Thousands of LDS women gathered Thursday at Brigham Young University to renew friendships, take notes, assemble thousands of humanitarian aid items and pop umbrellas during the first day of the 2005 Women's Conference.

Though many found themselves dashing through a midafternoon downpour, few seemed to let the rain dampen their enthusiasm for the annual event, which draws participants from across the United States and several foreign countries.

The two-day conference offers a variety of LDS speakers and performers, sharing their beliefs in forums ranging from large classrooms to the 20,000-plus seat Marriott Center. Catering to a growing local contingent of Latinos, a series of workshops throughout the day was presented in Spanish.

Topics included family relationships, marriage, gospel teaching and raising children.

Social issues that impact Latter-day Saints were also discussed, with workshops focusing on mental illness, suicide, pornography and same-sex attraction.

David Pruden, executive director of an LDS-sponsored support organization for those with same-sex attraction called Evergreen International, said studies show as many as 400,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are dealing with the issue at any given time. The number represents from 3 percent to 4 percent of total church membership

The vast majority do not choose such feelings, he said, but find themselves dealing — often in secret — with an issue that has the potential to ostracize them from family and friends, particularly in a culture that condemns acting on homosexual feelings.

Yet God allows such struggles because self-mastery and putting Christ at the center of one's life refines and purifies character, he said. "We're here to be tested, and without opposition in all things, we could not achieve righteousness."

Michael Buxton, a marriage and family therapist at BYU who serves as an Evergreen board member, said he often counsels with students who tell him they came to Provo specifically because they believed they could find help with same-sex attraction.

He finds many experience attraction to those of their own gender, but he does not define them as homosexual or gay unless they are acting on their sexual urges or are involved with political groups that advocate for social acceptance. The distinctions are vital for Latter-day Saints, he said, because they distinguish between acting on such feelings and choosing not to do so.

The LDS Church condemns homosexual behavior and opposes same-gender marriage, but top leaders have made it clear in recent years that those who struggle with same-sex attraction are to be supported and loved.