Members of the Church should reach out to the afflicted with compassion and understanding and have no joy in calamities, whether self-inflicted or not, Bishop Glenn L. Pace, second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, said Saturday morning.

"We must all become players in the winding-up scene, not spectators," he admonished. "We must do all we can to prevent calamities, and then do everything possible to assist and comfort the victims of tragedies that do occur."Just as earthly parents have warned their children against harm, so the Lord has warned the inhabitants of the earth, he said.

"How are we responding to the cries for help from God's children? Do we ask, `Why don't you be more careful?' " Bishop Pace asked.

Two attitude adjustments may be necessary before members of the Church can assist others, he explained.

First, fatalism must be overcome, he said. "We know the world collectively will not repent . . . and the last days will be filled with much pain and suffering," he noted. "Therefore, we could throw up our hands and do nothing but pray for the end to come so the millennial reign could begin. To do so would forfeit our right to participate in the grand event we are all awaiting."

As we fight again evil, Bishop Pace said, "We must not neglect our responsibility of dressing the wounds of those who have fallen in battle."

The second attitude adjustment is to "not allow ourselves to find satisfaction in calamities of the last days," Bishop Pace explained.

Many wounds are self-inflicted and could have been avoided by obeying the principles of the gospel, he said. However, he added, "To shrug it off as `their problem' is not acceptable to the Lord. Our forgiveness must be manifest by reaching out to help mend wounds even when they are the result of transgression."Bishop Pace asked what the Church and individuals should be doing to alleviate the "mammoth need in the world."

"There is pain and sorrow all around us. We need to take more initiative as individuals in deciding how we can best be of service.

"I fear," he continued, "some members suffer from action paralysis, waiting for the Church to put its stamp of approval on one organization or another. The Church teaches principles. Use those principles and the Spirit to decide which organizations you would like to support.

"Good things can be done through the Church organization, community organizations, and very often through no formal organization at all," he said.