April 11, 2025, 9:45am MDT
Ljubljana, Slovenia – Sunday night, April 6th, it was a historic night in Slovenia. For the first time since The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in this Central European country in 1990, members were able to watch live general conferences on national television.
“I don’t think my heart is strong enough to bring joy to me,” said Ivan Magic, the national communications director for Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Serbia and Montenegro in the church’s northern Adriatic region. “For someone called to help “push the church out of obscurity” in a country where the church is still relatively unknown, this was a dream come true. ”
Many Slovenian Latter-day Saints were watching Sunday morning sessions at their homes on Sunday mornings for the general conference in April 2025, but dozens gathered together in the meeting halls at the Ljubljana branch and other parts of Slovenia to watch together.
Alvin Rostrick, the first church member in Slovenia, remembered to head to Kragenfurt, Austria 30 years ago, as it had a satellite broadcasting system 30 years ago. He videotaped the lawsuit and returned to Ljubljana to show it to other branch members.
“When the church first aired a conference on the Internet, we set up technology to see it live,” Lotric said. “I still remember being grateful to have met my leader in real time. I never imagined watching a general meeting on a Slovenian television channel. I’m grateful to the people behind this achievement because I was doing something seemingly impossible.”
Lela Aleksic and her family were watching from Maribor in Slovenia. “It brings tears to our eyes when we hear conference speakers talk about the ancestors of the pioneer who settled Salt Lake Valley. For the first time in 100 years, our descendants say that in 2025, our ancestors had the opportunity to watch general conferences on their own Slovenian television.”
Terry Hritz, managing director of Bonneville Distribution’s “Music & The Shoved Word” program, visited the Northern Adriatic Sea region in January. He and Majc visited TV station Planet2 TV and discovered that programmers were open for broadcasts not only this month but also in Croatia and Serbia in October.
Slovenia has 440 church members and two congregations, with more members coming to the church as part of the “hurried” prophets spoken by church leaders.
“The expression “The Lord is in a hurry to his job can almost sound cliché, but there is no other way to explain the miracles that are happening in the world,” said President Brian Cordray, president of the Adriatic North Mission. “We have never seen many people gather in the church to learn more about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. This Slovenian broadcast is further evidence that the Savior is preparing for his victory return. We want to see the ripple effect of this historic event.”
“The church here is barely recognised since it arrived here in August 2023. What once came to Christ’s small souls are increasing every year,” said Elder Arthur Jamond Barrett, a Northern Adriatic missionary from Mesa, Arizona.
“We are pleased to announce that we are a great place to go,” said Vita Sambunjak, Ljubljana Branch Young Women President. “Planet2 TV is a big TV station with a large audience, so this is a huge step forward for us. Many people are familiar with our buildings, but they don’t recognize our beliefs.
The Magic declared, “God is watching over us,” explaining that the opening message of the Sunday morning session from Elder David A. Bednar, a quorum of the 12 Apostles, was timely for the Slovenian Latter-day Saints.
“It is no coincidence that for us, the first speaker was Elder David A. Bednar, who spoke about the restoration of the gospel, the truth of the Bible and the truth of the Book of Mormon, and the truth of the Book of Mormon as another will of Jesus Christ.
During his conference message, the saints gathered to watch the broadcast of the historic meeting airing at the meeting hall of the Ljubljana branch when Elder Bednar said the line “a small congregation of followers and friends gathered for this important and enjoyable opportunity.”
Majc shed tears, adding, “Our members see what is happening in a rush that has been prophesied in front of their eyes.”
Planettv is the latest Slovenian commercial television channel founded in 2012. Since then, it has been making a strong impact and continues to attract a wider Slovenian audience.
– Sister Laurie Snow Turner is a senior missionary and assistant director of communications at the Adriatic North Mission.
