Being Part of the Gathering of Saints

On the eve of another General Conference, I've been reflecting on why that experience is so meaningful to me, and in particular, why I don't like things that compete with my participation. I've gotten fussy about my conference time. I am not one who can work in the yard or tinker around the house while listening to conference.  I don't like missing the broadcast, even knowing that the recordings and transcriptions are available for personal review and study almost immediately afterwards.  I feel a personal need to participate "live and in person" with the conference sessions.  The reason why takes a little explaining.  (I also acknowledge that not everyone feels like I do about this—and that's OK! What follows is my approach and my thoughts, and not the only approach or even the right approach.)

I'm not an old man (regardless of what my son says). But I vividly recall some of the experiences of my youth, pre-satellite and pre-cableTV, gathering to a stake center for the Priesthood Session of General Conference. There was no video; just the audio, brought to us over telephone lines and patched into the sound system in the building. The sound quality was inconsistent, and very inadequate for music transmission; but the connection was usually reliable.  In spite of what might seem a limitation by today's standards, I recall some marvelous spiritual experiences in my youth from that setting, hearing the instructions of Church leaders to the assembled priesthood holders.


I grew up in Utah, so we had the privilege of watching the rest of the conference sessions live on KSL television—as long as our "rabbit ears" or roof-mounted antenna worked and we could get the signal.  In other areas of the country and the world, gathering to Church buildings for the "audio only" experience was the best that could be hoped for during many years, for all the sessions.  Then satellite dishes began to be installed adjacent to Church buildings in the 1980s, giving further opportunities for participation with video.  As cable television carriers became more common and the Church reached out in public affairs efforts, the ability to view all of the conference sessions live at home became more widespread.

George Albert Smith spoke to a conference session in 1946 and made this prophetic observation, based on the technology then available but clearly anticipating something much greater:

Short-wave broadcasting will continue to improve, and it will not be long until, from this pulpit and other places that will be provided, the servants of the Lord will be able to deliver messages to isolated groups who are so far away they cannot be reached. In that way and other ways, the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord, the only power of God unto salvation in preparation for the celestial kingdom, will be heard in all parts of the world, and many of you who are here will live to see that day.
- George Albert Smith, General Conference, October 4, 1946

The expansion of the Internet in the 1990s was certainly one of the "other ways" that helped fulfill that prophetic vision.  In a previous job assignment, I had the privilege to participate in some of the earliest efforts to stream general conference via the Internet.  In October 1999, we successfully streamed the four general sessions in 14 languages to over 80,000 connections, with an estimated 221,299 visitors (based on registration information we collected). That was a very satisfying effort to participate in.  I knew we were providing a service that would benefit many members around the world.  But I was unprepared for the impact.  Many wrote to express appreciation. They told how they previously had to wait for weeks or even months after the conference until videotapes were delivered to their units; then special local meetings would be scheduled to watch them.  If the meeting was missed, they would have only the printed version to draw from.  So many members longed for the experience of a more active participation.  It meant the world to them to get current broadcasts. I will never forget the image described in one email from Australia, of a family clustered around a small computer screen late at night, tears streaming down their cheeks as they watched the president of the Church stand to begin conference—knowing that they were a part of it as it was happening for the first time in their Church experience.

So now, when I tune in to the beginning of a conference session, I envision in my mind the Church members who are scattered around the world—in chapels, in homes, wherever they might be, all tuning in and hearing the same words I hear, feeling the spirit I feel, at the same time.  The sense of unity with a worldwide community is a powerful one!  Literal millions of hearts are lifted up together, praying for divine inspiration, eager to know how to better cope with the challenges that confront us.  It's a wonderful thing to comprehend, a glorious thing to participate in!

Joseph Smith believed that God's greatest blessings, both temporal and spiritual, always come to groups working in faithful, concerted efforts, and not as a result of individual exertion (see TPJS 183).  In my mind and heart, that promise is realized when I unite with Saints around the world to hear inspired instruction, as if from God's own voice.