General Conference - More

Click here to watch General Conference.

Locations & Logistics & Unity

We've enjoyed General Conference in a variety of circumstances and locations throughout the years. In 1981 when we became members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we drove to the meetinghouse in Dublin to see the conference sessions broadcast to the building. Then the sessions became available on DISH satellite and we were able to watch it at home. In fact, the reason we went with DISH and not Time Warner Cable was that DISH offered BYU TV and therefore General Conference (at that time).


During our mission in The Bahamas in 1996-97 the meetinghouse was wired for a satellite dish so members could watch General Conference real time. (There are many interesting stories connected with that whole process.) Prior to that people would go to the homes of the few members who had access via their satellite services.  The other option was to wait until conference was available on VHS. The conference talks were always printed in the Ensign, the Church magazine, the month after General Conference.

By 1999 conferences became available via the Internet so people had even more options for watching at home. Check this out for all the options for viewing general conference now.

Conference talks are simultaneously translated into almost 100 languages using interpreters onsite at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City as well as interpreters located in countries around the world. Read about that here, here and here.

General Conference unites people around the world. When we sat in the tiny chapel in Nassau to watch General Conference, we felt unified with our family and friends watching in various places in the States. We felt at one with our brothers and sisters around the world, even though we didn't know them personally. When we watched conference in Ohio and now in Washington, we are together with our family and friends here in the States and in other countries. It's a glorious feeling. 

The Messages

As impressive and interesting as the logistics are, what's important are the messages.  The world is complex. Being spiritual beings here on earth to have human experiences is not easy. Scriptures and prayers help us navigate the challenges we find during our journeys here on earth. 

At General Conference the Lord directs the speakers to give us information and counsel we need to meet situations specific to our times. The heavens are open. God loves each of us individually and wants us to know we are not alone on this journey. We are taught by the Spirit as we listen to the talks given during General Conference. 

It is up to us to pray, ponder, get confirmation, and then go and do. 

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