A Memorable Conference

    The first weekend of April is upon us. Normally this would be the time when many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would be making a pilgrimage to Salt Lake City, Utah to attend the Annual General Conference of the church.  The Conference Center would be packed with people who have come from everywhere to listen to talks from church leaders.
   For many months members have been told to prepare for this conference which was going to be very special. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the First Vision. This is the event that started Joseph Smith on the path to becoming the first President and prophet of the Restored Church.
  It is going to be memorable for another, more modern reason. Thanks to COVID-19, no one will be gathering to Salt Lake City. The Conference Center will be empty on the first weekend of April. No floral arrangements will adorn the inside. The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square will not be in their usual seats to bless attendees with song.
   The conference will be broadcast from a small auditorium on Temple Square. The audience will consist only of those of those who have been asked to speak or pray.
   One thing will not change. Conference will be broadcast every where in many languages. It will be on the internet on the radio and on TV. Most places around the world be able to listen or watch the conference.
   It's going to be a little strange. I've been watching conference for the last six years or so. There's something special about seeing all those people in the huge conference center. All those people coming from inside and outside the United States gathering. They all wear their best clothes. You can see them listening, praying and singing together over the course of the conference.
   It's going to be odd not seeing all of the General Authorities and other church leaders not in their usual seats. The men wearing dark suits, white shirts and ties of all colours. The female leaders making  spots of colour off to the side. The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in their seats front and center, even with the majestic pulpit with carved beehives on it and made with wood from a black walnut tree that used to grow in the backyard of the late church president Gordon B. Hinckley. The Tabernacle Choir seated to the back of the General Authorities, the men in matching dark suits and ties, the women in brightly coloured dresses with matching accessories.
  I wonder what it's going to feel like for those speaking?  There won't be 21,000 pairs of eyes focused on them this year. Instead, only a tiny group will be present.
  I also wonder how it's going to feel to watch conference this year. I feel a special spirit when I watch it. Even though I'm not in Salt Lake, I still feel like a part of the group. It doesn't matter that I'm watching on a computer screen or our big screen TV downstairs.
   Tomorrow at 11 AM, I'll know. I'm looking forward to it. I always feel spiritually enlightened and comforted afterwards. With things are the way they are right now, I need both.