Why is General Conference so long?

There could be a few reasons. But I have a new answer that helps me appreciate Conference more—even when I don't resonate with every talk.

General Conference is long.

Twice a year we sit down for ten hours of talks, across five sessions. There are very few visual aids or multimedia elements; the bulk of the time is spent with the camera simply trained on a person talking. Each talk is separate in topic, with no intentional unifying themes. And we’re supposed to remember what was said. It’s a lot.

As someone who has spent his entire in marketing, General Conference feels too long for a specific reason: If you want people to remember something, you need to 1) make it simple, and 2) repeat it. Make it simple and repeat it.

Picture in your mind a world where each General Conference is one, or maybe two, sessions long, and focused on a theme—maybe one time it’s all about having compassion, another time all the talks are about loving our enemies, etc. You’d come away with a strong sense of what the prophet thinks we need to hear. Each talk would be more memorable; you’d be able to reference them and quote them more readily throughout the year, simply because there were fewer of them.

But that’s not how it works. Instead, the ~35 different talks cover ~35 different topics. A talk here or there may pop out as being particularly memorable, but most of the talks quickly fade away with time. For General Conference the medium is indeed the message; the talks themselves become almost indistinguishable from each other and simply fall into the bucket of “General Conference Talks.”

But why? Why so many talks? There are a few potential reasons.

Reason #1: Tradition

This is probably the most likely reason why General Conference is long: because it’s always been long. Why change something that seems to be working?

The current two-day format was adopted in 1977, with two general sessions each day and a fifth session Saturday night. The biggest change since then has been changing the Saturday night session to also be a general session, actually increasing the amount of General Conference for some.

That said, we did manage to shorten the 3-hour Sunday block, which also had decades of momentum and tradition—so maybe it shouldn’t be outrageous to consider shortening General Conference.

Reason #2: Letting everyone talk

Fitting right in with that tradition is allowing enough time for a lot of people to speak. That includes every member of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve (who all speak at every Conference), plus a few Seventies or members of the Presiding Bishopric or others, and squeezing in a woman or two if there’s room among all the men (historically, this averages well less than one woman speaker per session; the April 2023 Conference had two women speak total, across all sessions). If you’re going to have that many speakers, you need a lot of time.

“Letting everyone talk” may not be a great reason for having General Conference be so long, but at least these first two reasons make practical sense. Here, however, is the reason that resonates with me right now:

Reason #3: There’s something for everyone

Sometimes General Conference talks don't resonate with everyone. Wait, let me be more clear: Sometimes General Conference talks cause tremendous pain and grief.

We tend to use “if/then,” cause-and-effect language in the Church, and in General Conference. If you pay your tithing, then your bakery will not burn down. If you are a good parent, then your children will not leave the Church. If you keep the commandments, then you won’t have any questions about the Church.

But the Church is full of tithe payers whose bakeries have burned down, good parents whose children have chosen another path, and commandment-abiding Saints who can’t find someone willing to honor their questions. Conference talks that divide people into an “us” group and a “them” group inevitably leave some listeners on the outside—in the “them” group—wondering why a prophet or an apostle would push them to the margins.

Not all talks are like that. Others are full of hope, love and compassion. Some talks are about us being welcoming to others, overcoming prejudice, and loving our neighbor. These talks embody the gospel of Jesus Christ, not only in their content but in how they are given; they bring people in, instead of pushing people out.

This isn’t to say that a speaker can’t be direct and clear when they need to be. You might remember the words of Jacob in the Book of Mormon, who felt like he had to use strong language to bring people to repentance:

7 And also it grieveth me that I must use so much boldness of speech concerning you, before your wives and your children, many of whose feelings are exceedingly tender and chaste and delicate before God, which thing is pleasing unto God;

8 And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul.

But there’s a difference between calling people to repentance, like Jacob did—I’m thinking about President Hinckley speaking about pornography in 2004—and talks that (intentionally or not) exclude those with certain challenges in their lives. Consider the women who choose not to attend church on Mothers Day because the talks push on a sore spot that already exists in their lives, through no fault of their own. Those in the LGBTQ+ community probably understand this more than most when it comes to General Conference. That’s the kind of exclusion I’m talking about.

But back to why there are so many talks. I have a new hypothesis, and it goes a different direction than those above. I think different people need to hear different things, and General Conference is long so that there can be something for everyone.

If you’re there to hear a rousing talk about wielding the sword of truth to slash down the fiery darts of the adversary, or some other aggressive war metaphor, there’s probably going to be a talk for you. If what you need instead is simply a talk about how your Heavenly Parents love you no matter what, there may be a talk for you too. With several dozen talks to choose from, there’s hopefully something for everyone each time General Conference rolls around.

That may also mean there are things that aren’t for you or for me, that aren’t key takeaways from Conference. Maybe the timing isn’t right for you to hear a specific message, or maybe it just wasn’t meant for you. Jeff Anderson, host of the excellent Latter-day Stonecatchers podcast, described it this way:

My heart, like many of yours, ached at some of the words spoken this weekend during general conference. My heart, like many of yours, also rejoiced at some of the words spoken this weekend during general conference…

As I pondered on the messages shared and the stark contrast and even conflict between some of the teachings, I came across these words from Paul: "Examine everything; hold firmly to that which is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:22)…

Does a particular teaching bear good fruit in your life? If so, then hold it firmly! And if a different teaching bears evil fruit in your life, discard it.

Ultimately, General Conference is for the general body of the Church, and speakers give general counsel. That means it’s intended to be broad strokes, and the speakers can’t reach everyone in their own unique situations. If you hear something that does not help you feel the Spirit, it may not be for you. Hopefully there are also parts you do connect with on a spiritual level.

There are no rules—you’re allowed to consume General Conference (or not) on your terms. If you need to skip certain speakers, you can. If you want to listen later instead of tuning in live, do it. If you have to prioritize, do the things that help you feel love for God and for your neighbor. Those are the things that matter most.

I still think General Conference could benefit from being shorter. But I suppose that’s the beauty of it being long—even when there are parts that are challenging to hear, there may still be something that helps you feel closer to your Savior. And you can hold firmly to that.