Next week, millions of Mormons will gather to watch and listen to the general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — a worldwide logistical exercise that dwarfs the first general conference of the Church 177 years ago.
Church leaders have conducted general conferences since 1830, when the Church was organized by Joseph Smith. “About 30 baptized members attended the first conference along with others who were interested in the Church,” said historian Glen M. Leonard.
Today, close to 2,000 workers are needed to staff general conference. Many of these are volunteers. Translators, ushers and security make up some of the volunteer assignments.
The main meetings are held in the massive Conference Center in downtown Salt Lake City. In that building, over 20,000 people will listen in five separate two-hour sessions as Church leaders give talks over a two-day period. Those talks consist mostly of teaching and encouraging members in the principles and doctrines of the Church.
Thousands more will watch in the overflow seating in various building around Temple Square, but millions will watch on television from their homes, in Church buildings via satellite or on the Internet.
Over 6,000 satellites in 85 countries worldwide will receive the feed so that members in various parts of the world can watch the two-day event.
The conference talks are also translated simultaneously into 89 languages ranging from Albanian to Yapese. American Sign Language interpretation and closed captioning are also available.
The Newsroom will provide periodic reports of the conference throughout the weekend.