“Behind the Scenes: Interpretation and Guest Services,” Liahona, May 2025.
Behind the Scenes: Interpretation and Guest Services
One weekend every six months we enjoy general conference. But behind the scenes, thousands of volunteers and Church employees work for months to make it happen.
They put everything in place to broadcast prophetic messages to millions worldwide. Here’s a small glimpse of this gigantic undertaking.
Interpretation Services
One hundred and forty-three language teams around the world interpret general conference talks in real time so members can listen without delay in their native languages. Only 57 of those teams interpret from Church headquarters in Salt Lake City.
Interpretation differs from translation, which involves changing written words into another language. With interpretation, the language teams must be ready to interpret last-minute changes and remarks made at the pulpit. Interpreters help members worldwide hear the gospel in their native tongues (see Doctrine and Covenants 90:11).
Guest Services
If you’ve attended general conference in Salt Lake City, USA, you’ve noticed ushers directing you to your seat. About 400 missionaries on Temple Square volunteer about 9,000 hours over the course of general conference to help guests enter and exit the Conference Center smoothly.
They guide 20,000 visitors for each general conference session. Once a session ends, they work to usher visitors out as quickly as possible so they can clean aisles for others to attend the next session.