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One Bright Shining Hope

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"When you save a girl, you save generations. I see this as the one bright shinning hope in a world that is marching toward moral self-destruction," said President Gordon B. Hinckley. Heavenly Father treasures His daughters, and through His prophet has encouraged them to be a force for good in the world. President Hinckley's words of encouragement and counsel to women are paired with beautiful visual images in this lovely gift book. A perfect companion volume to Sister Hinckley's Small and Simple Things, the book is a thoughtful reminder to women everywhere of how much God loves and needs them.

153 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

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About the author

Gordon B. Hinckley

100 books362 followers
President Hinckley was known, even at the age of 95, as a tireless leader who always put in a full day at the office and traveled extensively around the world to mix with Church members, now numbering nearly 13 million in 171 nations.

His quick wit and humor, combined with an eloquent style at the pulpit, made him one of the most loved of modern Church leaders. A profoundly spiritual man, he had a great fondness for history and often peppered his sermons with stories from the Church’s pioneer past.

He was a popular interview subject with journalists, appearing on 60 Minutes with Mike Wallace and on CNN’s Larry King Live, as well as being quoted and featured in hundreds of newspapers and magazines over the years. During the Salt Lake Olympics of 2002, his request that the Church refrain from proselytizing visitors was credited by media with generating much of the goodwill that flowed to the Church from the international event.

In recent years, a number of major developments in the Church reflected President Hinckley’s personal drive and direction. In calling for 100 temples to be in operation before the end of the year 2000, the Church president committed the Church to a massive temple-building program.

In 1999 — 169 years after the Church was organized by its founder, Joseph Smith — the Church had 56 operating temples. Three years later that number had doubled, largely because of a smaller, highly practical temple architectural plan that delivered these sacred buildings to Church members in far-flung parts of the world. Many more Church members can now experience the sacred ceremonies that occur only in temples, including marriages for eternity and the sealing of families in eternal units.

President Hinckley was the most traveled president in the Church’s history. His duties took him around the world many times to meet with Latter-day Saints in more than 60 countries. He was the first Church president to travel to Spain, where in 1996 he broke ground for a temple in Madrid; and to the African nations of Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Cape Verde, where he met with thousands of Latter-day Saints in 1998. In 2005, he traveled nearly 25,000 miles on a seven-nation, nine-day tour to Russia, South Korea, China, Taiwan, India, Kenya, and Nigeria.

At a general conference of Church members in April 2001, President Hinckley initiated the Perpetual Education Fund — an ambitious program to help young members of the Church (mainly returning missionaries from developing countries) receive higher education and work-related training that they would otherwise likely never receive.

Closer to his Salt Lake City home, President Hinckley announced the construction of a new Conference Center in 1996 and dedicated it four years later. Seating 21,000 people, it is believed to be the largest religious and theater auditorium in the world and has become the hub for the Church’s general conference messages to the world, broadcast in 54 languages.

Even before his term as president, President Hinckley’s extensive Church service included 14 years as a counselor in the First Presidency, the highest presiding body in the government of the Church, and 20 years before that as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

President Hinckley was born 23 June 1910 in Salt Lake City, a son of Bryant Stringham and Ada Bitner Hinckley. One of his forebears, Stephen Hopkins, came to America on the Mayflower. Another, Thomas Hinckley, served as governor of the Plymouth Colony from 1680 to 1692.

President Hinckley’s first job was as a newspaper carrier for the Deseret News, a Salt Lake City daily. After attending public schools in Salt Lake City, he earned a bachelor of arts degree at the University of Utah and then served two years as a full-time missionary for the Church in Great Britain. He served with distinction and ultimately was appointed as an assistant to the Church apostle who presided over all the Europe

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
Profile Image for Melissa.
233 reviews3 followers
March 14, 2008
President Hinckley just knows how to make women of the world feel special. I enjoy reading this because I know that I am worth something.
24 reviews
July 31, 2008
This book uplifts the women soul. He gives counsel and demonstrates the love Heavenly Fathers has for us . It's small, but what love was put into i.t
Profile Image for Christina.
903 reviews
July 25, 2010
This is a simple collection of quotes accompanied by absolutely beautiful photographs. It probably aught to be read slowly - a quote or two at a time - rather than devoured in one sitting the way I did it. I'm sure I would have gotten more out of the quotes if I took them slowly.

Some of my favorites:
"Rise to the great potential within you. I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity. I hope you will not nag yourselves with thought of failure. I hope you will not try to set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know how. If you do so, you will witness miracles come to pass."

"I have discovered that life is not a series of great heroic acts. Life at its best is a matter of consistent goodness and decency, doing without fanfare that which needed to be done when it needed to be done. I have observed that it is not the geniuses that make the difference in this world. I have observed that the work of the world is done largely by men and women of ordinary talent who have worked in an extraordinary matter."

