Historic moments in LDS broadcasts
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A look at the progression in LDS general conference broadcasts not only mirrors the church's growth but also shows the ever-changing technologies used:
- Oct. 3, 1924: First-ever radio broadcast of general conference begins
on KSL radio.
- Oct. 1948: The first closed-circuit TV broadcast of general conference
in the Tabernacle is sent to other buildings on Temple Square.
- June 1, 1949: KSL-TV, Ch. 5, signs on the air as Utah's first
commercial television station.
- Oct. 1949: KSL-TV begins the first public television broadcast of
general conference.
- April 5, 1952: The LDS Church begins broadcasting general priesthood
meeting by direct telephone wire to church buildings beyond Temple Square.
- Oct. 1953: General conference is broadcast by TV for the first time
outside the Intermountain area.
- 1957: The first use of videotape to record and rebroadcast conference.
- Oct. 10, 1962: The LDS Church purchases a shortwave station on the East
Coast to broadcast church meetings to Europe and South America.
- 1967: Seven radio and TV stations in Mexico begin carrying general
conference.
- Sept. 16, 1978: Women, age 12 and over, hear the first-ever
closed-circuit audio broadcasts, similar to what priesthood meetings had
been airing.
- April 6, 1980: Celebrating the church's 150th anniversary, President
Spencer W. Kimball conducts part of general conference from the newly
restored Whitmer Farmhouse in Fayette, N.Y. This marks the first-time the
church uses a satellite for conference broadcasts.
- Oct. 3, 1981: A network of 500 satellite dishes for stake centers
outside Utah is announced to carry conferences to members in the United
States and Canada.
- 1990: More than 2,500 church satellite dishes just in North America
receive general conference.
- October 1999: The LDS Church's Web site www.lds.org offers listeners an audio version of
general conference over the Internet.
- October 2001: More than 3,000 church satellite dishes, around the world, pick up general conference.
