The two-day conference will feature a variety of professionals from therapists to accountants to lawyers to help divorcees in their relationship process, no matter the stage. There are keynote speakers, meals and workshops such as “Financial Decisions After Divorce,” “Let Your Light Shine-Again!”, “Post-Divorce Litigation” and “Helping Children Navigate Through A Divorce.”

All presenters are subject to ecclesiastical clearance and many come from divorced families or have experienced divorce themselves, according to event organizers. Attendees don’t need ecclesiastical endorsement and “All are welcome,” according to Ann Baxter, one of the conference co-creators.

“There’s a common understanding we are all coming at this with LDS values. That’s the point of this conference rather than just any conference anywhere else for divorced folks,” Baxter said. She acknowledged The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has recently made search engine results for talk on divorce produce more since 2020, when she and Jennefer Johnson first planned to have the conference, but she has hoped the conference will provide additional resources for guidance.

According to Baxter, the divorce conference was created after years of receiving requests from divorcees who wanted to attend BYU’s conference for widows, “The Latter-day Saint Widows and Widowers Conference.” She said employees of BYU Conferences and Workshops started visiting singles wards and events in Utah County in 2019 to assess interest. They decided it was time to launch a new conference.

Baxter, who has been both divorced and widowed, said the grief and post-relationship issues are somewhat similar, but there are significant differences.

“You do sit differently in the church as a divorcee than a widow. The loneliness is different, it’s just different,” she said. “It’s hard to be divorced in the church. There’s a stigma out there.”

Baxter said her organization wanted to offer unique support to those who choose to stay active in the church and are divorced. “It’s hard to know — how do I move forward as a divorced person in the church, keeping my faith intact and knowing all of God’s blessings are there for me as well?”

More than half of the adults in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are widowed, divorced or unmarried. At least, according to LDS Church President M.Russell Ballard speaking at the April 2021 General Conference. Yet, conferences for that demographic so far have been focused on the generally “single” or specifically widowed. Baxter and Johnson acknowledged acceptance and sympathy is different for different kinds of single people.

A class about dating, for example, is in both conferences. However, one might expect different obstacles to starting new relationships after a successful marriage ending in a person’s death or a contentious divorce. Johnson said that part of the conference’s purpose, though, was to acknowledge that despite differences in life circumstances and marital status, all are children of Jesus Christ who may choose that as their primary identity.

Conference Presenters include Keith and Margaret Pickard, a State Senator and judge from Nevada; Dr. Melissa F. Western, a Marriott School of Business Fellow who teaches accounting; mental health counselor Dr. Christy Kane; motivational speaker Hank Smith; and Brad Wilcox, who is scheduled to give the closing address.

Wilcox recently came under scrutiny for controversial statements surrounding Black members of the LDS Church.

This conference was originally scheduled for March 2020, but was canceled due to the pandemic. Original ticket holders were refunded, but some are still attending. Danny Gonzalez was newly divorced in 2020 and registered for the full conference. He said he still plans to attend.

“I haven’t completely nailed down what I’m going to attend,” Gonzalez said in 2020 because, “two out of the four for each breakout session interest me. There just seems to be a lot of opportunity for growth and learning and I want to take advantage of all the resources out there.”

When asked about his continued interest this year, he said “I will probably be taking different classes just because things have changed over time.”

Additional info

BYU Life After Divorce Conference: Obtaining Peace and Healing through Jesus Christ

February 25-26, 2022

BYU Conference Center

770 E University Pkway

Provo, UT 84602

770 E University Pkwy

Registration: $65 Friday or Saturday only, $120 for the full conference, $10 for Friday night only

Attendees must show a negative COVID test result or proof of vaccination. Tests are available on campus.

For more information visit https://lifeafterdivorce.ce.byu.edu/home