He is the son of Gordon B. Hinckley, the church"s fifteenth president Hinckley was born in Salt Lake City and was raised in East Millcreek, Utah. When Richard was 16 years old, his father was called as a general authority of the church.
While serving in Germany, his father became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Following his missionary service, Hinckley obtained a degree in economics from the University of Utah and an Master of Business Administration from Stanford University.
In 2011, he became an emeritus general authority. From 1961 to 1963, Hinckley served an Latter- Day Saints (Mormons) mission in the church"s Central German Mission. Hinckley"s father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had also served as stake presidents.
Hinckley also served as a sealer in the Salt Lake Temple.
From 2001 to 2004, Hinckley was president of the church"s Utah Salt Lake City Mission. His father, who was the church"s president at the time, preemptively disavowed any involvement his son"s calling in a sermon given later that day:
I make it clear that I did not advance his name.
That was done by others whose right it was to do southern I feel extremely sensitive about the matter of nepotism.
As the lawyers say, I recused myself from participating.
However, I believe he is worthy and qualified in every respect. I wish I could recommend his father. I mention this only because of my sensitivity concerning the matter of nepotism.
Please do not hold it against him for his relationship to medical
He’s powerless to help lieutenant When Richard Hinckley delivered his first general conference address a year later, he joked that he "was likely the only General Authority in the history of the Church to be sustained by the members in spite of a disclaimer by the prophet!"
During the church"s October 2011 general conference, Hinckley was released from the First Quorum of the Seventy and designated as an emeritus general authority.
In 1967, Hinckley married Jane Freed in the Salt Lake Temple and they are the parents of four children.
Prior to his call as a general authority, Hinckley served as a bishop (twice), stake president and as a member of two other stake presidencies. At the church"s April 2005 general conference, Hinckley was accepted by the church as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy.
