Hello from Florida/Georgia!

Hi! I am Sister Prettyman and I am from a small town in Utah. I am currently serving an 18 month mission for the Lord in the Florida Jacksonville mission and I LOVE IT! I was asked (quite a while ago) to write something pertaining to online missionary work and my purpose as an online missionary. I'm sorry it has taken me so long! :)

Here in the Florida Jacksonville Mission we quote a scripture and our 'vision' every single day. They define who we are, what our purpose is, and who we want to become.

It goes like this, "Behold, I [insert your name] am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been ^acalled of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life" (3 Nephi 5:13). "I am a diligent, obedient, worthy, powerful, and holy disciple of Jesus Christ now and forever" (FJM).

As a missionary online and in the 'real world' my purpose is the same,
to "invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism by immersion, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end" (Preach My Gospel).

I absolutely LOVE being a missionary and one of my favorite things about sharing the gospel with my brothers and sisters is being able to witness the miraculous changes that take place in their lives as they accept our Savior and His atonement and do all they can to follow him no matter what their vice may have been. I LOVE it!!! There is nothing better!

My favorite quote from one of the Twelve Apostles is "My chief responsibility, my primary responsibility, and in a sense my total responsibility, is to bear witness of the Lord Jesus Christ" (Jeffery R. Holland). It is SO true and this quote should define everyone's responsibility and duty. We have each been commanded by God to share the gospel with those around us and to help our brothers and sisters along the path that leads to Eternal Life.

I love this gospel and I do my very best each day to fulfill my responsibility as a missionary, as a disciple, and as a daughter of God. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and my Father in Heaven with all my heart. I love sharing the love that I receive from them with others. I am so grateful (words cannot describe) for this opportunity to give 18 months of my life to serving the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. It is so worth it.

I am grateful to have been called to the Florida Jacksonville mission and to labor with others who have been called to this great work as well. Thank you for this opportunity to share why I am here doing what I do and I pray that each of you has a wonderful day! And always remember, no matter who you are,GOD LOVES YOU and is aware of you no matter what situation you may be in. I say these things in the sacred name of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.

If you'd like to hear more from me please visit/follow my blogs http://missionarystudies.blogspot.com/
http://sisterprettyman.blogspot.com/
Thank you!

~Love Sister Prettyman~

Waiting for A Sister Missionary

When I was a young man I would have been considered a menace to society since I didn't get married until I was 28 years-old. When I first got off my mission I was anxious to get married but my strategy of dating young BYU co-eds didn't work out well for me. Most inevitably had a missionary they were already dating or they were in no hurry to get married.

When I was around twenty-six I had a nightmare one night where I saw eight children with dark hair as adults. I knew that these were suppose to be my children. I then had the impression that I would never know them since I wasn't married. When I woke up I remembered the vividness of the dream and began to think abut my dating patterns. I realized I was a senior dating freshman and sophomore women. I made a conscious decision then to begin dating older women mostly returned missionaries. My dating experience was more challenging after that since the first returned missionary I dated was a braniac who carried a Franklin Covey planner and ran her life on it. She was very intense being in BYU student government and running her brother's student body presidential campaign in which he was subsequently elected. I lasted a month or two and then gave up since the competition was so heavy. The rejection didn't phase me since I had already struck out about ninety times with younger women. I made an adjustment in my dating and began to go out more for the social aspect with little expectation of marriage which made me relax more.

When I went to graduate school I shifted to dating mostly returned missionaries. When I first started I was still a bit impatient and when a few girls I was dating told me that they were going on a mission I thought that a year and a half was too long to wait. A few guys that I knew wrote some of the more attractive sisters in our ward. A few of them hooked up with them after their missions and married them. The funny thing was that three girls I know that I blew off thinking that waiting for them went and came home. When they came back they didn't forget my earlier cavalier attitude and were not impressed enough to go out with me. I lost a friend or two because I didn't take the time to write any of them.

