"We are becoming a people who are recognized for our virtues," President Gordon B. Hinckley said as he addressed 12,184 members at a regional conference here Sunday, Feb. 9.

The two general sessions, held at the Palm Springs Convention Center, were filled to capacity. Accompanying President Hinckley to this conference were his wife, Marjorie; Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve and his wife, June; and Elder Loren C. Dunn of the Seventy and president of the North America West Area and his wife, Sharon.Those attending the conference came from eight stakes in the San Bernardino/

Palm Springs, Calif., area. They included Fontana, Hemet, Highland, Palm Springs, Redlands, Rialto, San Bernardino and Yucca Valley California stakes. During his visit to the southern desert area of California, President Hinckley met on Saturday, Feb. 8, with 1,400 priesthood leaders at the Redlands stake center in a leadership meeting and 200 missionaries from the California Riverside Mission in a meeting held at the Palm Springs meetinghouse.

"We don't have to do anything heroic," President Hinckley said during the conference. "We just need to live the gospel, that's all we have to do." He encouraged those in attendance specifically to live the Word of Wisdom, pay their tithing, have family home evening, and love, honor and respect one another as husbands and wives.

To the youth, he said, "You look to your fathers and to your mothers for counsel and guidance. You listen to what they have to say. They are older and wiser, and they love you. You are so very precious to them. You are as gifts from God to them. Look to them with respect and love, I ask you. Be worthy of their love."

President Hinckley displayed a first edition of the Book of Mormon which had been presented to him during his visit. "This is the book that brought in Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, all of those great leaders into the Church in those early days. They read it. They recognized the truth as they read it."

The prophet spoke of those who have criticized the origin of the Book of Mormon. "It has had its critics over the generations. They have literally worn out their lives trying to find some explanation for the Book of Mormon other than the one given by the Prophet Joseph Smith. They have come up with one thing after another and, in my judgment, every one of them has failed." President Hinckley challenged those present to study the Book of Mormon. "This is something to be reckoned with. This is a book which you hold in your hands, this is material, it has substance, it has weight, it has body, it has content. It has, my brothers and sisters, great inspiration."

Continuing, President Hinckley said, "How thankful I am for the Book of Mormon, this added witness of the divinity of the Son of God. God be thanked for this marvelous thing which has come forth as a testimony to the nations of the divine reality of the Son of God." He encouraged the congregation to read and re-read the Book of Mormon. "I hope all of us are reading it. I hope we read it again and again and again. As we do so, we will find things we have never seen before."

He told the congregation that the Book of Mormon is currently being printed at a rate of approximately 4 million copies a year. "In those early days, the publication of an edition of 5,000 was looked upon as something of a marvel and a wonder."

Noting that there were several thousand new converts this past year in the stakes attending the conference, President Hinckley encouraged those present to fellowship and assist new members. "May I urge you to reach out in love to those

the missionariesT bring in. They need help. They need your help. They urgently need your help. They are so precious to each of us that we cannot afford to let them become discouraged."

He shared a letter from a convert, who expressed appreciation for the fellowshipping effectively given him after he joined the Church. "That can be the experience of every convert who comes into this Church if you and I will reach out to help them, to love them, to encourage them, to lift them when they are weak, and to put them on their feet so that they can walk in their own strength. Will you please, please do what you can to help those who come in as converts to this Church? They urgently need your help."

In closing, President Hinckley spoke in grateful remembrance of the pioneer inheritance of each of those present. Then turning to the present, he said: "This is a marvelous season in the history of the Church. There never was a better day than this day. We have grown to a point where we are respected and honored. What a wonderful time to be alive and to enjoy the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ."