The October 2020 General Conference Had Unprecedented Global Reach

Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, is usually teeming with up to 100,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their friends the first weekend of October, for the faith’s semiannual general conference. Many travel from all parts of the world to attend.

But the global pandemic changed that practice this year while also altering the traditional in-person gatherings of Latter-day Saints the world over, who previously tuned in to the general conference broadcast via satellite from the pews of their local meetinghouses with their fellow congregants.

With COVID-19 public safety guidelines continuing in most parts of the world, this article highlights some of the historic distribution milestones that unfolded as part of the Church’s initiative to distribute the October 2020 general conference to its members and friends of the faith.

Unprecedented Global Reach

In addition to Church channels, at least one, several or all of the semiannual conference sessions were distributed by approximately 200 public broadcasting channels via national or regional television and radio stations reaching 50 countries in regions of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, the Pacific and South America.

The Church contracted with Bonneville Distribution to disseminate the program.

Sessions from the October 2020 general conference distributed via public broadcast stations reached a potential audience of more than 1.4 billion people (excluding the U.S. and Canada).

Mexico

For the first time, public broadcasting channels in Mexico distributed all five sessions of the Church’s general conference.

Nielsen, a broadcast analytics company, reported that on general-conference weekend seven million people in the country watched or listened to general conference on television or radio channels.

The broadcast aired to 71 cities on 43 radio stations and one television channel, or approximately 90% of the republic’s territory.

Leading up to the weekend of the two-day broadcast, 14 of Mexico’s area and regional Church leaders were interviewed for newspaper articles, as well as national television and radio channels.

During the media appearances, leaders shared information about the Church and the significance of the upcoming conference with audiences that previously had little to no exposure to the global faith.

They emphasized that the cornerstone of members’ faith is Jesus Christ and extended an invitation for the public to tune in.

The Caribbean

“It was very pleasant to enjoy the sessions. Each one of them [was] very enriching, formative and above all, very spiritual,” said Roira Sánchez, a radio executive director who works for one of the public broadcasting channels that helped distribute the conference’s audio to Dominican Republic residents.

Sanchez, like others, worked hand in hand with the Caribbean’s Church leaders to assist with the technical aspects of production to successfully accomplish the distribution of all 10 hours of general conference on eight national TV stations and four radio stations.

In addition to the conference’s sessions, “Music and the Spoken Word” as well as the Church’s public affairs program, “The World Report,” were also distributed to Latter-day Saints and friends of the faith in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana.

Central America

In Central America, Church leaders met with the media and opinion leaders before general-conference weekend and explained more about the spiritual purpose behind the two-day event.

From October 3 to 4, 2020, general conference reached a potential radio and television audience of 1.4 million people in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.

Conference sessions were also interpreted live into Qʼeqchi’, a Mayan language spoken by communities in Guatemala. This version of conference aired on a radio station for non-Spanish-speaking Latter-day Saints in the region.

Social media, like in all areas, played a significant role in spreading the word about the upcoming conference. Latter-day Saints in Guatemala rejoiced after hearing Church President Russell M. Nelson, during the Sunday afternoon session, share the announcement about plans to build a new temple: the Greater Guatemala City Guatemala Temple.

Africa

Like many other parts of the world, the Saints in nine countries across Africa viewed the Christ-centered broadcast on national and regional TV and radio stations. These countries included Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

From home, African Latter-day Saints gathered with their families, many dressed in their Church attire, to watch general conference sessions.

Abam Ekpenyong, a Latter-day Saint from Nigeria, said that the conference’s messages were timely.

“We had prepared very much for the conference,” said Ekpenyong. “It helped to address some of our problems, especially concerning this trying time during COVID-19.”

South America

General conference was broadcast on national television and radio stations in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. In addition to Spanish, sessions were aired in Aymara, in the Bolivian Andes, and Quechua, the second official language in Peru.

“You cannot imagine what it means for my family and the members of my ward and country to have the blessing of listening to general conference,” said Jesús Granados, a bishop of the El Valle congregation in Caracas, Venezuela.

“We could not always watch the sessions online because the internet quality is poor,” said Richard Spicher, from Purén, Chile, who heard general conference with his family by radio.

“Listening to the prophet strengthens me and helps me move forward,” said Mabel da Rosa da Silva, a Latter-day Saint from Tacuarembó, Uruguay.

De Rosa da Silva, who is bedridden, participated in the conference from her home, thanks to its availability on a public-broadcasting TV channel.

RedeTV, who aired the Sunday morning session as well as Music & the Spoken Word in Brazil, reported a nationwide viewership of 1.8 million for this historic national TV broadcast.

Moises Torres Barreiro, a Latter-day Saint bishop from the Jaguarão congregation in South Brazil, shared that two Latter-day Saints from his congregation previously made frequent visits to a fellow member who lives in a retirement home.

Due to COVID-19 precautions, those in-person encounters came to an abrupt stop and transitioned to phone calls.

Thanks to the broadcast’s extended reach, Church members facing pandemic-related limitations that restricted their mobility to travel had the opportunity to become part of a digital gathering.

“Today was a glorious day,” said Bishop Barreiro. “She, even alone, watched the general conference on TV.”

To increase the broadcast’s potential audience-reach nationally, the Church launched a Facebook campaign that helped Latter-day Saints spread the word about the televised event.

Thousands of Church members added a customized filter to their Facebook profile photo as well as a picture of Jesus Christ and information on how and when to tune in.

Adding a filter to photos increased the overall awareness of the event, along with thousands of users’ shares and comments.

The Pacific

Latter-day Saints from 13 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Paupa New Guinea, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, the Cook Islands, Tahiti, Micronesia and Palau also tuned in to general conference.

For the first time, general conference was broadcast on television  and radio across Kiribati, an island country located in the central Pacific Ocean.

Latter-day Saints in Kiribati who tuned in to the broadcast also heard President Nelson announce that the Church will build its first temple in the country.

“We all shouted with joy while listening to the announcement,” said Fatele Fetapo, a Church member from Kiribati. “On Sunday we were able to listen on the radio in our own language and that is another blessing to us, especially for our brothers and sisters who lived on the outer islands.”

Kiribati resident Lolofi Laulualo, whose husband recently passed away, said that for her family, watching general conference at home rather than their local meetinghouse, helped them feel comforted.

“It’s my children’s first time watching conference without their father,” said Laulualo. “They were able to whisper their thoughts to each other whenever comforting words were spoken that reminded them of their dad. It was a great opportunity to freely share without hesitation for we were all so close to each other in our very own home.”

The Philippines

Nielsen ratings estimated that 3.5 million Filipinos watched a general conference rebroadcast on the country’s GMA News TV channel. There are more than 800,000 Latter-day Saints in the country. The channel also spread awareness to its 20.7 million followers on the GMA Network and GMA Brand Talk Facebook and Twitter accounts, with an invitation to the public to listen to the Savior’s messages of love and hope delivered by leaders of the Church. Tagalog subtitles were added to all sessions.

To promote the Church event, billboards towered over commuters who drove on Edsa and C-5, two of the Philippines’ largest highways. Many members of the Church shared their selfies and photos of the billboards online, which helped spread the word on the rebroadcast of general conference. On the day of the rebroadcast and days after, members also shared their favorite quotes from the prophet and leaders of the Church.

Leaders of other religious backgrounds and different interfaith partners also participated as conference viewers. After the event, queries about the Church increased.

“I love the topics on strengthening the faith. The elders talked about peace and healing, which is in the Lord’s Prayer. Praying for divine guidance and that God hears and answers us in His own way and in His own time is very apt in these very troubling times,” said BGEN Cherrisse Manzano AFP, chairman of the Naval Reserve Command Multisectoral Linkaging Committee for COVID-19 and a partner of Latter-day Saint Charities.

Attorney Jo Imbong, executive secretary of the CBCP Legal Office expressed, “The Tabernacle Choir, as expected, rendered an ethereal performance of uplifting music that enhanced the prayers said in between. Truly, music has its own language that conveys inspiration, sometimes in a manner much higher than words.”

With large Church gatherings suspended in the country, Filipino Latter-day Saints chose to watch the semiannual conference from the comfort of their homes, on television, or in the chapel, while practicing social distancing.

U.S. and Canada

In the United States and Canada, Latter-day Saints participated in general conference on television, radio and internet channels from their homes.

Although this type of distribution isn’t traditional, internet distribution allows members of the Church to participate from wherever they are.

Torie and Joseph Hunt, from Highlands, Colorado, watched general conference from a hospital room with their six-year-old son, Charlie, who suffers from several medical complexities, including cerebral palsy and quadriplegia.

“A few years ago Elder Stevenson visited our stake. Ever since then, every time Charlie hears his voice he bursts into glee. This general conference was no exception,” said Torie, Charlie’s mother. “When it was Elder Stevenson’s turn to speak, I sat the iPad on his hospital bed. Charlie smiled with delight as soon as he heard his voice.”

Additional general conference distribution in the United States extended to TeleXitos, a subchannel of Telemundo (a Spanish-language television network). The Sunday morning session was seen by an additional 158,000 viewers.

For Canadian Latter-day Saints, general conference occurred one week before the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday.

“We anticipate the message of hope and joy reached beyond the 197,000 members nation-wide and provided a much-needed lift for all Canadians,” said Elder David C. Stewart, an Area Seventy. “Beyond the promotion of our official channels, many members tweeted and blogged their excitement to hear the word of God.”