May Green Hinckley (May 1, 1881 – May 2, 1943) was the third

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

general president of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) from 1940 until her death. She was the

stepmother A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a female non-biological parent married to one's preexisting parent. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Culture Ste ...

of Gordon B. Hinckley, fifteenth

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the LDS Church.

Biography

Green was born in

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

, Derbyshire, England. Her mother had joined the LDS Church three years before Green's birth, but her father never joined. She emigrated to the United States with her mother and some of her siblings in 1889. Green was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

into the LDS Church in 1891, and was by then living in Salt Lake City. Green was raised in the church's Salt Lake 5th

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. Early on she was a teacher in both the

Sunday School ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

and the

Young Women Mutual Improvement Association The Young Women (often referred to as Young Women's or Young Woman's) is a youth organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The purpose of the Young Women organization is to help each young woman "be worthy to ...

(YWMIA). She served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

for the church in the Central States

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

from 1907 to 1909. After studying booking and accounting, Green began work as business manager for a Salt Lake medical clinic. In 1920, Green was made president of the YLMIA of the Granite

Stake A stake is a large wooden or metal implement designed to be driven into the ground and may refer to: Tools * Archer's stake, a defensive stake carried by medieval longbowmen * Survey stakes, markers used by surveyors * Sudis (stake) (Latin for ...

in Salt Lake City. She served in this position for the next 12 years, and oversaw the initial establishment of the Gleaner program. In 1932, at the age of 50, Green married

Bryant S. Hinckley Bryant Stringham Hinckley (July 9, 1867 – June 5, 1961) was an American author, religious speaker, civic leader and educator. He served as a prominent mid-level leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early 20th centur ...

, whose wife, Ada, had died in 1930. At the time, five of Hinckley's 13 children were still living at home. At that time, Green was president of the stake YWMIA. One of the children, Gordon B. Hinckley, later recalled that he and the other children were upset by their father's decision to remarry, but they eventually came to accept their stepmother: "I don't know that it was easy for her to step into our family, but she did it well. We all respected her. We all loved her". In 1935, when Bryant Hinckley became

of the Northern States Mission based in Chicago, May Hinckley went with him and presided over the Primary Association, YWMIA, and

Relief Society The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 1 ...

within the mission. In 1940, May Hinckley was asked by church president Heber J. Grant to succeed

May Anderson May Anderson (June 8, 1864 – June 10, 1946) was the second general president of the children's Primary organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) between 1925 and 1939. Anderson also served as the first counsel ...

and become the third general president of the church's

Primary Association The Primary (formerly the Primary Association) is the children's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It acts as a Sunday school organization for the church's children (ages 3–11). Purpose, objectives ...

. In her -year tenure, Hinckley introduced a revised curriculum, added a

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

-reading program for leaders and teachers, established a formal scriptural theme for Primary, and selected the official Primary logo, motto and colors. Hinckley formed a committee that created lessons for use by Primaries in missions (as opposed to stakes). With energy rationing as a result of World War II, she oversaw the creation of more home-based Primary programs. Hinckley was the editor of ''

The Children's Friend ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' ...

'' while she was the Primary General President. Her term ended when she unexpectedly died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

, the day after her 62nd birthday.State of Utah Death Certificate
She was succeeded by Adele C. Howells, her first counselor.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hinckley, May Green 1881 births 1943 deaths Editors of Latter Day Saint publications English emigrants to the United States English Latter Day Saints General presidents of the Primary (LDS Church) Hinckley family People from Chesterfield, Derbyshire Deaths from pneumonia in Utah English leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Female Mormon missionaries Mission presidents (LDS Church) Latter Day Saints from Utah

Biography

See also

Notes

External links