Hello again, everyone! On this Friday, I am pleased to share some breaking news from the First Presidency: in a letter to be read in all Sacrament Meetings this Sunday, the parameters have been set for the October 2022 General Conference (in order to access the contents, you'll need to sign into the Church website with your Church account). The letter indicates that the conference will consist of five general sessions for all members, including one on Saturday evening.
The details provided in the letter were later confirmed in a report from the Church News while this post was being put together here. With that announcement in mind, it appears as though my interpretation of both last July's announcement about the Saturday evening session and the introductory First Presidency message given by President Oaks at the beginning of last April's Womens' Session is correct: the focus and audience for the Saturday evening sessions will be determined by revelation on a conference-by-conference basis.
Some people reportedly complained that the Church abandoned the specially-focused sessions (Priesthood in April and Women's in October) only to reinstate that with the Women's Session last April. But as President Oaks announced in April, the focus and audience will be determined on a conference-by-conference basis. Parenthetically, it's a valid point to me that the April 2022 General Conference featured a Women's Session since that was the closest conference held to the late March 180th anniversary of the establishment of the Relief Society organization.
And the establishment of that organization eventually led to the creation of the Relief Society, Primary, and youth programs as we know them today. I could see the Church doing something similarly special in April 2029, to mark the 200th anniversary of the restoration of the Priesthood, and in April 2030, to mark the Church's bicentennial, particularly since, if current traditions hold, the Saturday of that conference will coincide with the exact bicentennial day.
So that leads me to my next point: with the general session for all members, who might speak? As reflected in my General Conference predictions, I would anticipate at least 1 or 2 General Officers, 1 member from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and one member of the First Presidency. The only questions in my mind are whether that would be President Nelson (since President Eyring spoke then last October and President Oaks did so in April) or whether the counselors will continue to alternate, and how many other speakers there might be.
In terms of the second question, the number of speakers in that Saturday evening session has varied in recent General Conferences of the Church. In April 2020, there were 7, with 6 each the following October and April, 8 in October 2021, and 5 in April of this year. If Presidents Oaks or Eyring speaks during that session, it's possible they could also give a short introductory address specific to that session.
If President Nelson speaks, we could either see a shorter or normal-length talk from the prophet, which may affect how many other talks he gives and their respective lengths. As far as how many other speakers the session will feature, that's anyone's guess. The announcement also notes that the Saturday evening session will be 90 minutes, as opposed to the other sessions, which will be 120, and that could also impact the speaker lineup.
Nothing would surprise me at this point. The announcement also notes that, due to ongoing renovations of the Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square, in-person attendance at the Conference Center will be limited. Last April, the cap was 10,000 (with the Conference Center half-full as a result). There could be that same number or slightly lowered as a result. In any case, my unexpected discovery of the letter answered a lot of questions on my end.
I was grateful to have found that, and hope this post has been illuminating for you all. I continue to monitor all other Church news updates and temple construction developments and will be sure to bring word of those to you all as they cross my radar. In the meantime, that does it for now. Thank you for the privilege of your time. All comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, on any post at any time, as long as the offered feedback is made per the established guidelines.
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