Jehovah’s Witnesses to hold large convention in Orem this weekend
-
- The Spanish-speaking Jehovah’s Witnesses convention is pictured in June 2025 at the UCCU Center in Orem.
-
- The Spanish-speaking Jehovah’s Witnesses convention is pictured in June 2025 at the UCCU Center in Orem.
-
- A woman gets baptized at a Jehovah’s Witnesses convention.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are known by many for their door-to-door proselytizing and brochures they distribute that explain their religious beliefs.
A lesser-known element of the faith group, according to Jehovah’s Witnesses spokesperson Michael Overholt, is that it is one of the largest convention organizations in the world.
Every summer, Jehovah’s Witnesses hold several three-day conventions worldwide. This year, the event is set to be presented over 6,000 times in over 500 languages.
That includes in the Intermountain West, where Jehovah’s Witnesses are convening at the UCCU Center on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem.
Last week, around 3,500 people from Northern Utah and parts of Colorado, Nevada, Idaho and Wyoming attended the Spanish version of the three-day conference. This week, a similar amount of people are expected to attend the English presentation that runs Friday to Sunday.
“(It’s about) being able to come together with like-minded people who just want to learn from the Bible, learn from Jesus’ example,” Overholt said. “We all have the same goal in common. We all want to come away from these events as better people.”
The annual event has taken place at the Dee Events Center in Ogden for the last 40 years; however, due to arena renovations the convention was moved down to Utah County for 2025.
Holding the annual conference in a state where the predominant faith is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints isn’t an issue — Overholt, a Utah native, said the community is “wonderful.”
“When we get together, our attention is on the program. But the way the hotels treat us, the restaurants treat us, we really enjoy the welcoming attitude of the community,” he said.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are also well-established in the state, with 29 Kingdom Halls in Utah and 66 congregations, with meetings held in English, Spanish, Portuguese, American Sign Language, Samoan, Chinese and Russian.
Overholt said 41 congregations from the region will be attendance at this year’s convention, where the theme is “pure worship.”
The objective, Overholt said, is to examine what the phrase truly means throughout the three-day conference.
Each day will begin by watching a video series called “The Good News According to Jesus” that will present the events of the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the order of which they occurred, with the dialogue from each video coming from the bible. The video will be followed by talks from faith leaders.
“Jesus was a champion of pure worship,” Overholt said. “So if we examine what he did and said, the way he acted while on earth, that helps us understand what acceptable work is today.”
The public is invited to the event, Overholt said, and parking and admission is free.
