HOBART, Tasmania — Members here are an important part of a great family that is found in more than 160 nations — the family of God, said President Gordon B. Hinckley as he addressed a gathering on this Australian island state.

Photo by John L. Hart

President Hinckley waves to members in Hobart where he spoke at member meeting. Elder L. Tom Perry stands behind President Hinckley.

Photo by John L. Hart

A congregation of members in Hobart, Tasmania, gather for member meeting with President Gordon B. Hinckley during his fourth visit here, the first as Church president. Some 1,500 attended.

Speaking on June 16 to about 1,500 members in the Derwent Entertainment Centre in Glenorchy, a suburb of Hobart, President Hinckley expressed his love and appreciation to members in "this great part of the world, the wonderful Latter-day Saints who live here."

Although it was his fourth visit to Tasmania, it was his first time as Church president — the first time of any Church president. Realizing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, members turned out in record numbers and listened in wonder and reverence as they were addressed. They gathered from throughout Tasmania on a pleasant southern hemisphere's winter evening on which the wind lost its edge after dark.

One woman seemed to express their combined appreciation for his visit when she said, "I just want to breathe the same air he is breathing." When President Hinckley arrived, he was presented with a Huon pine walking stick.

At the conclusion of the event, President Hinckley waved several times before leaving. All in the congregation appeared to wave back, from the elderly to little children.

President Hinckley came to Tasmania following the dedication of the Brisbane Australia Temple June 15. He was accompanied by his wife, Marjorie. Also speaking in the meeting were Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve, and Elder Kenneth Johnson of the Seventy, president of the Australia/New Zealand Area.

President Hinckley congratulated the saints "for the goodness of your lives, for your desire to rear your children in righteousness and truth, for your desire to live together as husbands and wives walking in the ways of the Lord, for your obedient spirits, your willingness and desire to live the Word of Wisdom, pay your tithes and offerings and do whatever the Church asks of you. Thank you. We pray that the Lord will bless and inspire you and magnify you that you may walk in righteousness before Him."

He appealed to the members to think of their blessings and then said, "What a wonderful time it is to be alive — in this time of great opportunity, great possibilities."

Referring to the blessings of the Church, he observed, "What a miracle that we should have the priesthood in this, the final dispensation of the gospel, that God has deigned to restore His work and bring together all of the elements of all past generations in the one great and final generation that every man who lives worthy might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world.

"My brethren, do you know what you have? What a magnificent blessing has come unto us through the providence and goodness of the Lord in a great and miraculous manner."

He encouraged the men to live worthily of their wives, and to be kind to their children, "these precious things the Lord has given us."

He cited a verse in 2 Peter in the New Testament, which refers to "an holy nation." President Hinckley said, "I don't think he was talking about a political organization. I don't think he was making reference to the fact that we are Australians or New Zealanders or Americans or Englishmen. I think he was speaking of a family of faithful, wonderful people: an holy nation.

"This great Church, which is now spreading over the earth in a wonderful, miraculous manner, becomes the family of God, an holy nation, in worship and spirit and truth."

He said the Church is going forward, gaining in strength and influence across the world. "I can scarcely believe it when I see the consecrations of the people."

Concluding his address, President Hinckley said, "God bless you, my fellow Latter-day Saints. How I love you. How I appreciate you. How I respect you. How I admire you, and pray for you, that the Lord will smile in favor upon you." He encouraged members to be faithful, and pray morning and night, and be good neighbors, and to be gracious and kind.

"For this, God will bless you."

In his remarks, Elder Perry encouraged parents to hold family prayer and scripture reading with their children, and to have a plan in life. He said he hoped children were taught honesty, integrity and how to work.

Parents should help their children avoid following the ways of the world, to teach them instead "to have a style of our own, and not copy the worldly ways that are so offensive today as we see them paraded before us."

He said that parents should provide a gospel foundation for the home. "How important it is that we teach and train our children in the ways of the Lord."

He said parents need to be very careful to observe and follow the teachings they have received, including holding regular family home evenings.

"I promise you that if you will do this, wonderful things will happen in your home. You will see your children grow and be magnified in the gospel of Jesus Christ. May the Lord bless each of us to realize how important our families are to us."

Elder Johnson said, "We are blessed to have a prophet come to Tasmania. He wanted to come and meet you and share his testimony with you. I pray that as a result of this visit, our faith will be increased, our faithfulness will enlarge and the testimony of this work will be reflected in our lives, that we might be disciples of Christ."

President Hinckley's travels in the Pacific have also taken him to Christchurch, New Zealand; Port Vila, Vanuatu; Christmas Island; and Laie, Hawaii, where he spoke at BYU-Hawaii graduation. Coverage of these visits will be included in the June 28 Church News.