“Have the general conferences always been held at Church headquarters?” New Era, Oct. 1971, 42–43
“Have the general conferences always been held at Church headquarters?”
Answer/Jay R. Lowe
As a general rule, yes. However, there are several notable exceptions. In the early period of Church history (1830–37), conferences that were held followed no clear pattern with respect to time, place, and purpose.
Between the dates of June 9, 1830, and January 2, 1831, three conferences were held at the Whitmer home near Fayette, New York, before the Church moved to Ohio. After that move and after the first conference in Kirtland on June 3, 1831, the following notable conferences were held in places other than Kirtland between the years 1831 and 1838:
Jackson County, Missouri, on August 4, 1831, April 26, 1832, and April 6, 1833; Orange, Ohio, on October 25, 1831; Amherst, Ohio, on January 25, 1832; Far West, Missouri, on November 7, 1837; Preston, England, on December 25, 1837.
Between 1838 and 1848, general conferences were held successively in Far West, Missouri (1839); Quincy and Commerce, Illinois (1839); Nauvoo, Illinois (1840–45); Manchester, England (1842); Council Bluffs, Iowa (1847); Kanesville, Iowa (1848); and Salt Lake City, Utah (1848).
From 1848 to the present they have been held in Salt Lake City, Utah, with the exception of the troubled years 1885 and 1886 and April conference of 1887. Two of those general conferences were held in Logan, two in Provo, and one in Coalville, Utah Territory.