LDS President Thomas S. Monson not attending weekend general conference

LDS church President Thomas S. Monson during the church's April general conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, April 2, 2017 | Photo courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Thomas S. Monson, the 90-year-old president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will not be attending the church’s semiannual general conference this weekend.

president monson to speak at dsc
Church President Thomas S. Monson will not be attending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ semiannual general conference. | Photo courtesy The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, St. George News

The church’s public affairs department confirmed with St. George News Thursday Monson’s absence at both Saturday and Sunday sessions, citing a previously issued statement regarding his attendance at church meetings.

The statement reads:

“Because of limitations incident to his age, President Monson is no longer attending meetings at the church offices on a regular basis. He communicates and confers with his counselors on matters as needed. President Monson is grateful that the work of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles continues without interruption. He appreciates the prayers and support of church members.”

Monson was hospitalized for several days following his attendance at the April general conference. He was released after receiving treatment and fluids.

He is the church’s 16th president-prophet, having served in that position for over nine years since Feb. 3, 2008, after the death of Gordon B. Hinckley.

The church has operated with members of the First Presidency fulfilling the role of the president before, as was the case with former presidents Spencer W. Kimball in the 1980s and Ezra Taft Benson in the 1990s.

If circumstances dictate, Monson’s counselors Henry B. Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf will oversee the responsibilities of the church.

Members gather for the semiannual general conference the first weekends of April and October to hear from church leadership. The conference takes place in Salt Lake City but is broadcast worldwide via television, radio and internet.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

13 Comments

  • 42214 September 28, 2017 at 6:46 pm

    I’m not watching if Tommy won’t be there. He’s the head clown of the circus.

    • AnotherReader September 28, 2017 at 9:21 pm

      How interesting that “Tommy” would show love and respect to you, despite your disrespectful comments. I guess that fact speaks a lot about both of you. Well done 42214, you continue to expose yourself the fool.

      • 42214 September 28, 2017 at 9:34 pm

        You worship the clown and the circus and call me a fool? Wow! Go back to your quilting.

        • AnotherReader September 28, 2017 at 9:45 pm

          Worship? Nope. Again, you’ve shown how little you really know. Expose away.

      • 42214 September 28, 2017 at 9:52 pm

        You want another case of Mountain Dew, I’m buying. You can really let your hair down and kick up your heels. Allowing caffeinated drinks is as crazy as allowing blacks in the priesthood circa 1974. This is quite a feather in the church’s cap.

        • MeandME September 29, 2017 at 8:56 am

          You have done some research; but not the kind that will persuade believers to sway, nor the kind to lead you to believe. I often wonder why people try so hard to discredit the LDS church.

          • 42214 September 29, 2017 at 4:52 pm

            I guess because it’s so easy. It’s low hanging fruit.

  • comments September 29, 2017 at 10:40 am

    Tommy has become so senile they’re afraid he might be an embarrassment–maybe get up on stage and do or say something crazy. He’s become a liability.

  • youcandoit September 29, 2017 at 11:12 am

    The reason why people discredit the Mormons is because they act as if they’re perfect and ridicule people for their beliefs. So they started it and keep making it easy for people to finally stick up for themselves. Just stay in your lane and I’ll stay in mine. Remember God loves all of us. I read the King James bible not 1 that’s been revised. It’s about your heart condition it’s not about if you drink coffee. You can’t buy your way into heaven.

  • youcandoit September 29, 2017 at 11:17 am

    Also I don’t ask people what religion are you before I help them I just do it. Jesus didn’t go around and ask people those questions before he helped. We should obey the 10 commandments.

    • ladybugavenger September 29, 2017 at 6:30 pm

      Amen

    • 42214 September 29, 2017 at 7:11 pm

      Great point youcandoit. I can’t count how many times I have met people in social settings where I’m asked if I’m LDS. Some are sly about it, others just come right out and ask. It’s obvious that this is a “screening” to see if they want to pursue a friendship. I was even stopped once by a SGPD officer and during the course of the stop and conversation he asked me if I was LDS. I aggressively challenged him and demanded to know what that had to do with the vehicle code. He changed his tune and let me go because, just my guess, because he was afraid of a personnel complaint.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.