Conference

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

It's a big deal in Utah - April and October General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Considering the time of year it's held it should come as no surprise that there's a good chance of rain or snow.  It can also be lovely weather.  That's the nature of spring and fall in Utah.  But, it's good for some conversation and even some jokes by the non-Mormons.

At any rate, the 21,000 seat Conference Center across the street from Temple Square in downtown SLC will be buzzing.  Every seat for every session (5) will be filled.  Thousands more will be in overflow buildings on Temple Square including the Tabernacle and many more will just listen via the intercoms while wandering around the square.  This year they may need umbrellas.  Translation in 32 of the most popular languages will be done by volunteers.  The Tabernacle choir will perform and we will sing We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet (penned by someone on my family tree).  Thousands more will watch on TV, by satellite or by delayed video which will include even more translation.  Want to read up on past conference talks - check out this story here.  Mark Davis has compiled a corpus of conference talks going back to 1851.  No wonder it feels miraculous to us.

I will watch on TV.  I love being in the Conference Center but tickets are limited and parking - well, that can be a problem.  It's a busy weekend for us and in April comes with Fred's birthday and Bountiful cleanup.  I have a lot to clean up right now so getting time to put the stuff on the street is tricky.  Then there's grocery shopping, still need to do my taxes, etc.  I need to remove some sheetrock with mold from our basement flood - good time to get it conveniently hauled away, but can we actually get it done?  I always wish our cleanup would come a little later after weather has been good enough, long enough to do some serious work outside.

I'm still trying to get rid of a Mazda and a tetherball pole...