Another street preacher from Los Angeles, Dean Christian, said he does not think confronting conferencegoers will result in immediate changes, but it might cause Mormons to reconsider their beliefs.

"Hopefully, somebody will turn to Jesus Christ," Christian said. "I've had people come back and say, 'I heard you years ago, I went home and thought about it, read my Bible and gave my heart to the Lord.' People actually have acted upon the seeds we've planted."

Dean Moore, a street preacher who works in construction in North Carolina, took time off work to travel here.

"If we see one person accept Jesus of the Bible, contrasted to the Mormon Church, then that's worth it," he said. "Hopefully, we can show Mormons the way to heaven and they can escape hell."

Those attending the conference generally paid little attention to the street preachers, except for an occasional, quick verbal exchange.

"Everyone has his own opinion," T.J. Roberts of Kaysville said as he hurried to a conference session.

Roberts added the street preachers don't affect his faith at all, and they don't annoy him either, although he thinks they could choose a different time and place if they want to speak out.

"We believe what we believe because we know it's true," Roberts said.

Will and Lisa Ashby of Provo, who are newlyweds and Brigham Young University students, also said the street preachers have no impact on them.

"It's almost expected when you have a big gathering of Mormons," Will Ashby said.

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E-mail: lindat@desnews.com