"This has been a most remarkable thing, this conference," said President Gordon B. Hinckley in the closing moments of the Sunday afternoon session. As the conference's concluding speaker, he said he was setting aside what he had prepared to say so he could speak in an informal way.

"We've listened to 28 different speakers," he continued. "No one was assigned a topic on which to speak. Each was free to choose his or her message. There's always the risk of repetition in that. But isn't it remarkable that all of it seems to have been woven together into a beautiful fabric of expression of faith and testimony. I'm grateful for what we've heard."I'll be a better man," he said, "if I will put into my life the things of which I have been reminded in this conference. And I'd like to suggest that each of you will be a better man or woman if you will put into your lives something of what you have heard in this great conference."

Then President Hinckley turned to the subject of prayer. "I know that you are a praying people," he said. "That is a wonderful thing in this day and time when the practice of prayer is slipping from our lives. To call upon the Lord for wisdom beyond our own, for strength to do what we ought to do, for comfort and consolation and for the expression of gratitude is a significant and wonderful thing.

"We know that you pray for us and we appreciate your prayers. They sustain us. They remind us of the great trust which you have placed in us.

"I want you to know that we pray for you always. We pray for you that you may be happy, and in living the gospel we pray that there may be love and peace in your homes and growing goodness in your lives."

He continued: "For God sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (See John 3:16.) This is the goal for each of us. And the great purpose of the work in which we are engaged is to help each of us along the way of immortality and eternal lives."

He said that he thanks the Lord each morning for the restoration of the gospel and for what it means to members of the Church.

President Hinckley then exhorted parents to love and cherish their children. "They are so precious," he said. "They're so very, very important. They are the future."

Then he counseled, "You need more than your own wisdom in rearing them. You need the help of the Lord. Pray for that help and follow the inspiration which you receive."

As he neared the end of his remarks, President Hinckley twice expressed his love for the people, "even those who transgress," he said. "We want you to know that we love you. We cannot condone the sin, but we love the sinner."

He concluded by leaving a blessing that "as you walk in faith there may be peace in your hearts and goodness and gladness in your lives, and that the Spirit of the Lord may dwell with you in your homes to bring nurture to you and those you love most dearly."