L.D.S. General Conference

You can find the pilgrimage in many religions. The Muslim will make the Hajj, a holy trip to Mecca. Perhaps the Catholic will journey on the road to Santiago de Compostela or Vatican City. For the Mormon, that journey might be to Salt Lake City to attend the semi-annual General Conference of the church.

Some will travel across the world to attend a session of General Conference. For me, although I live in Utah, I have never attended a conference in person. My oldest son will soon be leaving the nest, and I have always had the goal for us to attend as a family. We were lucky enough to obtain tickets (they are always free) and were now on track to attend the Sunday morning session.

Salt Lake Temple

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been holding a gathering of members for 185 years. After Brigham Young led the saints to the Salt Lake Valley, most of the conferences were held in the old Tabernacle. This oval building with a domed roof was constructed with remarkable acoustic qualities in a day when microphones and speakers didn't exist. The building served the saints well for 132 years until the church decided that they needed a building that had a larger seating capacity than 7,000.

Although the Tabernacle still stands on Temple Square, the saints now attend General Conference in the much larger Conference Center, a meeting hall that holds three-times the amount as the Tabernacle.

The church holds conference twice a year: in April and October. Each conference has five sessions: three on Saturday, including a Priesthood session, and two on Sunday.

My own family history is intertwined with the saga of General Conference. My great-great grandfather, Charles Workman, attended conference in 1912. While the same trip now would take less than five hours, the trip for Charles and his wife, Josephine, lasted two days from Hurricane in southern Utah.

Making a trip to Salt Lake for conference was a large ordeal for the Workman family. They traveled by both buggy and train. While in Salt Lake they visited family, toured church history sites, and attended every session of conference.

Below I will include a few of the entries from the diary of Charles Workman. I do this to bring to life his journey and to highlight that the objectives of General Conference in 1912 are largely the same as they are today.

28 September 1912, Saturday – (clear) Josephine and I and the baby, Eloise, started for Salt Lake City this morning (7:50 A.M.) and arrived at Kanarra about 6:30 P.M. We are traveling with John T. Hall. Mollie and her two children Thelma and Ora, and Wealthy Workman are with us. Staying with Berry Williams tonight.

29 September, Sunday – (cloudy) Left Kanarra about 7 A.M. and arrived at Lund about 4:30 P.M. Bishop Hirschi and Bishop Isom have been traveling with us in another buggy. Met Lucy Eagar on the train (Took train 9 P.M.)

30 September, Monday – (clear) Arrived at Salt Lake City 6:30 A.M. and put up at Mamie Forbes', 165 Meade St. She is Josephine's cousin. We attended the first meeting of the National Irrigation Congress 10 A.M. There was a fine musical program with speeches of welcome and responses, etc. One number was the singing of the “Irrigation Ode” by the Tabernacle Choir led by Professor McClellan. Also attended the second meeting of the Congress 2:30 P.M. and the grand parade 8 P.M. The parade was made up of bands, soldiers and floats representing the resources of the various counties in Utah.

[The next two days are spent attending meetings for the Irrigation Congress.]

3 October, Thursday – (clear) Josephine, Mamie and I went on an excursion up Emigration Canyon as guests of the Irrigation Congress Board of control of Salt Lake City. Started at 9:30 A.M. and returned about 1:15 P.M. We passed over the old “Mormon Trail” over which the Pioneers entered the Valley of the Great Salt Lake on July 24, 1847. The electric car line over which we went runs in a zig zag fashion up the side of the mountain to a height of almost a mile above Salt Lake City to a place called Point Lookout, which is about 17 miles from the city. In the company were also Bishop Samuel Isom, Mollie and Wealthy Workman, and enough other Irritation Congress Delegates and their guests to completely fill three cars. In the afternoon we visited the Deseret Museum and I attended the last session of the National Irrigation Congress.

Inside the old Tabernacle

[Friday and Saturday are spent attending General Conference. I will only include Sunday's entry because it does well enough to represent a typical conference day in 1912.]

