Prior to his call as an apostle, Hunter held several leadership positions in the LDS Church. He was the first
president of the church's
Pasadena California Stake, where he had also served as a
bishop. Hunter became a member of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1959. He filled a vacancy in the Quorum created when apostle
Henry D. Moyle was added to the
First Presidency following the death of
Stephen L Richards, a counselor in the First Presidency. In January 1965, Hunter was appointed the president of the board of directors of the
Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC). At the time, the PCC was two years old, had just closed its second year with a loss of nearly $500,000, and had barely made payroll the month before. Hunter reduced board membership from 21 to 10, drew members with more broad business backgrounds, and emphasized "good hard headed business practice." In three years, the PCC was turning a profit. He remained the president of PCC's board of directors until 1976. As an apostle, Hunter led church negotiations to acquire land in
Jerusalem to build the
BYU Jerusalem Center, which he dedicated in 1989. In 1970, when
Joseph Fielding Smith became president of the church, Hunter succeeded him as
Church Historian and Recorder. Hunter held this position until 1972, and was succeeded by
Leonard J. Arrington. In November 1985, when
Ezra Taft Benson became church president, Hunter was named
Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve due to the infirmity of
Marion G. Romney, who became quorum president by seniority. Hunter became church president in June 1994, following Benson's death. Hunter retained
Gordon B. Hinckley and
Thomas S. Monson as counselors in the
First Presidency. He offered a conciliatory message at his initial news conference, saying, "To those who have transgressed or been offended, we say, 'Come back.'" Some of Hunter's contributions as church president include the creation of the church's 2000th
stake and drafting of the "
Proclamation on the Family", which was released six months after his death. As church president, Hunter encouraged and emphasized Christ-like living and
temple attendance. He dedicated the
Orlando Florida and
Bountiful Utah temples shortly before his death. Hunter's
teachings as an apostle were the 2016 course of study in the LDS Church's Sunday
Relief Society and
Melchizedek priesthood classes.
Leadership in other LDS Church-owned endeavors Hunter served in several LDS Church assignments not directly related to ecclesiastical matters while a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of
Brigham Young University and closely involved with the founding of the
J. Reuben Clark Law School. He also was a member of the Board of Trustees of the
New World Archaeology Foundation, chairman of the board of the PCC, and president of the
Genealogical Society of Utah.
Attempted hostage incident While preparing to speak at a
CES fireside being held at
Brigham Young University's
Marriott Center on February 7, 1993, Hunter was confronted by Cody Judy, who rushed onto the rostrum and threatened Hunter and the audience of 15,000 to 17,000. Judy carried a briefcase that he claimed contained a bomb and held what appeared to be a detonator-like device. Judy demanded that Hunter read a three-page document that supposedly detailed God's plan for Judy to lead the church, which Hunter refused to do. The audience spontaneously sang "
We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet", during which students from the audience, and then security personnel, overtook Judy. After Judy was taken away, Hunter delivered his prepared remarks, a talk entitled, "An Anchor to the Souls of Men." ==Health problems and death==