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LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson reduces number of talks he will give at General Conference

Posted at 4:41 PM, Apr 04, 2015
and last updated 2015-04-04 19:05:07-04

SALT LAKE CITY — Thomas S. Monson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has reduced the number of talks he will give at the LDS Church’s semi-annual General Conference, but it has been confirmed he will speak Saturday night and sometime on Sunday.

Monson was present at Saturday morning’s meeting but did not give a talk during the session, which is a break from tradition. LDS Church Spokesman Dale Jones released a statement on Monson’s decision not to speak Saturday.

“President Monson has chosen to reduce the number of talks he will deliver this conference,” Jones stated. “Over the years various formats have been used in general conference programs.”

LDS Church Spokesman Eric Hawkins said Monson will speak at Saturday night’s session, which is for male members of the LDS Church. There are two sessions of conference set for Sunday, and Hawkins said Monson would speak Sunday but wasn’t certain which session(s) he would make remarks during.

The move comes several days after Monson did not attend a meeting between President Barack Obama and leaders of the LDS Church. Thursday, LDS Church Spokesman Eric Hawkins said Monson was preserving his strength for conference weekend, see the statement below for details.

“President Monson remembers fondly his visit to the White House to present President Obama with his personal family history in 2009. Because of the need to preserve his strength for this weekend’s General Conference, it was felt that  the logistics of meeting away from Church offices, with the walking and the waiting periods associated with a presidential visit, would regrettably not be conducive  to President Monson’s participation.”

The LDS Church will hold a session for male members of the faith, and that meeting of conference begins at 6 p.m. Saturday. Two more sessions for all members will be held Sunday, with one at 10 a.m. and the final session beginning at 2 p.m. The sessions generally last about two hours and are streamed live online, click here for details on the live stream.