It may not be possible to convert the world to using the full and correct name of the Church instead of using "Mormon," but the nickname can bring luster, honor and respect to the Church, President Gordon B. Hinckley said Sunday morning.

"Many of our people are disturbed by the practice of the media, and of many others, to disregard totally the true name of the Church and to use the nickname, `the Mormon Church,' " said President Hinckley, first counselor in the First Presidency."Because of the shortness of the word Mormon and the ease with which it is spoken and written, they will continue to call us the Mormons, the Mormon Church and so forth. They could do worse."

A statement made by one of President Hinckley's associates while he was a missionary in England more than 50 years ago helped him appreciate the nickname. His friend told him that Mormon means more good.

"I knew, of course, that `more good' was not a derivative of the word Mormon," President Hinckley explained. "But his was a positive attitude based on an interesting perception. And, as we all know, our lives are guided in large measure by our perceptions.

"After all, it is the name of a man who was a great prophet who struggled to save his nation, and also the name of a book which is a mighty testament of eternal truth, a veritable witness of the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ."

Mormon was the chief compiler of the Book of Mormon, a book that has touched for good the lives of millions who have prayerfully read it and pondered its language, President Hinckley added.

"While I sometimes regret that people do not call this Church by its proper name, I am happy that the nickname they use is one of great honor made so by a remarkable man and a book which gives an unmatched testimony concerning the Redeemer of the world."

Anyone who comes to know the man Mormon by reading the history he helped preserved, "will come to know that Mormon is not a word of disrepute, but that it represents the greatest good, that good which is of God.

"All of this places upon us of this Church and this generation an incumbent and demanding responsibility to recognize that as we are spoken of as Mormons, we must so live that our example will enhance the perception that Mormon can mean in a very real way, more good.

"I regret that we as a people do not observe (the Word of Wisdom) more faithfully," he said. "But remarkable have been the blessings that have come of its observance to the degree that we have observed it."

President Hinckley spoke of a recently completed eight-year study at the UCLA School of Public Medicine, which found that Mormons are healthier and live longer compared to other groups.

"Can you doubt that the word Mormon, spoken in this context, means more good? It means, on average, a longer life. It means, on average, a life substantially more free of pain and misery. It means more happiness."

President Hinckley continued, "As with personal and public health, so also Mormon should mean more good in terms of family life.

"The strength of any community lies in the strength of its families. The strength of any nation lies in the strength of its families. Strong family life comes of strong and clear religious understanding of who we are, and why we are here, and of what we may eternally become.

"Strong family life comes of parents who love and respect one another, and who love and respect and nurture their children in the ways of the Lord.

"To the degree that we accomplish these Church-fostered goals Mormon means more good. It also means more of tolerance and mutual respect and helpfulness."

President Hinckley also spoke of respecting others regardless of race, religious denomination or other differences and gaining a love and appreciation and respect for all.

"How great a thing is charity, whether it be expressed through the giving of one's substance, the lending of one's strength to lift the burdens of others, or as an expression of kindness and appreciation.

"The people of this Church, the people of this so-called Mormon Church, have given generously of their resources to help those in need," he noted.

"And so I leave with you the simple but profound thought, `Mormon means more good.' It can come to mean that to all who know us. It can bring luster, and honor, and respect to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We, you and I, can make it happen.

"May God grant us the strength and the discipline so to conduct our lives as to follow more nearly the matchless example of the Redeemer, of whom it was said, `He went about doing good.'

"I testify that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that when people speak of us by the name of that book they will compliment us if we will live worthy of the name, remembering that in a very real sense Mormonism must mean that greater good which the Lord Jesus Christ exemplified."