Proceedings of the 184th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will unfold from the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Saturday and Sunday, 4-5 October 2014. While more than 100,000 individuals are anticipated in the live audience in the Conference Center, millions will view or listen to the five scheduled conference sessions in 94 languages via television, radio, satellite and Internet broadcasts. (Watch live beginning 4 October at 10:00 a.m. MST.)
General conferences are conducted by the Church each April and October and comprise five two-hour meetings held over two days. The April meetings are called annual conferences and those in October, semiannual. The first general conference was held in 1830, the year the Church was organized.
Messages of Hope and Peace
During the conference, leaders of the Church deliver messages about a variety of subjects related to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Members of the Church approach general conference as an opportunity to be taught about the gospel of Jesus Christ from inspired leaders.
At the opening of a past general conference, President Thomas S. Monson said: “Those who will address us have sought heaven’s help and direction as they have prepared their messages. They have been impressed concerning that which they will share with us.”
In posts on the Mormon Newsroom Facebook page, members of the Church shared why they look forward to general conference.
“Come join us, EVERYONE!!” invites Jan Peers. “Truly, if you want or need a spiritual lift, you'll find it right here. This is the BEST of the BEST. I promise you will not be disappointed!!! God is good and merciful.”
Latter-day Saint Kendrick D. Villavicencio says he’s ready for general conference. “I am so ready to hear the word of the Lord.”
A Worldwide Audience
While the Conference Center in Salt Lake City seats 21,000 people, the audience for general conference extends around the globe as millions of Church members and others tune in. For over 50 years now, the Church has interpreted the proceedings in numerous languages, and today’s technology makes live viewing possible around the globe. General conference is viewed in over 200 countries around the world.
In addition to broadcasts in local Latter-day Saint chapels around the globe, the Church streams the conference live on LDS.org, BYUtv, BYUtv International, the Mormon Channel, Roku, Facebook and YouTube.
The general conference YouTube channels stream live and archive the conference proceedings in:
●Portuguese [Saturday | Sunday]
Many also hear and participate in sharing general conference through social media. A flood of tweets with the #LDSConf hashtag are posted on Twitter during each of the five sessions, which includes the priesthood session on Saturday evening. During the weekend, general conference is one of the most discussed topics on Twitter in the U.S. and sometimes worldwide during a given period.
Through its official social media channels, the Church will immediately post messages live from the conference in multiple languages, and it encourages others to share those messages (archived here).
