat’
- APRIL:Â The Dawning of a Brighter Day
- APRIL:Â Concluding Remarks
- APRIL:Â Stay on the High Road
- OCTOBER:Â Condition of the Church
- OCTOBER:Â A Tragic Evil Among Us
- OCTOBER:Â The Women in Our Lives
- OCTOBER:Â Closing Remarks
2005
- APRIL:Â Opening Remarks
- APRIL:Â Gambling
- APRIL:Â The Great Things Which God Has Revealed
- APRIL:Â Closing Remarks
- OCTOBER:Â Opening Remarks
- OCTOBER:Â If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear
- OCTOBER:Â Forgiveness
- OCTOBER:Â Benediction
2006
- APRIL:Â The Need for Greater Kindness
- APRIL:Â Seek Ye the Kingdom of God
- APRIL:Â Until Again We Meet
- OCTOBER:Â We Bear Testimony to the World
- OCTOBER:Â Rise Up, O Men of God
- OCTOBER:Â The Faith to Move Mountains
- OCTOBER:Â Closing Remarks
- OCTOBER:Â In the Arms of His Love
2007
- APRIL:Â A Tabernacle in the Wilderness
- APRIL:Â “I Am Clean’
- APRIL:Â The Things of Which I Know
- APRIL:Â Closing Remarks
Notable Quote: “May there be peace and harmony in your homes. Husbands, love and treasure your wives. They are your most precious possessions. Wives, encourage and pray for your husbands. They need all the help they can get. Parents, treat your children with great kindness. They are the coming generation who will bring honor to your name.”
Tags: Family, Marriage, Husband, Wife, Children
Notable Quote:Â “I will now present the General Authorities, Area Seventies, and general auxiliary presidencies of the Church for your sustaining vote. Before doing so, I should like to take note of the recent passing of President James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency. He was an extremely able man, a man of great faith and capacity, who contributed much to our meetings. We greatly miss him. We extend our condolences to his beloved companion, Ruth, and their children.”
Tags: Death, Church Business
- OCTOBER:Â Slow to Anger
- OCTOBER:Â The Stone Cut Out of the Mountain
- OCTOBER:Â Closing Remarks
Notable Quote:Â “Now the conference is adjourned for six months. We look forward to seeing you again next April. I’m 97, but I hope I’m going to make it. May the blessings of heaven attend you in the meantime is our humble and sincere prayer in the name of our Redeemer, even the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.”
Tags: Till We Meet Again
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