General Conference Broadcast on National Television across the Pacific

For the first time, general conference sessions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were broadcast on national television and radio stations in the South Pacific.

“Wow! This is just so cool,” wrote Apimeleki Tuitubou, a Fijian Latter-day Saint. “Never dreamt that it would be this way on our national broadcasters, FIJI TV and [Fijian Broadcasting Corporation] TV.”

In years past, Latter-day Saints across the Pacific have watched, listened to or read general conference proceedings via internet, satellite, thumb drive video files, DVDs or Church magazines.

“I remember always having the task to deliver general conference DVDs in my truck to our remote [congregations] so that members had the opportunity to gather at the meetinghouses to watch,” Tuitubou added. “And today we are all watching from the comfort of our homes with our families.”

Typically, many Latter-day Saints watch general conference in meetinghouses. However, because of restrictions on gatherings due to COVID-19, that was not an option for people who wanted to watch the 190th Annual General Conference of the Church, which was broadcast from Salt Lake City on April 4-5, 2020.

Church representatives asked local television and radio stations for time slots to make it possible for Latter-day Saints and others to participate in general conference.

“We are so blessed to be watching the April 2020 General Conference from the comfort of our home,” wrote Milli Naivedru, a Fijian Latter-day Saint. “This conference is truly unforgettable and indeed a memorable one.”

Naivedru said she was grateful to watch conference with her mother-in-law, who is not a member of the Church.

“During this lockdown period, she has been joining us every Sunday [for home worship], and even participated in the worldwide fast on Easter Friday,” she wrote.

The five sessions of conference were broadcast on national TV and radio stations in many parts of the South Pacific, including New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands and Kiribati. Radio stations in Tonga, Kiribati and French Polynesia also aired sessions.

A Latter-day Saint member in Fiji said her family had trouble feeling the Spirit prior to general conference starting because their neighbor was playing loud music. The family said a prayer and turned the volume up on the television. They were surprised by what happened as soon as the first session started.

“When the Prophet gave his opening remarks, the neighbor was quiet and they turned their loud music off and sat beside the fence quietly,” she said. “I don’t know if they were listening, but they were all quiet. My husband [suggested] we turn the volume down of the TV. I told him, ‘I think they are listening.’”

Watch President Russell M. Nelson speaking at conference, translated into French, here.

Watch, listen to or read all sessions of general conference in Pacific languages here.