Overview

• President Dallin H. Oaks, as leader of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, opened the 195th Semiannual General Conference and will speak in place of Russell M. Nelson at the closing session.
• Oaks asked speakers to keep personal tributes brief, noting this rare timing marks the first conference in about 75 years to follow a president’s death just days earlier.
• The First Presidency dissolved upon Nelson’s Sept. 27 death, and the Quorum is directing church affairs during the apostolic interregnum until the First Presidency is reorganized.
• Security at the Salt Lake City Conference Center was tightened with visible law enforcement, metal detectors, and bag checks after last week’s Michigan meetinghouse attack that killed four and injured eight.
• Leaders emphasized forgiveness and peacemaking, and an online fundraiser for the Michigan gunman’s family had collected more than $365,000 by Saturday afternoon.