6 October, Sunday – (clear, cold) Conference 10 A.M. President Charles W. Penrose was the first speaker. Referred to the Constitution as the fundamental law of the land. Referred to the “essentials” of salvation. Apostle Orson F. Whitney compared the life of Joseph Smith with that of Paul. Spoke of the lack of faith of the ministers of the day in what they preach and their lack of unity. 2 P.M. General testimony. Apostle David O. McKay said that it is the privilege of every L.D. Saint to know of the truth of the Gospel for himself. A testimony of the gospel is an anchor to the soul, to steady our course among strife and discord. Do not offend a friend on account of difference of political belief. Apostle Joseph F. Smith, Jr. said that no man will go astray by following the council of the leaders of the church. Apostle James E. Talmage spoke on modern revelation. True and imitation liberty. President Joseph F. Smith in his closing remarks said that the officers of the Relief Societies, Y.L.M.I.A. and Primary Associations should set a good example in the matter of dress. After the afternoon services we went to Taylorsville and are staying tonight with Rose Johnson Fox.

Charles Workman and his family spent four more days in the Salt Lake area before they boarded the train and returned to Hurricane on October 13 and “found all well.” Their total trip lasted just over two weeks. For the Workman family, it was one of the few times that they ever left southern Utah.

Our trip, in the year 2015, was much quicker and less complicated. I will say, however, that it wasn't a cake-walk. We couldn't leave Cedar City until my boy got off work at 9 pm. We traveled three hours in the dark to my brother's home in Springville where we crashed in his basement and found a few hours of sleep. We were on the road again at 6 am, this time making the one-hour trip to Salt Lake City. We parked in a wide paved lot between Temple Square and the Triad Center, just before the sun came up. The spires of the temple and the low wide dome of the tabernacle and the tall profiles of high-rise buildings were all still silhouetted against the high peaks of the Wasatch Mountains. Two seagulls played on the supple breeze. I breathed in the cool morning air which always feels different when you were away from home.

We waited in our vehicle for half an hour while Jenelle braided the girls' hair and we all ate chocolate granola bars for breakfast.

The Conference Center

We left to walk toward the Conference Center, a large white-stoned building with a spire on top, that we could see from the parking lot. Many walked with us on the sidewalk, all in their best Sunday dress. I wore a long-sleeved white shirt with a black suit left open at the chest to show my plum-colored tie. We passed a few beggars next to the sidewalk, each with a cardboard sign next to them, their hand out in cupping shape, and head down. Some would look up at the passerby's and say good morning to them.

Many people there were looking for tickets. Some held a sign to advertize their solicitation while others simply held up the same number of fingers as they needed tickets. Others just came and asked anyone who walked passed if they had any extras. I felt sorry for them. They came from places like Columbia and California and all over. If I could, I would have brought a bundle of extra tickets in one pocket and a wad of dollar bills in the other (for the beggars).

I expected to see protestors, but didn't. A large group of police officers in yellow vests congregated near the place where we crossed the street to the Conference Center.

We waited in line for only about five minutes before we were ushered inside to our seats on the highest level. As we rode the escalators to the upper level, my fourteen year-old daughter said, “Dad, this feels just like we're going to Disneyland!” I could tell that she was giddy and I was happy to know that she was enjoying herself. It was a completely new experience.

Everyone there was very friendly. I don't think it was possible to get lost. A new volunteer with a wide smile was eager to help at every turn.

Inside the Conference Center

We found our seats center to the podium and on the balcony. We were truly high and far from the rostrum where all the authorities of the church would be seated during the conference. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir with the men in their dark suits on the right, and the women in their turquoise gowns on the left, were already seated and rehearsing for their participation in the conference. A few people down near the podium walked or talked with other people and I couldn't make out the description of their faces because of the distance between us. Although I could usually discern if they had gray hair or a bald head, or if they wore glasses. We made a few educated guesses as to who they were.

At nine-thirty precisely, Music and the Spoken Word began. This weekly devotional has been performed by the Tabernacle Choir since 1929. The narrator, Lloyd Newel, gives words of inspiration that introduces the hymn played by the choir.

We were delighted to see my wife's Uncle Clay playing the organ. Not many families can claim an organist in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. In addition to accompanying the entire performance, he played a toccata on the hymn, He is Risen. The Conference Center is acoustically designed, which amplifies any good organ work from great, to magnificent. By the end of Uncle Clay's solo, the reverberation of the organ rattled every seat in the building.

