Following is a list of 20 historic events relating to the Church’s general conferences:
1849 — A Perpetual Emigration Fund to assist the poor to immigrate to the Salt Lake Valley was established during general conference; it helped more than 30,000 early Church members journey to the Salt Lake Valley from Europe.
1856 — After being notified of the tragedies occurring to the Willie and Martin handcart companies, Brigham Young and other Church leaders called on Church members during general conference to provide assistance to help rescue those stranded on the plains.
1918 — At the opening session of the 89th Semiannual General Conference, President Joseph F. Smith announced a new revelation he had received just a day earlier in the form of a vision about the redemption of the dead which would later become section 138 of the Doctrine and Covenants.
1949 — The 119th Semiannual General Conference becomes the first televised general conference of the Church.
1970 — Monday was designated for family home evening throughout the Church and no other Church activity was to be scheduled on this evening.
1975 —The First Quorum of the Seventy was organized.
1978 — A letter on the revelation on the priesthood read by Elder N. Eldon Tanner of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was accepted by a sustaining vote by Church members at the October general conference.
1980 — The sesquicentennial of the Church’s founding in 1830, was observed with a general conference session telecast by satellite from Fayette, N.Y.
1982 — A revised sub-title of the Book of Mormon was announced by Elder Boyd K. Packer, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
1989 —The Second Quorum of the Seventy was organized.
1997 — The Third, Fourth and Fifth Quorums of the Seventy were organized.
1998 — President Gordon B. Hinckley announced that the Church would begin to construct smaller temples in more remote areas of the Church.
1999 — In his closing remarks at the April general conference, President Gordon B. Hinckley made the surprise announcement that the historic Nauvoo Temple would be rebuilt.
2000 — The 21,000-seat Conference Center north of Temple Square was dedicated during October general conference by President Gordon B. Hinckley.
2001 — The Perpetual Education Fund, a program to provide educational loans for worthy members in developing countries was introduced by President Gordon B. Hinckley.
2004 — The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve introduced “Preach My Gospel,” a 230-page study manual about missionary work. It is considered the most complete, orchestrated effort in the history of the Church to unify the missionary effort.
2008 — President Thomas S. Monson announced that a temple would be constructed in Rome, Italy, near many important locations from modern Christianity.
2012 — President Thomas S. Monson announced that the Church was lowering the age requirement for those applying to serve full-time missions. For young men, age eligibility changed from 19 to 18 and for young women the age changed from 21 to 19.
2012 — For the first time, the Church offers the priesthood session of the upcoming general conference over live broadcast television and in real time over the Internet.
2014 — In March, the Church held a general women’s meeting including girls eight years and older that replaced the annual general Relief Society and general Young Women meetings. (Sources: lds.org, Ensign, MormonChannel.org, ldsliving.com).
