The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square celebrates a historic milestone on July 13, 2025, when it airs its 5,000th broadcast of “Music & the Spoken Word.” This occasion will commemorate more than nine decades of inspirational sacred music and messages shared with audiences around the world.
To discuss this achievement nearly a century in the making, Tabernacle Choir President Michael O. Leavitt along with the “voice of the choir,” producer, principal writer and presenter Derrick Porter, join the Church News podcast — recorded inside the Tabernacle on Temple Square — to discuss the importance of sacred music.
They explore how the choir’s music has touched the lives of members and friends of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worldwide for generations past and will do so for generations to come.
Listen to this episode of the Church News podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Spotify, bookshelf PLUS, YouTube or wherever you get podcasts.
Transcript:
Michael O. Leavitt: The world has faced a lot of trials in the 98 years and 5,000 editions. When the Great Depression occurred, “Music & the Spoken Word” was there. When World War II came, “Music & the Spoken Word” was there. You can go through all the events of time, and “Music & the Spoken Word” has been and will be a consistent part of our lives. And I think that’s really what we’re celebrating. Five thousand is a big number, but what we’re celebrating is the feeling it gives people and the way it sustains their life, and that it will continue on. Because we are talking about a language of the Spirit that penetrates people, and sacred music is a vector for that. It causes us to reflect. It causes us to be peaceful. So, sacred music not only is something that evokes feeling; it unites.
1:08
Jon Ryan Jensen: This is Jon Ryan Jensen, editor of the Church News. Welcome to the Church News podcast. Today, we are taking you on a journey of connection as we discuss news and events of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square celebrates a historic milestone on July 13, 2025, when it airs its 5,000th broadcast of “Music & the Spoken Word.” This special occasion will commemorate more than nine decades of inspirational sacred music and messages shared with audiences around the world.
To help discuss this monumental achievement nearly a century in the making, Tabernacle Choir President Michael O. Leavitt and “voice of the choir,” producer, principal writer and presenter Derrick Porter join the Church News podcast, recorded inside the Tabernacle on Temple Square, to discuss the importance of sacred music and how the choir’s music has touched the lives of members and friends of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worldwide for generations past and generations to come.
2:10
“Music & the Spoken Word” intro: The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square present “Music & the Spoken Word.”
2:23
Jon Ryan Jensen: The biggest reason that we are here to talk to you today is that “Music & the Spoken Word” as a program is about to hit a momentous milestone. And I would love to hear from your perspective how big of a deal this is and what it really means for the choir and for those who have loved “Music & the Spoken Word” for so long.
2:41
Michael O. Leavitt: Well, I’ll start. Five thousand weeks in a row. Just think about that. We’re getting close to 100 years that every Sunday, “Music & the Spoken Word” has been performed and then distributed throughout the world, reaching millions of people, with a consistency that I think is, if not unparalleled, it’s in an elite group. And it’s worth celebrating, not just for the fact that we have accomplished it, but because it means that there’s stability here that will go on. There will be another celebration, and it will be 10,000 and 15,000. I don’t expect to be around when that occurs, but it will occur.
3:28
Jon Ryan Jensen: We’ll celebrate while we’re all here. That is a big number, 5,000. Derrick, you’ve not been here for all 5,000 of those. Your tenure has been a little bit shorter, but I know in having talked to you before, that it doesn’t matter any less to you for a small amount of time. You have taken on that mantle and appreciate very much the history of this program.
Can you talk a little bit about what you’ve learned since we last spoke, when you first accepted this calling?
3:57
Derrick Porter: Well, you’re right. I’ve only been here for about 50 of the 5,000 that have been broadcast. And in those 50 weeks, it’s almost 50 weeks ago today that I was sitting here with you, my wife and I, and the choir presidency in this very room, feeling the awesomeness of what lied ahead of being able to participate in a historic show such as “Music & the Spoken Word.”
And since that time, we have received correspondence from literally nearly every corner of the globe, as much as 45 countries, I believe, and counting; listeners and viewers from every continent, including Antarctica; experiences from people stationed at the north and south poles; one who was climbing Mount Fuji, another that was climbing Mount Everest, as they listened to the broadcast; from Muslims, Jews, people of faith and people of no particular faith have written in with messages of what the show has meant for them.
And so, in these last 50 weeks, what I’ve learned is just how important something like this is to the world. And in many ways, the world has always been volatile and uncertain and complex. It probably always particularly feels so in the moment. But in the moment, the music and the messages are being written for the moment, and they are being felt and received and appreciated by people literally across the globe. And that is a humbling thing to simply witness and observe.
