FILE -- The Conference Center is vacant due to COVID-19 restrictions during the 190th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — The 191st Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be virtual this weekend due to COVID-19. But church leaders say it could reach more people than ever before.
On Monday, church officials said that they are expecting to broadcast at least one of the 5 sessions to more than 70 countries– many for the first time.
“The potential audience for the April 2021 conference (April 3–4, 2021) will be larger than any previous Church gathering. In addition to the reach of the Church’s online broadcast, at least one session of the weekend proceedings will be broadcast on television and radio stations in more than 70 countries — many for the first time. This includes the NBC-owned stations TeleXitos (a subchannel of Telemundo) and COZI TV,” they said.
The last two sessions of the church’s semiannual gathering have been all virtual, but despite those restrictions, the church said it allowed them to gain a greater online audience.
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In October 2020, “at least one (and sometimes several or all) conference sessions were distributed by some 200 public broadcasting channels via national or regional television and radio. The October conference reached people in 50 countries in the regions of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, the Pacific and South America.”
During that conference, the church said the messages delivered were interpreted live on the radio into Qʼeqchi’, a Mayan language spoken by communities in Guatemala, and for the first time on television and radio in the pacific island country of Kiribati. Both communities also learned that their nations would receive a temple.
“We all shouted with joy while listening to the announcement,” said Fatele Fetapo, a Church member from Kiribati. “On Sunday we were able to listen on the radio in our own language. And that is another blessing to us, especially for our brothers and sisters who lived on the outer islands.”
KSL NewsRadio will be broadcasting all four general sessions of the April 2021 General Conference as well as a number of special in-depth features. To see our conference lineup, click here.
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