Members and Investigators Share Personal Experiences from Conference Weekend
Contributed By Casey Adams, Church News staff writer
California resident Jina Lee, currently enrolled at LDS Business College, stands near the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on April 2, 2017, after attending the 187th Annual General Conference.
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Thousands gathered April 1–2 for the Church’s 187th Annual General Conference. Following are the experiences of three participants.
Investigators attend
Sandra Vizcarra was accompanied by her 16-year-old daughter, Alma Augero, as she returned her translator headset for the Spanish language to Conference Center volunteers after a Sunday session of general conference.
The mother and daughter recently moved to Utah from California and attended conference at the invitation of missionaries teaching them. The two investigators have been taking discussions from the missionaries and were eager to attend a live session of conference.
“The LDS [Church] is very new to us. And it was a very different experience,” the daughter said of her general conference experience. “It was a really pretty experience coming here.”
The 16-year-old said both she and her mother were already scheduled to get baptized next weekend.
Alma Augero stands inside the Conference Center near a painting by Brian Kershisnik titled She Will Find What Is Lost. The 16-year-old and her mother, Sandra Vizcarra, are investigators of the Church and attended the 187th Annual General Conference. They planned to be baptized the following weekend. Photo by Casey Adams, Deseret News.
“Magical” Temple Square
California resident Jina Lee, currently enrolled at LDS Business College, stands near the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on April 2, 2017, after attending the 187th Annual General Conference. Photo by Casey Adams, Deseret News.
A “spiritual recharge” twice each year is one of many things Jina Lee looks forward to when attending general conference.
The LDS Business College student said the atmosphere in and around Temple Square during conference weekend is a sight to behold.
“It was just a magical experience to just walk through Temple Square before and after the sessions,” Sister Lee said. “It’s just nice to see all of these people from all around the world gathered for one single purpose and for one single faith.
“It was kind of like a slow-motion version of happiness. I thought it was just really, really nice to see so many people happy, smiling—just taking a moment to escape the world and enjoying the moment as a family or as friends.”
Family celebration
Four members of the Montanez family celebrated their two-year anniversary as Latter-day Saints on March 29 as they attended general conference, while 8-year-old son Dexter was recently baptized in January.
The eldest daughter, Brianda, remembered the feeling she had sitting inside the Conference Center listening to the Church leaders share their messages live and in-person from the pulpit.
“It’s a wonderful experience just to hear them—especially since I have questions that I want to get answered,” Sister Montanez said. “It’s just amazing—the Spirit, right when I come in—it’s just powerful.
“Hearing them live and seeing them here just gives me so much joy and peace. And then just seeing them all there, it’s just amazing.”
Draper resident Leonel Montanez stands with his family—Leonel Jr., 10, Dexter, 8, Brianda, and Densely, 11—outside the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on April 2, 2017, after attending the 187th annual general conference. Photo by Casey Adams, Deseret News.
