On Newsroom during this general conference, we've posted dozens of photos of Mormons and their friends who have come to Salt Lake City to attend the 180th Semiannual General Conference. Twenty-one thousand people filled the Conference Center during each of the five sessions of general conference, and many more gathered at Temple Square, in the Tabernacle and in other buildings to listen. While these crowds are impressive, what is not seen is the millions more who listened throughout the world in 92 languages. They gathered in chapels and around computer screens, television sets and radios to listen in.
“Sitting on my in-laws porch swing on their Ashton, Idaho farm listening to conference from the truck radio and basking in the sunlight looking at the Tetons :) it doesn't get any better :)”
“In England, Newcastle-Under-Lyme Stake! LOVE Conference!”
“TV at home in Texas”
“From Japan. Via the (Internet)!”
“At home through the Internet in Scotland.”
“In a 350 ton capacity Haul Truck.”
“From Tonga on Cable on BYU Channel at home. Awesome!”
“I'll be watching in Uganda when the stake gets a DVD version in a couple weeks.”
“As a new convert, I am attending my first conference at my stake.”
“Watched both sessions at home while chopping plums for jam.”
“At home, in San Diego.Ca, On BYU channel...The messages were so wonderful...”
“I'll be streaming it through the Mormon Channel app on my iPhone as I travel in Europe on business.”
A 2008 commentary on Newsroom spoke about the personal experience of general conference:
General conference combines the intimacy of the personal and the fellowship of the communal. There is a power for Mormons watching general conference in London, England, or listening to it in Chandler, Arizona, even if they watch or listen alone. That power comes from a sense of gathering with millions of others who share the same faith in Christ and who are experiencing the event together. ...
For Mormons, general conference is an exciting time when large numbers gather to hear sermons, sacred music and news. But the most satisfying, profound and exhilarating thoughts and feelings of inspirationcome when one person receives an answer to a personal question or is reassured by a connectedness to God and others.