I know about the big two conferences in spring and fall, but it seems there are always conferences, stake conferences, and general conference. How often do these occur, and do they occur during regular church time? Do all the wards have one meeting together, or is this an additional meeting on top of the three-hour block? Do they happen on Sunday or some other time during the week? Do they replace the three-hour block or are they added to it? How long are these conferences? One hour, three, six, days?

How often are firesides? They don't seem to happen as often. How are they different than the conferences?

There are way too many meetings just with the three-hours. How do they keep people interested enough to bother to show up because unless it replaced the regular meetings on Sunday, I wouldn't bother, and even that's questionable. Who needs another boring meeting?

Stake conferences are twice a year and it takes place instead of regular meeting times on that Sunday, and if I recall, there are separate women's and men's meetings, then 1 or 2 big joint sessions that include everyone, but all take place in the stake center.

You can count on a church activity multiple times a week. I figured out when I was in high school, I was attending 3 meetings on sunday, extra if I had choir practice or a presidency or committee meeting, monday night family home evening, tuesday night mutual activity, maybe a fireside or service project on friday or saturday, and seminary class every week day. Add to this visiting teaching or home teaching, daily family prayers and scripture reading, any time devoted to callings...the church aims to keep you tied up most of the time.

General Conference is every 6 months in April and October (usually the first weekend) with sessions at 10 am, 2 pm on Saturday and Sunday, with the priesthood session at 6 PM on Saturday. It replaces normal church. Each session is two hours long.

Stake conference is every 6 months, too, but the timing is based on each stake (mine is held a few weeks after General Conference). It replaces normal church, and usually lasts around two hours, depending on how long winded the speakers are. There is usually a Saturday evening "adult session" and an afternoon leadership session the Saturday before. General Authorities can call for another Stake Conference. My parent's ward had a GA come a few weeks after their normally scheduled Stake Conference. They did that cause they looked at Stakes who didn't have a GA come visit in awhile, so they had their stake schedule it. All the wards in the stake come together to watch it.

As far as firesides, that depends. The Young Adults have a CES Fireside broadcast every month, except for December and the summertime. Institutes at Universities can schedule their own fireside speakers, and wards and stakes can do so as well. There is no rhyme or reason to it.

TBMs are told if they don't show up to these boring meetings that they are going to go downhill, lose blessings, lose light...