Marjorie Pay Hinckley
Born Marjorie Pay on 23 November 1911, in Nephi, Utah, she was the first child of Phillip LeRoy and Georgetta Paxman Pay. She had four sisters and two brothers, but one brother died in infancy. The family moved to Salt Lake City in 1914 where Marjorie began her education. She graduated from East High School in 1929 and went to work at the Owens Illinois Glass Company performing secretarial duties.
As a young girl she was taught by her mother that the best husband for her would be one who loves the Lord. Marjorie met a young man with that qualification living right across the street from her family home. She and Gordon B. Hinckley were married on 29 April 1937 in the Salt Lake Temple by Elder Stephen L. Richards, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (President Hinckley was called to serve as an Assistant to the Twelve Apostles in April 1958, to the Quorum of the Twelve in September of 1961 and became the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 13 March 1995).
The young couple began their married life in Salt Lake City in a small farmhouse in Millcreek. President Hinckley was employed at Church headquarters in downtown Salt Lake, and Marjorie continued her employment at the glass company until the birth of their first child. As the family increased in size, the Hinckleys built a home on property down the lane from their first house, still in the rural East Millcreek area. By 1954 they were parents of five children, Kathleen, Richard, Virginia, Clark and Jane.
Marjorie was an energetic mother and made good use of humor to settle many of life's difficulties. She was often heard to say, "The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it." Marjorie loved being a mother and delighted in every moment with her children. She especially enjoyed the sound of the screen door slamming as the children ran in and out of the house. She was sad every fall when the children went back to school because she missed them so much during the day.
An avid reader, Marjorie encouraged her children to gain knowledge by studying and reading. As the family traveled in the car on vacations, she would read to them from the classics. Although her formal education was interrupted by economic stress during the depression, she encouraged her children to seek degrees in higher education. She was a student of the scriptures and often used the words of ancient and latter-day prophets to teach and inspire others.
Living in Utah most of her life, except for a brief time in Denver while her husband was working for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, Marjorie had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the world. She developed a special appreciation for the people in the Far East. Hong Kong became a favorite city, and she was delighted when her children and their spouses were able to gather in Hong Kong with her and President Hinckley to celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary.
A dedicated student of the lives of her ancestors, Marjorie delighted in the opportunity to share stories of their faith and devotion taken from her research and that of others. Searching for family names in genealogical facilities was a major part of her life. Pedigree charts, pictures and written histories were often visible in her home, and she used this acquired knowledge to encourage others in numerous public addresses.
She developed a close relationship with her 25 grandchildren and 41 great-grandchildren, who always knew she was just a telephone call away. They willingly consulted with her about the joys and challenges in their lives.
Marjorie Hinckley was recognized numerous times, having named for her the Marjorie Pay Hinckley Chair in Social Work and Social Science from Brigham Young University in April of 2003, and receiving an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Utah Valley State College in April of 2001 and the heritage award during the cente
“In the book of Alma is a story that has fascinated e since I first read it. it is about a very colorful character named Moroni--not to be confused with the last survivor of the Nephites, who was also named Moroni. This man was a brilliant military commander, and he rose to be supreme commander of all the Nephite forces at the age of twenty-five. For the next fourteen years he was off to the wars continuously except for two very short periods of peace during which he worked feverishly at reinforcing the Nephite defenses. When peace finally came, he was thirty-nine years old, and the story goes that at the age of forty-three he died. Sometime before this he had given the chief command of the armies of the Nephites to his son Moronihah. Now, if he had a son, he had a wife. I've often wondered where she was and how she fared during those fourteen years of almost continuous warfare, and how she felt to have him die so soon after coming home. I am sure there are many, many stories of patience and sacrifice that have never been told. We each do our part, and we each have our story.”
“People are wonderful. Each one has a story, each something to give, each knows something interesting, something that can make your life richer.”
“Complete abstention may be much easier than moderation.”
“Stick to a task, 'til it sticks to you. Beginners are many, finishers are few." -Anonymous, as quoted in Small and Simple Things.”
“Thank you' is a wonderful phrase. Use it. It will add stature to your soul.”