Randy Bott in Home with Honor gives some good advice for those waiting for missionaries:

For those who have someone special waiting, the challenges will be different but just as real. Some missionaries who have sweethearts waiting feel an obligation to marry them. After all, this person has waited faithfully for a long time. However, it is not unusual for missionaries to change dramatically during their missions. Unless the person at home has made similar strides, you may find that you are not as interested in that person as you were before your mission. You may agree to date for a while before setting a wedding date. If either of you has reservations after dating for a while, date other people before making a decision of such eternal consequence.

Within a month of his return from his mission, a friend of mine, who had served an honorable mission, married the girl who had waited for him. Soon after, they divorced. Both he and his former wife are great people. A lot of heartache and disappointment could have been prevented if they had taken the Lord's advice to "be still and know that I am God" (D&C 101:16). Take your time. If your love is eternal, it will wait for a few months until the dust has settled. Plans and preparation take time. Rushing the most important decision you will ever make is hardly a manifestation of spiritual maturity.

If things don't work out, break off the relationship gently and without bitter feelings. It may be that now isn't the right time, but later on might be. Even if things never work out between you, why create an enemy of one who has been a close friend?

Do people wait for missionaries and have everything work out? Sure, all the time. What a blessing to have shared such a sustained spiritual experience with that special someone who becomes your eternal companion. My sister waited for her missionary, and they now have a wonderful marriage and family. Many others have done the same thing. The key is to continue to include the Lord in your dating, courtship, and marriage the way you included him in your missionary activity.

I wonder what the experiences of young men has been in waiting for sister missionaries. I am sure there have been good and bad experiences that people can share. In the end I dated and married a return sister missionary but not one I knew at the Y before my mission.

What to Do When You Don't Like Your Companion

Many times we don't like someone because they seem odd to us. Ezra Taft Benson and Flora Amussen Benson's favorite poet was Edgar A. Guest. Sister Benson like to quote from his book It Takes O' Heap of Living. In that book there is a poem When You Know A Fellow that is the key to coming to like your companion:

When you get to know a fellow, know his joys and know his cares,
When you've come to understand him and the burdens that he bears,
When you've learned the fight he's making and the troubles in his way,
Then you find that he is different than you thought him yesterday.
You find his faults are trivial and there's not so much to blame
In the brother that you jeered at when you only knew his name.

You are quick to see the blemish in the distant neighbor's style,
You can point to all his errors and may sneer at him the while,
And your prejudices fatten and your hates more violent grow
As you talk about the failures of the man you do not know,
But when drawn a little closer, and your hands and shoulders touch,
You find the traits you hated really don't amount to much.

When you get to know a fellow, know his every mood and whim,
You begin to find the texture of the splendid side of him;
You begin to understand him, and you cease to scoff and sneer,
For with understanding always prejudices disappear.
You begin to find his virtues and his faults you cease to tell,
For you seldom hate a fellow when you know him very well.

When next you start in sneering and your phrases turn to blame,
Know more of him you censure than his business and his name;
For it's likely that acquaintance would your prejudice dispel
And you'd really come to like him if you knew him very well.
When you get to know a fellow and you understand his ways,
Then his faults won't really matter, for you'll find a lot to praise.

From the book "A Heap o' Livin'" ©1916

As you get to know your companion better you will gain an appreciation for them. Most of the time when we don't like someone it is because we don't know them or their hearts very well.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell in Stockholm, Sweden Area Conference in 1974 gave us some insights in to overcoming negative feelings: "As we serve in the Church we must remember that the genius of the gospel includes not merely helping those who are already friends to love each other more. The gospel also helps those who might not naturally like each other to appreciate each other; those who are strangers, even enemies, can become friends.

In living together as Saints, we will surely see each other’s faults, but when we look at each other through the lens of the gospel and by the light of heaven, we also see in others attributes and qualities that we little imagined were there! The gospel does not ask us to close our eyes to any reality; rather it helps us open our eyes more widely and more appreciatively! Where others see disarray, the disciple can, with patience, see purpose. Where others feel hopelessness, the disciple does not despair, for he has “a perfect brightness of hope” (“Konferens: A Report of the Scandinavian Area General Conference Held at Stockholm, Sweden,” Ensign, [October 1974]: 77).

