Everyone is largely the product of his or her beliefs, President Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor in the First Presidency, said March 1 at an 18-stake fireside at the BYU Marriott Center. Behavior, said President Hinckley, is governed by these beliefs and they become a person's standards of conduct.

President Hinckley shared with students 10 articles of belief that he has tried to observe throughout the years. "While I speak in a personal vein, I feel the things I mention are of universal application."One, "I believe in the wonders of the human body and the miracle of the human mind.

"Have you ever contemplated the wonder of yourself, the eyes with which you see, the ears with which you hear, the voice with which you speak?" he asked. "What a remarkable thing each of us is. We can think by day and dream by night. We can speak and hear, smell and feel.

"I believe the human body to be the creation of Divinity." And speaking of the human mind, he said, "Think of its power to assimilate knowledge, to analyze and synthesize."

Two, "I believe in beauty.

"The earth in its pristine beauty is an expression of the nature of its Creator," President Hinckley added. "I see and admire beauty in people. I have seen beautiful people in a hundred nations through which I have walked. Little children are beautiful everywhere. And so are the aged whose wrinkled hands and faces speak of struggle and survival.

"My dear young friends, there is so much of ugliness in the world in which you live. It is found in the scarred earth, the polluted waters, the befouled air. It is expressed in coarse language, in sloppy dress and manners, in immoral behavior which mocks the beauty of virtue and always leaves a scar. But you can rise above this and revel in the beauty to be found with a little searching."

Three, "I believe in the gospel of work."

There is no substitute for productive labor, he remarked. "It is the process by which dreams become realities. It is the process by which idle visions become dynamic achievements. It is stretching our minds and utilizing the skills of our hands that lift us from mediocrity."

Four, "I believe that honesty is still the best policy.

"What a destructive thing is a little dishonesty. It has become a cankering disease in our society. Cheating in the payment of taxes robs the treasury of millions and places undue burdens on those who pay. Employee theft, padded expense accounts, and similar things bring tremendous losses to business institutions. The institution may be able to stand the loss of money, but the individual cannot afford the loss of self-respect."

Five, "I believe in the obligation and blessing of service."

Most of the troubles of the world come because of human greed, President Hinckley explained. "What a therapeutic and wonderful thing it is for a man or woman to set aside all consideration of personal gain and reach out with strength and energy and purpose to help the unfortunate, to improve the community, to clean up the environment and beautify our surroundings.

"No man can live fully and happily who lives only unto himself."

Six, "I believe the family to be the basic and most important unit of society.

"The greatest joys of life are experienced in happy family relationships," he said. "The most poignant of sorrows, the most bleak and forlorn feelings of misery come of unhappy family life."

He said there are many failures, but the greatest of these is the failure "which is found in broken homes. . . . Immeasurable is the heartache."

"The root of most of this is found in selfishness. The cure for most of it can be found in repentance on the part of the offender and forgiveness on the part of the offended. In my judgment the real essence of happiness in marriage lies not so much in romance as in an anxious concern for the comfort and well-being of one's companion.

"Marriage, in its truest sense, is a partnership of equals, with neither exercising dominion over the other, but, rather, with each encouraging and assisting the other in whatever responsibilities and aspirations he or she might have."

Seven, "I believe in the principle of thrift."

Many of the recent business failures in America are the fruits of imprudent borrowing, of debts so large they cannot be paid, President Hinckley explained.

"But this problem is not confined to business institutions. It is shared by individuals in countless numbers in our land.

"Reasonable debt for the purchase of an affordable home and perhaps for a few other necessary things is acceptable. But from where I sit, I see in a very vivid way the terrible tragedies of many who have gone on a binge of borrowing for things they really do not need."

Eight, "I believe in myself."

President Hinckley commented: "I believe that I am a child of God, endowed with a divine birthright. I believe that there is something of divinity within me and within each of you. I believe that we have a Godly inheritance and that it is our responsibility, our obligation, and our opportunity to cultivate and nurture the very best of these qualities within us.

"I believe in the principle that I can make a difference in this world. It may be ever so small, but it will count for the greater good. The goodness of the world in which we live is the accumulated goodness of many small and seemingly inconsequential acts."

Nine, "I believe in God, my Eternal Father, and in His Beloved Son, the Redeemer of the world.

"I believe in the principle of the Golden Rule enunciated by Jesus Christ - `Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them.'

"I believe in the principle of the Second Mile of which He spoke in the Sermon on the Mount. Though it is difficuilt to follow, I believe in that forbearance and forgiveness and charity which He taught."

Ten, "I believe in prayer."

"[I believeT in the invitation to come unto my Eternal Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe in prayer, the precious and wonderful privilege given each of us for our individual guidance, comfort and peace.

"These . . . are my 10 articles of belief. In so stating them, I have used the first person singular. . . . I have done so, only to hold before you these beliefs with the hope that they may find application in your lives."