Translations of the October 2011 general conference addresses were done for the first time in 93 different languages, reaching about 98 percent of Church membership. Almost 200,000 households watched the Sunday morning session over the Internet. With new technologies being adopted, the Church is not only making it easier to hear the word of the Lord, but also easier to share it. Currently available on lds.org/general-conference/invite-others or on the Church's official Facebook page, are several tools to assist members in inviting others to conference. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve said, "Most of our congregation, seen or unseen, is made up of members of the Church. However, with marvelous new methods of communication, ever larger proportions of the audience for our conferences are not members of the Church — yet" (October 2011 general conference).
In 3 Nephi, chapter 19, the Savior finishes His first day of instruction to those gathered. He promises to return "on the morrow." As families begin to disperse and go home, an interesting thing happens:
"And it was noised abroad among the people immediately, before it was yet dark, that the multitude had seen Jesus, and that he had ministered unto them, and that he would also show himself on the morrow unto the multitude" (3 Nephi 19:2).
With social media tools online that are great for sharing interests, leaders of the Church are asking members to "noise abroad" an event where the words of the Lord can be heard: general conference. On the general conference section of lds.org or the Church's Facebook page, members can grab widgets and banners to use on podcasts and websites that invite others to general conference. A custom video can be emailed, shared or incorporated into a website to invite others. The site can also help members create a Facebook event to invite their friends to general conference.
Another way to share general conference with someone else is to invite them to a live broadcast at a local meetinghouse. More than 7,000 meetinghouses in 96 countries around the world are capable of receiving conference via satellite broadcast. The combined measurable live television viewership for the Sunday morning session of general conference last October was approximately 595,000 households or 1.5 million people in North, Central and South America. Part of the live conference sessions was watched in 175 of the world's 225 countries. "And this gospel shall be preached unto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people" (Doctrine and Covenants 133:37).
General conference addresses in video and audio formats are made available on the web within hours after each session. Members can direct others to transcripts in English as early as the Wednesday after conference. The following weekend transcripts will be available in Spanish and Portuguese.
In the March 2012 First Presidency Message in the Ensign, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency, explained the importance of general conference by saying, "God's priceless instructions to humankind are found in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. In addition, the Lord speaks to us through His servants, as He will again at the upcoming general conference."
