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In Mormonism, General Conferences are church-wide meetings of individual Latter Day Saint denominations.
General Conferences of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the most important regular meeting of that religion. It is held twice annually, on the weekends containing the first Sundays in April and in October. The April meeting is known as the Annual General Conference, and includes annual statistical and financial reports not included in the October meeting,which is called the Semiannual General Conference. Both in a given year have the same number, which is equal to the number of years since the Church was founded in 1830; thus the April 2005 meeting will be the 175th Annual General Conference, and the October 2005 meeting the 175th Semiannual General Conference.
Each Conference consists of five two-hour sessions, convened in Salt Lake City, Utah since 1848, and since its completion in 2000 particularly in the LDS Conference Center. General Sessions commence at 10 am and 2 pm on Saturday and on Sunday, and at 6 pm on Saturday a Priesthood session is held with only men holding the priesthood of the Church permitted to attend. General sessions are open to all Church members and guests holding tickets,usually for only one session.
Normally a Counselor in the First Presidency conducts each session, often alternating between the two Counselors. He introduces the various speakers, which during the course of a Conference generally include all members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and a selection of others. Virtually every General Authority of the Church is present, though outside the First Presidency and Twelve (all of whom speak if able) only few speak. Non-General Authority speakers tend to include officers of auxiliary organizations.
If the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is able to be present,he is said to "preside" at the Conference whether or not he personally conducts a session. (Gordon B. Hinckley has personally conducted sessions as Church President, while as Second Counselor in the last years of Spencer W. Kimball he was at times the only member of the First Presidency in attendance). At a Saturday General Session, a Counselor presents all the General Authorities for the formal sustaining vote of the membership, and it is usually at this time that any changes among the General Authorities,officers,or auxiliaries are announced. At the first General Conference after the death of a Church President and accession of his successor, the session at which the sustaining vote takes place is called a Solemn Assembly, and the process of the vote unusually detailed and prolonged. Normally below the Quorum of the Twelve only those General Authorities and auxiliaries being added or released are announced, and all present vote together,but at a Solemn Assembly voters are called upon in separate quorums and the full list of those presented is read.
The LDS General Conference usually airs on the local LDS-owned media outlets KSL channel 5 and KSL 1160 AM. The conference usually prempts regularly-scheduled programming.
General Conferences in the Community of Christ World Conference is the name given to the bi-annual meeting of delegates of the Community of Christ. Originally called General Conferences and held semi-annually, they have the same origin as the semi-annual General Conferences of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).
Like the two denominations, the two conferences have evolved separately. Voting at General Conferences of the LDS church is purely symbollic and unanimous. Delegates at World Conferences, by contrast, are fully vested with the decision making power over the church. Motions are frequently voted down and the results are sometimes controversial. World Conferences are traditionally held in the Auditorium.
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