NOTE: Audio and video archives, as well as written transcripts of the 180th Semiannual Conference in English, are now available HERE. For any other language, first go HERE and select the language of your choice.
It's that time of the year again, as the next General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is at hand. Preceded by the General Relief Society Meeting on September 25th, 2010, the 180th Semiannual General Conference itself will take place on October 2-3.
-- Primary Location, Transportation & Parking: All sessions originate from the Conference Center Auditorium on North Temple unless otherwise specified. Overflow seating is available in the nearby Salt Lake Tabernacle, North Visitors' Center and Joseph Smith Memorial Building for all sessions and in the Conference Center Theater for the priesthood and Sunday sessions. The Assembly Hall will serve as overflow with Spanish-language audio for all sessions. Public parking downtown for conference-goers is even more limited, with the ongoing City Creek construction south of Temple Square. Utah Transit Authority is expanding its TRAX service to and from downtown Salt Lake City for conference weekend, with extra light-rail trains, extra cars and earlier service planned; however, the FrontRunner service between Salt Lake City and Ogden does not operate on Sundays. Additional information on fares and conference-weekend schedules is available at www.rideuta.com.
-- Dates:
---- Saturday September 25th, General Relief Society Meeting at 6:00 P.M. Attendance limited to women 18 and older. Audio and video options outlined HERE; four-page broadcast schedule HERE.
---- Saturday October 2nd, general conference sessions at 10:00 A.M. and 2:00 P.M. General priesthood meeting at 6:00 P.M.
---- Sunday October 3rd, general conference sessions at 9:30 A.M. and 2:00 P.M. Audio and video options for Conference will be outlined HERE; a seven-page broadcast schedule is already available HERE.
------ Summary of Saturday 10:00 A.M. session now available HERE.
------ Summary of Saturday 2:00 P.M. session now available HERE.
------ Summary of Saturday 6:00 P.M. session now available HERE.
------ Summary of Sunday 9:30 A.M. session now available HERE.
------ Summary of Sunday 2:00 P.M. session now available HERE.
-- Cable and Satellite Broadcasting: Current information available via Bonneville Communications. Click HERE, then select either Cable/Broadcast or Dish/DirectTV/Satellite TV, depending upon which applies. Follow subsequent instructions to find out the information for your area. Most LDS wards also receive Conference proceedings via the Church Broadcast System. KSL Channel 5's dedicated conference page is HERE, and the Deseret News will create a dedicated information page as well.
-- LDS Media Talk contains an organized list of all the ways one can receive General Conference material.
-- Tickets are required for admission to all sessions in the Conference Center. Contact your local priesthood leader in advance to obtain tickets. Tickets NOT required for admission to the overflow locations. Those who plan to attend in person should be aware of the special considerations spelled out HERE
For those with kids and teens, the LDS Church has created General Conference activity packets to make the proceedings even more relevant to them:
-- Eleven-page activity packet for kids and teens HERE.
-- Activity packs for younger children HERE.
-- Junior Primary Activity Packet from a different source available HERE.
-- LDS.about.com lists a host of different games and activities for kids HERE.
Background: For those who are unfamiliar, Wikipedia describes a General Conference as a semiannual meeting where General Authorities and other key church leaders deliver sermons and give guidance to the members of the church. Changes to church leadership are also proposed and sustained through the principle of common consent. General conferences are held on the weekends containing the first Sunday in April and the first Sunday in October. The April conference is known as the Annual General Conference, and the October conference the Semiannual General Conference.
The April conference includes annual statistical and financial reports not included in the October meeting. Both conferences are identified by the number of years since the church was founded in April 1830; thus, the April 2008 meeting was the 178th Annual General Conference, and the October 2007 meeting was the 177th Semiannual General Conference. The conferences have been held in Salt Lake City, Utah since 1848; in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square before 2000 and in the Conference Center after that.
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