The event, held in Ogden for many years, has moved to the UCCU Center, which volunteers are transforming into a place of worship.
Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Intermountain West are holding their annual convention in Orem’s UCCU Center this month — which means hundreds of volunteers, wearing neon vests and white construction helmets, worked inside the arena to transform the home of Utah Valley University’s basketball team into a place fitting for a religious gathering.
Scott Dorsey and his daughter, Bae, were among the father-daughter duos volunteering to help set up for the convention — which Scott called the “highlight” of the year.
“We have safety and practice sessions,” Scott said. “Volunteers learn in a controlled environment, and the convention helps me see friends I didn’t see in a long time and meet new ones.”
Bae, 18, said this is her first year as a volunteer.
“I want to know people better,” she said. “The work helps us build a better sense of community while also being safety conscious.”
The program for this year’s convention — held for years at Weber State University in Ogden and moved to Orem for the first time this year — will conclude this weekend, Friday through Sunday, at UCCU Center, 800 W. University Parkway. The event is free to the public.
Michael Lloyd Overholt, the regional spokesperson for the United States branch, said the move was necessary but would not affect the attendance.
“Since 1980, we’ve held our annual conventions up in Ogden, and we’ve got a great relationship with the management there and the city ... but that facility is undergoing a major renovation,” Overholt said. “This year, delegates will have to come a little bit farther south.”
The convention will attract more than 7,500 members from Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming over the two weekends, according to Overholt.
The 2025 convention’s theme is “Pure Worship” and focuses around Jesus as an outstanding example of worship. The program includes a daily symposium, discussions and the screening of two episodes from a video series, “The Good News According to Jesus.”
The 18-episode series was produced in Australia, and everyone playing in it is a volunteer. The first episode was released at last year’s convention, while the next two will be released this year.
Overholt said the series is now in postproduction, and every year new episodes will be released during the annual convention.
“The series is like visual Bible reading,” he said. “It is every event recorded in the four Gospel accounts, put into the order that they would have occurred in. ... It is meant to be a teaching tool.”
Amanda and Tim Jobson of Millcreek are one of the married couples who join the volunteers every year. They have volunteered for nearly three decades and also said the convention is the highlight of their year — because of the satisfaction they receive by volunteering and because everyone has access to the same program.
“What makes the convention special is that it is global,” Amanda said. “We all get the same program, see the same program. No matter where we travel in the world, we can discuss the same thing.”
Her husband says the community’s welcome is also important.
“It is not always easy to have thousands of people in one location, going to the restaurants and staying in the hotels in town,” Tim said. “The one thing I always appreciated was the welcome of the communities we go into.”
Because of the high numbers of attendees, Overholt said his team works with hotels in the area to create blocks of rooms and negotiate rates. Delegates coming from out of state can book their stay easier, he said, and get “decent” rates for the duration of the event.
“The convention has a nice effect on the community,” Overholt said. “We are staying in the hotels, eating in the restaurants, enjoying some of the scenic beauty that Utah has to offer.”
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