President Gordon B. Hinckley testified that "revelation from the Lord is made manifest in the naming of a stake president."
Addressing the Saturday evening priesthood session, President Hinckley said, "I once spoke in this meeting on bishops, and tonight I wish to speak about stake presidents."He recalled two experiences meeting stake presidents at stake conferences he attended as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve.
In one, he said, "the president was a man of wealth and affluence. He was very successful by the standards of the world. He lived in a magnificent home. He met me at the airport in a beautiful car. We had lunch at a first-class restaurant. And yet he was humble in his office, anxious to learn and ever willing to do the right thing in administering the affairs of his stake."
In the other visit, the stake president was a carpenter by trade who "had none of the fancy things of the world. He, too, was a wonderful stake president doing his duty in a remarkable way. He was excellent in every respect.
"Such is the wonder of this priesthood. Wealth is not a factor. Education is not a factor. The honors of men are not a factor. The controlling factor is acceptability unto the Lord."
President Hinckley told of being assigned to reorganize a stake about 40 years ago. It was the first such assignment he had as a new General Authority. The president had suddenly died, and Elder Hinckley participated in the funeral service. He subsequently asked the mission president to sit with him as he interviewed all of the stake officers and bishops pursuant to a reorganization of the stake that would take place the next evening.
"We interviewed late into the evening," he said. "I soon discovered there were problems in the stake. There were divisive feelings. When we were all through, I said to the mission president: 'I am not satisfied. Are there not others?' He said: 'I know of only one man whom we have not interviewed. He moved here rather recently on a transfer in his company. He is the second counselor in a bishopric. I do not know him well. He resides in another city.' "
From his hotel room, Elder Hinckley telephoned the man, who had just gone to bed. He agreed to dress and come to the hotel.
"The conversation that followed was most interesting," he recalled. "He was a graduate of BYU in petroleum geology. He worked for a big oil company. He had served elsewhere in positions of responsibility in the Church. He knew the program of the Church. He had served a mission. He knew the gospel. He was mature in the Church. And the territory for which he was responsible as an employee of the oil company was exactly the same as the territory of the stake. I told him we would telephone him in the morning and excused him."
At about 3 a.m., Elder Hinckley awoke with doubts flooding his mind. "The man was almost a total stranger to the people of the stake. I got out of bed and got on my knees and pleaded with the Lord for direction. I did not hear a voice, but I had a very distinct impression that said, 'I told you who should be stake president. Why do you continue to ask?'
"Ashamed of myself for troubling the Lord again, I went to bed and fell asleep. I phoned the man early the next morning and issued to him a call to serve as president of the stake."
Even though they did not know the new stake president, the people sustained him. A needed stake center was constructed and ready for dedication within 18 months.
"He unified the stake," President Hinckley said. "He traveled up and down, meeting the people and extending his love to them. That stake which had grown tired came to life and literally bubbled with new enthusiasm. It stands today as a shining star in the large constellation of stakes in this Church."
President Hinckley said the office of stake president came into the Church in 1832, when Joseph Smith, the president of the Church, was also a stake president. In 1834, a new stake was organized in Missouri, and the pattern was changed, with officers drawn from priesthood ranks, he added.
The program of the Church has grown increasingly complex, and the demands upon stake presidents have grown. Smaller stakes have been created, and there are now 2,550 of them in the Church, with more approved for organization, President Hinckley said.
"The president of the stake is the officer called under revelation to stand between the bishops of the wards and the General Authorities of the Church," he explained. "His is a most important responsibility. He is trained by the General Authorities, and in turn he trains the bishops."
The stake president serves as an adviser to the bishops, he explained. "Every bishop knows that when he has to deal with a difficult problem, there is one readily available to whom he may go to share his burden and receive counsel."
The stake president provides a "secondary measure of safety" in determining those worthy to attend the temple, President Hinckley said, explaining that bishops are very close to their people and sometimes do not have the heart to refuse to grant a recommend, even though the patron's worthiness may be in question. But the stake president also interviews for a recommend.
Likewise, he is a second screen in determining the worthiness of prospective missionaries, President Hinckley noted, in that he interviews the candidate, endorses the recommendation, sets apart those called and releases them.
"Most importantly," President Hinckley said, "he is the principal disciplinary officer of the stake."
The stake president sees that the doctrine taught in the stake is kept pure and unsullied, counsels with those who may be out of line, and, if the individual persists in the practice, is obliged to take action. "He will summon the offender to appear before a disciplinary council where action may be taken to assign a probationary period or to disfellowship or excommunicate him or her from the Church.
"This is a most onerous and unwelcome task, but the president must face up to it without fear or favor. . . .
"Then subsequently he must do all he can to labor with and bring back in due time the one who was disciplined."
He exclaimed: "What a wonderful body of men comprise the stake presidents of this Church. Chosen by inspiration, they are most diligent in the pursuit of their duties. They are men of ability. They are men well schooled in the doctrines and practices of the Church. They are men of great faith. They are men who are called of the Lord to preside in the areas of their jurisdiction."
President Hinckley said he knows of the office of stake president, because his grandfather was one when the Church had only 25 stakes, his father presided for years over the largest stake in the Church, he was a stake president himself before being called as a General Authority, and one of his sons has just been released after nine years as stake president. "This represents four generations serving in this capacity," he said.
"I have total confidence in the men who fill this office," he declared. "Their duties are numerous, their responsibilities great. They recognize their own inadequacy, and I know that they pray for guidance and help. I know they study the scriptures to find answers. I know they place this work first in their lives. Because we have such confidence in them, we urge local members that they not seek out General Authorities to counsel and bless them. Their stake presidents have been called under the same inspiration under which the General Authorities were called."
President Hinckley added: "There is no other office in the Church quite like this office. The president of the stake is close enough to the people to know them and love them. And yet, with his counselors, he stands aloof enough to deal objectively according to the will and pattern of the Lord.
"I pray that the rich and wondrous blessings of the Lord may be poured out upon these devoted brethren that they may be men of faith, men of inspired judgment, men of patience, men who love the Lord and who love His people."
"Such is the wonder of this priesthood. Wealth is not a factor. Education is not a factor. The honors of men are not a factor. The controlling factor is acceptability unto the Lord."