Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Conway to New Durham, Gilford to Wakefield gathered in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire to participate in a world-wide conference broadcast to them by satellite. At the conference they learned of two new members of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, and received counsel and guidance to help them improve their lives.
WOLFEBORO, N.H. (PRWEB) October 3, 2004 – Members of the local congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints used high technology to participate in the 174th Semiannual General Conference broadcast to them by satellite Saturday and Sunday.
The local congregation is made up of approximately 150 members who attend church in Wolfeboro from area towns and villages as far away as Conway and New Durham, Gilford and East Wakefield and all places in between.
The local members were part of a world-wide audience made up of the more than 12 million members of the LDS Church in over 130 countries around the world. Some members came to the local church at 388 North Main Street in Wolfeforo, while others watched the satellite broadcast from their homes using DISH Network or Direct TV. It was also available over the Internet from the LDS Church web site at www.LDS.org.
During the first session of the conference on Saturday, local members of the church learned that they now have two new members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and they were given counsel and guidance to improve their lives.
The church is led by Gordon B. Hinckley, 94, regarded by members as a modern prophet of God. He is assisted by the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. Recently two members of that group passed away.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, 63, and Elder David A. Bednar, 52, become the newest Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday. Hinckley announced their new position, and the members raised their hands to sustain the new leaders.
Uchtdorf is a former executive and pilot for Lufthansa German Airlines, and was born in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia. Bednar has been the president of Brigham Young University-Idaho since 1997.
The conference is divided into five different sessions of two hours each held Saturday and Sunday, October 2 and 3. More than 20,000 people attend each session in person at the Conference Center on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. The majority of members around the world gather in local churches to participate through the satellite broadcast. Saturday evening is reserved for the lay priesthood members to receive counsel and guidance. Locally the priesthood members include boys as young as 12 who are Deacons.
Members are often spoken of as Mormons" because in addition to the Bible they also believe in another book of scripture called the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ."
The LDS Church was organized in upstate New York in 1830, and soon after it was formed in New Hampshire. Early Church leaders Orson Pratt and Lyman E. Johnson arrived in New Hampshire in 1832 as missionaries. They stayed for 26 days and baptized 20 people. In the 1840s, several congregations met. One leader, Eli P. Maginn, wrote that he could not "fill from one to twenty of the calls for preaching; there is the greatest excitement in the country."
There are 20 different congregations in New Hampshire and 7,920 members. The Wolfeboro Branch has regular Sunday services at 10 a.m. each week and the public is invited. It is located at 388 North Main Street (Rte. 28) in Wolfeboro.
Additional Information to Assist the Media: Local members in Wolfeboro have a tradition of having a pot luck Sunday meal between the two sessions of conference on Sunday. The media and general public are welcome to attend. The first session is from noon to 2 p.m., followed by the pot luck dinner, and the final session is from 4 to 6 p.m. Media are welcome to arrive and depart at any time. Please make yourself known.
The Wolfeboro congregation is known as a Branch and is headed up by a Branch President, Guilford Ide. Larger congregations are known as a Ward and are headed by a Bishop. A number of Wards and Branches make up a larger organization known as a Stake. In this area it is the Concord Stake and is headed by Stake President Bryson Cook. The church does not have a paid ministry.
Members of the Wolfeboro Branch come from Albany, Alton, Alton Bay, Brookfield, Center Ossipie, Center Tuftonboro, Chocorua, Ossipie, Conway, East Wakefield, Madison, Melvin Village, Middleton, Milton, Mirror Lake, Moultonboro, New Durham, Sanbornville, South Tamworth, Tamworth, Tuftonboro, Union, Wakefield, Wolfeboro, and Wolfeboro Falls.
Style guide note: When reporting about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please use the complete name of the Church in the first reference. For more information on the use of the name of the Church, go to www.newsroom.lds.org under Quick Facts, Writer's Style Guide.
Contact:
David M. Bresnahan
Off: (603) 522-0148
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