The responsibilities of a regional representative - of being a teacher, a motivator and an example worthy of emulation - were emphasized by President Thomas S. Monson at the annual Regional Representatives Seminar.

"Each of us has been called to the banner of the Lord," said President Monson, second counselor in the First Presidency. "Our work has been outlined. Our opportunities beckon."President Monson said when he views the priesthood power assembled at the seminar, his thoughts turn to President J. Reuben Clark Jr. "He said time and again, `If ye are not one, ye are not mine,' citing the teachings of Jesus."

President Monson shared an experience he once had while visiting with President Clark.

"He was in a quiet, reflective mood. He sat back from that large desk stacked with papers and books. He held the scriptures in his hands and lifted his eyes from the printed page and read aloud to me a passage from this book of Ecclesiastes, the preacher: `Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.'

"A treasured truth," President Monson continued, "really a profound philosophy. And through the years that memory has remained bright in my mind. I love, I cherish the noble word, `duty.' "

A statement by President George Albert Smith is still applicable to leaders today, President Monson noted, who quoted the former prophet. " `It is your duty first of all, to learn what the Lord wants, and then by the power and strength of your holy priesthood to so magnify your calling . . . that the people will be glad to follow you.'

"And what does it mean to magnify your calling?" President Monson asked. "It means to build it up in dignity . . . to enlarge and strengthen it, to let the light of heaven shine through your performance to the gaze of all men. And how does one magnify a calling? Simply by performing the service that pertains to it."

President Monson counseled regional representatives to teach and inspire.

"It has been said that a mediocre teacher tells, a good teacher explains, a superior teacher demonstrates, but the great teacher inspires. . . . And remember, brethren, that you are on the Lord's errand, and therefore you are entitled to the Lord's help. . . .

"The battle for the souls of men rages daily," he continued. "The forces of evil do not yield ground willingly. We must not falter. We must not flinch. United in the cause of truth, we indeed shall prevail."

President Monson explained that a crucial conflict affecting society involves the youth.

"They are being bombarded on all sides by the siren voice of sin. Peer group pressures, abandonment of conventional constraints, and the ever-present allurement of the television screen come in conflict with parental teaching, seminary instruction, and individual determination to stand fast for righteous principles."

President Monson noted that the new budget policy can be a help to strengthening youths and other Church members as they discover "that treasures of activities and opportunities to serve are found right at home."

"To find the real happiness we seek we must find it in a focus outside ourselves," he declared. "No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to his fellowmen. Service to others is akin to duty, the fulfillment of which brings true joy."