5:43
Jon Ryan Jensen: The Church right now is in the middle of an endeavor to provide a new set of hymns for Church members to sing, and I’ve been interested as I listen to Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. And he talks about the potential impact that sacred music can have on an individual or family or community’s relationship with Heavenly Father and with the Savior.
And for you, President Leavitt, as you’ve participated as a presidency and watched this choir continue to grow and evolve, what has been your experience in seeing sacred music have a positive effect on those who listen to the choir?
6:21
Michael O. Leavitt: I suspect there are many things that the current choir presidency has in common with those who have led the choir previously. And one of them is that on a Sunday during “Music & the Spoken Word,” we have greeted guests from throughout the world and asked them if they enjoyed the program and have them, without words, to describe something they felt. And then without being able to quite find the words, they just put their hand on their chest to signify, “I’m feeling something.”
We have that experience weekly. And I suspect that those who have led the choir for all these years have also had that experience, because we are talking about a language of the Spirit that penetrates people, and sacred music is a vector for that. It causes us to reflect. It causes us to be peaceful, rather than to be somehow realivened with the anxieties of the world.
7:33
Jon Ryan Jensen: It is interesting, isn’t it, how there can be so many things going on in people’s lives, and even sitting around the dinner table, you have families who can’t turn away from their phones because there’s a real fear of missing out on something that’s happening with a friend or a family member or a star. And yet, sitting down in the Tabernacle or in the Conference Center to listen to the choir for that moment, it seems that all of those things go away. That’s been my experience as I watch. The music and the Spirit that comes with that music just allows people to push pause on those moments.
You’ve been able to go internationally and see how the choir has an effect on individuals. The choir has been doing its tour to multiple locations recently. And do you see that same effect in those locations where you visit, outside of Temple Square?
8:30
Michael O. Leavitt: We do. The choir changed its mission, actually, three years ago to emphasize that our mission is, like our sponsoring Church, a worldwide mission. And so we’re doing much more international travel.
We’re traveling four times as much as we have in the past. And we’re also using the tools of technology once we’re there to reach more people. When we went to Peru, for example, in February, we had a very dramatic moment in a soccer stadium with 34,000 people, and it was a beautiful moment. But simultaneously, as 34,000 people were celebrating this moment in the soccer stadium, there were 200 locations around four countries where people were gathering in groups ranging from 200 to 1,200 and having the same experience being part of the same event.
There was a moment when a very famous musician named Fonseca, who wasn’t familiar with the song that he began to sing, and it was “I Am a Child of God.” And suddenly there was this moment where 34,000 people, all of whom who knew and loved this children’s sacred song, began to sing in unison. What we couldn’t see at that moment was that there were 82,000 people in these 200 locations having the same experience. So, sacred music not only is something that evokes feeling; it unites.
[Fonseca sings “Soy un hijo de Dios” with a crowd in February 2025.]
Here we had more than 100,000 people united in a song, united in a feeling that they could have had no other way than through the unity that comes through that kind of magical experience.
11:02
Derrick Porter: And may I just add to that? I had the opportunity of being far away from Lima, Peru. My wife and I were in Bogotá, Colombia, in an institute building with around a thousand others that were there. And in this moment when Fonseca began to sing “I Am a Child of God,” it wasn’t scripted, but that 34,000 people in the stadium began to sing, as President Leavitt said, and he stopped singing because of what he felt, and there was silence from him on the microphone, and it was filled. And my wife and I observed in this institute perhaps 1,500 people begin to sing and take out their cell phones and move their flashlights around.
And we watched one young single adult take off his hat, sit it down reverently and just pause in that moment as he heard “I Am a Child of God” being sung. And we went up to him afterwards and said, “What did you feel? What went through your mind as you participated in this here in Bogotá, thousands of miles away from the heart of the stadium?” And he said, “I felt in that moment that I needed to go and serve a mission. I felt in that moment that I needed to become a good elder.”
And that is the power of music that transcends boundaries, that transcends nations, that transcends even being in person or participating through these miraculous means of virtual capabilities that we now have that unite people throughout the world.
12:33
Jon Ryan Jensen: Those are beautiful moments to hear about. And I understand that, going back to “Music & the Spoken Word” specifically, the choir has asked individuals around the world to share their experiences, and I know you’ve been going through those.
Is there a chance that maybe there’s one or two of those that anecdotally you could share have had similar impacts on individuals in their lives?
