Spiritually fed
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At the conclusion of the Church's 180th Semiannual General Conference — during which hundreds of thousands worldwide "attuned to the Spirit of the Lord" — President Thomas S. Monson urged Church members to "ever be found doing the work of the Lord."
"My brothers and sisters, my heart is full as we bring to a close this wonderful general conference of the Church," he said. "We have been spiritually fed as we have listened to the counsel and testimonies of those who have participated in each session. I am certain I speak for all members everywhere when I express deep appreciation for the truths we have been taught."
More than 100,000 Church members gathered Oct. 2-3 in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City to hear President Monson and other Church leaders offer counsel and direction.
Capacity crowds filled the 21,000-seat Conference Center and overflow areas on Temple Square for the conference sessions, which were translated into more than 90 languages and broadcast to more than 170 countries and territories. In addition, proceedings were broadcast on KSL-TV and BYU-TV and to more than 1,700 cable television systems and radio and television stations in the United States and Canada.
President Monson presided at the conference and spoke in four of the five sessions. His counselors in the First Presidency, President Henry B. Eyring and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, took turns conducting the sessions.
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, under the direction of Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy, provided music for three sessions of conference. A family choir from the Sandy/Draper area of Utah, under the direction of Timothy Workman, provided music for the Saturday afternoon session. A priesthood choir from the Provo Missionary Training Center, under the direction of Douglas Brenchley and Ryan Eggett, provided music for the priesthood session. Clay Christiansen, Richard Elliott, Andrew Unsworth, Linda Margetts and Bonnie Goodliffe accompanied the choirs on the organ.
President Monson opened the conference Saturday morning, announcing the construction of five new temples. (See articles on pages 3 and 23.) They are to be in Lisbon, Portugal; Indianapolis, Indiana; Urdaneta, Philippines; Hartford, Connecticut and Tijuana, Mexico. The Church has 134 operating temples, with another 23 — including the five President Monson named during conference — announced or under construction.
During conference, five members of the First Quorum of the Seventy were honorably released and given emeritus status: Elder Spencer J. Condie, Elder Bruce C. Hafen, Elder Kenneth Johnson, Elder Glenn L. Pace and Elder Lance B. Wickman. In addition, two members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy were honorably released: Elder Spencer V. Jones and Elder Wolfgang H. Paul.
"May God bless you, my brothers and sisters,..." said President Monson in the concluding moments of the conference. "We are deeply grateful for you and for all that you do to further the Kingdom of God on earth. May heaven's blessings be with you. May your homes be filled with love and courtesy and with the Spirit of the Lord."
