Meaning

Hinckley is drawing a distinction between two very different ways of moving through life. Endurance implies gritting one's teeth, accepting difficulty, and simply getting through each day. Enjoyment implies something more active: choosing to find pleasure, humor, and connection along the way. His point is that life asks more of us than bare survival. A full life is one that is lived with genuine delight, not merely tolerated until it ends.

Context

Gordon B. Hinckley was a religious leader who often spoke and wrote about living with optimism and gratitude. This particular sentiment reflects a theme that runs through much of his public speaking: that faith and joy are not in tension, and that a good life is not a grim one. He frequently encouraged the people he addressed to laugh more, worry less, and approach their circumstances with lightness and appreciation. The quote captures that spirit in a compact and memorable form.

About the author

Gordon B. Hinckley served as the fifteenth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a position he held from 1995 until his death in 2008. He was known for his warmth, his humor, and his ability to connect with audiences both inside and outside his faith. Over a long public career he gave thousands of addresses and interviews and wrote several books. He was widely respected for combining a serious commitment to his beliefs with a genuine lightness of spirit that made him an unusually approachable figure.