12:54
Derrick Porter: I wish we had two hours to be able to share these with you, because as of this morning, we’ve received right at 900 unique and incredible stories. We’ll be over 1,000 by the time the 5,000th broadcast comes. And I have read each and every single one of these. And we’ve wept as we’ve read some of these, we’ve laughed as we’ve read some of these, but each and every one of them have buoyed and built our spirits.
A few that come to mind, a couple that come to mind: One is a rabbi from Toronto, Canada, and this rabbi wrote a letter to us after he had seen the broadcast. And he said, “Serving as a rabbi” — I’m paraphrasing, but he said, “Serving as a rabbi is a hard and heavy calling. I am with people, often in their most challenging moments. And when I return home, I carry that heaviness with me. But every Sunday morning, I turn on ‘Music & the Spoken Word,’ and I watch this broadcast, and it renews and reignites my desire to go and be a servant to God. And because of this program, it fills me with a determination to move forward.
We reached out to this rabbi and invited him here to come and join us for the 5,000th broadcast. He readily and happily accepted, and we met and spoke yesterday via Zoom just for the first time together. And he said, “Derrick, I believe that this program is God’s way of bringing us together, the Latter-day Saints and the Jews, allowing for us to learn more about each other. And not only just the Latter-day Saints and the Jews, but all of us, because we’re all God’s children.” And this was one of those unique and special ways.
Other experiences that have been shared, in every instance, tie back to a feeling that was ignited, a feeling that became the miracle for someone in their life. And as I’ve read these 900 experiences, it’s become abundantly clear: God’s way, usually, is not to swoop in and solve the problem and just give the miracle, but instead, He sends a feeling that inspires the heart, that then gives the courage or the hope or the faith to walk forward. And “Music & the Spoken Word” has been able to be that vehicle for so many people, providing that hope, providing that courage, providing that ability to just continue walking.
There’s a woman who wrote and said, “I was here for your 2,000th broadcast. I came for the 3,000th. I was at the 4,000th. And now for two years, July 13 has been marked on my calendar to attend and be at the 5,000. Why? Because for these thousands of weeks of watching and participating through viewing this program, it has filled me with a feeling and a hope and a determination to keep walking. And so I’m walking to that 5,000th broadcast, figuratively speaking, and I’ll be there with you.”
16:21
Jon Ryan Jensen: So, you touched on the date, and I want to ask a question about people who, like her, want to have that opportunity, to be there for this opportunity. Can you again reiterate when that broadcast is going to be recorded and broadcast live, and what people can do to attend?
16:36
Derrick Porter: Thank you. So, July 13 at 9 a.m., we’ll begin our preshow in the Conference Center here in Salt Lake City. The preshow will be closed circuit, just for those in attendance. The broadcast will begin at 9:30 and, of course, will be broadcast through Church channels, YouTube as well as a host of other places that broadcast it. It’s a 30-minute program.
There are many special things happening in that program, including using the original baton that was used on the very first Sunday of the very first broadcast of “Music & the Spoken Word” on July 15 of 1929 by Anthony C. Lund. That will be used. We’ll have guest conductors. We’ll have participants with us. And then we have a special postbroadcast celebration, where the choir will sing several more songs, and where we’ll be telling stories from those 900 experiences that were shared with us. We’ll be telling the stories of the songs that inspired them, and sharing that.
And so, we invite all who can join us. We certainly are not striving to pull away from sacrament meeting; that matters most, those sacred ordinances. But for those who it works, we would invite them to join us here on Temple Square in the Conference Center. And we think it’ll be a very special treat.
17:55
Jon Ryan Jensen: So, the full Conference Center will be open, so you’ll be able to hold close to 20,000 individuals there.
Derrick Porter: That’s right.
Jon Ryan Jensen: So, 20,000 people, even if you filled the Conference Center, that’s not enough space for all the people who want to listen and want to participate. And so for those who do want to watch this, perhaps, after the fact, is there a way for them to enjoy in that post-celebration?
18:13
Derrick Porter: Absolutely. Through the choir’s YouTube channel is a repository of every broadcast, including this one. We’ll also be releasing some of the elements in the pre- and the postshow through our social media channels and the like. And so everyone should have an opportunity to see the vast majority of this special broadcast, whether they are here in Salt Lake City in person, or whether they are across the globe, maybe in the great Down Under, they’ll still be able to participate and be with us that day.
