The following excerpts are from Go Forward with Faith (1996, Deseret Book), Sheri L. Dew’s authorized biography of Gordon B. Hinckley.

“Gordon graduated from LDS High School in 1928 and enrolled in the University of Utah that fall, just a year before the onset of the Depression… His intellect and mental acumen were keen, and, as he intended to prepare himself to earn a respectable living, education loomed large in his future. He expected to work, and work hard – but he wanted to labor at something he enjoyed and through which he could make a contribution. He had once entertained thoughts of being an architect, but as college approached, he decided to pursue a different course.

“When he went to register at the University of Utah, he found to his chagrin that all sections of freshman English were filled. Then the English department added another section to accommodate the latecomers and brought in three older professors, each an accomplished educator, to rotate teaching the class. Gordon was a beneficiary of this change, for from George Marshall, regarded as the most competent grammarian in the state, he learned the intricacies of grammar. Marshall was a stickler, and Gordon took naturally to his tutoring, as it proved an extension of his mother’s insistence that her children speak with precision.

“Louis Zucker was another of Gordon’s instructors. A bright man from the East, he was ruthless in his critiques of writing, but his classes were stimulating and motivating. Gordon progressed noticeably under his tutelage, and in return Zucker took an interest in him. Other courses were equally compelling and rigorous: classes in Milton and Longfellow, Emerson and Carlyle, Shakespeare, and other European literature from Chaucer to modern writers. He also pursued a minor in Latin and Greek and read the Iliad and the Odyssey as well as some of the New Testament in Greek. He took courses in classical languages, anthropology, economics, sociology, and geology. His was a liberal arts education that provided a well-rounded background.

“During these days of the Depression, it was not easy to stay in school. Tuition for the School of Arts and Sciences [today’s College of Humanities] was nineteen dollars a quarter, a sum that was hard to come by… Textbooks were expensive, and when possible he did without, though he purchased his Shakespeare text and hung on to it throughout his life. He worked his way through college, paying all of his own tuition and fees, by handling routine maintenance at the Deseret Gym.

“During his four years of study, he acquired an enviable familiarity with the great writers of English literature, and he could converse intelligently about them and quote familiar passages at will.”

Halfway through college Gordon’s mother, Ada Bitner Hinckley passed away. Gordon had never experienced such emptiness or pain. Though in mourning, Gordon continued his studies.

“Despite the emotional interruptions occasioned by his mother’s death and his father’s subsequent remarriage, Gordon pressed toward graduation. In June 1932, he was awarded a bachelor of arts degree with a major in English and a minor in ancient languages from the University of Utah…

“Determined to further advance his education and to better prepare himself for his life’s work, Gordon intended to enroll at the Columbia University School of Journalism in New York City, then considered perhaps the finest journalism school in the country. Years later he counseled: ‘Whatever you choose to do, train for it. Qualify yourselves. Take advantage of the experience and learning of those who have gone before you in whatever field you choose. Education is a shortcut to proficiency. It makes it possible to leapfrog over the mistakes of the past.’

“As it turned out, however, Gordon’s preparation was to be more expansive and far different from what he had envisioned.”

Shortly after graduation, Gordon was invited to serve as a missionary for the Mormon faith in the heart of one of the most literary regions of the world: London, England. He was 23 years old.