Touching lives with faith comprised the priesthood session address of Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve Saturday evening.

He recalled President Gordon B. Hinckley's admonition from the last conference, that each Church member's obligation in the work of the Lord is as serious as is the Church president's."The life you touch in your service will be as valuable to God as any other life," Elder Eyring explained. "And so how you touch a life is as serious a matter for you as it would be for any other servant of God."

He drew upon Luke 17:5-6 and Alma 32:28-29 to show that a human heart needs preparation for the word of God to take root.

"You recognize that what they choose to do and what the Savior has done may matter more than what you do," he said. "But there are things you can do to make it more likely that they will make the choices that will move them toward eternal life."

It is not enough for them to hear the word of God, but they must try it by keeping the commandments, he noted. "They must choose to keep the commandments because they feel at least a beginning desire to know the will of our Heavenly Father and submit to it. That feeling of surrender is not likely to come unless they experience some feeling of being loved and some value in their being meek and lowly of heart."

Teaching the word in a way that emphasizes God's love - as Aaron did with King Lamoni's father - is more likely to touch the heart of the one being taught, he pointed out.

"Life," he said, "has in it moments of challenge that will bring even

thoseT most hardened to spiritual things to say to themselves: `Isn't there more than this?' If you have been a constant friend, if you have proved your love by service and so become trusted, they may turn to you with that question. When they do, you can say, knowing that their hearts are prepared: `Yes, there is, and I can tell you where it is and what you can do to find it.' "

Teaching becomes easier as the one being taught tries the word of God and exercises faith, he said. "Faith, when exercised, increases. And that increase in faith will give greater power to hear and to obey."

Even after obtaining blessings, people need to have their faith refreshed and strengthened, lest they be overcome by pride and the trials of life, he noted.

Christ will make fishers of men of those whom He calls, just as He did at the beginning of His earthly ministry, Elder Eyring said. "It won't be done by a mysterious process. It will be the natural result of your choosing to follow Him. (Matt. 4:18-20.)"

Those who follow Christ will find a mighty change in themselves as they continue to do so, he promised. "You can trust that He will qualify you as His servant, to assist Him in touching lives with faith to bring to pass the eternal life of man. And you will find satisfaction in that service beyond your fondest dreams."