18:42
Jon Ryan Jensen: You shared some of the experiences that you’ve read. And I have to say, when I was growing up, my parents would refer to it as “This is pre-Church,” and so they would turn on the radio, and that was what I remember getting ready for Church to as a kid, was the music for “Music & the Spoken Word” and that everything would pause when it was time for the spoken word to be read.
And I love — going back to everything that you’ve said about the feeling, I imagine the people around the world who’ve had those kinds of experiences, whatever their circumstances are, to all have that moment of “Yeah, we can unite around this. We feel the importance of this message and, when that truth is shared, that the Holy Ghost can testify to us.”
And I think that President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Church, as he’s encouraged us to look for those moments where we can feel the Holy Ghost, this is one of those nail-in-the-hinge moments to say, “This is going to keep me going on the straight and narrow.”
As you look at the future, we’ve come a long way. As you talked about what the event is going to hold, you didn’t say that you were going to invite me to climb up a ladder and hang down a microphone. I would do it if you wanted me to. But we’ve come a long way since then.
What are some of the other ways that you’ve seen the choir and “Music & the Spoken Word,” specifically, use different emerging technologies, and maybe are there more in the future?
20:08
Michael O. Leavitt: Well, let’s just say we’re embracing technology in every way we can. Six million a week, that’s a lot of people, but it’s just scratching the surface.
Jon Ryan Jensen: Six million people watching and listening every week.
Michael O. Leavitt: Yes. Six million people watching and listening every week, but just scratching the surface. We need more countries, more languages, more opportunities to be heard. I think we’ll keep the format that we have, but we may add new formats and deliver messages in different ways. We’re experimenting with that as we go. Our goal is to provide the broadest access we can to that moment where people have a chance to reflect and feel.
20:47
Derrick Porter: In addition to that, we’re excited to announce that we have a few new mediums as well for people to connect with the broadcast. One of those is a podcast called “Music & the Spoken Word,” and it will drop the broadcast each week on Sunday morning, for those who enjoy listening to an audio version via a podcast. There’s also a special section in there for just the spoken word so that those can be shared with friends and what have you.
And then every other week, there will also be a behind-the-scenes interview that takes place with someone in the organization or in our ecosphere, where they’ll come and talk about things that happen behind the scenes. This could be Richard Elliott, Mack Wilberg, President Leavitt, others who are associated with the broadcast and just talking about that. So, this podcast will be launching in conjunction with the 5,000th broadcast.
And so these are just a few of the ways that we’re continuing to expand the access to the broadcast and trying to meet people where they are in whichever way is most easy for them to find us.
22:00
Jon Ryan Jensen: That access is a great segue for something. Temple Square has been the central location of a lot of renovations in the last few years. And yet, “Music & the Spoken Word” has carried on. I wonder if you have felt or if you’ve talked about what that means to have something like this carry on, even when everything around you is going through a unique once-in-a-Restoration process.
22:31
Michael O. Leavitt: The world has faced a lot of trials in the 98 years and 5,000 editions. When the Great Depression occurred, “Music & the Spoken Word” was there. When World War II came, “Music & the Spoken Word” was there. It just kept going. You can go through all the events of time, and “Music & the Spoken Word” has been and will be a consistent part of our lives. And I think that’s really what we’re celebrating. Five thousand is a big number, but what we’re celebrating is the feeling it gives people and the way it sustains their life, and that it will continue on.
23:08
Derrick Porter: And the reason that it’s able to do that is because this is not our work. This is not about us. This is something far bigger, greater and wider than any one person. This is heaven’s work. This is God’s work. The reason that works is because the president of our choir was called by a Prophet of God, setting him apart and giving him the proper authority to administer this work for hundreds and hundreds of people, going to millions and millions of people worldwide.
And he has two very abled counselors that are working more than full time, all three of them, to help this happen. They were given a charge by President Nelson to go and do things that have never been done before, and that is what you have seen transpire over the last three to four years. And what will certainly continue on into the years coming, with very exciting announcements being made sooner than later as well.
And so our job as choir members, orchestra members, bells members, staff members, anybody, is to raise our hands and sustain not only our Prophet but our presidency who, through the use of priesthood keys, enables this work to move forward and to press forward. And it is nothing short of miraculous.
God’s principles are timeless. They extend and transcend tragedies. They extend and transcend ages and eras. And so, in a way, we are doing the exact same thing that was being done in 1929, which is sharing a timeless principle with timeless music that speaks to the heart. That has consistency, and that has staying power, and it has that because it comes from God. It is not something that we could do on our own. We can only do it because of Him.
