Thousands will file into the Conference Center to hear the words of President Gordon B. Hinckley and other Church leaders.

Millions from across the globe on Oct. 5-6 will attend or tune in to the Church's 172nd Semiannual General Conference — proceedings that will be translated for the first time from the Conference Center and in more languages than past years.

Thousands will file into the Conference Center to hear the words of President Gordon B. Hinckley and other Church leaders. Others will watch television, listen to radio broadcasts, follow the proceedings via the Internet or look forward to receiving video-tapes of the historic gathering.

Church members will hear direction and messages of comfort in 58 languages — an increase in 18 languages from conference proceedings in April.

In addition, conference translators will be working out of the Conference Center, interpreting talks from General Authorities and auxiliary leaders.

For years, translation services have been available to conference-goers who do not speak English. A team of translators had long used a facility in the basement of the Tabernacle to interpret the talks, which are transmitted to non-English speakers via headphones.

President Hinckley will preside over the conference sessions. He and his counselors in the First Presidency, President Thomas S. Monson and President James E. Faust, will join in conducting various sessions.

The 360-voice Mormon Tabernacle Choir — under the direction of Craig Jessop, Mack Wilberg and Barlow Bradford — will provide music for the Saturday morning, Sunday morning, and Sunday afternoon sessions. A family choir from stakes in Hunter, Utah, and an Aaronic Priesthood choir from stakes in Provo, Utah, will also perform. More than 800 volunteer ushers and 502 building hosts will serve on Temple Square and in the Conference Center.

Because of the large number of Spanish-speaking conference visitors to Salt Lake City, an audio feed for overflow seating in the Assembly Hall will be in Spanish only. Sign language and closed captions will also be available to hearing-impaired visitors in the Tabernacle inside door 6.

Live conference proceedings are also now available to many members throughout the world who could previously not receive them. All sessions of the conference will be televised to receiver-equipped Church buildings via the Church satellite system. There are more than 3,881 Latter-day Saint stake centers and other buildings equipped with satellite receivers throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. More than 827 stake centers will receive the broadcast live in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.

There are more than 325 stake and ward buildings with downlink equipment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Iceland, Estonia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Russia, Greece and South Africa. These countries will receive the broadcast in 23 languages.

One hundred seven stake and ward buildings have installed downlink equipment in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

Church units in areas of the world where satellite and other transmissions are not available will receive videotapes of conference sessions through Church distribution centers located in 30 international areas of the Church.

In addition, all general sessions will be transmitted via satellite to approximately 1,500 cable television systems plus television and radio stations in the United States and Canada on a public-service basis.

Information about the conference can be found at the Church's Web site www.lds.org. Conference sessions may be heard live over the Internet in approximately 30 languages at www.lds.org (click on "Broadcast" in the right column), and text of general conference addresses will be available on the Church News Web site within the week following conference: www.ldschurchnews.com.