Temple building and personal spiritual preparation as a protection against disaster were highlighted during the Saturday sessions of the 175th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which opened with an unexpected announcement.

As more than 21,000 people packed the Conference Center and thousands more listened on Temple Square Saturday morning, President Gordon B. Hinckley announced that two new temples are to be built in the Salt Lake Valley — one in the west and the other in the southwest. They will join a temple announced last year and now in the planning stages for the southeast section of the valley, near Corner Canyon in Draper.

President Hinckley said an unprecedented 32 million sacred ordinances, such as marriage and proxy baptisms, were performed worldwide in the church's 122 operating temples during 2004. "This is more than have been performed in any previous year. At the moment, some of our temples are crowded to capacity and beyond. The needs and desires of our people must be met," he said.

Six temples are under construction, and another, in addition to the two newly announced in Salt Lake County, is yet to be designated but is in the works, he said. Still others are "under consideration."

One problem with increased temple work is duplication of effort in performing temple ordinances. A plan to use computer technology that would help avoid such duplication is also under way, he said. "Preliminary indications are that it will work, and if this is so, it will be a truly remarkable thing with worldwide implications."

Several speakers during both the general sessions and the evening priesthood session alluded to the recent hurricanes that devastated the Gulf Coast area or to the December 2004 tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands in a huge geographic area of the Indian Ocean. While physical preparation and succor for those who have suffered is necessary and the church has assisted, only spiritual preparation through faith in God and righteous living can ultimately protect individuals, they said.

No guarantee is made that the righteous will be spared in such circumstances, but believers can achieve a level of understanding, peace and comfort not available to those who have no faith, the speakers said.

The history of mankind is marked by calamities, President Hinckley said in the all-male priesthood session. "Just as there have been calamities in the past, we expect more in the future." Prophets throughout time have warned of calamities used as a tool by God to humble mankind. Their warnings are contained in scripture.

Regarding the hurricanes, he emphasized, "Now I do not say, and I repeat emphatically that I do not say, or infer, that what has happened is the punishment of the Lord. Many good people, including some of our faithful Latter-day Saints, are among those who have suffered." The church has been generous in its response to the stricken areas, he said, donating significant amounts of both physical aid and financial help to church members and many not of the LDS faith.

President Hinckley said if Latter-day Saints are prepared, "ye shall not fear," adding the faithful "can call upon the Lord for his protection and guidance. This is a first priority. We cannot expect his help if we are unwilling to keep his commandments."

Church leaders understand the potential for a massive earthquake in the Salt Lake area, which prompted them to begin an extensive renovation of the Tabernacle on Temple Square to make it less vulnerable. That work is in progress.

President Hinckley said he did not intend his message to precipitate "a run on the grocery store or anything of that kind. I am saying nothing that has not been said for a very long time." The church has counseled its members for 75 years to store a year's supply of food and other necessities to prepare for the unexpected. Church storehouses are filled as preparation for calamities, but "the best storehouse is the family store room."

Earlier, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve also touched on the theme. He said the lives of many people in Indonesia and Thailand were spared the fury of the 2004 tsunami because they heeded the advice of wise villagers who recognized the signs of the coming disaster. They escaped to higher ground.

"The villagers were fortunate because they listened. Had they not, they may have perished," said Elder Wirthlin. Throughout history, prophets have warned the people of coming disasters, he said, "As people heed the words of the prophets, the Lord blesses them. When they disregard his word, however, distress and suffering often follow," not only in physical disasters but in spiritual ruin. He urged today's Latter-day Saints to "journey to higher ground."

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve, who visited the ravaged Gulf Coast areas, said it was apparent that what mattered most to victims of the horror was family. He called on church members to heed the teachings set forth in the Proclamation on the Family, issued by the First Presidency in 1995. The document stresses the value of strong families grounded in the gospel and living true to correct principles.

"In today's world where Satan's aggression against the family is so prevalent, parents must do all they can to fortify and defend their families." Society has launched campaigns that would destroy the family as God intended it, he said. "Our most basic institution of family desperately needs help and support from the extended family and the institutions that surround us."

Modest dress was another focal point for speakers.

Sister Susan Tanner, general president of the Young Women, emphasized the sanctity of the human body and urged church members to treat their bodies with the respect due their sacred nature, including the choice of apparel. "Modesty is more than a matter of avoiding revealing attire," she said. "It describes not only the altitude of hemlines and necklines but the attitude of our hearts."

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of Twelve echoed her remarks, specifically addressing the young women of the church. He pleaded with them to "make your teenage years a triumph, not a tragedy," and urged LDS women to be mindful of the example they set for girls if they are striving to be a "size 2" when in reality "there is no universal optimum size."

"If adults are preoccupied with appearance — implanting and tucking and nipping and remodeling everything that can be remodeled — those pressures and anxieties will most certainly seep through to children," he said. "At some point the problem becomes what the Book of Mormon called 'vain imagination.' And in secular society, both vanity and imagination run wild."

Thousands took advantage of perfect autumn weather, crowding the Conference Center and other church sites in downtown Salt Lake City to hear the counsel of church leaders. Millions more throughout the world watched or listened to the proceedings via communications technology. The semiannual meetings will continue through 4 p.m. today.

The conference, as always, was a time for spiritual renewal for many Latter-day Saints. Bruce and Sherrie Ann Slack, longtime Las Vegas residents now living in St. George, said it was the first time they had come to the Conference Center for the semiannual meetings.

"We've watched it on TV for years, and you feel the spirit there, but it's something else to be here in the building, to be able to see the general authorities," said Bruce Slack.

"Fabulous. Fantastic. And beautiful," was how his wife characterized the event.

E-mail: tvanleer@desnews.com