LDS General Conference

Tomorrow, October 6th, is the second day of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' 183nd Semiannual General Conference.  The first day was the Relief Society session last weekend.

So what is the LDS general conference?  The answer, as described by LDS.org, is that "General conference is a semiannual gathering of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  During general conference weekend, Church members and others gather worldwide in a series of two-hour sessions to receive inspiration and instruction from Church leaders."

And now one may ask who the Church leaders are that we will hear from.  We will be hearing from the First Presidency of the Church.  The First Presidency is composed of the President and living prophet of the church.  That man is President Thomas S. Monson.  Also in the First Presidency are the two counselors to the president.  These two counselors are Henry B. Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

Also speaking in these conference sessions will be the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  These twelve men also serve as prophets, seers and revelators.  The twelve that make up this quorum are:  Body K. Packer, L. Tom Perry, Russell M. Nelson, Dallin H. Oaks, M. Russell Ballard, Richard G. Scott, Robert D. Hales, Jeffrey R. Holland, David A. Bednar, Quentin L. Cook, D. Todd Christofferson, and Neil L. Andersen.

In addition to these fifteen men we will have the opportunity to hear from many other leaders in the church, both men and women.

These sessions of conference can be attended live at the Conference Center in Downtown, Salt Lake City, Utah.  For those that do not get that opportunity can listen to these conferences through the radio, or watch them on TV or streaming live on the internet.  Now there are millions of members of the church that will be watching and listening, and many more that are not members of the church that want to hear what is taught by the leaders of the church.

Tomorrow I have the opportunity of taking my little sister to watch one of these sessions live.  She has never had the opportunity before to see a prophet other than on a TV or computer screen.  This is a wonderful blessing and opportunity that we will love and cherish.

For those that are not familiar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I will provide some links below where you can learn more.

Links

---

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (official website):
https://www.lds.org/
Watch/Listen to this year's general conference:
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/october-2012-landing-page?lang=eng
Mormon Beliefs:
http://mormon.org/
The Current Prophet - President Thomas S. Monson:
http://www.lds.org/church/leader/thomas-s-monson?lang=eng

General Conference - Listen to the Prophet

For upwards of three months I have been listening to LDS General Conference talks as I drive, or on walks, or in my free-time.  If you do not know what General Conference is, it is an event that takes place twice a year as the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teach the members of the Church (and all others that want to listen).  If you do not know what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is, you can chat with people that will be happy to tell you all about it by clicking the first link at the bottom of this page.

I began with listening to the speakers that I know and am familiar with already, such as:  Bruce R. McConkie, Marvin J. Ashton, Marion G. Romney, Gordon B. Hinckley, etc.  You may notice that the prophets and apostles listed above are people that have already died.  The reason being that they can give no more talks and so I can make a list of all their talks and not have to worry about adding on to it every once in a while.  But this week, as I finished the previous set of talks, I decided to begin listening to President Thomas S. Monson's talks, the current living prophet of the Church.  What I did not realize when I made this decision is that he has given over two hundred talks and devotionals, and has been speaking in General Conferences since the 60's.  But upon listening to the first few of them it is now okay with me that there is a lot of them.  In fact, it is great because he has such a warm voice and wonderful messages.  I'm sure, just like all of those before, I'm going to wish there were more when I finish.  Thankfully this time there will be, as he is still alive and will be giving many more talks as prophet of the Church.

For those that read this page this week, he will indeed be giving a few more in just a week or two at the quickly approaching Conference.  If you would like to watch this upcoming conference you can find out how by clicking the second link at the bottom of the page.  And if you want to know about the man, Thomas S. Monson, simply click on the third link below.

And now, in parting, I share a video of some past Conference messages by President Monson.  Enjoy!

Links:
1. Have questions about the Church? http://mormon.org/chat
2. Want to watch General Conference? https://www.lds.org/general-conference
3. More about Thomas S. Monson: http://www.lds.org/church/leader/thomas-s-monson?lang=eng