Stakes connecting by use of Web broadcasting
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In November 2008, Boyd Nelson, a high councilor in the New York New York Stake, had a big problem. He was tasked with finding a building big enough to accommodate the 1,600 active members in the Manhattan area for stake conference.
"Due to space constraints in Manhattan, none of our buildings will house the entire stake," explained Brother Nelson.
In previous years, multiple sessions had been held at the stake's Lincoln Square building, the largest in the stake. However, due to a renovation, it was mostly out of service.
"We looked into renting a larger hall that could accommodate our people. After identifying nearly 70 auditoriums, hotel conference rooms or ballrooms in the city, we narrowed it to ten locations," Brother Nelson said. The least expensive Sunday morning option was over $20,000. There had to be a better solution.
Since 2005, the New York New York Stake experimented with broadcasting stake conference over the Internet to multiple buildings, but they weren't quite happy with the quality. By word of mouth, Brother Nelson became aware of a Web broadcasting kit that was being shipped to stakes by the Church. "I was instructed to call Troy Sheffield, Event Support Process manager, at Church Headquarters to find out about the Church kit," Brother Nelson explained. "We scheduled the kit for our stake conference to give it a try."
The results were fantastic. Brother Sheffield said, "The broadcast saved the stake money, eliminated the need for three back-to-back sessions, and allowed members to attend in their local meetinghouses."
"The ability to direct members to their home buildings cut down on travel time and eliminated confusion about where to attend," Brother Nelson said. The stake also made the broadcast available to a few members who were ill or had disabilities by allowing them to view the conference at home on the Internet.
Other stakes in the Church have also used the technology. President Paul D. Sorensen of the Glendale Arizona North Stake said of the conference held in 2008, "Members were happier with many more getting to sit in nice chapel seats, not having to come as early to get a good seat and not having the parking lot congestion associated with stake conferences."
Steven A. Hedquist, former president of the Ann Arbor Michigan Stake said of that stake's conference in 2008, "It was the second best-attended conference on record, being beaten only by a visit from President Thomas S. Monson. We had close to 1,500 who attended, while the average is near 1,300."
The Church recognized the need for sending and receiving information over the Internet a few years ago and officially introduced webcasting technology in a February 2009 memo from the office of the Presiding Bishopric to area leaders. It stated: "Webcast technology is a means of electronically linking meetinghouses for the purpose of holding stake conferences, firesides and training meetings."
Acquiring the technology needed to do a webcast starts with the stake president. He approves the purchase of necessary equipment. It also helps to have a knowledgeable stake technology specialist. Signals are broadcast from a meetinghouse and can be received at homes, care facilities and other meetinghouses around the stake. Webcasts should not be used to broadcast ordinances such as baptisms, confirmations or the administration of the sacrament.
The future use of webcasting could be extensive. President Hedquist commented, "Overall, it is a great benefit for us, especially for people who live in outlying areas of the stake. In terms of the economy, with gas prices as they are and may be in the future, the webcast idea makes sense. I foresee positive uses in the future."
The Church continues to embrace technology that helps it more effectively fulfill its mission as it takes the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.
For more information visit: https://tech.lds.org/wiki/index.php/meetinghouse_webcast.
