Editor’s note: “The Spoken Word” is shared by Derrick Porter each Sunday during the weekly Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square broadcast. This will be given Sunday, July 6, 2025. This week is No. 4,999 of the broadcast.
Recently I met a man who many years ago served as a pilot in the United States Navy. His unit was deployed and had been assigned an early morning mission. It was winter, and the freezing rain and biting wind made preflight preparations nearly unbearable. Still, being in command, the young pilot had no choice but to press on.
The crew launched into the storm, climbing blindly through the clouds using only their instruments for guidance. The aircraft rattled against the turbulence, with rain and hail hammering the fuselage like a relentless drumbeat.
With each takeoff, the pilots had a habit of using the plane’s high-frequency radio to search nearby stations for background music to accompany them as the plane ascended into the sky. As the young pilot scanned through the static, he suddenly heard something familiar — the unmistakable sound of the Tabernacle Choir from Salt Lake City, Utah, and its program, “Music & the Spoken Word.”
The pilot paused. The reception was poor — the words barely distinguishable through the crackling interference — but the feeling was immediate and undeniable, a tender reminder of home, faith and God’s presence.
Then, through the static, the voice of the narrator broke through, clear and distinctive: “My faithfulness to thee is as the dawn of a new day.” At that exact moment, the plane broke through the cloud cover and the cockpit was instantly flooded with brilliant sunlight. The storm, the darkness, the turbulence — everything that had surrounded the plane only moments before — was now below, hidden beneath a thick, rolling sea of clouds.
Above, the sky stretched endless and clear. Inside, something within the pilot soared. The message was unmistakable. He recorded: “God is faithful. No matter the storms that rage below, no matter the darkness that clouds our vision, His faithfulness is unwavering — as sure as the rising sun.”
He continued, “That morning in the cockpit was more than just an experience — it was … a personal grace-filled moment where I knew, beyond all doubt, that God’s faithfulness is as certain as the dawn of a new day.”
Yes, God’s faithfulness is as certain as the dawn. His faithfulness to us is something we can always count on.
As we celebrate the Fourth of July, we give thanks for God’s unfailing faithfulness to each of us and pray for His blessings upon this great land that we love.
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.
