In Mormonism, a general conference is a meeting open to all members of a particular Latter Day Saint denomination. General conferences have been a regular part of most churches within the Latter Day Saint movement, beginning on June 9, 1830, when Joseph Smith, Jr. organized the first general conference in Fayette, New York, which included a gathering of only 27 members of the two-month-old Church of Christ.

Originally, general conferences were held every three months, as provided by one of Smith's early revelations (LDS D&C 20:61). Beginning in 1832, the conferences were held less frequently, usually to conduct special church business or to respond to special church needs.

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 conferences in a given year are identified by the number of years since the Church was founded in 1830; thus the October 2005 meeting was the 175th Semiannual General Conference, and the April 2006

Each conference consists of five two-hour sessions, convened in Salt Lake City, Utah since 1848, and in the LDS Conference Center of that city since its completion in 2000. General Sessions commence at 10 am and 2 pm (Mountain Time) on Saturday and on Sunday. At 6 pm on Saturday a Priesthood session is held for men holding the priesthood of the Church. General sessions are open to all Church members and guests holding tickets, usually for only one session.

Normally a member of the First Presidency conducts each session. 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 may include female officers of auxiliary organizations.

If the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is present, he is said to "preside" at the Conference whether or not he personally conducts a session. If the President is absent (as in the case of illness) his First Counselor presides; if both are absent, the Second Counselor presides; and so forth. In the event of the complete absence of the First Presidency (for example, as during the period after the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, when the First Presidency had not yet been reconstituted), the senior apostle presides at all conferences.

During one session of

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, and the process of the sustaining vote is unusually detailed and prolonged. Instead of calling for the sustaining vote of all members together, at a Solemn Assembly each quorum of the Priesthood is asked individually to sustain the new Prophet and President of the church from the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, The Quorums of Seventy, Melchizedek Priesthood holders, Aaronic Priesthood holders, Relief Society members, all members of the Young Women organization, and then all Members (even if they had previously voted) . Then the names of all the members of the Presidency of the Seventy, the First Quorum of Seventy, the Second Quorum of Seventy, and the Presiding Bishopric are read. A sustaining and opposing vote is called for them together.

The LDS General Conference usually airs on the local LDS-owned media outlets KSL channel 5 and KSL 1160 AM. The conference usually pre-empts regularly scheduled programming. Alternate outlets include internet webcast via lds.org, syndicated television, Dish Network, DirecTV, and C-band satellite broadcast, though generally these do not include the priesthood session.

World Conference 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 semiannually, or as need arises, 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 symbolic and unanimous. The World Conference, by contrast, is the highest legislative body in the church and is empowered to act for the entire church. Delegates to the conference are elected by Mission Centre conferences. Motions are often debated vigorously and the results are sometimes controversial. World Conferences are traditionally held at Community of Christ World Headquarters, with the legislative and main worship services held in the Auditorium.