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Summarized by Rosemary Pollock
Building on Spiritual Foundations
Salt Lake Tribune 3Apr00 N1
By Bob Mims and Peggy Fletcher Stack: Salt Lake Tribune
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke before 21,000 Mormons
meeting for the first time in the new Conference Center, and to
millions via television and satellite broadcast, during the church's
170th Annual General Conference on Sunday. In nearly nine decades,
President Hinckley spoke of the phenomenal expansion the Church has
experienced as it has grown from a regional sect to one of the
world's fastest growing religions.
He announced that 76 temples are now in operation and that 36 new temples
will be dedicated by the end of the year. New temples were announced to be
built in Aba, Nigeria; Helsinki, Finland; Asuncion, Paraguay; Lubbock,
Texas; Snowflake, Arizona and a temple yet to be announced "somewhere in the
Tri-Cities area of Washington."
President Hinckley spoke of personal prayer and a sense of "lingering
peace and security in communing with the heavens." He described a spiritual
witness of the healing power of prayer, and an experience that grew with
him into manhood and a life of service to The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.
"The earliest instance of which I have recollection of spiritual feelings
was when I was about 5 years of age, a very small boy. I was crying from
the pain of an earache. There were no wonder drugs at that time," President
Hinckley said. He noted that while his father prayed, his mother instead
prepared a home remedy, an oven warmed bag of salt. "[He} softly put his
hands upon my head and gave me a blessing, rebuking the pain and the
illness...He than took me tenderly in his arms and placed the bag of warm
salt at my ear. The pain subsided and left. I fell asleep in my father's
secure embrace."
"[Christ] is my God and my king," Hinckley said. "None other can take his
place. None other ever will. Unblemished and without fault of any kind, he
is the lamb of God to whom I bow and through whom I approach my eternal
Father in Heaven." To President Hinckley's testimony was the added
testimony of first counselor, Thomas S. Monson. "We are builders of eternal
houses. We are apprentices to the trade--not skilled craftsmen. We need
divine help if we are to build successfully," Monson said. "When we
remember that each of us is literally a spirit son or daughter of God, we
will not find it difficult to approach our Heavenly Father in prayer."
Relief Society President Mary Ellen Smoot spoke to the center's audience
and those watching via television and satellite links overseas that they are
"children of God." "Shouldn't we be about our Father's business? Shouldn't
we be creators as well?" "Have you ever coaxed a smile from a baby? Have
you ever taught someone to forgive? Have you fasted and prayed for those
who were ill? If you have done some of these things, you have been
creative."
Apostle Neal A. Maxwell urged Mormons to be content with the gifts and time
God has alloted. "Being content means acceptance without self-pity," he
said. "Meekly borne, however, deprivations can end up being like
excavations that make room for greatly enlarged souls." Ultimately, he said,
"Spiritual contentment rests on our accepting the atonement of Jesus."
Between the sessions of General Conference, church owned KSL-TV and KBYU
aired a special video entitled, "Special Witnesses of Christ." It was
produced by the church and featured the 12 LDS apostles describing certain
aspects of their beliefs along with their testimonies of the divinity of
Jesus Christ.
The one-hour video began with President Hinckley looking out on sites of
the Holy Land from Jerusalem's Brigham Young University Center. Each
apostle appeared in different locations from Jerusalem to New York. James
E. Faust, Second Counselor to President Hinckley, perhaps spoke for all when
he said, "I recognize that I am an ordinary man, but with one special gift--
a certain knowledge that Jesus Christ is our savior."
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