For many members of the Church, general conference is one of the most unique and inspiring events of the year. As General Authorities prepare talks and speak under direction of the Spirit, their words connect with many in deeply personal ways. Every conference some members feel a certain talk was written just for them because of its powerful and personal message. At the April 1996 general conference President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "I invite you to listen, listen if you will by the power of the Spirit, to the speakers who will address you today and tomorrow as well as this evening. If you will do so, I do not hesitate to promise that you will be uplifted, your resolution to do what is right will be stronger, you will find solutions to your problems and your needs, and you will be led to thank the Lord for what you have heard."
To relive the inspiration received at past conferences, members often reflect back on memorable moments by reading the Ensign, watching video or listening to audio of talks that made an impact in their lives. In recent years, members' interest in historical audio and video of conference talks on the Internet has dramatically increased.
Up to this point, the conference section of lds.org (conference.lds.org) provided video and audio of previous general conferences dating back to 2002. Recently, the Church has gone beyond 2002 to release English video and audio formats of general conference back to the '90s, '80s and '70s. By the end of March 2012, the English audio and video archive of general conference at lds.org will include addresses given from present back to 1971. Beloved talks by prophets and apostles who are no longer living can be enjoyed in a new way: by actually hearing or seeing a specific talk delivered by the general authority who gave it. What was the speaker's voice inflection like? Did he or she emphasize a word or phrase? Did he or she pause for a moment overcome by emotion? What did the person look like?
Many of the precious addresses of this era will be available for the first time in video and audio formats. Addresses from priesthood session, general Relief Society and general Young Women meetings will also be included along with various music selections.
Concerning audio and video in foreign languages, starting with last October's general conference, the Church provided conference addresses in video format on the conference section of lds.org in more than 70 languages. Within the next few months the release of past general conference addresses in video formats for most of the Church languages will go back to April 2008, the beginning of President Monson's tenure as prophet of the Church.
The various navigation views and search function on the conference section of the lds.org website enable users to either browse to or search and find desired talks.
There are several digital media channels available to enjoy conference, for example: You Tube, Mormon Roku channel, lds.org and others. This allows members the ability to consume the conference videos and audio formats at their preferred locations using the desired method they choose.
The text versions of conference talks have been available at lds.org back to 1971 for several years. Information about official conference reports in English dating back to as late as 1880 can be obtained by contacting the Church History Library.
Being able to access video and audio of conference talks from the past 40 years will not only bless the members of the Church but also all those who have the desire to hear the words of the Lord's servants. In April's 2011 conference, Elder Holland said, "I ask you to reflect in the days ahead not only on the messages you have heard but also on the unique phenomenon that general conference itself is—what we as Latter-day Saints believe such conferences to be and what we invite the world to hear and observe about them."