25:13
Jon Ryan Jensen: Hearing you say that, I have a great appreciation for where that’s coming from in you, because I know among recent episodes of “Music & the Spoken Word” that you’ve been going back and pulling from some of those that you’ve studied and been impacted by, spiritually, of your predecessors.
What have you learned from that process? And are there specific messages that have stood out to you as you have read what some of those messages were?
25:37
Derrick Porter: Yes and yes and yes. And what I’ve learned is this, and probably in this order: When I sit down to write, if I say, “What should I write?” the inspiration doesn’t really come. But if instead I say, “What would You have me write? What is Your message for this week?” the inspiration comes. And then that direction, because these principles of our Father in Heaven are timeless, you’re able to be led to and guided to a rich degree of words that have been offered from those who went before us and from those who are currently with us.
And as I look back at the writing that Richard L. Evans was doing in the Great Depression or during World War II, as I look back at the message that was given on that Sunday morning at the bombing of Pearl Harbor, as I look back at the message that was given on the Sunday following 9/11, the messages, the music, again, are written and brought about from heaven for the moment. These events that come up to us are surprising to us, but they are not a surprise to God. And He is preparing us along the way to be ready for that moment, both in our lives and in the broadcast.
And so, as I look back and I’ve been drawn to the incredible insights, again, of Richard L. Evans or of Spencer Kinard or of Lloyd Newell, each of them have been so inspired from heaven in the moment for something that was needed in that moment but that, again, transcended time. And my job, hopefully, and my responsibility is to simply build on that.
[Start of audio clip from “Music & the Spoken Word” episode 4992, “Faith, Prayer and Love,” aired on May 18, 2025.]
Derrick Porter: Today, we’d like to share some of God’s timeless principles, as presented by Richard L. Evans, J. Spencer Kinard and Lloyd D. Newell, all former presenters of this program.
27:45
Richard L. Evans: Faith is that quality of trust which prevents the uncertainty of the future from destroying the opportunities of the present — which brings peace in the midst of confusion and sleep even while some problems are unsolved. Faith is trust, belief, conviction, a force in the lives of all balanced men, and it leaves an awful emptiness when it dies or departs.
28:13
J. Spencer Kinard: And thus it is with prayer. We may not know quite how it works, but you know, we don’t need to. The Lord has not burdened us with complicated formulas. He has made the process so simple, in fact, that a humble child on his knees can make prayer work. The only requirements are that our desires be righteous and our supplication be sincere. The Lord stands ever anxious to assist us.
28:44
Lloyd D. Newell: Knowing that God’s love for us is real and unchanging can calm the storms of life and bring meaning amid uncertainty. God will not forget us or forsake us. In this, we have peace — a peace that comes from knowing that the world and its affairs remain in the loving and all-powerful hands of Him who created it in the beginning.
29:10
Derrick Porter: I add my witness to each of theirs that God’s timeless principles of faith, prayer and love are in full force and effect today. For “God is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Mormon 9:9).
[End of audio clip from “Music & the Spoken Word.”]
[The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square starts singing “It Is Well With My Soul” on May 18, 2025.]
Derrick Porter: The Spirit doesn’t often necessarily give me the exact words to be said, but I feel a feeling that is then my responsibility, and probably that of my predecessors, to translate feelings into words and to turn those feelings and impressions that are coming into words for that moment. And it’s been an incredibly humbling opportunity to get to see that and feel it and be a part of it, and very comforting to learn and to know that actually, I don’t have to work that hard to come up with that. What I need to do is just be in tune with heaven above, and They, Deity, will deliver that.
30:15
Jon Ryan Jensen: President Leavitt, you have served in a variety of roles throughout your life. As you look back at your roles in business; in government, state and national; and this opportunity to be in the choir — when you look back at “Music & the Spoken Word,” and then you look in those roles that you’ve had, and you look at where people might be tuning in to their television or radio on a Sunday morning, and they’re looking for the updates on news, and they’re looking for the updates on the sports scores from last night.
If I’m one of those people who is interested in the top plays from last night, and maybe I’m not immediately drawn to “Music & the Spoken Word,” help me know: Why should I make that effort to tune in to “Music & the Spoken Word” for the very first time?
31:05
Michael O. Leavitt: I think people know they need this. I just don’t think they know exactly how to go about it. I don’t care how devoted you are to your phone. There’s a moment when you feel like, “I’ve just had too much. I need a break.” And what you really need is you need to feel something, you need to reflect on something. And so, in many respects, the same medium that is bringing them the scores can also bring them a moment of reflection.
