Latter-day Saints from around the world will participate in the 188th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Saturday, March 31, and Sunday, April 1, 2018. The five sessions of general conference will be held at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.
- A view from the top balcony of the 21,000-plus capacity Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah during general conference weekend, 5 October 2014
- General Conference
- General Conference
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
This is the first time President Russell M. Nelson will preside over general conference since becoming the 17th president of the global church in January.
Latter-day Saints gather twice a year to hear general authorities and other Church leaders share messages of spiritual guidance and inspiration on topics related to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Spring meetings are called annual conferences, and those in fall are referred to as semiannual. Those of other faiths are also invited to participate in the sessions.
Sessions
Sessions of general conference will be broadcast live from the Conference Center at the following times (mountain daylight time):
Saturday Morning Session, March 31, 10:00 a.m.
Saturday Afternoon Session, March 31, 2:00 p.m.
General Priesthood Session, March 31, 6:00 p.m.
Sunday Morning Session, April 1, 10:00 a.m.
Sunday Afternoon Session, April 1, 2:00 p.m.
The general priesthood session is for the men and young men of the Church ages 12 and older. The general women’s session will be held in October. Consolidation of the two sessions was announced in October 2017.
The first general conference was held in 1830, when the Church was organized. Church membership is now more than 16 million worldwide.
How to Participate
The Conference Center seats 21,000 people for each session. Millions more around the world will view or listen to the proceedings in many languages worldwide via television, radio, satellite and internet broadcasts.
In addition to broadcasts in local Latter-day Saint chapels around the globe via the Church satellite system, the Church streams the conference live in more than 30 languages on LDS.org. Other live channels include Mormon Channel, the Mormon Channel on YouTube, BYUtv and BYU Radio. General conference talks will also be available on demand on LDS.org, the General Conference YouTube channel and the Gospel Library app in more than 80 languages.
The Church will immediately post conference messages through its official social media channels. The public is encouraged to share those messages using the #LDSconf hashtag.
Conference coverage, including photos and video, will be published on MormonNewsroom.org and its social channels, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Attending in Person
Tickets are required to attend sessions in the Conference Center, where attendees pass through security. Cameras, recording devices, weapons, food, backpacks, packages and large bags are not allowed. A standby line for those without tickets will begin at the north gate of Temple Square.
Additional seating will be available at locations on Temple Square. Overflow seating for all sessions for Spanish speakers will be available in the Assembly Hall. Tickets are not required for the overflow locations.
Conference attendees are encouraged to carpool or use public transportation to relieve local traffic congestion. Visit LDS.org for parking information.