It is "marvelous and wonderful" that thousands are touched by the miracle of the Holy Spirit, believe and accept the gospel and become faithful, contributing members, said President Gordon B. Hinckley in his Sunday morning conference address.

"They are baptized. Their lives are forever touched for good. Miracles occur," President Hinckley said. "A seed of faith comes into their hearts. It enlarges as they learn. And they accept principle upon principle, until they have every one of the marvelous blessings that come to those who walk with faith in this, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

The Church leader said he felt a kinship with all the members of the Church and expressed his love for the work.

He spoke of his recent trip to South America to dedicate the Montevideo Uruguay Temple, the 103rd working temple of the Church. A speaker in one of the dedicatory sessions was a woman who told of her introduction to the Church when missionaries knocked on her door. Although the woman was not familiar with the Church, she invited the missionaries into her home and she and her husband listened to their message.

The missionaries told them the story of young Joseph Smith, his search for wisdom, the First Vision, securing of the golden plates and the restoration of the priesthood.

"How could anyone believe such a story?" President Hinckley asked. "It seemed preposterous. And yet these people believed as they were instructed. Faith came into their hearts to accept that which they had been taught. It was a miracle. It was a gift from God. They could not believe it, and yet they did."

The couple joined the Church and their knowledge grew, President Hinckley said. They learned about the blessings of the temple, scrimped and saved their money and traveled with their children from Uruguay to Utah to be sealed together as a family in the bonds of eternal marriage.

"She is today an assistant to the matron in the Montevideo temple. Her husband is a counselor in the temple presidency," President Hinckley said.

The prophet said he is not surprised that few of the people contacted by the missionaries join the Church — there is a lack of faith.

"On the other hand, I am amazed that so many do," he said. "It is a marvelous and wonderful thing that thousands are touched by the miracle of the Holy Spirit, that they believe and accept and become members."

Faith is the converter and the teacher, he said. It has been from the beginning.

President Hinckley said he marvels at the quality of men and women who accepted Joseph Smith's testimony and came into the Church. They included such future leaders as Brigham Young, the Pratt brothers, Willard Richards, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, their wives and a host of others. They were educated people of substance.

"They were blessed of the Lord with the faith to accept the story which they had heard," he said. "When they received the message, when the gift of faith touched their lives, they were baptized. The brethren gladly gave up what they had been doing and, with the support of their families, responded to calls to go across the sea to teach that which they had accepted on faith."

Beautiful temples are now being constructed in Nauvoo, Ill., and Winter Quarters, Neb., President Hinckley said.

"They will stand as testimonies to the faith and faithfulness of the thousands of Latter-day Saints who built and later forsook Nauvoo, to move with great suffering across what is now the State of Iowa to their temporary abode in Council Bluffs and in Winter Quarters just north of Omaha," he said.

The Winter Quarters temple property adjoins the burial ground of many who gave their lives for the gospel. Their journey to the valley of the Great Salt Lake was "an epic without parallel," President Hinckley said.

He spoke of a statue in his office of his pioneer grandfather who had to bury his wife and her brother on the pioneer trail after both died on the same day. His grandfather picked up his infant daughter and carried her into the valley.

Was there faith? President Hinckley asked.

"There can be no doubt about it," he answered. "When doubts arose, when tragedies struck, the quiet voice of faith was heard in the stillness of the night as certain and reassuring as was the place of the Polar Star in the heavens above."

The same quality of faith is found today in the Church, President Hinckley said.

Precious and marvelous faith "is still the strength of this work and the quiet vibrancy of its message. Faith underlies it all. Faith is the substance of it all. Whether it be going into the mission field, living the Word of Wisdom, paying one's tithing, it is all the same. It is the faith within us that is evidenced in all we do," President Hinckley said.

Critics of the Church don't understand such faith — so they attack, he added. A "quiet inquiry" or "anxious desire" to grasp the principle could bring greater understanding and appreciation.

President Hinckley said he was asked once how the Church can get men to leave their vocations and home and serve the Church.

"I responded that we simply ask them, and we know what their answer will be," he said.

The strength of the Church is not found in its temporal assets, but in the heart of its people, President Hinckley said. That is why the Church is successful and continues to grow.

"It all comes of the gift of faith, bestowed by the Almighty upon His children who doubt not and fear not, but go forward."

President Hinckley spoke of a recent member meeting he presided over in Aruba, a tiny island off the coast of Venezuela. Although the Church is small there, he recognized the faith of Aruba's diverse members. They were men and women who loved the Church, stood ready to testify and embraced the gospel.

Among the Aruban members were eight full-time missionaries, engaged in service to God.

"It is so with our missionaries wherever they might serve, whether it be right here in Salt Lake City or in Mongolia," President Hinckley said. "They go and serve with faith in their hearts. It is a phenomenon of great power that quietly whispers, 'This cause is true, and to you there is an obligation to serve it regardless of the cost.' "

Faith is the basis of testimony, President Hinckley said. Faith underlies loyalty to the Church. Faith represents sacrifice, gladly given in moving forward the work of the Lord.