Salt Lake City, USA - Three days shy of his 95th birthday, LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley speaks with an air of certainty and purpose.
While many younger than him may fret about such matters as mortality and death, the leader of the 12 million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says he's never been troubled by the thought of reaching the end of life's road. In fact, he remarks jovially that he isn't expecting to become a centenarian.
"I just count on living as long as I can," Hinckley told reporters at a rare news conference in the church's Salt Lake City administration building Monday. "I'm pleased that I'm still alive . . . and I'm concerned about leading the church forward."
He sees life and death the way the faithful might expect their prophet of a decade to, as part of a continuum.
"There just isn't any question in my mind that we go on living after we leave here. I don't dwell on it a lot. I just accept it and move forward from day to day," Hinckley says with a slight smile.
There are no doubts, no questions and no uncertainties, only faith and an unfailing sense of purpose. As Hinckley puts it, "Work, work, work is the best antidote for loneliness, for incapacity, for any other thing. You just have to keep working."
And true to form, the nonagenarian is showing no signs of slowing down.
Beginning in July, Hinckley will embark on a world tour to cultivate good will among leaders of several nations. He will also inaugurate a temple in Aba, Nigeria, in August.
I'll ''go first to Anchorage, Alaska, from there to Vladivostok [Russia], from there to Seoul, Korea, from there to Taipei, Taiwan, from there to Hong Kong, from there to New Delhi, from there to Nairobi [Kenya], from there to Aba, from there to Rome and to Paris, and then home,'' Hinckley says, rattling off his itinerary without pausing for breath.
Point out that he isn't a sprightly fortysomething any longer, and he politely dismisses the admonishment.
"It's work that keeps you alive," Hinckley insists. "[It's the] challenge, the optimism. If you dwell on the negative, it will hurt you, it will depress you. It will really destroy you. You need to dwell on the positive and work at it. Seek to bring it to pass and it will enlighten you, make you younger, more virile."
Indeed, Hinckley credits his job with giving him some of his greatest thrills. His résumé chronicles an illustrious era in the church's 175-year history, and Hinckley is quick to recall the "remarkable things" he's seen as the faith's 15th president.
"We've organized 500 new stakes and 4,000 new wards and branches. The church has grown by 3 million members," he says. "That's a very significant and wonderful thing, I believe."
During his tenure, the church has dedicated more than 120 temples, including several of his own innovation: the smaller temples serving far-flung populations. Hinckley also arranged to have millions of the church's genealogical records on the Internet, issued the faith's definitive "Proclamation on the Family," and built the conference center across the street from Temple Square.
But most of all, he's pleased with the church's strides in the realm of education, noting the recent appointment of Harvard Business School dean Kim B. Clark to the presidency of Brigham Young University-Idaho. It's an area where his leadership has been most effective, Hinckley says. He also inaugurated a charitable fund to support the educational pursuits of Mormons in developing nations.
"We now have 6 million more young people in our education programs than we had when I became president of the church. That's a very significant thing."
Important enough to be the cornerstone of his legacy, although talk of a legacy seems rather strange for this onetime aspiring journalist who never suspected he would become the beloved leader of millions in his twilight years.
Characteristically down-to-earth, Hinckley says he's simply savoring the moment and looking forward to his July 22 gala at the downtown Salt Lake City Conference Center.
And to his birthday cake.
Those close to him, however, will be making sure that Hinckley, who let slip he has diabetes, gets only a tiny slice.