Editor’s note: “The Spoken Word” is shared by Lloyd Newell each Sunday during the weekly Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square broadcast. This was filmed in Mexico City, Mexico, in June 2023. This will be given Sunday, June 25, 2023. The Spanish-language “Music & the Spoken Word,” scheduled to premiere on Sunday, June 25, has been delayed.

The “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast for Sunday, June 25, 2023, was recorded in Mexico. While there will not be a live performance, so the choir and orchestra can rest from its recent Mexico tour, visitors can watch the broadcast in person. Next Sunday, July 2, the “Music & the Spoken Word” moves to the Conference Center.

When you come here to Mexico, you feel a welcoming spirit. You often hear people say, “Mi casa es tu casa,” which is Spanish for “my house is your house.” With that kind of openness, visitors quickly become friends. Hearts open wide and freely as people generously welcome others into their lives. Relationships are cherished here. Indeed, that sense of community, of belonging, is a key source of identity for people all around the Latino world.

No matter our culture or personality, we need one another. Sadly, too many of us feel alone and disconnected, and 24/7 digital connection doesn’t seem to meet that need.

A prominent physician recently told of a patient who had many friends but little money — “a modest salary and humble lifestyle. Then he won the lottery. Overnight, his life changed. He quit his job and moved into a large house in a gated community.” But his newfound fortune came with a cost — he was alone.

With sadness in his voice, the patient said, “Winning the lottery was one of the worst things that ever happened to me.” He had lost the neighbors and friends who had brought so much joy to his life, and his physical and emotional health suffered (see “Surgeon General: We Have Become a Lonely Nation. It’s Time to Fix That,” by Vivek H. Murthy, New York Times, April 30, 2023, nytimes.com).

Just as a plant needs water and sunlight, our souls need friendship. We need to care about people, and we need to know that they care about us. We need a welcoming community, where we draw others in rather than shutting them out, where people and relationships matter, where “mi casa,” as humble as it may be, is always “tu casa.”

“Music & the Spoken Word” host Lloyd Newell records a “Spoken Word” segment on Monday, June 12, 2023, in Mexico City, Mexico.

Cody Bell, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Sometimes that means welcoming new friends into our home. More often, it means welcoming them into our lives and hearts. It requires trust, but trust has always been the price of friendship.

Some would say those days are long gone, that it’s old fashioned to think people can be so open and generous to their neighbors. The people of Mexico would never accept that, and we don’t have to either. We can’t let love and friendship go out of style, because we face challenges — global and personal — that we can overcome only as we work together. This is why we always leave the door open to new friendships.

God’s children were meant to be together — if not under one roof, then in one heart. And a great first step is the spirit of “mi casa es tu casa.”

Tuning in …

The “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast is available on KSL-TV, KSL News Radio 1160AM/102.7FM, KSL.com, BYUtv, BYUradio, Dish and DirecTV, SiriusXM (Ch. 143),  tabernaclechoir.org, youtube.com/TheTabernacleChoir and Amazon Alexa (must enable skill). The program is aired live on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time on these outlets. Look up broadcast information by state and city at musicandthespokenword.com/viewers-listeners/airing-schedules.