MICHELLE HOFFMAN / Scroll

Millions gather for the ‘good word’

175th Semiannual General Conference

Ashley Andrus AND01049@BYUI.EDU Religion Assistant Editor

The words and testimonies of modern prophets and apostles from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were translated into 80 different languages this weekend as Church leaders addressed millions of members worldwide during the 175th Semiannual General Conference.

Of those millions, thousands of Church members gathered to listen to counsel and instruction live at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City and feel the unique spirit on Temple Square.

Aubrie McReynolds, a freshman from Portland, Ore., was one BYU-Idaho student who was able to attend conference on Temple Square for the first time.

“I truly felt the unity of the Church members and a glimpse of the enormity of our church population,” she said. “Witnessing the apostles speak at the Conference Center helped them become more real to me and their message seemed even more personal.”

Many of those speaking centered their remarks around the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his role in bringing forth the restored gospel. Scenes from Joseph’s life were shown at various points throughout the sessions, including during one of the final hymns sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, “Ode to Joseph: Praise to the Man.”

During the Saturday morning session, President Gordon B. Hinckley announced that a new temple will be built in western South Jordan, Utah, in the Daybreak development. This will be in addition to the other three temples in the Salt Lake area and the 13th in Utah. He also indicated that a fifth Salt Lake area temple site has been acquired in the southwest part of the valley.

Elder John H. Groberg and Elder David E. Sorensen were released as members of the Presidency of the Seventy and were named emeritus General Authorities in the Saturday afternoon session. Nine others were also released from full-time Church service.

Church members were directly invited to do specific things after leaving conference, including setting aside some leisure time during everyday life to spend more time doing temple ordinances, inviting someone to read the Book of Mormon and inviting someone to hear the messages at conference.

President Hinckley’s challenge to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year was also mentioned by several speakers. Elder Won Yong Ko of the Second Quorum of the Seventy told church members that “when we read the Book of Mormon while rubbing our sleepy eyes let us remember that we are following the counsel of our prophet and receive the joy that comes from that knowledge.”

A few speakers briefly spoke about the events of the recent hurricanes in Texas and Louisiana. Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recently visited the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita and said that “what the hurricane victims wanted and needed the most was their family members.”

President Hinckley delivered his main message to church members in the Sunday morning session about the importance of forgiving others and encouraged all to “be more forgiving.”