Here’s why Latter-day Saints will watch and listen to October general conference

It may be fall, the leaves may be turning bright oranges and reds in Utah’s mountains and baseball playoffs, college football and Halloween may be in the air, but it sure feels like areas in and around Temple Square are blossoming like spring.
So much is happening as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convenes its 194th Semiannual General Conference this weekend:
With so much renewal apparent, and sunny skies and temperatures expected to reach the upper 70s and low 80s, what can Latter-day Saints and others expect from a global conference on Saturday and Sunday that will draw millions of viewers and listeners?
The church’s prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, turned 100 last month, and he is expected to deliver his 114th conference talk.
(He has delivered 112 conference talks since 1984 as a member of the First Presidency or Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; he delivered one general conference address in October 1968, when he was president of the church’s Bonneville Utah Stake.)
President Nelson prerecorded a message for the October 2023 general conference, which he did not attend while he recuperated from a fall. He did attend the April 2024 conference, where his talk again was prerecorded.
He noted that some church leaders were sitting or prerecording talks as a concession to age. For the first time, apostles conducted three of the five sessions, which previously had been conducted exclusively by members of the First Presidency.
The conference will take place in five unique two-hour sessions over two days:
In April, 32 church leaders and officers spoke. If past precedent holds, a similar number of talks for this conference will be given by members of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, General Authority Seventies and the general presidencies of the Primary, Relief Society, Sunday School, Young Men and Young Women.
Church leaders use their conference talks to teach of Jesus Christ, provide instruction and guidance, and give messages of encouragement, peace and comfort.
Precedent says yes.
President Nelson has announced new temples at every conference since he became church president and prophet in 2018, a total of 167 new temples across 13 conferences. (He announced a 168th new temple separately.)
He has embarked the church on an unprecedented era of temple building. Today the church has 350 temples in operation, under construction or announced. Here’s a breakdown:
On Thursday, during the leadership session of general conference, leaders sustained six new Area Seventies to provide leadership in five countries.
Learn about those new leaders here.