The Saturday morning session of the April 2026 General Conference featured a solemn assembly.
A solemn assembly is a sacred gathering for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, held for significant events.
In this case, it was held for sustaining President Dallin H. Oaks, members of the First Presidency and members of the Quorum of the Twelve.
During the session, the doors to the Conference Center remained closed to maintain reverence, with only the terrace doors opening after the solemn assembly concluded.
President D. Todd Christofferson, second counselor, conducted the solemn assembly, inviting those in attendance and watching from home to stand and sustain the new leaders.
In the Church, sustaining means members raise their right hand to show support for individuals called to serve in specific roles.
Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve, gave the first address after the solemn assembly. In his remarks, he taught about the impact of sustaining others in their calling to do God’s work.
“While today is certainly solemn in purpose, it is also a day full of gratitude and rejoicing at the opportunity for the whole Church to come together and exercise common consent,” Elder Kearon said.
The last solemn assembly was held in the April 2020 General Conference to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Joseph Smith’s first vision. President Russell M. Nelson led the Conference Center in the Hosanna Shout.
According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Hosanna Shout is a symbol of how the crowds reacted to Jesus during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
Anna Noftle and Robert Cansa attended the Saturday morning session together.
“It means a lot for us to be able to sustain a mediator between us and our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ,” Cansa said.
Other addresses during the session focused on the love of Jesus Christ and invitations to follow Him.
President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor, spoke about the power of praying to God through the challenges and darkness in the world.
“Turning to Heavenly Father in fervent prayer when the world seems chaotic is as old as mankind,” President Eyring said.
“He ended his talk with talking about peace and how even in his own life where he has had so much grief and awful things happening, he still chooses to have peace and show others that they can also have peace,” Noftle said about President Eyring’s address.
In light of these teachings, Aerin Call, Eden Hoopes and Alexia Elkington stood outside the conference center with their signs to spread the message of love amidst the protesters that gather every year.
They work with the popular dating app, Mutual, and were talking to people.
“It gives us a really good opportunity to be a positive light among a lot of contention and show that there’s a lot of good too,” Elkington said.
They said Mutual has been sending representatives to the April General Conferences for the past four years.
