Monson, the concluding speaker at the two-day conference, commended the 17,000 women seated in the Marriott Center for the service they render in their own lives.

"Thank you for the selfless service you give to others," Monson said. "The services you provide are the golden threads in the tapestry of your lives." And through service, he said, they can enrich the lives of others.

Monson told of a woman who taught his Sunday School class when he was a child. Through kindly service and compassion, the woman not only tamed a rebellious class, but helped Monson and his classmates see that helping a child who lost his mother was more important than spending the class' money on a lavish Christmas party.

He also spoke of how adversity was not just a common part of everyone's lives, but actually part of the process of becoming what God wants his children to become. He compared adversity's effects on lives to how some gems become polished by being tossed about in an abrasive-filled rock tumbler.

"A question that has to be answered by each of us is, shall I falter or shall I finish?" Monson said. Finishing he noted, requires having faith to get up and press on. The faithful should not feel discouraged, especially by their inner doubts.

"Sometimes . . . you feel inadequate and incapable because you cannot do all that you feel you should. Rather than continue in dwelling on what is causing you trouble, contemplate on what you have done," Monson said.

He also counseled the women attending to not procrastinate the joys of lives. Quoting Professor Harold Hill from "The Music Man," Monson said those who "save their tomorrows end up with a pile of empty yesterdays."

Jan Myers, of Riverton, said she appreciated Monson's call for being kind and serving others.

"I loved it," Myers said of the talk.

dmeyers@sltrib.com