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SALT LAKE CITY -- Thousands of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will converge on downtown Salt Lake for general conference this weekend.
Many members of the church say they look forward to conference for various reasons
Some church members hope to hear guidance during conference, which will be held in the Conference Center. They say the talks from church leaders should be especially valuable during these times.
"We look for guidance, and we look for comfort, especially in this time with the economy," one man said.
Another said, "It's just a time to be with my family, and it's a weekend where I don't have any other meetings to worry about. I can just stay home (watch conference) and look for that guidance and counsel."
Others are wondering if a new member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will be named this weekend to replace the late Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin. He passed away in December at the age of 91. An apostle is named for life. Some of the recent appointments have been selected from the church's Quorum of the Seventy.
Downtown businesses prepare for big crowed
When conference-goers aren't inside listening, business owners hope they'll walk through downtown. Many projects there still are under construction, but some new restaurants are open and hoping to see an increase in business this weekend.
Marty Carpenter of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce said, "Well, the restaurants will make sure they're well-staffed and make sure they're prepared for that onslaught of hungry people who are down here for conference - hungry conference-goers."
The Utah Restaurant Association doesn't have exact numbers, but it's nearly impossible to get a seat without waiting after Saturday night's priesthood session.
They say caterers also do a lot more business as well.
At the Hires Big H on 400 South and 700 East, it was a quiet morning, but they're getting ready for the masses tomorrow night.
"It's a very busy weekend. People are always anxious to listen to conference and maybe not cook their own meals," says Executive Officer of Hires Mark Hale.
He says despite the rush, it's his favorite time of year.
"You can really feel the love and the bonding that's going on amongst the family members," he says. "Everybody goes [to conference] together as families, and then they want to celebrate."
Hale says it's something they plan ahead for and typically have every member of the staff on hand.
Visitors will see many changes in downtown SLC
"(There has been) significant progress, above-ground progress, with the City Creek project. The 222 tower is almost completely covered in its exterior. Some of those buildings will just be evidence that those projects have moved forward," Carpenter said.
The Salt Lake Chamber says by the next general conference in the fall, the food court at City Creek will be up and running.
Trax service
The Utah Transit Authority will increase its Trax schedule in anticipation of large crowds downtown.
The TRAX schedule for LDS General Conference weekend is as follows:
TRAX service will run every 15 minutes, as scheduled, throughout the day on Saturday and every 20 minutes on Sunday.
Extra cars will be added to all Sandy line trains for additional capacity.
The City Center and Temple Square stations provide the closest access to the LDS Conference Center.
Extra service will be provided on the University line with two additional trips departing Medical Center to City Center at: 8:04 a.m., 8:24 a.m. Regular service from Medical Center will begin at 9:44 a.m.
For more information, visit www.rideUTA.com.
Conference schedule
Conference will be held at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday with a priesthood session Saturday evening.
KSL.com, KSL TV 5 and KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM are your sources for general conference all weekend. Live coverage of each session begins at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information on that, see the link on this page.
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Story compiled with information from Courtney Orton, Mary Richards and Paul McHardy
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