A Look at the Mormon Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckely

Gordon B. Hinckley may be in failing health but the current leader of the Mormon church has left behind a legacy unique to himself. Whether it will be good or bad will be left up to historians. Certainly he was not as controversial as the Mormon prophet as some of his predecessors and the early colorful characters like Brigham Young and Joseph Smith were, nor would he make changes as sweeping as would Spencer W. Kimball. No, what Gordon B. Hinckley has shown that he is capable of manipulating the media to achieve the ends of his church.

The legacy President Hinckley left behind will be one of deception while hiding behind a smiling face to many Mormons. Some may say this is an unfair judgment of his tenure as prophet but the fact that he lied about Mormon doctrine to reporter for Time magazine about Mormon doctrines baffled many of the faithful and gave additional material to Anti-Mormons and Ex-Mormons to attack him and the organization he represents for being dishonest.

The Mormon doctrine in question was whether or not faithful Mormons could become Gods. The doctrine dates back to Joseph Smith Jr, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and does in fact state that men can become gods. A later Mormon prophet, Joseph Fielding Smith would later summarize the doctrine "As man is now, god once was. As god is now man may become."

When the reporter for Time pressed the aging Mormon prophet, he said, "I don't know that we teach it. I don't know that we emphasize it ... I understand the philosophical background behind it, but I don't know a lot about it, and I don't think others know a lot about it."