If after getting to know your companion better you still don't like him or her then I suggest you pray for them every morning and night. Each day try to say something positive and uplifting to them. Try holding companionship study and really seeking to hear each others suggestions. Do a kind deed each day for your companion. If you can't overcome your reservations try talking to your companion and being open and honest about your feelings. Remember George Albert Smith lived by the motto: "One is it kind. Two need it be mentioned." If you are kind and you still feel the Spirit is not in yhour companionship, try prayerfully in a companionship meeting to resolve concerns.

If after all this it still isn't working out you should then discuss your concerns with your district and zone leaders. Counsel together to come up with ways of having a harmonous relationship. Go with your companion don't do it behind his or her back.

The last resort is to let your mission president know there are some problems. It is his stewardship to decide if you should be together. If you still remain companions learn to appreciate that people have differences and strengths. Yours might be to learn to have patience. Remember that the Lord will bless us if we are faithful and obedient. Remember that usually there is a reason you are with a particular companion and that eventually you will have a different one or go home after your service is over. Endure to the end.

Departing Missionaries Speaking in Sacrament

Over the last thirty years since I went on a mission. The practice of missionaries speaking during sacrament has been changed from one in which they had elaborate programs filled with family members, friends, and special musical numbers to one in which they are lucky if they are on the program for even ten or fifteen minutes.

When I was called on a mission back in 1975 I had nearly thirty minutes to speak. I had a local singing group called Rainbow's End from the North Las Vegas come and sing "He Who Has Clean Hands and a Pure Heart." Another departing missionary Charlie McKnight was on the program with me. At that time we had six elders going out with us: Brad Bergquist, Alan Harper, Ron January, and Doug Atkins. Missionaries then would have elaborate open houses where food was served and the mission got hundreds of dollars. Many time there were formal announcements and Articles of Faith cards were passed out with the missionaries name and mission address.

In 1987 the official policy was changed which maintained the sacrament program but began to discourage open houses:

Missionary Farewells

We deeply appreciate the faithfulness of those who respond to the call to serve missions. It is appropriate to honor newly called full-time missionaries by asking them to speak in sacrament meetings before their departure. The bishopric is to plan and conduct such meetings and invite those who speak. Family members of the missionary may be invited to offer prayers, present musical numbers, or speak. Talks and music should be worshipful, faith promoting, and gospel oriented.

We are concerned that some inappropriate practices have arisen that detract from the sacred nature of the mission call or that create unnecessary expense. We urge members and local leaders to discontinue such practices as holding open houses for missionaries (except for family gatherings), sending out formal printed announcements or invitations, printing special programs for the sacrament meeting, or forming reception lines at the meetinghouse following the meeting.

We appreciate the devotion of missionaries and their families and their willingness to sacrifice much in serving the Lord." (“Policies and Announcements,” Ensign, Apr. 1987, 76).

The policies began to change:

In 1994 the Church clarified the policy again:

The following instructions have been sent to general and local priesthood leaders and stake and ward Primary presidents in English-speaking areas:

Missionaries Speaking in Sacrament Meeting before Their Missions

Leaders and members are reminded of the following statement from the General Handbook of Instructions, page 7-2:

“Bishoprics may honor newly called full-time missionaries by asking them to speak in a sacrament meeting before their departure. The bishopric plans and conducts such meetings and invites those who will participate. Family members of the missionary may offer prayers, present special music, or speak. Talks and music should be worshipful, faith promoting, and gospel oriented. The regular time of the sacrament meeting should not be extended.

“Members and local leaders should avoid practices that may detract from the sacred nature of a mission call or create unnecessary expense, such as holding open houses for missionaries (except for family gatherings), sending [or publishing] formal printed announcements or invitations, printing special programs, or forming reception lines at the meetinghouse after the sacrament meeting.”

Leaders should review these instructions with members in priesthood, Relief Society, and sacrament meetings. Bishops should specifically discuss them with newly called missionaries and their families well before the missionary’s departure date. (“Policies and Announcements,” Ensign, Nov. 1994, 112).

