What was Gordon B. Hinckley's childhood like?

Answer 1

From the March 2008 Ensign article, "President Gordon B. Hinckley": "Born into a religiously dedicated and culturally refined family on June 23, 1910, Gordon Bitner Hinckley was the first son of Ada Bitner and Bryant Stringham Hinckley, educators who met while Bryant served as president of LDS Business College and Ada taught English and shorthand. Bryant's first wife, Christine, had died, leaving him with eight children. He and Ada successfully combined those children with five more of their own. Growing up in a home with a library filled with more than a thousand volumes of literary, historical, and philosophical works enabled Gordon to become a voracious reader. He had an appetite for knowledge that was never satisfied even into adulthood. But his childhood consisted of more than books and studying. The family purchased a small farm in the then-rural area of East Millcreek, outside Salt Lake City, in the hopes of strengthening Gordon's weak constitution. There, in the summer, Gordon slept outside under a country sky full of stars, drank milk fresh from the cow, and learned important lessons, such as "the skill of pruning trees in January so they would bear beautiful fruit in September.'1 Love, respect, and family home evenings all united the large family. As a boy Gordon received his patriarchal blessing. It proved prophetic in saying that he would 'become a mighty and valiant leader in the midst of Israel. … Thou shalt ever be a messenger of peace; the nations of the earth shall hear thy voice and be brought to a knowledge of the truth by the wonderful testimony which thou shalt bear.'"