A Mormon Church authority called on members to boycott Sunday shopping as a way to get communitywide obedience to the fourth commandment God gave to Moses - to keep the sabbath day holy.
"If we will not shop on Sunday, businesses which open on Sunday will have no financial reason to remain open on Sunday. It's really that simple," said Earl C. Tingey, a member of the church's Quorum of the Seventy.Tingey's admonition came Saturday in the Tabernacle on Temple Square, where more than 10,000 faithful gathered for the 166th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Other speakers at the conference advised Mormons to heed the church's health and dietary code and follow only the counsel of their ecclesiastical leaders.
"The world sees no conflict in Sunday shopping," Tingey said. "But we of the church have been counseled and taught by prophets to keep ourselves `unspotted from the world.' We should not shop on Sunday."
He acknowledged public services, such as fire and police, should operate on Sunday. But he said Mormons should not patronize stores on Sundays and cause others to work.
"We as a community of saints should us our influence ... to encourage other citizens to not shop on Sunday," Tingey said.
Boyd K. Packer, acting president of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, advised church members to avoid being "extreme or fanatical" in matters of health and nutrition.
Packer said church members often wonder if a particular practice violates the Mormon health code, known as the "Word of Wisdom" and found in Mormon scripture.
By clearly prohibiting drinking liquor, coffee and tea and smoking, Packer said the code teaches the general principle to avoid addictive substances.
"There are many harmful habit forming and addictive things one can drink or chew or inhale or inject which injure both body and spirit which are not mentioned" in the health code, Packer said.
He said the "Word of Wisdom" does not promise perfect health, but helps members keep the body in good condition and the mind "alert to delicate spiritual promptings."
The two-day conference opened on the 166th anniversary of the church's founding on April 6, 1830, in Fayette, N.Y.
James E. Faust, second counselor in the church's governing First Presidency, said the "keys and authority" of God were given to the church's first president, Joseph Smith, and have been passed on to his successors.
Mormons revere the church's president as a prophet, seer and revelator. Gordon B. Hinckley, 85, was ordained the church's 15th president a year ago.
"Continuing revelation and leadership for the church comes through the president of the church, and he will never mislead the Saints," Faust said.
Faust said anyone else claiming to receive revelation from God for the church or follows someone who does is misguided and risks expulsion.
"If any find themselves in this position, please know there is always an open door in the church for those who wish to return," Faust said. "The welcome will be with open arms."