The challenges of a "very large and complex church" have prompted leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to announce changes aimed at streamlining administration, accommodating an increasingly diverse membership and setting higher standards of moral purity for prospective missionaries.

Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred

Boys play in a fountain at the Conference Center during one of Saturday's sessions of the 172nd Semiannual Conference.

"In effect, we have taken the church apart and then put it together again," President Gordon B. Hinckley said Saturday evening in an address to the priesthood, gathered at the Conference Center and in LDS meetinghouses worldwide for the church's 172nd Semiannual Conference.

He then presented a series of changes and a set of financial priorities and moral standards that members will be asked to adhere to with increased faithfulness.

Some will notably affect the ways Latter-day Saints live their daily lives and the cultural expectations that have evolved among members, particularly in the church's heartland:

• In the future, departing missionaries will speak at a farewell service, but family members will not participate. Open-house receptions following the farewells are to be discontinued, President Hinckley said, adding that family gatherings are appropriate.

• Standards of worthiness for departing missionaries will be heightened.

• And temple recommend interviews will take place once every two years instead of every year.

President Hinckley endorsed the strong remarks of Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve regarding missionary worthiness: "We cannot send you on a mission to be reactivated, reformed or to receive a testimony. We just don't have time for that . . . .

"Please understand this: That the bar for the standard for missionary service is being raised. The day of the 'repent and go' missionary is over," Elder Ballard said.

He also counseled bishops to "judge wisely and remember not every young man need to be called to serve away from his home; some may best serve under your direction as ward missionaries."

President Hinckley urged church members to accept the new directives with the spirit in which they were presented. "I speak with a desire to be helpful," he said.

"Our program is so vast and our reach is so extensive that it is difficult to comprehend," President Hinckley said. "We are a church of lay leadership. What a remarkable and wonderful thing that is. It must ever remain so. . . . But we know that the administrative load is very heavy on our bishops and stake presidents, as well as some others.

In an effort to address the challenges facing the church and its members, a number of meetings were held by the leadership, President Hinckley said, "some of them long and interesting . . . .

"Our objective has been to see whether there might be some programs we could do away with," he said. "But as we have analyzed these, we have not seen much that could be dropped. To drop one is like giving away one of your children."

Besides issuing his stern advisories and announcements, President Hinckley reported on the effectiveness of the Perpetual Education Fund announced 18 months ago.

The fund, he said, is now well financed by the contributions of faithful Latter-day Saints and is helping some 5,000 church members, most of them young, to gain an education that will increase their financial well-being. One young woman will increase her earnings from $130 a month to $650 a month with the training she has received through the program, he said, and such examples will expand as the program becomes more widespread.

Earlier Saturday, President Hinckley challenged Latter-day Saints to make better use of the temples now established in countries around the world. "These temples have been constructed to be used. We honor our Father as we make use of them."

The church's prophet pointed to the dedication of a replacement temple in Nauvoo, Ill., in June as a tribute to church founder Joseph Smith. The original structure was begun in 1841 under the supervision of Joseph Smith and upon his martyrdom in June 1844, the work was continued by a church devastated but not broken at the loss of its leader. Sacred ordinance work was begun even before the temple was completed, then those early Latter-day Saints were forced to escape to the West, but with the solace that the blessings of the temple went with many of them.

Now a new Nauvoo Temple, inspired by the memory of Joseph Smith, stands like a bookend paired with "Brigham (Young's) Temple" in Salt Lake City, President Hinckley said. "They look toward one another as bookends between which there are volumes that speak of the suffering, the sorrow, the sacrifice, even the deaths of thousands who made the long journey from the Mississippi River to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake."

President Hinckley said he was inspired to rebuild the Nauvoo Temple by the wish of his own father, Bryant S. Hinckley, who served as head of a mission that included Nauvoo. The elder Hinckley had wanted to build a replacement as part of the Nauvoo centennial some seven decades ago, but it was not possible at that time.

Some of the speakers in both morning and afternoon sessions Saturday focused on current tense world conditions, the responsibility of Latter-day Saints to seek peace and the solace that comes from the gospel in troubled times.

Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of Twelve acknowledged that the history of mankind has been a continuing round of war and bloodshed but said he believes peace is possible. "Peace can prevail only when that natural inclination to fight is superseded by self-determination to live on a loftier level." Coming to Christ, the "Prince of Peace," is the route to peace among men, he said.

"As a church, we must renounce war and proclaim peace. As individuals, we should follow after the things which make for peace. We should be personal peacemakers," Elder Nelson said.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell, also of the Quorum of Twelve, said that Latter-day Saints, even in "the churn of crises and the sinister swirl of global events," can find "priceless, personal assurances through the Holy Ghost. Whether in tranquil or turbulent times, our best source of comfort is the Comforter." Trials are a common human experience, but "nothing can separate us from the love of Christ."

Others challenged today's Saints to rise to a higher standard of obedience to commandments such as tithing, giving conscientious service in church callings and unselfishness.

"For each of us, unselfishness can mean being the right person at the right time in the right place to render service. Almost every day brings opportunities to perform unselfish acts for others. Such acts are unlimited and can be as simple as a kind work, a helping hand or a gracious smile," said President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency.

"Tithing is a test of faith with eternal blessings," said Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of Twelve. It is a prerequisite to temple attendance and teaches adherents "to control our desires and passions for the things of this world." Payment of an honest tithe encourages honesty in dealings with others and increases faith in the Lord, he said.

Members sustained a number of new leaders, including a new presidency for the Young Women and a new counselor in the Sunday School. Five new members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy were called and a like number released. Elder Ben B. Banks was named an emeritus general authority and released from the presidency of the Quorum of the Seventy, to be succeeded by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

Pleasant autumn-like weather made a comfortable day for those who were unable to get into meeting halls and spent the conference sessions on the grounds. As the morning session opened, mostly cloudy skies sported small spots of blue, but as conferencegoers exited the buildings, the color scheme had reversed, with mostly sunny skies speckled with light clouds.

Besides the thousands who created moving rivers of color on downtown streets, the conference proceedings were relayed via communications technology to 68 countries, including 55 where talks were translated into the local language. Hundreds who couldn't find seats in the Conference Center were content to enjoy the speeches from vantage points on planter boxes or lawns.

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, member of the Presidents of the Seventy and a convert from Germany, commented on the "global church with members spread across the nations of the earth," all of whom are children of the same loving God. Converts from around the world are creating "pioneer" linkages just as the early Utah pioneers did, he said.

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