I don’t expect ever that “Music & the Spoken Word” will take the place of all the other things they see, but it is there, and it is unique, and people know when they need it, and they need to know how to find it. And that’s part of our job, is to let them know, as a service, “This is how you can bring this into your life.”
32:02
Jon Ryan Jensen: I appreciate that. You mentioned, Derrick, the podcast. I understand as well that there’s an email that people can receive. Is that already there? Or is that coming?
32:10
Derrick Porter: Yes, that will be announced and coming forward in conjunction with the 5,000th broadcast, where you can sign up to have the spoken word delivered to your inbox each Monday morning, a short, 400-word, three-minute clip of that spoken word. And so that’s another way that we’re trying to offer that to those who are busy, on the go, commuting, having an opportunity to listen as you move about your life.
32:35
Jon Ryan Jensen: I mentioned earlier the new hymns that are being released. The choir has been in a unique position to be able to sing some of those, what for many people is the first time that they’ve heard them.
Does that give you a unique sense of responsibility to be the one who’s — I don’t want to say selling, but — encouraging members to dive in on some new music that might give them a little trepidation?
32:59
Derrick Porter: My sense is that Mack [Wilberg] and Ryan [Murphy] and those that focus so much on that are continually and regularly looking for songs that evoke a feeling. And these new 375-plus hymns and children’s hymns and the music that we are putting together for a worldwide Church certainly evoke those feelings of the heart.
And many of those songs — “Gethsemane” being one of them; it’s been out a little while now but is still new — being sung in conference, being sung and produced especially for Easter, has elicited millions of views, sponsored much conversation and done much to show that music isn’t just something that is old and repeated, but that is new and continually coming forth.
And I think it’s a blessing, if I may, to say that the choir gets an opportunity to participate in that, but just like any Church congregation can, and just like any one individual can at home with their phone and with their ears to be able to participate and receive that same feeling.
34:15
Michael O. Leavitt: I’ll just add: Interestingly, many of the new hymns that are in the hymnbook are hymns that we have heard the choir sing, or other choirs, and are now being added as part of our sacred canon of songs. In that case, the choir and other organizations have done a work to make them familiar and dear to people. And that’s the way we hear a song, we feel something, we want to repeat it. So yes, the choir will be part of that.
Derrick Porter: It’s a labor of love, and we love the labor.
34:50
Jon Ryan Jensen: I love that. That’s great. As tends to be our tradition on the Church News podcast, we like to end giving our guests the final word. And so I’d like to give first, Derrick, an opportunity for you, and then President Leavitt to close us out.
What is it that you know now, as you looked back at the 4,900-and-something episodes that have aired so far of “Music & the Spoken Word,” what is it that you know now and that you’ve learned from that experience?
35:16
Derrick Porter: This is the work of heaven. This is something far bigger than any one of us. God manifests His work through means, and one of His means, one of His ways of doing this, is, I believe, through The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square and through this program, “Music & the Spoken Word.”
As I have been able to participate in, feel, watch, reflect upon this broadcast for one year now, it has become abundantly clear to me that this is one of the ways in which the hearts of people are softened, including my own. Many, many Sundays sitting in that Tabernacle or in the Conference Center, and having my own needs in my heart answered through song and through the feeling that is there.
And so my witness, what I know now, is that this is the work of heaven and one of the many means in which heaven seeks to communicate with its children. And so I give thanks to our Father in Heaven; to His Son, Jesus Christ; and to the Holy Ghost, that most perfect and unified union, and Their ability to speak to my heart and to millions and even billions worldwide through the means that They offer and They have. And I’m humbled and grateful to play just a very small role in the work of heaven.
37:10
Michael O. Leavitt: I’ll reflect on something that has become better known and more fully understood by me, and that is the devotion of members of The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square and hundreds of people who support their work. Every member of the choir, orchestra, bells, all those who support them are volunteers. Those volunteers spend somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 25 hours a week. Some of them serve for as long as 20 years. The average member of the choir serves 11 years. And it’s not just the choir, it’s their families. And this has gone on for 178 years.
When you think of the number of hours of devotion that have been given through the choir, it becomes very clear that this is an important work, not just to the people but to our Heavenly Father, and that the service they provide is a symbol of the consecration that it requires to, I think, find that feeling that we’re all looking to have.
38:28
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