At ten o'clock, the conference began, and everyone stood as President Monson walked into the room and took his seat behind the pulpit. We sat at such a distance that it was difficult to get a good look at him, but he was accompanied by two men, probably his body guards, and one helped support his feeble body at the elbow.

President Monson is who we sustain as our prophet, seer, and revelator. He has always been full of life with a comic side to his serious tone. But lately, his age and frail frame have become more apparent.

The choir sang an opening hymn and then we all bowed our heads in prayer. Then the crowd gave a gasp when it was announced that President Monson would be our first speaker.

Every eye in the room watched the Prophet and all ears gave attention. His speech proved more difficult to understand than in the past. Old age has taken its toll on his clarity of speech. He announced three new temples: Bangkok, Thailand; Haiti; and the Ivory Coast. There were other gasps, probably from those who had deep connections to those places.

Then the Prophet spoke on temples. He exhorted us to go to the temple to help bear our trials, to overcome temptation, and to find peace.

Rosemary Wixom, the Primary General President, told a story about a lady that had left the church, but returned when she was able to return to the basics. She also admonished us to not condemn others for the amount of light they may or may not have, but instead, nourish and encourage them.

We then sang a rest hymn. The entire congregation arose and sang I Know That My Redeemer Lives. What a powerful song when over 20,000 people are singing with you!

A Frenchman, Gérald Caussé, spoke to us. He told us that although he had lived in Paris for many years, his family had never been to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Then he compared it to us, and how it is possible for us to take the gospel or the restoration for granted when we have been born in the church. Listening to him speak with his french accent reminded me of the international growth of the church.

Brent Nielson, of the Quorum of the Seventy, shared the story of the Prodigal Son. He compared it with his sister, Susan, who had left the church for fifteen years before coming back. He said, “ . . . we learned in our family that, after all we can do, we love that person with all of our hearts and we watch, we pray, and we wait for the Lord's hand to be revealed.”

The next speak was Jeffery R. Holland. He has always been one of my favorites because he is originally from southern Utah, and always speaks of his native Dixie with much affection. He is also a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. He reminded us that Easter is the most sacred day of the year. But there cannot be a full appreciation of Easter without and understanding that Adam and Eve existed and that the fall truly happened. He stated that speaking of Adam and Eve in the modern world is not only uncommon, but unfashionable. When Elder Holland spoke, he spoke with great power and every eye was fastened to the man behind the pulpit.

The final speaker of the session was President Uchtdorf, so-called because he is in the top-tier, or first presidency of the church along with Thomas S. Monson and Henry B. Eyring. He is from Germany, but speaks English very well, with just a slight accent. He spoke to us on grace. “We cannot earn our way into heaven,” he said. He went on to teach about the Atonement and concluded by saying, “Grace is a gift of God, and our desire to be obedient to each of God's commandments is the reaching out of our mortal hand to receive this sacred gift from our Heavenly Father.”

The Tabernacle Choir sang a closing hymn, and then a prayer was offered. After the final amen, the entire congregation rose to their feet and listened to the organ play and watched the officials of the church as they walked in single-file along the rostrum where they met their spouses and walked away hand-in-hand.

The mass of devotees flooded out the Conference Center doors and we enjoyed the fresh air and sun as we stepped outside. As we crossed the road toward Temple Square, we passed a handful of protesters along the sidewalk. We paid them no attention as there were few of them and we did not want them to detract from the spirit of the meeting.

Once on Temple Square, we found my sister, Michelle, who had spread a blanket on the grass and was eating a picnic lunch with her family. We sat down on the lawn with them, which was between the Tabernacle and Assembly Hall.

I gazed up to look at the spires on the west side of the temple. Many of these same buildings and trees would have been around at the time that Charles Workman made his journey to Temple Square. Soft sound of hymns came from the hidden speakers and a subtle smell of flowers fostered a peaceful feeling. Gradually the people on the square and around the gardens would dwindle down and soon the next session of conference would begin.

People enjoy Temple Square between sessions of General Conference.  The old Tabernacle is in the background.