Help me understand Stake Conference

1. Is this new format correct?

2. How is it working? What’s it like getting counsel from these distant leaders, and who are they? Is it relevant?

3. Is there still a Stake Priesthood meeting, and Saturday session, and how are they run?

The church had an area “stake” conference this Sunday for one of the church’s areas. Examples of areas are Utah North, Utah Salt Lake City, North America West, Mexico, etc.

For whatever reason these are called “stake” conferences but it’s really more like an area conference. I’ve seen about three in the last five years.

Stake conferences are still the same, there’s the leadership session, the priesthood session, the adult session, and stake conference – all handled locally.

Today there was what I call an area conference, and from what I’ve seen people in the local building are expected to fill up the first half hour, there’s an opening prayer, hymns, and a speaker, then they show a satellite feed from Salt Lake City where area and general authorities are the speakers. Bednar gave the last talk in today’s area conference. After the broadcast is finished, someone in the local building gives the closing prayer.

“Area” conferences are sort of like a mini general conference session but the traditional “stake” conferences are the same format they’ve been.

Why they feel the need to call for an area conference, I don’t know. Maybe to create connections between the saints and the leaders.

These broadcast things, which I dislike, are something new in the past few years. Regular stake conferences are just like they’ve always been, twice a year, three sessions, every other one with some sort of visiting authority (almost always and area authority seventy). The broadcast ones are every other year (I believe) and as Nibbler said are one session. They are in addition to the other two stake conferences. They are broadcast to all the stakes in one area on the same day and as far as I can tell are actually pre-recorded although the area is sometimes referenced. Oaks, a member of the area presidency, and some others including a woman leader (Primary in our case) did our last one here. Prior to the broadcast part there was a local stake leader speaker and some songs and all prayers were local. I’m not really sure of the purpose of them, nor do I find them especially uplifting – if I want to watch a pre-recorded GA with a generic message on a screen I can do that anytime at home.

I am aware that there is one coming up which includes Southern California because people were talking about it when we were there.

I haven’t attended SC in years.

No one will miss me.

I’m not battling toddlers on my lap for 2 straight hours. :crazy: