"He can say some things from the pulpit that he can't say face to face," Pearce said.

Getting President Hinckley to talk about President Hinckley isn't as easy.

Asked to describe his own traits, the president seems almost embarrassed to respond.

"Oh, I don't know," he said. "I only want to be known as a man who tried to do his best to make the world better."

What President Hinckley will say is that his parents taught him the virtues of honesty, hard work, faith and prayer, qualities and practices he tried to emulate and pass along to his children.

He is, he says, deeply honored for the opportunity to lead the church.

"When the office is bestowed upon you, you feel the weight of it, course you do," he said. "It's a tremendous responsibility."

It is one he manages with prayer and effort.

"You want to do what the Lord expects of you," he said. "You seek divine guidance and then you go to work. Get on your knees and pray, and stand on your feet and work."

To be the prophet means to surrender one's life to the work of the church and its members.

President Hinckley can no longer experience the world as others do. There are no ordinary trips to the mall, nor afternoon strolls through the beautifully manicured church gardens outside his office door.

"I can't. Everybody wants to shake hands wherever I go," President Hinckley said. "But you don't consider relative values. You accept where you are and you do the best you can."

Privately, Pearce says, her father has talked about the burden of leadership.

"He's quieter than he used to be," she said. "He talked once about how lonely it is at the top. We sense that in him."

The death of President Hinckley's wife, Marjorie Pay Hinckley, in 2004 also changed their father, the daughters say. The couple grew up together and were married 67 years.

"There is a sadness there that wasn't there before," Pearce said. "But he doesn't think he's done yet. He's still got work to do."

Religious leaders in Utah credit President Hinckley with cultivating a greater ecumenical spirit between Mormons and other faiths.

"There's a real readiness in both directions to come together for matters that concern us about life in the community," Catholic Bishop George Niederauer said. "It's entirely for the better."

Episcopal Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish was raised Mormon and knew President Hinckley when she was a child. Irish and Walker took dance classes together, and President Hinckley drove them home after the lessons.