Church Discontinuing Saturday Evening Sessions Of General Conference
Jun 7, 2021, 9:26 AM | Updated: 8:29 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — Saturday evening sessions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ General Conferences will be discontinued, beginning with this October’s conference.
The Church’s First Presidency announced the changes Monday.
“Beginning with October’s general conference and continuing thereafter, the Saturday evening sessions will be discontinued. Previously, a Saturday evening session was held for women (in October) and priesthood holders (in April),” a statement from The First Presidency said. “This change is being made because all sessions of general conference are now available to anyone who desires to watch or listen.”
According to the Church History Department, the priesthood session has been a consistent meeting since 1933, and the women’s and young women’s meeting since 1984.
Richard E. Turley, former assistant church historian and recorder, said he was not surprised by the drop.
“This change seems consistent with recent trends we’ve seen in simplifying and reducing,” said Turley. “Church leaders have been emphasizing during President Nelson’s administration, particularly the idea that of a home-centered, church-supported organization, and I think this is consistent with that change.”
The First Presidency’s statement also said October’s General Conference will originate from the Conference Center auditorium with no in-person attendance, and the Conference Center will be closed to the public.
“I think we need to remember that the church is a global organization, and while the pandemic is on its way out in the U.S., there are still other parts of the world where it is raging. There are also still a lot of travel restrictions in other countries,” said Turley.
This fall’s General Conference will be held on Oct. 2 and 3. Proceedings can be seen on KSL-TV.
General Conference is an opportunity for Church members and friends worldwide to receive messages about the Savior Jesus Christ from living prophets and apostles through ever-expanding technologies.