Today there seems to be an inconsistency in missionaries speaking usually the missionary speaks on departing and may or may not speak as they return home. Some wards still have the parents speak while others resist the impulse. When both my daughters went we were not invited to speak whereas we witnessed a couple of other missionaries with family members speaking. It all depends on your relationship with the bishop.

LDS Greatest Missionary of All Times: The Poll

I am conducting some polls to determine the greatest missionary of all times in the LDS Church. Please choose who you think is the top missionary of all times. I will take comments as well as votes then I will compile a list of the top ten vote getters and have a final vote later. As with all lists there might be someone I have missed so let me know what you think. I am missing a picture of Mischa Markow if you have one leave a comment with your email and I will contact you for it. Happy voting!

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Opinion Polls & Market Research

New Exhaustive Collection of Missionary Statements

After twenty years of hard work a new exhaustive collection of missionary statements has been made available for free to those on the Internet. Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord has included all significant quotes by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in one place.

In addition it includes statements from the Missionary Preparation 130 manual and the definitive guide on missionary work Preach My Gospel. Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord has been carefully scrutinized by the copyright department of the LDS Church. Bruce Taggert of Intellectual Reserve has agreed that as far as the LDS Church is concerned the author can post it on his webpage without violating copyright law since it is a private compilation not for profit. However the author encourages users if a person would like to make a donation to the missionary fund as a result of using this great tool..

The compiler produced the compilation as a labor of love under the direction of former LDS president Ezra Taft Benson who encouraged him to do it over twenty years ago. The compiler who also produced the Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson says it is his best compilation to date. There is a vast amount of material that will inspire and motivate people about all aspects of LDS missionary work.

The compiler based the sections on scriptural passages that have missionary themes. It includes over 630 pages of statements by the authorities of the LDS church. The author will compile a second volume to include statements by the Seventy which will take another ten or twenty years. Since the compiler is a bit older now he hopes to complete it before he passes on to the next realm. The book can be accessed on the side bar of the blog Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord. So far nearly 35,000 people have viewed it. The author hopes more people will become familar with this exceptional missionary resource and thousands more will discover it to improve talks, lessons, and missionary activities.

The book is included below:
Prepare Ye The Way of the Lord (632 pp.Book); LDS Prophets and Apostles Speak on Missionary Service

FOREWORD
THE STONE CUT FROM THE MOUNTAIN WITHOUT HANDS
All Will Hear
The Worth of a Soul
Our Message
Purpose of the Work
ARISE AND SHINE FORTH
Mission of the Church
Our Responsibility
Member Missionary Work
Stake and Local Missions
THAT THEY THEMSELVES MAY BE PREPARED
Missionary Preparation
Worthiness
YE ARE CALLED TO THE WORK
Who Should Serve a Mission
The Calling of a Missionary
THE HOUR OF YOUR MISSION IS COME
The Missionary in the Mission Field
TWO BY TWO IN MY NAME
Missionary Companions
Sister Missionaries
Couple Missionaries
I WILL LEAD THEM
Mission Presidents
FIRST SEEK TO OBTAIN MY WORD
Study
Prayer
Language (The Gift of Tongues)
Obedience
Sacrifice
Trials
DECLARE THE TRUTH
Preaching the Gospel
Preaching the First Principles of the Gospel
Preaching by Service
Preaching by Example
Preaching by the Spirit
Preaching With Love
Preaching With The Book of Mormon
GREAT SHALL BE YOUR JOY
Conversion
Missionary Experiences
The Return Missionary
Joy Through Missionary Service

I hope you will have a spiritual blast reading it as I did in compiling this great resource. As new talks are given by the First Presidency and Twelve they will gradually be added to this resource making it a living document.

