|
Summarized by Kent Larsen
President Hinckley's Birthday Bash Tonight
Salt Lake Tribune 23Jun00 N2
By Peggy Fletcher Stack: Salt Lake Tribune
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- The birthday celebration for LDS Church President
Gordon B. Hinckley is scheduled for 7:30 pm tonight (9:30 pm EDT) in the LDS
Church's Conference Center. It will be broadast live to LDS stake centers
throughout North America, and also be available in Europe tomorrow morning
at LDS stake centers.
The Tribune notes that this isn't the first time that an LDS Church
president's birthday has been celebrated. Thousands attended the celebration
of the 90th birthday of then-Church president Wilford Woodruff in March
1897. The celebration was held in the LDS Church's "immense" Tabernacle on
Temple Square, where every seat was taken and the aisles were filled to
overflowing.
For most LDS Church presidents, birthdays have been a family afair. Four
other Church presidents have reached the age of 90, David O. McKay, Joseph
Fielding Smith, Spencer W. Kimball and Ezra Taft Benson. But none of these
presidents had major celebrations for their birthdays, at least in some
cases because of the state of their health.
Tonight's event, called "An Evening of Celebration," will feature
performances by The Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle Choir, The Orchestra at
Temple Square as well as Metropolitan Opera soloists and distinguished local
musicians.
|
