SALT LAKE CITY -- Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were chastened by church leaders for practicing a "doctrine of exclusion" with people not of their faith, while those leaders also expressed hope for recovery from the ravages of evil.

Elder M. Russell Ballard, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, told church members Saturday afternoon to extend the arm of friendship to all of their neighbors "without being pushy and without any ulterior motives." He suggested three steps all church members should do to avoid making others feel shunned.

He counseled members to get to know their neighbors, eliminate the phrases "non-member" and "non-Mormon" from their vocabulary, and if neighbors complain about laws supported by the Church, never suggest "even in a humorous way" that they should consider moving elsewhere.

"Learn about their families, their work, their views," Ballard said. "Friendship should never be offered as a means to an end; it can and should be an end unto itself."

Ballard said that labeling people as "non-members" can be "demeaning and belittling."

He compared telling others to move if they don"t like the way things are with the Church with the persecution of the pioneer ancestors who were "driven from place to place by uninformed and intolerant neighbors."

"If our history teaches us nothing else, it should teach us to respect the rights of all people to peacefully coexist with one another," he said.

Ballard also called on those where church membership is the majority -- such as Utah where more than 70 percent of the population is Mormon -- to not overlook people or leave them out of things. Particularly, he called on "narrow-minded parents" who do not allow their children to play with others because the child is not a member of the church.

"This kind of behavior is not in keeping with the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ," Ballard said. "I cannot comprehend why any member of our church would allow these kinds of feelings to happen."

Other speakers during Saturday"s sessions acknowledged that the "world seems to be in commotion" and addressed the hardships people may be facing following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

While reserving the majority of his remarks on the attacks for this morning"s session, church President Gordon B. Hinckley opened the day saying that while the Lord has brought great blessings upon the people of the world, "all of the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah haunt our society."

"We see today all of these evils, more commonly and generally, than they have ever been seen before," Hinckley said referring to the attacks. "We live in a season when fierce men do terrible and despicable things. We live in a season of war. We live in a season of arrogance. We live in a season of wickedness, pornography, immorality."

"Adversity may raise its ugly head," he continued. "The world may be troubled with wars and rumors of wars, but this cause will go forward."

President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency, said that victims" families and others affected by the terrorist attacks can be healed by the power of Jesus Christ.

"The Atonement not only benefits the sinner, but also those sinned against -- that is, the victims," Faust said. "By forgiving those who trespass against us, the Atonement brings a measure of peace and comfort to those who have been innocently victimized by the sins of others. The basic source for the healing of the soul is the Atonement of Jesus Christ."

During the Saturday evening Priesthood session of the conference, President Hinckley gave an update on the church"s Perpetual Education Fund, a program implemented six months ago that will provide low-interest loans to returned missionaries in third-world countries.

Hinckley announced that more than 1,200 people are expected to benefit from the program by the end of
the year, with more than 3,000 expected within the next three years.

"We need to care for one another more diligently," Hinckley said. "We need to make a little more effort to assist those who are down at the bottom of the economic ladder. We need to give encouragement and a lifting hand to men and women of faith and integrity and ability, who can climb that ladder with a little help."