The next general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is April 3 and 4, 2027, with sessions at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time on both days, according to the Church's 2027 calendar as published by the Church News. For a visitor, that weekend comes with something no conference in years has had: the Salt Lake Temple open house starts two days later, on Monday, April 5. Anyone planning a spring trip to Salt Lake for conference should plan for both.
This is the visitor's version. If you live here and want the local rhythm (cinnamon rolls between sessions, what is open, the breakfast invitations), our local's guide to general conference weekend covers that. This page is for someone traveling in, staying in Utah Valley or Salt Lake, and trying to get into the Conference Center.
What happens on the weekend
General conference is a two-day gathering in which Church leaders speak in four two-hour sessions. The Church's page for the October 2026 conference listed the pattern that 2027 follows: Saturday 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m., Sunday the same. The sessions are held in the Conference Center on the north side of Temple Square in Salt Lake City and broadcast worldwide.
If you want a sense of what is said, our recap of the October 2026 conference, the whole weekend in one read, links to every session.
Planning backward from the weekend
Three months out: tickets
Tickets are free but required for a seat in the Conference Center. The Church's conference page explains how they are distributed:
- In the United States and Canada, "ask your local ward or branch leaders." Tickets are distributed electronically to stakes and districts, and stake leaders give them to members.
- Outside the United States and Canada, ask your stake or district president to request tickets on your behalf.
- Stake and district presidents may begin ordering tickets three months before conference, which for April 2027 means early January.
Two things follow for a visitor. First, the request starts at home: your own ward, not a ward in Utah. Second, ask early, because your leaders' window opens three months out.
If you are not a member, the path is through a member friend, who can ask their own ward leaders, or through the standby line.
A month out: where to stay, and the open house
Lodging. Many visitors stay in Utah Valley, where FrontRunner reaches downtown Salt Lake on Saturdays. Our where to stay in Provo guide sorts the areas; for a train-based weekend, a hotel near Provo Central or Orem Central keeps the Saturday morning simple. Our FrontRunner station-by-station guide shows what is walkable from each stop.
The Salt Lake Temple. The Church's 2027 calendar lists the Salt Lake Temple Celebration and public open house from April 5 to October 1, 2027, with an opening event of music and performances on April 10. The Church says temple open houses are free and open to the public. TempleSquare.org opened reservations on September 1, 2026, and the Temple Square ticket office is at (801) 353-3355, weekdays 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mountain time. A visitor already in town for conference can stay through Monday and walk through a temple that has been closed for renovation for years. Our Salt Lake Temple open house guide covers the reservation details.
Temple Square itself. The Temple Square Visitors' Center reopened on July 13, 2026, according to TempleSquare.org, which recommends reservations and welcomes walk-ins. Our visitors' center guide covers what is there. A side note on the Conference Center: it closed to the general public from March 30, 2026 to March 1, 2027 for construction and exhibit work ahead of the temple celebration, with exceptions for general conference, as the Davis Journal reported. By April 2027 that closure is scheduled to be over.
The day before: getting there
Saturday by train. FrontRunner runs on Saturdays, hourly. On UTA's August 2026 Saturday timetable, the first northbound train from Provo leaves at 7:53 a.m. and reaches Salt Lake Central at 8:57, and the trains continue every hour. From Salt Lake Central, the TRAX Blue Line loops through downtown past Temple Square. Our TRAX guide for Utah County riders explains the transfer.
Better still, the Church's conference page says your conference ticket doubles as a UTA pass for travel to and from the session. Keep it on your phone or in hand on the train and TRAX.
What the train timing means:
- With a ticket for the 10 a.m. session, the 7:53 a.m. train from Provo gets you downtown with an hour to spare, plus the TRAX ride.
- For the standby line, which forms 90 minutes before the session (8:30 a.m. for a 10 a.m. start), the first Saturday train arrives too late. Standby hopefuls staying in Utah Valley should drive or aim for the afternoon session.
Sunday by car or TRAX. FrontRunner does not run on Sundays. TRAX does, every 30 minutes. Visitors staying in Utah Valley can drive to a TRAX station in Salt Lake County and ride in, or drive downtown. Either way, do not plan on parking at the Conference Center: the Church's October 2026 conference page said "Parking at the Conference Center will not be available" and pointed to a map of other downtown parking. Our I-15 commuter guide covers the drive, including the express lane, which is free with two or more people in the car.
The standby line
The Church's instruction is short: line up outside the Tabernacle 90 minutes before the session you want to attend. The Tabernacle is on Temple Square, across North Temple Street from the Conference Center. There is no guarantee. Seats open up when ticket holders do not use them.
Practical points:
- Dress for April. A 90-minute wait outside in early April in Salt Lake can be cold, wet or both.
- Know the rules before you queue. The Church tells attendees to check the Temple Square Event Guidelines for restrictions. Read them for the current bag and item rules rather than relying on a description from a past year.
- Have a fallback. If you do not get in, every session streams live, so a nearby hotel lobby or a phone works.
If you watch instead
The Church's conference page lists the ways to watch: the broadcasts page on ChurchofJesusChrist.org and the Gospel Library app (80 languages), the General Conference YouTube channel (14 languages), and radio, television and satellite channels. Sessions are posted afterward in the Gospel Library, the Media Library and on YouTube.
Regular Sunday services are not held in meetinghouses on conference weekend, so a visitor who planned to attend a ward in Utah Valley that Sunday should plan to watch the broadcast instead.
If you are not a member
You are welcome to watch or attend. The broadcast is free and open to anyone. For a seat inside, a member friend can request a ticket through their ward, or you can try standby. Our local's guide has a section on what the weekend looks like for neighbors who are not Latter-day Saints, and our faith communities guide covers the valley's other congregations if you are visiting for a different reason and land on conference weekend by accident.
A sample visitor's weekend from Utah Valley
- Friday: arrive, stay near a FrontRunner station.
- Saturday: 7:53 a.m. train from Provo, TRAX to Temple Square, morning session with a ticket, lunch downtown, afternoon session or the Temple Square Visitors' Center, train back.
- Sunday: watch the morning session from your hotel or with friends; drive or take TRAX from a Salt Lake County station if you have tickets for the afternoon.
- Monday, April 5: the first day of the Salt Lake Temple open house, if you have a reservation.
Check FrontRunner's Saturday timetable again before you travel; UTA's schedules change seasonally, and the times above come from the August 2026 version.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the next general conference?
How do visitors get tickets to general conference?
Can I attend general conference without a ticket?
Can I take the train to general conference from Provo?
Is there parking at the Conference Center?
Can people who are not members attend or watch general conference?
Is the Salt Lake Temple open house the same weekend as April conference?
Are there church services in Utah Valley on conference Sunday?
Sources
The facts in this guide were checked against these sources. Hours, fees and rules change, so confirm anything time-sensitive with the source before you go. How we make Provo.com.
- Church announces dates for 2027 broadcasts and events, Church News. Checked October 20, 2026.
- October 2026 General Conference, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Newsroom. Checked October 20, 2026.
- FrontRunner Route 750 schedule, effective August 2026, Utah Transit Authority. Checked October 20, 2026.
- TRAX Blue Line (701) schedule, effective April 2026, Utah Transit Authority. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Temple Square home (Visitors' Center, Salt Lake Temple open house tickets), Temple Square. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Temple Open Houses and Dedications, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Checked October 20, 2026.
- Conference Center to close for a year ahead of Salt Lake Temple celebration, Davis Journal. Checked October 20, 2026.