The Daily Life of An LDS Missionary Slide Show

Now that I have collected all the missionary blog sites in to one place I decided to see if they had some photographs that could chronicle the daily life of missionaries. In addition I looked at every missionary profile on DearElder.Com and MissionSite.Net including the photo areas. I have pulled together what I consider one of the finer photo documentaries in the daily life of an LDS missionary. Most of the missionaries featured are currently still serving a mission. They include sisters, elders, missionary couples, humanitarian missionaries, and mission presidents. It starts from pre-mission up to going home. I have expanded my list of blogs in the last week. Here is a new list of Missionary Blogs:

• We Hope They Call Us On a Mission! (West Indies Mission)
• A Mormon Missionary's Blog
• Elder Craig Anderson (Taiwan Kaohsiung Mission)
• Anziano Greener - Uber - Ciao a tutti
• Zuster Baxter's Dutch Adventures
• Sister Laura Thomas (Portugal Lisbon Mission)
• The Musings of a Merry Missionary (Washington D. C.South)
• Bullocks of Lake Oswego (Guyana)
• Kurt and Linda - Called to Serve in Nigeria (Lagos)
• Anyanghasaeyo (Daejeon Korea Mission)
• Elder Colton's Mission Blog (North Carolina Charlotte Mission)
• Kinghorn's Called to Serve (Ukraine, Donetsk Mission)
• Elder Withers (Peru Trujillo Mission)
• Chas in Cleveland
• Elder Oakford’s Missionary Adventures (Pennsylvania Philadelphia Mission)
• Grandma Chubby's Stuff (Bucharest Romania Mission)
• Durban Mission Blog (South Africa)
• Tanner Williamson (California Fresno Mission)
• Called to Serve in Rio
• Adventures in Africa
• I Hope They Call Me on a Mission
• Acerson Family (Rome Italy Mission)
• Called to Serve (Philadelphia PA Mission)
• THE BEST 2 YEARS (Missionaries from Mesa AZ)
• ITALY ROME MISSION
• Uganda Drum Beat (Uganda-Ethiopia Mission President)
• Mission Tour Starting New Branches
• Elder Argyle's Mission Blog (Latvia Mission)
• Yahoo! 360° - Rafael & Lynette's Missionary Couple Blog (Texas McAllen Mission)
• Elder Brett Hanson (Spain Bilbao Mission)
• West Indies Mission
• Virginia's Mission

I literally went to every blog and extracted what I considered to be the most unique photos and put them in to a slide show. I will keep the slide show on my sidebar as well as in the general post. If you want to see even more missionary photos you will need to check out the missionary sites on my sidebar or check them out at Mormon Blogosphere under Missionary Department. If you want to view Facebook you will need to register for an account and do a search under LDS Missionaries or Mormon Missionaries. I really had a few hours of fun viewing all the missionary photos out there on the Internet. I put them in Photobucket than uploaded them to Slide.Com since you can put an unlimited amount of slides. I like a few hundred for maximum affect. You can go back to the original sources if you wonder who the people are. For the sake of anonymity I am only interested in showing their everyday lives with some interesting shots. I didn't identify each missionary because I just want to give you a glimpse of their every day lives. You will have to go back to the originals if you are curious of who they are. I thank the LDS Church, Intellectual Reserve, Church News, Dear Elder.Com and every day missionaries who post on Word Press, Blogger, Uber, and Facebook for these great pictures. I hope they inspire you as much as they did me. I can't believe how much they like to show baptisms and P-Day antics. I was looking for the whole range in their lives from Pre-Mission up to completion of their missions.

To Be A Good Leader as a Missionary You Must Learn to Be A Good Follower

On 13 September 1994 President Howard W. Hunter gave the first telecast by a president of the church to the full-time missionaries gathered throughout the world from the MTC in Provo, Utah. During this historic broadcast he said:

"You will learn that to be a leader you must first learn to be a good follower. You will never learn the principles of leadership until you learn how to follow them.

You may feel that you know a lot more than your senior companion, but he is your senior companion and you should follow him in righteousness. This is one of the greatest lessons in life: to learn how to follow your district leader and zone leader and especially your mission president."

I wholeheartedly agree that we must all learn to be good followers and learn obedience on our missions and how to follow our leaders. I recently had an email interchange with a mission president that spoke about obedience to a rule. I was impressed that he would follow every rule to the letter. I commended him knowing he must be a good mission president. Mission president have to lead by example. As a librarian I know a lot about following rules. We have rules for everything and procedures. Many times as a missionary I wondered about some of our rules. I heard many missionaries say you can always get forgiveness but you can't always get permission. Now that I look back on that I realize that is a bad attitude to have.

