The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square’s “Music & the Spoken Word” program on Sunday, Sept. 28, was a tribute to President Russell M. Nelson.
The 17th President and Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints died late Saturday, Sept. 27. He was 101 years old.
Derrick Porter, executive producer, principal writer and presenter of “Music & the Spoken Word,” welcomed the audience in the nearly-full Salt Lake Tabernacle and explained that printed programs weren’t distributed due to adjustments made earlier that morning to honor President Nelson.
For the 5,000th episode of “Music & the Spoken Word” on July 13, President Nelson shared some of his early memories of the program.
“I cannot remember life without ‘Music & the Spoken Word,’” the Prophet said in a statement on ChurchofJesusChrist.org at the time. “I was born in 1924, and the first broadcast of ‘Music & the Spoken Word’ was on July 15, 1929. I can remember, as a little boy, listening to Sunday broadcasts.”
The choir’s farewell song of “God Be With You Till We Meet Again” is usually sung after the broadcast to those attending in-person.
On Sunday, it was the concluding song of the broadcast, following Porter’s “Spoken Word” message titled “May God be with you, till we meet again” that honored President Nelson’s life.
President Nelson’s photo was the last image of the broadcast. In the Tabernacle, that same image was projected on the ceiling above the choir during a minute of silence — aside from sniffles of those trying to contain their emotions — as the broadcast concluded.
“President Nelson’s life was anything but ordinary, and he seemed to leave an indelible mark wherever he went,” Porter said as he stood on the stage to present “The Spoken Word” during the live broadcast.
President Nelson had many titles, including doctor, surgeon, researcher, professor and lieutenant. But the ones that were important to him were child of God, son of the covenant, disciple of Christ, husband and father, and Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, Porter said.
Porter also shared several of President Nelson’s teachings.
“Through his messages we learned to ‘do better and be better.’ He taught us to ‘Let God prevail in our lives,’ to learn to ‘think celestial’ and to hear the voice of the Lord. President Nelson followed the Savior’s admonition to ‘love one another.’ He implored us to be peacemakers and to listen to and treat each other with respect, to ‘replace animosity with understanding and contention with peace.’”
In his professional life, President Nelson contributed to the development of the heart-lung machine and pioneered the now-proven techniques of open-heart surgery.
“To the world, above all, he was a disciple and witness of Jesus Christ. His life’s mission was to help other people, to heal hearts and spirits,” Porter said.
Porter concluded: “In a way, he has been here with us, throughout this broadcast’s entire journey. And so today, on behalf of his friends of the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra we say, farewell, dear friend. May God be with you till we meet again.”
The program was under the direction of choir music director Mack Wilberg and associate director Ryan Murphy. The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square performed “Simple Gifts” and “For the Beauty of the Earth,” followed by Andrew Unsworth’s organ solo of “Annie Laurie.” The choir and orchestra also performed “Give Glory to His Honored Name” from “Athalia”; “When You Wish Upon a Star” from “Pinocchio”; and “His Eye is on the Sparrow” before Porter shared “The Spoken Word” message and the Choir concluded with “God Be With You Till We Meet Again.”
The Sunday, Sept. 28, “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast — No. 5011 — is available on the Tabernacle Choir’s YouTube channel, broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org and on the Gospel Stream app.
