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SALT LAKE CITY (AP/KSL News) - In the opening session of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Semiannual Conference, President Gordon B. Hinckley made reference to the Church's huge redevelopment project in downtown Salt Lake City.
"The Church is undertaking a huge redevelopment project in the interest of protecting the environment of Temple Square. While the costs will be great, it will not involve the expenditure of tithing funds," President Gordon B. Hinckley said.
Hinckley spoke briefly, mentioning the church's plans for redevelopment of downtown Salt Lake City. That project includes both the ZCMI Mall and properties on that block., the Crossroads Mall and its adjoining office tower, and a mix of commercial and residential with possibly a skywalk.
In 2003, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the purchase of Crossroads Plaza as part of a huge redevelopment project.
The church leader overseeing the project, Bishop H. David Burton, will speak to the Salt Lake City Council this week.
Continuing in this speech, President Hinckley also said that the Church would like to increase membership in North America.
"But that could be said of everywhere throughout the world," Hinckley said, speaking to thousands of Mormons at the church's General Conference and millions more around the globe through satellite broadcasts and the Internet.
"Nevertheless," he said, "the harvest is great with members in the some 160 nations."
Membership in the Salt Lake City-based church grew to more than 12.5 million in 2005, according to statistics released in April.
There are just under 5.7 million Mormons in the United States and 172,000 in Canada, a church Web site reports.
Although he offered no specific proposals, Hinckley said he would like to increase baptisms in the United States and Canada.
Saturday evening at the Priesthood Session, President Hinckley spoke of a disturbing trend.
"There is a troubling trend taking place. Seventy-three percent of young women graduate from high school, 72% enroll in college compared to 65% of young men in high school and 61% in college," Hinckley said. " Rise up and discipline yourself to take advantage of educational opportunities."
He called the computer a wonderful instrument, but referred to letters written from those addicted to pornography.
"When it is used to deal with pornography, or so-called chat rooms, then there must be self-discipline enough to turn it off," Hinckley said.
Latter-day Saints also heard advice about finding strength during life's challenges. Elder Dallin H. Oaks read excerpts from letters written by men who had been addicted to pornography.
"This is a major problem that is unbelievably difficult to overcome that heavy-laden man turned to the savior and so can each of us," said Elder Oaks.
Reading one from a man who has same-gender attraction, he said too many people focus on 'why'.
"I don't know if I was born with it, or if environmental factors contributed to it I have this struggle in my life and what I do with it from this point forward is what matters," Elder Oaks quoted.
Afternoon conference speakers called upon members to maintain the church's high moral standards, remaining worthy for blessings by living lives that are "clean and pure." A challenge was also issued to members who currently don't meet the church's 10 percent tithing standard. Tithing funds are used by the church to fund growth programs, including the construction of temples, where members perform sacred church ceremonies.
Recent conference sessions have called upon more young men to enter the mission field, something typically done for two years beginning at age 19.
Mormons believe they are called to share the word of God, and the church is known for its proselytizing missionaries around the world. The church said it has 56,000 members on missions, about 75 percent of them men under 26.
Eighteen percent are women, and 7 percent are older couples.
The Mormon church last year reported a 1.74 percent increase in U.S. membership, No. 2 among the 25 largest churches in the United States, according to the National Council of Churches.
The Assemblies of God was first with 1.81 percent growth (2.7 million members), and the Roman Catholic Church was third with 0.83 percent growth (67.8 million), according to the National Council's Web site.
Growth of the Mormon church is faster around the world than in the United States, where the church was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830, church spokesman Michael Otterson said. The church is growing most rapidly in south and Latin American countries and some growth patterns may be directly tied to the focused efforts of missionary programs.
Hinckley's emphasis on the U.S. and Canada may be driven by statistics that show poor results for missionary work there, said David Stewart a Mormon and physician who since 1999 has studied missionary strategies and outcomes.
Despite being home to about one-third of all church missionary programs, the U.S. and Canada combined result in only about one-fifth of annual church baptisms.
"It's really a very meager outcome," said Stewart, who will publish his studies in a book.
For all churches, North America is a "relatively stagnant religious market," Stewart adds, attributing that in part to an increasingly secularized society.
Whatever the reason, growth in the Mormon church has slowed over the past 10 years, said Carl Mosser, a professor of biblical studies at Pennsylvania's Eastern University who has studied church growth. In 1996, the church was on track to surpass a sociologist's predictions in 1984 that membership would top 256 million members by the year 2080.
Slowing membership has driven some changes in missionary programs, Mosser said, including an overhaul of missionary teaching materials in 2004 and a drop in the number of young missionaries worldwide.
Hinckley's focus on North America may also be tied to concerns for church finances, Mosser said.
"North American Latter-day Saints give a lot more in terms of financial resources than those in other countries," he said. "The fiscal well being of the church is quite dependent on the North American membership."
Mormons gather in April and October for a two-day conference, hearing messages of faith from church leaders at their 21,000-seat conference center in downtown Salt Lake City. The sessions are broadcast around the world in 85 languages.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
