To the young men he warned that immoral acts of any kind will introduce an ugly thread into the fabric. "Dishonesty of any kind will create a blemish. Foul and profane language will rob the pattern of beauty."

After his sustaining, President Hinckley embarked on a legendary travel schedule that took him around the globe. He was the most physically vigorous man to take the church's helm in recent history. "I spent one night in the hospital in my life," he said early in his administration. "I was past 75 when that occurred. That doesn't mean I'm ready to run a 100-yard dash."

During general conference in April 2001, he showed a cane he was using to the congregation, saying he was using it because he had a touch of vertigo. Even so, members often wondered aloud at his stamina, which he attributed to God's blessing. He rose early, exercised daily, read several daily newspapers to stay informed, and was often asked to address various business and professional groups.

He was the first church president ever to provide wide access to the media, garnering unprecedented publicity and goodwill for the church. He met with Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush at the White House and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation's highest civilian honor — by President Bush on his 94th birthday in 2004.

His interview with TV journalist Mike Wallace was shown on the CBS news program "60 Minutes" in 1996, and his ease with questions and the humor he brought to bear with reporters made him a sought-after interview, particularly leading up to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

The Book of Mormon also gained a wider public profile during his tenure, after top church leaders allowed Doubleday to publish it in hardbound form to be distributed through secular book outlets in 2004. The following year, President Hinckley urged church members to read the book from cover to cover, and he noted in December 2005 that more people were then reading it than at any time in history.

Notable policy changes included:

• The replacement of regional representatives with area authorities in August 1995. Then in the April 1997 general conference, he announced that the area authorities would become Area Authority Seventies divided into the Third Quorum (Europe, Africa, Asia, Pacific), Fourth Quorum (Mexico, Central America, South America) and the Fifth Quorum (United States and Canada.) Creation of the Sixth Quorum as a division of the Fifth Quorum was announced in April 2004.