I don't care how long you are a junior companion you need to learn to follow your senior companion. You need to master being the best junior companion you can be. If you want to be a great senior companion you need to learn how to be a great junior companion.

I had a problem with obedience as a missionary which I never was able to overcome. My mission president told me at about my half way point that I would never be a senior companion unless I learned to get along with my companions and I learned the discussions one hundred percent word perfect. I figured he would eventually give me a break but he was deadly serious about it. I ended up a junior companion for two years. I was never a senior companion, district leader or zone leader. I was the companion to a couple of district leaders and for some strange reason a zone leader briefly for a few weeks. I had eleven missionary companions which means I averaged a companion every two months and only repeated companions three times with one missionary named Harry Lodholm. I had companions that lasted one day and none more than my first companion in Italy which was five months at one time.

You don't know what a heavy burden it is to know you aren't leadership material and can't even hack it as a junior companion. I guess my mission president was inspired to never make me a senior companion because the truth of the matter was that I always thought I knew more than my senior companions, district leaders, and zone leaders. I figured how much could a missionary out three months know that was miraculously made my leader when I had been out eighteen months. I wish I had had a photographic memory or had been a cracker-jack memorizer but alas no luck. Hotshot missionaries jumped over me within weeks. It is a humbling experience. I never passed off my discussions one hundred percent word perfect but they became my senior companion. One guy was out three weeks when he became my senior companion.It is a lesson you carry with you your whole adult life when you are passed over for church callings you think back to your mission and know if you had just mastered being an obedient junior companion your ability later in life might have been different. My mission president called me in one day and prophesied to me that my mission would be a mini-life "Whatever you attain on your mission you will attain in life." I figured I would be divorced a dozen times and be an elder until I died. Don't make the mistake I did of kicking against the pricks as Elder Ballard so wisely told me. Follow what President Hunter said and you will have a more pleasant experience. Suck it up and be obedient so that when you are a fifty year old man you won't look back on your mission with regret knowing you just didn't have what it takes to be a good missionary.

Mormon Tabernacle Choir Cuts Album Dedicated to Missionaries

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir's most recent recording is Called to Serve, a missionary themed album. In reading the literature about it stresses their missionary focus. In my earlier post on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as a Missionary Organization I showed the doctrinal basis for my claim. According to the official site:

"This is a must-have CD for any LDS home, especially those with missionaries in the field or missionaries in the making. The music on Called to Serve celebrates the zeal and memories of missionary work and has a wonderful selection of church hymns and music that inspires and lifts in ways that few collections of songs can. From the stirring refrain of the title song—which heralds many missionaries as they start their service—to the tender submission to God's will in "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go" to the fervor of "This Is the Christ" and "I Believe in Christ," this music imbues the heart with enthusiasm for God's work and hope for a brighter tomorrow. The songs clearly resonate with Latter-day Saints, and also appeal to a broader segment of believers who have a love of God and a desire to share that love with their neighbor. "Onward, ever onward... God our strength will be...Called to serve our king." There are fifteen songs: Called to Serve, Redeemer of Israel, I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go, How Firm a Foundation, I Am A Child of God, I Believe in Christ, I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus, Ye Elders of Israel, I Know That My Redeemer Lives, High on the Mountain Top, He Sent His Son, Come, Come Ye Saints, This Is the Christ, God Be With You Till We Meet Again, and The Spirit of God Like a Fire Is Burning.

According to R. Scott Lloyd in the Church News on Saturday, 19 April 2008 "Long known for being, among other things, an adjunct to the Church's missionary effort, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, with its sister organization, the Orchestra at Temple Square, has now released an album that celebrates the grand effort to take the gospel message to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.

Called to Serve" is the latest offering produced on the choir's own recording label. On the occasion of its release, choir officers on April 9 met with representatives of the Missionary Department for a formal presentation of the new CD. Present were Elder Richard G. Hinckley of the Seventy, executive director of the department; and Stephen B. Allen, managing director; choir president Mac Christensen; musical director Mack Wilberg; choir general manager Scott Barrick; and Sheri Dew, president of Deseret Book Co., the choir's distribution partner.

