Having returned the previous day from the Holy Land, President Gordon B. Hinckley invoked Christ's words to "be not faithless but be believing" as he addressed 138 new mission presidents and their wives Sunday, June 23.

Speaking, as he said, in an informal way and from his heart, the prophet capped four days of instruction and inspiration the new leaders and their wives received at the annual Seminar for New Mission Presidents at the Missionary Training Center here. The presidents will shortly begin their responsibilities in their respective fields of labor.In a surprise action Sunday, arranged by Elder David B. Haight of the Quorum of the Twelve who conducted the meeting, the assembly sang "Happy Birthday" to President Hinckley after the prophet had finished his address. Thanking the group, President Hinckley quipped, "When your birthdays reach this number

86T, you wish that people could forget them." He then excused himself to go to the Salt Lake Tabernacle to address an international Kiwanis Club convention "and tell them a little about the Church, doing my missionary duty."

In his address, President Hinckley told of his recent trip, during which he and his group sang Christmas carols on Shepherd's Field near Bethlehem and sat in the shadow of an olive tree in the Garden of Gethsemane.

"I would hope that as mission presidents, if you did nothing else during all the time you're in the field, you would strive to create within the lives, the hearts, the souls of your missionaries a love for Jesus the Christ," he said.

Such a love comes through reading the Bible as well as the Book of Mormon, by pondering what one reads and by practicing what one learns, he added.

He repeated the resurrected Savior's admonition to Thomas to "be not faithless, but be believing." (John 20:27.) Giving that injunction to the mission presidents, he emphasized these points:

- Believe that you are called by revelation. "Said the Lord to His disciples, `You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you.' (John 15:16.) And so it is with you, each one of you. You have not chosen to do this. The Lord has chosen you to do this. And you have been ordained for this purpose."

- Believe in the message you are sent to teach. "Our purpose in going is that people might know `the only true God and Jesus Christ whom

HeT has sent.' (John 17:3.)"

- Believe in your missionaries. "Their problems are your problems, their success your success. You're going to be judged by what they do. That's the interesting and marvelous thing, really, when all's said and done. They are your extended hands, as it were, and without them, you're nobody, really. With them you can accomplish miracles and will do. Take care of them. . . . Love them. Let them know that you love them. Pray with them. Bless them. Help them. They get homesick sometimes, yes, of course they do. You sisters can comfort them. Their families suffer tragedies occasionally while they're in the field, and they're very difficult to bear for those who are out there. They need comfort. They need strengthening. They need help. Be close to them."

- Believe in the power of prayer. "You'll be faced with dilemmas you don't know how to handle, and you'll plead with the Lord for direction and it will come. . . . `Be thou humble and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answer to thy prayers.' (D&C 112:10.) That's one of the great promises in all scripture, in my judgment."

- Believe in your power to bless. The prophet told of administering to a woman in a Hong Kong hospital who had been told she would lose her sight within a week. She recovered her sight. "I have a painting in my home that she gave me which says on the back of it, `To Gordon B. Hinckley in grateful appreciation for a miracle of saving my sight.' I said to her, `I didn't save your sight. Of course, I didn't. The Lord saved your sight. Thank Him and be grateful to Him.' "

- Believe in the Savior whom you're called to represent. "Each one of you is an ambassador plenipotentiary with full plenary powers to represent the Savior of the world, to represent His Church, His kingdom. You have had bestowed upon your shoulders full powers of representation. Look to the Lord, dwell upon Him, ponder His life. Read His teachings, exemplify them in your lives and conduct yourselves in such a way that every night you can close the day with a prayer of gratitude offered in His name."

- Believe in God your eternal Father, "who notwithstanding His majesty as the ruler of the universe, will hear you as you speak with Him. . . . Somebody said, `When I hear you people pray, it's like someone ordering groceries. You dial a number, you place your order, and you hang up.' He said, `I'd feel a little better if you would ask for less and listen more.' I think that's right."