LDS are warned of moral decline

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered by the thousands in the Conference Center and by the hundreds of thousands across the world via radio, television and Internet for the first two general sessions of the church's 173rd Semiannual General Conference on Saturday.

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BORDER="1"> FACE="Verdana,Helvetica,Arial" SIZE="2">Conference summaries FACE="Verdana,Helvetica,Arial" SIZE="2"> LDS Church News General Conference section Articles, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2003

But church leaders, while wondering at the advanced technology used to deliver their message, also repeatedly and strongly warned the faithful against that same technology's dark side.

"As I speak to you today, most members of the church, regardless of where you live, can hear me," said President Gordon B. Hinckley in his opening address. "It is a miracle. Who in the earlier days could have dreamed of this season of opportunity in which we live?"

The church has been criticized in some circles for its political advocacy in Utah, California and elsewhere regarding moral issues, including same-sex marriage, but Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve was unapologetic.

"Church leaders have the responsibility to speak out on moral issues and to counsel individuals and families," he said. "The family is the basic unit of society; it is the basic unit of eternity. Thus, when forces threaten the family, church leaders must respond."

Elder Ballard went on to condemn much of the current content of television, movies, music and the Internet, counseling members to avoid it and to actively work to eliminate it.

"The time has come when members of the church need to speak out and join with the many other concerned people in opposition to the offensive, destructive and mean-spirited media influence that is sweeping over the Earth," he said. He encouraged members to write to television producers and other purveyors of questionable content, saying "letters and e-mails have more effect that most people realize."