Profile Image for Teri.
1,361 reviews
October 9, 2012
I have had this book for a long time and finally decided to read it. I should read it regularly. Hopeful, inspirational quotes from Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley that focus on women. A few favorites: "I have discovered that life is not a series of great heroic acts. Life at its best is a matter of consistent goodness and decency, doing without fanfare that which needed to be done when it needed to be done. I have observed that it is not geniuses that make the difference in this world. I have observed that the work of the world is done largely by men and women of ordinary talent who have worked in an extraordinary manner."

"Are these perilous times? They are. But there is no need to fear. We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can be an influence for good in the world, every one of us."

"May the Lord bless you, my beloved sisters. You are the guardians of the hearth. May you be strengthened for the challenges of the day. May you be endowed with wisdom beyond your own in dealing with the problems you constantly face. May your prayers and your pleadings be answered with blessings upon your heads and upon the heads of your loved ones."
Profile Image for Nicole.
61 reviews
February 10, 2008
Love these thoughts from Pres. Hinckley. Recently pulled it out again to remember how much he valued women and our role as mothers. I miss him.
"This is a season to be strong. It is a time to move forward without hesitation, knowing well the meaning, the breadth, and the importance of our mission. It is a time to do what is right regardless of the consequences that might follow. It is a time to be found keeping the commandments. It is a a season to reach out with kindness and love to those in distress and to those who are wandering in darkness and pain. It is a time to be considerate and good, decent and courteous toward one another in all of our relationships, in other words, to become more Christlike."

"You are bery precious, each of you, regardless of your circumstances. You occupy a high and sacred place in the eternal plan of God, our Father in Heaven. You are His daughters, precious to Him, loved by Him, and very important to Him. His grand design cannot succeed without you."
Profile Image for Jeannie.
96 reviews30 followers
October 15, 2011
I love this little book! I read through it twice this time before I considered it a complete read. Then I went through again to ponder the messages that I marked as particularly relevant for me. President Hinckley always had such an amazing way of teaching the women of the Church how important we are. This little book contains some of his best thoughts and messages concerning women. On pages 6 and 7, President Hinckley is talking about the creation and says,"Then as His final creation, the crowning of His glorious work, He created woman. I like to regard Eve as His masterpiece after all that had gone before, the final work before he rested from His labors." The book is filled with gems like this and when I read them, just for a little while, it feels as if President Hinckley is still with us.
Profile Image for Katie Lynn.
605 reviews40 followers
August 16, 2015
My two favorites:

Believe in yourself. Believe in your capacity to do great and good things. Believe that no mountain is so high that you cannot climb it. Believe that no storm is so great that you cannot weather it. You are not destined to be a scrub. You are a child of God, of infinite capacity.
Believe that you can do it--whatever it is that you set your heart on. Opportunities will unfold and open before you. The skies will clear when they have been dark with portent.

Some years ago I clipped an article on Commander William Robert Anderson, the man who first took a submarine under the North Pole from the waters of the Pacific to the waters of the Atlantic. It was an untried and dangerous mission. In his wallet he carried a tattered card with these words: "I believe I am always divinely guided. I believe I will always take the right road. I believe God will always make a way where there is no way"
Be Not afraid, only believe -Mark 5:36
Profile Image for Tawny.
374 reviews8 followers
June 16, 2010
Favorite lines:
1. "Life is not a series of great heroic acts. Life at its best is a matter of consistent goodness and decency, doing without fanfare that which needed to be done" (24).
2. "He who is our Eternal Father has blessed you with miraculous powers of mind and body. He never intended that you should be less than the crowning glory of His creations" (51).
3. "You need never feel inferior. You need never feel that you were born without talents or without opportunities to give them expression. Cultivate whatever talents you have, and they will grow and refine and become an expression of your true self appreciated by others" (55).
4. "People wonder what we do for our women. I tell you what we do: we get out of their way and look with wonder at what they are accomplishing" (111).
Profile Image for LizthePrude.
552 reviews
January 14, 2008
This is a WONDERFUL book to read. It's just a compilation of quotes from Gordon Hinckley. He's such an inspiration to so many (including me). And there's gorgeous photography with each quote on every page! Every woman needs to have her own copy or read it at least once in her life. It's especially great to read on "hard days" because it's edifying and uplifting! He speaks truthfully of the positive role of womanhood. Enjoy!
Profile Image for Lisa.
150 reviews12 followers
February 25, 2009
My brother and sister-in-law bought me this for Christmas. I just read it last night and it was wonderful. It is a short, quick read (about 1/2 hour) which is nice because I can re-read it just about any time I want to (which I plan to do). It has gorgeous pictures and the messages from President Hinckley and so uplifting for women!

