The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Wednesday that it will livestream its national biannual conference in response to fears about spreading the coronavirus.
“We have counseled with worldwide governmental, ecclesiastical, and medical leaders and have prayerfully considered the current circumstances,” the church said in a statement. “We want to be good global citizens and do what we can to control this contagious illness.”
The conference, scheduled for April, usually attracts about 100,000 people to the Mormon church’s headquarters in Salt Lake City. This year, the only people attending in person will be top church leaders and other essential personnel, the church said.
The announcement came on the same day the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic. There are more than 1,000 cases of the coronavirus confirmed in the United States, with 32 deaths.
The Mormon church in February canceled its global leadership sessions of its conference and encouraged global Mormon leaders to practice an “abundance of caution” in what was then becoming a global health crisis.
The church has temporarily closed some temples in Asia and has limited the work of missionaries in countries with a widespread outbreak.
