I’ve covered 50 straight Mormon conferences — here’s what stands out

On my first assignment covering LDS General Conference in April 1992, I was leaning over the railing of the Salt Lake City Tabernacle’s balcony to scrutinize the appearance and health of the men in red velvet chairs — thrones, really — the top men in Mormonism.I noted the one designated for then-Church President Ezra Taft Benson was empty.The 92-year-old leader, suffering the effects of old age and ill health, had not addressed the LDS masses since 1989, a few years before I be