Speaking at a regional conference Sept. 21 in Evanston, Wyo., President Gordon B. Hinckley focused on 11 lessons and activities parents should teach their children.

"Brothers and sisters, children are so precious, they are so very, very precious. When all is said and done, when you have lived your lives, . . . the one thing that will stand out above all else will be those who you brought into the world and nurtured. . . ."Also speaking at the conference were President Hinckley's wife, Marjorie; and Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve and his wife, Barbara.

In his address, President Hinckley reminded his listeners of the counsel of the prophet Isaiah. "It is found in the 54th chapter of Isaiah, and is found in 3rd Nephi, because the Lord thought it so important that when He came to this continent, He repeated it.

"It is a commandment and a promise. This is the commandment: `All thy children shall be taught of the Lord.' And this is the promise: `And great shall be the peace of thy children.' " (Isa. 54:13; 3 Ne. 22:13.)

He then counseled parents to do the following:

- Teach them of their Father in Heaven. "Teach them that they are sons and daughters of God, that somehow there is something of divinity within them, something that can rise above the dirt and the clay of earth into a new understanding of light and life and glory, something divine."

- Teach them to love the Lord Jesus Christ. "Read to your children from the scriptures. They won't understand all you read, but somehow there will filter into their very souls something of that which you read."

- Have regular family home evenings. "You cannot with impunity disregard the counsel of the priesthood of this Church to hold family home evening with your children. You cannot afford to disregard that counsel," he said. He told of home evenings he and Sister Hinckley hold with their extended family and how they "get together and talk about things, and answer their questions together and it culminates in love and respect one for another."

- Teach them to love mercy. "Our young people are growing up in an age of violence, sometimes of hatred. We hear of road rage. . . . Teach them to love mercy, to cultivate in their lives a love for the good and the beautiful."

- Walk with them under the stars. "Teach your children to respect the earth, the wonders of the heavens, the beauty of the clouds, the great natural wonders, the wonder of the mountain streams, all of these things that are so beautiful. Teach them to love the things of nature."

- Teach them to love and honor their parents. "There will never be love and respect and a positive influence among the young people unless there is a love and respect for parents."

- Teach them to live the Word of Wisdom. "I don't care how much shame you feel among your peers, stay away from drugs," he said to the youth. "It is given . . . for a blessing."

- Teach them to pay their tithing while they are very young. "It will cost more to keep track of their little contribution than the contribution will be worth. But that contribution will grow as the years pass and it will become a habit in their lives." President Hinckley recounted the experience of going to his bishop's home with his family when he was young and finding his 25-cent contribution recorded, as well as his brother's. "Just a few pennies tithing, but that small beginning has blossomed into a strong habit that says what a wonderful privilege it is to impart of my substance to the Lord who has given me everything good that I have."

- Teach them to prepare to go on missions. "Now, you fathers and mothers, you are going to make the difference in whether a boy goes on a mission or doesn't go."

- Teach them that there is no substitute for temple marriage. "Get them ready for that by encouraging them to do baptisms for the dead. It is a wonderful experience. In order to be married in the house of the Lord, you have to live worthy of it. It comes with a price. It has to be earned."

- Teach them to respect the law. "We may disagree with the laws, we may not like the politicians, we may have an argument with some public servant, but don't teach your children disrespect for the law. If you have such in your hearts, keep it there. We could not live in peace without the law."

Before counseling parents, President Hinckley also spoke about the passing years and the pioneers, and offered counsel to youth.

He acknowledged that "the older I grow, the more easily I get tired.

"But I am determined," he continued, "as long as I can put one foot in front of the other, to get out among the people and lift my voice in testimony of the truth of this, the work of God."

Speaking of the pioneers, he recounted several of the visits he made to Wyoming during the course of the recently completed sesquicentennial celebration and observed that "it has been good for us to pause briefly and look back and remember them with appreciation.

"Now, all of that is behind us, and it is time to march forward. We have work to do, you and I, much of it.

"We have got to wake up, and shake up, and do better than we are doing. We can't be satisfied only to be known as names on the rolls of the Church."

He then turned his attention to the young people on the front row and shared his pleasure in their dress and deportment.

"I have been looking at you, and I have been thinking of something that I recently read in the newspaper," he said. "It said, in substance, that the prisons of America are being filled with teenagers.

"What a terrible, terrible thing," he continued, "young people who throw their lives away, who blight their futures, who destroy their very selves in criminal activity, serving no one any good, but simply following a course of self-destruction and the destruction of others."