“We each do the best we can. My best may not be as good as your best, but it's my best. The fact is we know when we are doing our best and when we are not. If we are not doing our best, it leaves us with a gnawing hunger and frustration. But when we do our best, we experience a peace.”
“We are His children, and if we ever got that through our heads thoroughly, understood that completely, we would never do a small thing, we would never say a cross word, we would not use bad language, we would not criticize anybody, we would love everyone the way the Savior loves us.”
“...the beautiful thing--perhaps the thing I love most about the gospel-- is that everything we learn we can use and take with us and use it again. No bit of knowledge goes wasted. Everything you are learning now is preparing you for something else. Did you know that? What a concept!”
“Develop some intellectual curiosity. If you have it, you will never be bored. If you haven't, cultivate it, hold fast to it. Never let it go. To the intellectually curious, the world will always be full of magic, full of wonder. You will be interesting to your friends, to your spouse, and a joy to your children. You will be alive to all the wonderful possibilities of this world.”
“As you create a home, don't get distracted with a lot of things that have no meaning for you or your family. Don't dwell on your failures, but think of your successes. Have joy in your home. Have joy in your children. Have joy in your husband. Be grateful for the journey.”
“Everything you are learning is preparing you for something else.”
“I know it is hard for you young mothers to believe that almost before you can turn around the children will be gone and you will be alone with your husband. You had better be sure you are developing the kind of love and friendship that will be delightful and enduring. Let the children learn from your attitude that he is important. Encourage him. Be kind. It is a rough world, and he, like everyone else, is fighting to survive. Be cheerful. Don't be a whiner.”
“Oftentimes the thing that makes the difference between a good student and a poor one, a good learner or a bored human being, is just a little curiosity. If you have it, cultivate it, feed it. Never let it go. If you do not have it - get it. Wonder, watch, ask questions, be alive. It's just that simple”
“Elder Neal A. Maxwell once said, "We are here in mortality, and the only way to go is through; there isn't any around!" I would add, the only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.”
“The trouble with the world and the trouble with you and me is that we don't love each other enough. And if we do, we don't bother to show it, or we don't bother to say it. If the world is to know love, it has to be in your heart and in mine.”
“For it is not requisite that a woman should hobble faster than she has strength!”
“There are some years in our lives that we would not want to live again. But even these years will pass away, and the lessons learned will be a future blessing.”
“The thing about growing old is that when you wake up with a new pain, you can just about count on it becoming a permanent part of your life!”
“True spirituality makes you loving and grateful, and forgiving, and patient, and gentle, and long-suffering. True spirituality breathes reverence into every act and deed.”
“The trick is to enjoy life. Don't wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead.”
“As we got closer to marriage, I felt completely confident that Gordon loved me. But I also knew somehow that I would never come first with him. I knew I was going to be second in his life and that the Lord was going to be first. And that was okay. It seemed to me that if you understood the gospel and the purpose of our being here, you would want a husband who put the Lord first.”
“The trick is to enjoy life.Don't wish away your days,waiting for better ones ahead.The grand and the simple.They are equally wonderful.”
“Think about your particular assignment at this time in your life. It may be to get an education, it may be to rear children, it may be to be a grandparent, it may be to care for an relieve the suffering of someone you love, it may be to do a job in the most excellent way possible, it may be to support someone who has a difficult assignment of their own. Our assignments are varied and they change from time to time. Don't take them lightly. Give them your full heart and energy. Do them with enthusiasm. Do whatever you have to do this week with your whole heart and soul. To do less than this will leave you with an empty feeling.”
“Just Save the Relationship"from the book Glimpses, Sis's Hinckley's advice to her grandaughter when she needed to know what to do about the fits her daughter was throwing. Just save the relationship.”
“We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are.”
“We are all in this together. We need each other. Oh, how we need each other. Those of us who are old need you who are young, and hopefully, you who are young need some of us who are old...We need deep and satisfying and loyal friendships with each other. These friendships are a necessary source of sustenance. We need to renew our faith every day. We need to lock arms and help build the kingdom so that it will roll forth and fill the whole earth.”
“The grand and the simple. They are equally wonderful.”
“Home is where you are loved the most and act the worst.”
“How did a nice girl like me get into a mess like this?”
“Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
“The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.”