Latter-day Saints anticipate this weekend’s general conference
Apr 5, 2024, 5:09 PM | Updated: 6:57 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — This weekend, tens of thousands of people will flood downtown Salt Lake City for the 194th Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Over five sessions this weekend, approximately 90,000 people are expected to fill the Conference Center for the faith’s twice-yearly global gathering.
Harri Myllyla came from Finland and plans to attend two sessions. He stopped to check out the display of 91 international flags Friday morning on the newly renovated plaza outside the Church Office Building.
“Fun to see all the flags, even though there’s not a Finnish flag up today, at least,” Myllyla said, smiling.
He said listening to messages at conferences over the past few decades has been “very special.”
“It’s a good time to reflect,” Myllyla said, “but also it’s really nice to see how the Church is growing and also how the leadership for the Church is maybe becoming more international.”
This will be the first conference where Church members will formally sustain Elder Patrick Kearon, from England, as the newest apostle. They will also recognize President Jeffrey R. Holland as the new acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve.
Set to preside this weekend is Church President Russell M. Nelson, who is just a few months away from turning 100.
“As senior leaders in the Church, we are called to serve for the remainder of our lives, often long beyond ‘retirement age,’” President Nelson wrote on social media Thursday. “This means that you may see some of us during general conference speak while sitting down, or pre-record our message to be shared at the appropriate time, or even require a little assistance getting to and from our seats in the conference center.”
Visitors to Temple Square told KSL TV they look forward to this faith-filled weekend.
“I feel like that’s what I most gain is just a peace and rest from everything else,” said Caroline Branning from Utah County, “and I just to get to focus on what’s most important.”
Each conference weekend, Latter-day Saints also anxiously await news of where any new temples will be built.
This weekend’s general conference gets underway Saturday at 10 a.m. You can watch it on KSL channel 5, streaming on the KSL+ app and online.
KSL has also produced several documentaries ahead of conference. You can find a schedule of all of KSL’s conference specials here.
