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Temple Square in between sessions of conference.

A member of the First Presidency of the church normally conducts each conference session, with the President of the Church presiding. On occasions in the past, when part or all of the First Presidency have been absent, whoever the First Presidency requests to conduct the Conference may do so, usually the most senior apostle not in the First Presidency. On the occasions where the President of the Church is absent, the next most senior leader presides. The conducting official introduces the various speakers, which over the course of the sessions will generally include all members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and a selection of other leaders in the church. Almost every general authority of the church is present, though outside the First Presidency and Twelve only few speak. Non-general authority speakers may include male and female officers of auxiliary organizations.

During one general session (usually Saturday afternoon) the conducting officer presents all the general authorities and general officers of the church for the formal sustaining vote of the membership, and it is usually at this time that any changes among the general church leadership are announced. Normally, the members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve are mentioned by name; those in other positions are mentioned by name only if they are being called or released from a previous or to a new position. The person conducting asks all of those who are in favor of sustaining the current leadership or of the calling of a new leader to raise their hand in a "vote." The counselor then asks that any who are opposed raise their hand. Dissenting votes are rare and the customary declaration at the end of the voting is "the voting appears to be unanimous in the affirmative."

At the first general conference after the death of a church president and the calling of his successor, the session at which the sustaining vote takes place is called a solemn assembly. At a solemn assembly, groups of Latter-day Saints are asked to stand in succession and sustain the new president of the church. Typically, the order is: First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, the Quorums of Seventy, Melchizedek priesthood holders, Aaronic priesthood holders, Relief Society members, members of the Young Women organization, and then all members together.[2] Then the names of all other general authorities are read, and a sustaining and opposing vote is called for.

Frequently, special announcements are made at general conference, which may include building sites for new temples or the institution of new policies or programs. [edit] Music

Music is also an important part of the conference in setting the appropriate spiritual mood. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir along with the organist at the Conference Center generally provide the majority of the music, with the exception of the Saturday afternoon and priesthood sessions. Guest ensembles include regional choirs, institute choirs, the MTC choir, and the BYU Choirs. The hymns are usually selected from the normal repertoire of LDS hymns and their various arrangements, with an occasional piece from traditional sacred choral repertoire. Usually, the congregation is invited to stand and join in with one hymn halfway through each session.

Very rarely, soloist artists will perform for conferences. The last to do so, Liriel Domiciano, performed in the 2004 Annual General Conference with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. [edit] Sermons

Members of the church regard and sustain the president of the church, the counselors in the First Presidency, and members of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles as "prophets, seers, and revelators," and are counseled to pay close attention to what they teach throughout the year. However, the sermons given at general conference are held in particularly high esteem and they are considered the will of God to the church members at the current time.[3] The sermons (usually called talks) are published in the Ensign, an official church English language magazine, the month following a general conference. They are also translated and printed in the Liahona, the church's international version of the Ensign, which is published in multiple languages. Church members are encouraged to read and study the talks, discuss them at home and at church, and quote from them while giving lessons and sermons at church.

A sample of the topics of general conference discourses includes:

* Unity (Eyring, October 2008) * Forgiveness (Faust, April 2007; Hinckley, October 2005) * Natural disasters and preparedness (Hinckley, October 2005) * Faith (Sorensen, April 2005) * The dangers of pornography (Oaks, April 2005; Hinckley, October 2004) * The first vision of Joseph Smith (Uchtdorf, April 2005) * Acquiring a testimony of Jesus (McMullin, April 2004) * Fatherhood (Perry, April 2004) * The Atonement of Jesus (Hafen, April 2004) * Fasting (Pratt, October 2004) * Repentance (Nelson, April 2007; Uchtdorf, April 2007; Oaks, October 2003) * Eternal life through Jesus (Madsen, April 2002) * Tithing (Tingey, April 2002) * Hope in the Atonement of Jesus (Faust, October 2001) * The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ (Packer, October 2001)

[edit] Dissemination

Although the conference is actually held in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, the church makes it as widely available as possible. It is shown on screens in various buildings on Temple Square, including the Tabernacle, Salt Lake Assembly Hall and the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The conference usually airs on the LDS-owned media outlets KSL-TV, KSL (AM), The Mormon Channel at http://radio.lds.org, KBYU (FM), KBYU-FM HD2 (BYU Radio), and KBYU-TV. The conference usually preempts regularly scheduled programming. The conference is broadcast by satellite to church meetinghouses throughout the world, either simultaneously or time delayed to accommodate for differing time zones.

Conferences are also broadcast by some pay television networks such as Dish, DirecTV, and C-ba