The importance of serving others and reaching the realization that each person is a child of God and is loved by Him were the messages delivered in the Church's first-ever satellite fireside for all single-adult members.

President Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor in the First Presidency, and President Howard W. Hunter of the Council of the Twelve addressed the thousands of people gathered in the Tabernacle on Temple Square. Thousands of others also watched the proceedings, telecast over the Church's satellite network to some 2,000 meetinghouses in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.President Ezra Taft Benson attended the fireside, which was conducted by President Thomas S. Monson, second counselor in the First Presidency. The entire congregation arose when President Benson entered the Tabernacle. After greeting the General Authorities sitting on the stand, President Benson turned to those in the congregation, smiled and motioned with his hands for them to sit down.

After he sat down, President Benson then turned and waved at members of the Mormon Youth Chorus who were sitting behind him. Many of the choir members waved back. The choir provided music for the fireside.

A video presentation, with Elder Marion D. Hanks, a member of the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy, interviewing a panel of single Church members was also part of the fireside. (See separate story on page 4.)

In his address, President Hinckley said, "Somehow we have put a badge on this large group. It reads `singles.' I wish we would not do that. You are individuals, men and women, sons and daughters of God, not a mass of `look-alikes' or `do-alikes.' Because you do not happen to be married does not make you essentially different from others," said President Hinckley.

"We have our individual problems and concerns, and I know of no one in this world who is entirely without these, be he or she single or married," continued President Hinckley, who gave the closing address.

President Hinckley then spoke of the four major groups of single people in the Church: recently returned missionaries, single sisters, single parents, and those who have lost a companion to death.

To the recently returned missionaries, President Hinckley said: "I do not worry about you . . . you know as well as I what you ought to do. It is your responsibility and opportunity, under the natural process of dating and courting, to find a wonderful companion and marry in the House of the Lord."

President Hinckley counseled the single sisters in the Church to get involved in service. "You are needed," he said. "There are young people to be taught in the organizations of the Church. Refine your skills. Accept every challenge and assignment. Put time and effort into the preparation of your lessons. Keep your spiritual batteries at full charge and light the lamps of others. It is better to light one candle than to curse the dark.

"The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best medicine for despair is

service. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired. To you wonderful women I send a charge to reach beyond the routine of your daily work to service, even exhausting service, in the Church, in the community, in the society of which you are a part."

To single parents who are striving to raise righteous children, President Hinckley said: "This is a lonely duty. But you need not be entirely alone. There are many . . . who would reach out to you with sensitivity and understanding."

To those who are widowed, President Hinckley counseled: "You, too, have great talent to enrich the lives of others. You will find comfort and strength as you lose yourself in this service."

In President Hunter's opening address, he emphasized that the Church is for all members. "All of us, single or married, have individual identities and needs, among which is the desire to be seen as a worthwhile individual child of God.

"The gospel we preach is the gospel of Jesus Christ, which encompasses all the saving ordinances and covenants necessary to save and exalt every individual who is willing to accept Christ and keep the commandments which He and our Father in Heaven have given."

Each person must individually work out his own salvation, observed the president of the Council of the Twelve.

President Hunter also urged single Church members to get involved in serving others. He used the Savior as the perfect example of one who looked beyond Himself and reached out to others.

"What a marvelous example for us to follow," President Hunter exclaimed. "How foolish we would be to fail to enjoy the rich gifts of God to us! We could well miss opportunities for providing needed blessings to others because we felt personally deprived of some hoped for blessing and were blinded by our own self-pity."