I think the reason "the talk" is such an uncomfortable topic is because parents are uncomfortable with sex and sexuality in general. As Elgama said, arming yourself with information is the only way to go - and that means spending some time educating yourself before you sit down with your kids. I recomend getting a good grasp of the subject "scientifically" including the biological processes and various organs involved until you're an expert, and then use your LDS (or other faith) grounding to put all that scientific knowledge in the proper perspective. Get comfortable with it yourself, and it's easier to talk about it.
As far as when to tell them, I taught primary a while back and it amazed me how smart those kids were. Kids of 7 or 8 years old CAN understand what you tell them and you can tell it to them like they're adults (a lot of that teenage angst stuff is parents trying to talk to they're kids like they're kids when those "kids" are young adults). If 8 years old is old enough to be responsible for your sins, then it's old enough to understand what those sins are.
Just a thought - how sad is it that we're afraid of telling our children about one of the most sacred and beautiful gifts God has given us (sex), but we're ok with them finding out about death and murder when they're playing "war" at 5?
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