In comments to the media after visiting President Bill Clinton at the White House Nov. 13, President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "It is our feeling that if you're going to fix the nation, you need to start by fixing families. That's the place to begin."

The family was the predominant topic of conversation during the visit President Hinckley had with President Clinton. The visit renewed an acquaintance dating back to 1992 when then-candidate Clinton visited Salt Lake City and met with the First Presidency. The last visit of a Church president to the White House was in 1986 when President Ezra Taft Benson called on President Ronald Reagan."We had a very delightful visit," President Hinckley said. Vice President Al Gore was present for a short time during the visit. Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve and chairman of the Church's Public Affairs committee accompanied President Hinckley to the White House.

President Hinckley presented President Clinton a copy of the Church's "Proclamation on the Family," issued in September by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. The proclamation calls for "responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society." (See Sept. 30 Church News.)

Presentation of the proclamation to President Clinton led to a discussion on the importance of families. President Hinckley said that President Clinton was very respectful and appreciative of what Church leaders had to say on the subject. "President Clinton has spoken a good deal about family values recently and we discussed that and expressed our appreciation for what he has said," President Hinckley added.

President Clinton was also presented a volume containing six generations of his family history and another containing that of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. A copy of each family history was provided for the Clintons' daughter Chelsea. President Hinckley described the President "as most appreciative and very grateful" to have the history. "He leafed through the book and we talked about his forebears," President Hinckley said.

President Hinckley said he told the President that "we advocate in the Church a program we call family home evening, reserving one night a week where father, mother and children sit down together and talk – talk about the family and about one another and study some together." He suggested that President Clinton might "get Hillary and Chelsea and sit down with those books and have a family home evening." President Clinton said he would take the family history books with him to Camp David for Thanksgiving where the family could have a good time discussing their heritage.

White House spokeswoman Mary Ellen Glynn said the conversation covered a range of issues, including welfare, education and the need for parents to be actively involved in their children's lives.