Global turmoil has had no slowing effect on the LDS Church or its proselytizing efforts, said church President Gordon B. Hinckley on Saturday during the opening session of the faith's 173rd annual General Conference.
"We continue to grow across the world," Hinckley told more than 20,000 people gathered in the Conference Center in downtown Salt Lake City and millions more watching via satellite. "Our missionary work goes on without serious impediment."
As converts flood into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hinckley urged longtime members to reach out to them and make them feel more at home.
"Bless them with your friendship. Encourage them with your faith. See that there are no losses among them," the 92-year-old leader of the 11-million member LDS church said.
While referring to a troubled world, Hinckley did not address the war in Iraq directly, saying he would do so during a conference session today.
The church president told members to pay their tithes and cautioned them to stay out of debt and avoid "get rich quick" schemes and other "entanglements which are nearly always designed to trap the gullible." He promised that church officials would manage the church's finances wisely.
"We will strictly tailor the program to the tithing income and use these sacred funds for the purposes designated by the Lord," Hinckley said, including the construction of 400 new chapels and several new temples each year.
The church bought Crossroads Mall in Salt Lake City because it had a "compelling responsibility to protect the immediate environs of the Salt Lake Temple," which is across the street from the mall, he said. "We have felt it imperative to do something to revitalize the area."
But Hinckley made it clear that money for the purchase will come from the church's commercial entities and not from tithing funds.
He reported that the Perpetual Education Fund, launched in 2001, has now provided financial assistance to about 8,000 young men and women in developing countries.
"On average, with the two years of education they are now receiving, they are increasing their income some 400 percent," Hinckley said. "It is a miracle."
And he praised members for their willingness to serve as church volunteers, especially missionaries.
M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles added his praise for the efforts made by missionaries since last fall's conference, in which he challenged young men to be better prepared for their two years of service.
"We asked them to be worthy, qualified, spiritually energized missionaries," Ballard said during this year's opening session of the two-day conference. "We don't expect them to be perfect, but they need to be anxious, willing, and committed to serve so they can reach new levels of spirituality as gospel teachers."
That elevated standard applies equally to all members, he said.
"We must be more faithful. We must be more spiritually in tune. We must prepare ourselves to assist the missionaries in finding those of our Heavenly Father's children who will embrace the message," Ballard said.
He suggested that members provide prayerful assistance to the missionaries, offering names of potential converts in their neighborhoods and cities.
Missionary work does not require particular strategies or gimmicks, he said. "We are not marketing a product. We are not selling anything. We are not trying to impress anyone with our numbers or our growth."
Missionaries are preaching "the restored gospel of Jesus Christ," Ballard said. "But as powerful as our message is, it cannot be imposed or forced upon people. It can only be shared -- heart to heart, soul to soul, spirit to spirit and with love."
At Saturday's concluding all-male priesthood session, Hinckley echoed that sentiment.
"The church will not dictate to any man, but it will counsel, it will persuade, it will urge and it will expect loyalty from those who profess membership therein," he said.
He said he is grateful for Latter-day Saints, especially men and women of achievement, of accomplishment, of education, of influence and of strength, who "align themselves with the church."
"Each of us has to face the matter -- either the church is true, or it is a fraud," he said. "It is the church and kingdom of God or it is nothing."