For anyone on my friends list (or in the ward), you are more than welcome to borrow my copy :)
Profile Image for Afton.
65 reviews
August 19, 2011
I love President Hinckley. I think one of the legacies he left with me is all the encouragement he gave the women of the church. He always shared that he knew we were doing a great job as mothers, wives, and sisters, but asked if we could strive to be a little better. The quotes are taken from talks he has given over the years and are paired with beautiful photos on each page. A book that could be easily read over and over. A gem of a book!
Profile Image for Reanna.
58 reviews1 follower
August 15, 2013
This book brought me to tears. Hinkley was such a great man who really knew how love and respect women. I've been struggling with the challenges of being a LDS mother...I loved this book, the inspirational quotes from scripture and thoughts from Pres. Hinkley and the beautiful pictures just made me have a more positive outlook on life and better attitude towards my callings and many responsibilities. I would recommend this book to EVERY LDS woman.
Profile Image for Cheryl.
462 reviews4 followers
May 17, 2010
Shocking for an LDS person to not rate highly a book by a former President of their Church, but I do not like these kind of books which string together some pretty thoughts but really do not take you anywhere new. It feels exploitive, to me. Lovely pictures, but not a strong message that will change me because I have picked up this book.
9 reviews1 follower
April 16, 2008
Okay, this is one of my all time favorites. It is simple and sweet. President Hinckley has such a love and understanding of women as a whole. His words in this little book remind me just how awesome it is to be a daughter of God.
Profile Image for Brenda.
65 reviews
July 30, 2008
I read this in just a few minutes one afternoon. It was uplifting. There were some quotes in here that really made me want to be a better woman. After reading it, I thought that this was a book i should read on occasion to inspire myself and help me rememeber the kind of person I can be.
Profile Image for Stacey.
149 reviews
January 22, 2009
This is an inspiring book for women. I read this and truly believed every word that President Hinckley said. We are blessed as women to know of our divinity and importance in the kingdom of God....all we have to do is believe it and live it!
13 reviews
April 20, 2009
I love this book. It has the smallest simplest comments, that seem to hit the spot just when i need it to. I keep it in my car and frequently flip through it when I have some wait time. This is a book you will refer to again and again. I would highly recommend having your own copy.
29 reviews1 follower
April 20, 2009
Don't you just love those books that make you feel good about yourself and remind you of what your potential is. Short and sweet. I put this one next to my cozy chair and occasionally review my favorite quotes when I need a dose of hope.
Profile Image for Christine.
78 reviews6 followers
April 25, 2009
I come to this book time after time. When I feel discouraged or simply bereft of all strength. We make life more complex and needlessly difficult then need be; It's really so simple. Great little book for any women of any faith.
Profile Image for Jessica.
1,196 reviews96 followers
October 10, 2014


I love President Hinckley! This book is filled with quotes from President Hinckley's ministry, specifically geared toward women. It has been beautifully done, with lovely photographs to accompany the quotations, and the quotes are inspirational and uplifting. I love this book!
4,132 reviews21 followers
March 1, 2017
Like a voice from the dust President Hickley is still counseling and helping. I love that man he meant so much to me. I was so sad when he died. I love President Monson as well but not in the same way. For years President Hinckley was the church to me.
614 reviews
July 21, 2015
"One Bright Shining Hope " is a book of powerful quotes from President Gordon B. Hinckley about and for women. It is short, sweet, and a great pick me up. I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of inspiration and I highly recommend it!
5 reviews3 followers
December 29, 2013
I love this book. I received it as a gift. I would pick it up and read a few quotes a day. There were many difficult days at that point in my life and many nights, the words in this book brought peace and comfort to my heart. I loved President Hinckley. The pictures on each page are beautiful.
Profile Image for Ashley.
562 reviews1 follower
February 12, 2016
I love President Hinckley!

"Let us be happy people. The Lord's plan is a plan of happiness. The way will be lighter, the worries will be fewer, the confrontations will be less difficult if we cultivate a spirit of happiness."
Profile Image for Lindsey.
89 reviews
November 10, 2016
This book is amazing! Such a great reminder of the blessing of modern day prophets, the truth of the Gospel, and individual worth. It felt like sunshine pouring into my soul as I was reading. If you are feeling tired, stressed, anxious or down on yourself... Read this book!
Profile Image for Amy.
239 reviews3 followers
May 23, 2007
This book is just full of amazing quotes! They were all so good. Everyone should read this
8 reviews3 followers
January 28, 2008
This is full of short thoughts about women. I wouldn't recommend this if you are looking for a continuous thought that last more than two pages.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews

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