Conference weekend is a busy time for Salt Lake City. Mormons from all over the world come to attend general conference, and while in town, many head to Deseret Book's flagship store located directly south of Temple Square.
"Last conference weekend, we had over 7,500 visitors in the store on the Saturday alone," said Jeff Clark, Deseret Book vice president of special projects and downtown store manager.
They expect to have even more this weekend as they prepare displays and sales, and will have visiting authors and musicians.
This conference weekend includes piano performances by Josh Wright, and appearances by authors including John Bytheway, Dean Hughes and Heidi Swinton to meet fans.
Ladies Night, a 30-year tradition for women to gather and socialize during the Saturday priesthood session, will begin at 6 p.m. at all Deseret Book locations.
"It is definitely a destination for women on Saturday night," said Leigh Dethman, Deseret Book Co. publicist. "We have ladies who walk out of the Saturday afternoon session, and say 'This is our time' as they head over for the festivities, giveaways and fun."
In addition to the special events, Deseret Book will have extended hours Friday and Saturday, and will have additional cashiers and employees available to help with the special sales and promotions.
Many guests to Utah enjoy visiting the store to get materials and products not available to them where they live far from a Deseret Book location.
Tomo Koponen, visiting Salt Lake City from Finland, is in town on Church assignment to assist with the translation of general conference.
Speaking of the opportunity to be in Salt Lake for conference, Brother Koponen said, "Being at conference and hearing the word of God by His living prophets, is the very best thing that I can think of."
After assisting with translation and enjoying the conference sessions, Brother Koponen will return to Finland where he serves as the temple recorder in the Helsinki Finland Temple.
He has a shopping list of things to buy at Deseret Book before he goes back, though.
"Many of these things are not as available in my country," Brother Koponen said. "I have a large list and hope to get a lot of the books, music materials and things for children."
Among his finds, Brother Koponen purchased the Neal A. Maxwell Quote Book, a gospel reference book published by Deseret Book that records many of Elder Maxwell's crafted phrases that mark his eloquent style. It has helped Brother Koponen translate in the past, and he plans to take it home to help other members understand and translate gospel phrases into Finnish.
The downtown flagship store has been open just over a year and features new areas and ideas. A section on Church history features items from a historical display that includes Emma Smith's own hymnal to an entire corner devoted to Mormon Tabernacle Choir's music. The store has many features that attract visitors to browse.
Many guests enjoy the art gallery area where they can peruse pieces from many artists featuring pioneer theme pieces, temples and other LDS art.
Norbert and Heidi Schmidt, in town from Fond du Lac, Wis., visited Deseret Book Monday to find some art for their home remodel.
"We were married 34 years ago in the Salt Lake Temple and are looking for a painting of it to put in our living room," Sister Schmidt said.
The Schmidts enjoyed the wide variety of art available, and the artistic expression of the temple paintings.
Each section of the store has the books and products for sale that you find in a bookstore, but this flagship has all aspects of heritage mixed in. It makes it a memorable experience to walk through and learn.
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