Oct. 2021 General Conference: virtual-only audience, Tabernacle Choir performing live

SALT LAKE CITY — Final preparations are under way for the 191st Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It’s the fourth General Conference that has been impacted by the ongoing pandemic and without an in-person audience, but there are some changes in store for this weekend’s sessions.

Everyone is invited to hear Jesus’s teachings at general conference. Join us online on Oct. 2–3. Find more information here: https://t.co/ylqNfip3PQ #HearHim pic.twitter.com/bDRNHBDYcF

— The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (@Ch_JesusChrist) September 29, 2021

Unlike other conferences of the Church of Jesus Christ during the pandemic, the five October sessions will originate from the Conference Center auditorium, which will be closed to the public.

Another big change is that the for the first time in 18 months, the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square will perform live.

The choir has not performed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the past three conferences, music has been prerecorded.

As part of the layered health protection plan, half of the choir will sing in the Saturday morning session. The other half of the choir will sing during both sessions on Sunday.

For the Saturday afternoon session, a multicultural choir will perform.

And watch for a change in format during what the church calls a “refocused Saturday evening session” that will be broadcast for all members and friends of the Church beginning at 6 p.m.

The session won’t have a specific theme or be targeted for a particular audience.

In June, the church’s First Presidency announced that the Saturday evening session would be discontinued, but a month later, the First Presidency said it felt impressed to continue the session with a different format — no longer alternating between being held for women in October and priesthood holders in April.

Saturday Evening Sessions To Remain Part Of General Conference

The Church said the Saturday evening session will allow more gospel topics to be taught and give more general leaders the opportunity to address the conference.

And starting this conference, the church’s live streaming will move to a new, dedicated General Conference YouTube channel that will make it easier to find and share conference videos.

It also has 50 years of general conference archives.

The conference-dedicated YouTube channel will also be where the Church will publish short highlight videos of talks that are enhanced with music and video.

General Conference consists of the following five sessions:

• Saturday Morning Session — Oct. 2 at 10 a.m. MDT
• Saturday Afternoon Session — Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. MDT
• Saturday Evening Session — Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. MDT
• Sunday Morning Session — Oct. 3 at 10 a.m. MDT
• Sunday Afternoon Session — Oct. 3 at 2 p.m. MDT

The sessions can also be viewed on KSL-TV or on the KSL-TV website.

Conference Documentaries

KSL-TV will also be broadcasting a number of documentaries before and in between conference sessions this weekend.

Here’s a full schedule:

• Saturday, Oct. 2 at 9:30 a.m. — “History of the Saints”
• Saturday, Oct. 2 at 12 p.m. — “Redeemed: The Sione Havili Story“
• Saturday Oct. 2 at 12:30 p.m. — “A Shift of Heart”
• Saturday, Oct. 2 at 1 p.m. — “Toward Understanding” (re-run)
• Saturday, Oct. 2 at 1:30 p.m. — “Inside Church Headquarters”

• Sunday, Oct. 3 at 9 a.m. — “Guided by a Prophet” (re-run)
• Sunday, Oct. 3 at 12 p.m. — “Sacred Images“
• Sunday, Oct. 3 at 12:30 p.m. — “A Great Work: The Power in Us“
• Sunday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. — “All In“
• Sunday, Oct. 3 at 1:30 p.m. — “Blind Faith“