Before thousands fill the Conference Center for general conference, audio and lighting engineers inspect every fixture, speaker, microphone and visual element so that inspired messages centered on Jesus Christ can reach audiences clearly and without distraction.
Jody Hadfield, a broadcast and events producer, likens the effort to crewing a ship.
“It takes a lot of different people on a ship to get it to where it needs to be,” she said. “They all have their role, they all know their job, and they do it really well.”
Added Braden Earl Howard, a lighting specialist: “We play our little part in carrying the words of the prophets to the world.”
Hadfield and Howard are among the technicians featured in “Audio and Light,” a new behind-the-scenes video produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the first in a series created to help people prepare for October 2026 general conference.
Fifty years ago, general conference was mainly an in-person event. Now there are 21,000 gathered in the Conference Center and millions watching and listening around the world.
“It may look like we’re just turning on microphones and making things louder, but we’re also making sure that everybody here has the opportunity to hear the message,” said Aaron Kobel, one of the lead live audio engineers. “The Lord’s message is going to get across. It will be heard across the world, no matter what.”
Hadfield said the audio and lighting engineers pay close attention to every detail. The Conference Center’s production lighting typically includes between 900 and 1,100 fixtures. More than 500 audio speakers are distributed throughout the Conference Center, each section served by its own speaker to ensure that every seat, from the front row to the back, receives clear sound.
“We don’t want there to be any distractions to the message and the Spirit,” Hadfield said.
Overhead, just under two miles of catwalks allow technicians to reach every fixture without lowering equipment to the floor — a design feature that makes the Conference Center unique among venues of its size.
Audio engineers also walk “miles and miles” to verify sound quality both in the building and on the broadcast. Between sessions, they walk every row and section again to confirm that all speakers are functioning.
Hadfield works directly with conference speakers on the visuals that accompany their talks, displayed on screens throughout the hall. “We work really hard to make sure that those visuals help enhance their message,” she said.
The team even maintains a book of pulpit height measurements — hundreds of names long — so that anyone who has ever addressed general conference can return to a podium already set for them.
The technical team prepares just as carefully for the unexpected. Backup spotlights stand ready if a primary fixture fails. Contingency plans — “Plan Bs and Plan Cs” — are reviewed in advance, Kobel said.
“We all, as a team, try very hard to make sure we’re in tune with the Spirit so that we can anticipate things,” Howard said. “The Lord is very much in the details of general conference — in every facet of it.”
Hadfield wishes everybody could share her front-row seat to general conference.
“There are often tears in the control room while we are listening. It’s a pretty special experience,” she said. “We feel it when we’re working, and you can see it and feel it on the other side of the broadcast when people watch it.”
The video continues a series the Church started in March 2025, when it released three behind-the-scenes videos ahead of April 2025 general conference highlighting the work of the staging crew, guest services and interpreters. Two more followed before October 2025 general conference — one on the broadcast team and another on the Church’s magazines and their role in publishing conference messages.
