SALT LAKE CITY - Mormon church president Gordon B. Hinckley reaffirmed the importance of faith during the religion's 171st semiannual General Conference on Sunday.
Hinckley said devotion by the faithful has allowed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to flourish, from the pioneers who trekked to Utah in 1847 to the 11 million serving the church today.
"Faith underlies it all. Faith is the substance of it all. Whether it be going into the mission field, living the Word of Wisdom, paying one's tithing, it is all the same," Hinckley said.
Elder James E. Faust, counselor to the First Presidency, reminded church members of the importance of baptism for both the living and dead.
Mormons believe dead ancestors can be brought into the church through retroactive baptism, a sacred ordinance.
The church has created a genealogy Web site to make this easier. Faust said the church now has 660 million names on the FamilySearch Internet Web site.
Many of the two-day conference's 26 speakers touched on timeless religious themes, including faith and compassion, but also talked about the modern challenges faced during the information age.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve told followers not to be distracted by the deluge of information available on the Internet and television.
"Compare the impact of time spent merely in the same room as spectators for television viewing with the significance of time spent communicating with one another individually and as a family," Oaks said.
He warned against Internet pornography and online predators looking to lure children. Oaks said the Internet can be used for religious purposes, such as the church Web site.
While Hinckley vowed to continue to build more Mormon temples around the world, he also announced a plan to help missionaries from Third World countries.
The church now has 121 temples open, under construction or announced.
Mormons use temples to perform sacred ordinances like eternal marriage and baptisms by proxy of the dead. They are open to church members only and differ from more common meeting halls where regular services are held.
At Saturday night's men-only Priesthood Meeting, Hinckley said the church will have a program to fund college education for underprivileged members from around the world.
The fund will mainly assist church missionaries from areas such as Asia, Africa, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Philippines.
The church will give low-interest loans, payable after the recipient has finished college. The program will be funded by contributions from church members.
Hinckley compared the fund to the Perpetual Immigration Fund of the 19th century, when members donated money to help others immigrate to the United States in the church's early years.
In one of the weekend's few unscripted moments, the 90-year-old Hinckley explained his recent use of a cane, saying so many people had asked him about it that it became a topic at the conference.
He jokingly said many other church officials had walked with a cane. "I'm just getting in style," he said, drawing laughter in the 21,000-seat conference hall.
He added that he had been suffering from vertigo and was unsteady on his feet, but assured church members his health is fine.