Beyond the opportunity to attend a temple dedication, singing "with the angels of heaven" as part of a Bountiful Utah Temple dedication choir was a particularly choice and uplifting experience.
I felt a spirit of approval and support pour down upon us as our Kaysville Utah South Stake choir finished warming up at a stake center just prior to traveling to our Jan. 11 dedication session, and that spirit remained strong through the last "amen" of the "Hosanna Anthem."Under the direction of a conductor, an organist and a priesthood leader, each stake in the temple district began organizing a dedication choir last September, when it was early autumn and the temple was still under construction.
Although I didn't fully realize it at the time, one of the greatest blessings of my life began with a call from a member of my bishopric asking me to sing with the choir. At the first practice, when I was handed a folder with four songs in it, I wondered why we needed to dedicate almost every Sunday evening for nearly four months to practice. My answer came as my own inadequacies were made evident in the midst of more than 60 talented singers from my stake.
Karen Timothy, our conductor, pulled us through with - as words in the "Hosannah Anthem" so well express - "patient faith and labor." Along with the oft-uttered, "Round your vowels," she encouraged us with words like: "I don't want to rely on angels, I want us to get it right," and "The angels can join in if they want, but I want us to be perfect."
Whether or not our performance was perfect isn't important, because my joy was perfect. It was truly a calling where the reward and the act of service were the same thing. Our dedication session came and passed quickly, but the experience from beginning to end - from a frustrating inability to memorize the hymn "The Morning Breaks" to the opportunity to sing for prophets and other General Authorities as well as fellow Saints in the temple - was a remarkable blessing.
