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Thousands to Attend 178th Annual General Conference

SALT LAKE CITY — More than one hundred thousand Church members, friends and invited guests are expected to attend the 178th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Five sessions of the conference will be held Saturday and Sunday, 5-6 April 2008, in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Millions will watch or listen to conference proceedings via television, radio, satellite and Internet broadcasts.

As a security precaution, everyone entering the Conference Center to attend any of the sessions on Saturday and Sunday will be required to pass through metal detectors and bag checks. Those attending are requested to arrive early to minimize delays. Cameras, recording devices, weapons, food, backpacks, packages and large bags will not be allowed in the Conference Center.

Admission

Tickets are required for entrance to all five sessions in the Conference Center. Distribution of conference tickets to Church members is under the direction of local Church leaders.

Conference Center doors will open 90 minutes prior to each session. Ticket holders should be in their seats at least 30 minutes before each session begins. Admission is limited to persons 8 years of age or older.

Overflow seating will be available in the Conference Center Theater, the Tabernacle, the North Visitors’ Center on Temple Square (priesthood session only) and the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Overflow seating for Spanish speakers will be provided in the Assembly Hall. Tickets are not required to enter overflow facilities.

Broadcast

General sessions can be viewed live on KSL-TV (channel 5), KBYU-TV (channel 11) and BYU-TV (DirecTV channel 374 and DISH Network channel 9403). Live sessions with Spanish translation will be broadcast on KSVN-TV (channel 49 and cable channel 66). Audio of general sessions can be heard live in English on KSL Radio (frequencies 1160 AM and 102.7 FM) and in Spanish on KSVN-AM (730 frequency). In addition, all sessions will be transmitted via satellite to more than 1,700 cable television systems and radio and television stations in the United States and Canada as a public service. Closed-captioning will be available for the hearing-impaired during each session.

At least one session of conference will be available in as many as 91 languages and provided to Church meetinghouses throughout the world via satellite and DVD.

Internet Access

Audio-only coverage of conference sessions is available live over the Internet at www.lds.org in up to 80 languages. Not all languages will be available for every session. Live video streams of each session (except the priesthood session) in English, Spanish, Portuguese and ASL will be available at www.lds.org. English text of the conference talks will be published on www.lds.org within the week following conference; other languages will be available within four weeks.

Transportation

Conference attendees are invited to carpool or use public transportation to relieve downtown traffic congestion. TRAX will run Saturday from 5:15 a.m. until 1:00 a.m. and Sunday from 7:20 a.m. until 9:20 p.m. Additional trains will be added to the schedule before the morning sessions and at the conclusion of the afternoon sessions. UTA buses will be available Saturday and Sunday and will run on their regular weekend schedules. Personal vehicles traveling north and south on I-15 are encouraged to use the 600 North exit.

Parking passes: Parking passes for designated areas are distributed by local leaders along with conference tickets. All of the parking stalls are within a three block radius of the Conference Center. Downtown parking lots will open at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday mornings for conference parking. The following facilities have been added to the Church Conference Center and surface parking lots for those with designated parking passes:

Triad Center Garage
Parking Lot behind Family History Library
Dee's Restaurant Lot (North Temple)
Additional Parking in tunnel under Main Street

Free parking: For those without parking passes, free parking will be available Saturday and Sunday at Triad Center Garage, 50 North 400 West; Eagle Gate Terrace, 145 East Social Hall Avenue; and Regent Street, 65 East 200 South.

Special Note: Conference attendees should avoid parking in front of homes in downtown residential areas. Cars parked on neighborhood streets may be ticketed or towed at owner’s expense. No parking will be available in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building parking plaza. Special permits are required to enter the Church Office Building and Conference Center parking facilities throughout the weekend.

This article was prepared by the LDS Newsroom at lds.org.

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