While saying he wished young people success in their careers as well as in their personal lives, President Gordon B. Hinckley cautioned members of the LDS Student Association to beware the trap of greed.

President Hinckley, first counselor in the First Presidency, was the keynote speaker at a May 21 fireside in the Tabernacle on Temple Square, sponsored by the Salt Lake Institute of Religion's LDSSA. All single college-age young adults in the Salt Lake Valley were invited to the fireside. Some 5,000 attended.President Hinckley acknowledged that students were attending school to improve their opportunities for the future and to be successful.

"Successful in what?" President Hinckley asked. "Successful in earning money, successful in marriage, successful in your own sight and in the eyes of your friends. I wish every one of you great success. But I want to warn you of a trap that can destroy you in your eager search for success.

"That trap is greed, human greed. It is that devious, sinister, evil influence that says, `What I have is not enough. I must have more.' "

He said the Lord gave as the Tenth Commandment: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's." (Ex. 20:17.)

President Hinckley said there have been many changes in the world since that time, but human nature has not changed, and people should be careful how they measure success.

"I think if the Lord were speaking today and giving us the last of the Ten Commandments, He might say, `Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his position in society, nor his car, nor his boat, nor anything that is thy neighbour's.' "

He quoted from one of Paul's letters to Timothy: "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (1 Tim. 6:10.)

President Hinckley recounted the experience of contemporary individuals, who because of a consuming desire for money, have found themselves "pierced through with many sorrows."

He related a story about a man whose friends became his violent and hateful accusers when they, upon his advice, lost money in unsound investments. "I think it was not the money itself which destroyed them," President Hinckley theorized. "They could live without it. It was the love for money which took hold of them and drove them until they found themselves in difficulty and failure."

While it is right and proper for people to want to earn enough to make a comfortable living, it is dangerous for them to always want more, President Hinckley cautioned.

"No matter our circumstances, we want to improve them," he said. "This, too, is good if it is not carried to an extreme. I am satisfied that the Father of us all does not wish His children to walk in poverty. He wants the best for them. He wants them to have comforts and some of the good things of the earth. . . . It is when greed takes over, when we covet that which others have, that our affliction begins. And it can be a very sore and painful affliction."

He further said, "I wish every one of you might have some of the good things of life, but I hope your desire will not come of covetousness, which is an evil and gnawing disease. . . . I hope that you are successful, but I also hope that you will, at least in your younger days when you may be under financial stress, be modest in your physical wants. You do not need everything that you might wish. And the very struggle of your younger years will bring a sweetness and security to your later life."

He commended the virtues of thrift and industry, and cautioned, "Debt can be a terrible thing. It is so easy to incur and so difficult to repay."

Borrowing under some circumstances - such as to pay for an education or buy a home - may be necessary, he acknowledged and then added, "But be wise and do not go beyond your ability to pay."

President Hinckley then focused on a portion of the Tenth Commandment - "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife" - and said he believed that implied both in this and the commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Ex. 20:14) is the entire matter of morality, virtue and fidelity.

He encouraged the young people, once married, to be absolutely true and faithful to their companions. "Be clean before marriage," he admonished. "Be true forever after."

President Hinckley spoke of the "disgraceful divorce rate" in the United States, and of the harvest of heartbreak and tears brought about by adultery. "These tragedies, in so many cases, have also come of greed and egotism. These evils are mean and corrosive and devastating."

President Hinckley continued, " `Thou shalt not commit adultery,' or fornication, or anything like unto it. `Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife' or any other.

"It is not too early for you to reflect on these things. You are educating your minds and your hands to do the work which lies ahead of you. You must likewise educate your hearts and your emotions and also cultivate self-discipline and self-restraint. . . .

"Your wedding day will be the most important day of your lives. I hope that each of you can come to that day unsullied and happy. . . .

"Let not selfishness canker your relationship. Let not covetousness destroy your happiness. Let not greed, for that which you do not need and cannot get with honesty and integrity, bring you down to ruin and despair."