Eid-ul-Fitr community prayer service

Men bow their heads during a Eid-ul-Fitr community prayer service Thursday, August 8, 2013, at the Seattle Center in Seattle. The holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. (Jordan Stead, seattlepi.com)

Symeyya Osman watches a rainbow form in the mist of the International Fountain following a Eid-ul-Fitr community prayer service Thursday, August 8, 2013, at the Seattle Center in Seattle. The holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. (Jordan Stead, seattlepi.com)

Women enter the Eid-ul-Fitr community prayer service Thursday, August 8, 2013, at the Seattle Center in Seattle. The holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. (Jordan Stead, seattlepi.com)

Shoes litter the exhibition hall during a Eid-ul-Fitr community prayer service Thursday, August 8, 2013, at the Seattle Center in Seattle. The holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. (Jordan Stead, seattlepi.com)

Harlem Adams, 4, enjoys a cloud of cotton candy following a Eid-ul-Fitr community prayer service Thursday, August 8, 2013, at the Seattle Center in Seattle. The holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. (Jordan Stead, seattlepi.com)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | 182nd Annual General Conference

What: the largest congregation of Mormons in the world.
Where: LDS Conference Center, Salt Lake City, Utah.
When: every year, for the past 182 years.
Who: the Mormon elite, including LDS President Thomas S. Monson (a.k.a. the Mormon Pope).

Several weeks ago, I posted about how photography is an excellent way to check things off the old bucket list. While this event wasn't exactly at the top of of my list, the experience was a staggering example of how those different (yet similar) than yourself live their lives. The afternoon was a stressful and rewarding glance into a belief system other than my own. The event was something much greater than I could ever explain, so I will let the LDS Church explain it to you here.

Big thanks to the other Utah photographers and conference veterans who helped me maneuver through the madness in order to get the key shots. Enjoy the tongue of God, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, a gathering of 100,000 Mormons and a moment of divine prayer.

Thomas S. Monson, President of The Church of Latter-day Saints, address the crowd at the 182nd Annual General Conference Saturday, March 31, 2012, at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir performs between speakers at the 182nd Annual General Conference Saturday, March 31, 2012, at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Twenty-one thousand individuals packed in to attend each session of the 182nd Annual General Conference Saturday, March 31, 2012, at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Levi Manley, 29, center, sits in the middle of the sidewalk with his head bowed as the finals words of the 182nd Annual General Conference sounded from over the temple's loudspeaker Saturday, March 31, 2012, at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Manley recently returned from his two-year mission. He estimated having attended the conference six different years.