Brother Barrick said Deseret Book will provide copies to mission presidents and that the choir organization is encouraging families to provide copies to their missionary children and missionary couples around the world."

According to Mack Wilberg, the new director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir ""Even missionaries get discouraged at times," he notes. "We wanted to share with them feelings of hope, of pressing forward. We wanted to lift their spirits."

The genesis of this collection was a bit different, says Scott Barrick, executive director of the choir. "Our partners at Deseret Book came to us and said they thought it would be nice to have a project focused on missionary work. Of course, our first focus is the LDS market. There are so many missionaries out there. But there are missionaries of other faiths, as well. Anyone who shares our love of God and our joy in his gospel may be touched by these songs."

What many people don't realize, Wilberg says, is that a lot of the hymns in the LDS songbook are not of LDS origin. Songs such as "Called to Serve," "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go" and "How Firm a Foundation" have all been adopted into the LDS faith." (Carma Wadley, "Music Vital in Bringing Comfort, Church News [Friday, 4 April 2008]: 1).

I just found out about this great album and will be buying it and shipping it out to my daughter on her mission in Italy. It is an acquired taste to learn to appreciate the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I had to force myself on my mission to Canada Toronto (CTM) to listen on my P-Day for about five months. After the tenth time I got to where I could enjoy it. This new CD has some more rousing stuff on it that will get a missionary going including one of my favorites Called to Serve. As missionaries go around on their missions I bet the MoTabs will pop in to their heads.

LDS Church Leaders on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

This is what I found that the LDS General Authorities have said about the Mormon Tabernacle in LDS publications.

On Saturday, January 14, 2006 in the Church News M. Russell said:

"I think it's a healthy thing for us to have great faith in each other and, particularly, to have great faith in the missionary force of the Church. But accidents will occur." He spoke of several members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir who, returning home from a European tour, died when their plane crashed into a Wyoming peak in 1955, an accident that prompted then-Elder Spencer W. Kimball of the Quorum of the Twelve to deliver an address that later was published in booklet form, "Tragedy or Destiny."

In that (address) he made it very, very clear that certain things happen. Accidents will happen. When accidents occur, there is no answer to it. The more you try to understand why, the less it helps you. The thing you have to do, in my judgment, is understand that this was an accident, this was a terrible thing that happened..."

In the November 2003 Ensign Elder M. Russell Ballard said:

"Let me say again that the family is the main target of evil’s attack and must therefore be the main point of our protection and defense. As I said once before, when you stop and think about it from a diabolically tactical point of view, fighting the family makes sense to Satan. When he wants to disrupt the work of the Lord, he doesn’t poison the world’s peanut butter supply, thus bringing the Church’s missionary system to its collective knees. He doesn’t send a plague of laryngitis to afflict the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He doesn’t legislate against green Jell-O and casseroles. When evil wants to strike out and disrupt the essence of God’s work, it attacks the family. It does so by attempting to disregard the law of chastity, to confuse gender, to desensitize violence, to make crude and blasphemous language the norm, and to make immoral and deviant behavior seem like the rule rather than the exception."

In 2000 in a BYU Devotional Address M. Russell Ballard said:

"Beginning in 1930, national attitudes toward members of the Church started to change. We entered a new stage under the leadership of President Heber J. Grant. Radio began carrying throughout the country broadcasts of the Tabernacle Choir. The Church's welfare system received national attention, and the press became more positive than negative.

In the decade of the 1960s, President David O. McKay's slogan "Every member a missionary" became a household theme. As members of the Church responded to President McKay's inspired leadership and counsel, they shared the gospel with more nonmember neighbors and associates. The pace of missionary work accelerated."

In 1999 Virginia Pearce wrote in Majorie Pay Hinckley: Glimpses in to the Life and Heart about her mother's impressions 6 September 1958 the night before the London Temple dedication:

"During the London Temple open house preceding the dedication, we took a day off to spend some time in Preston, a rather gray industrial town north of London where my husband had labored as a young missionary. We were late coming home, and as we got off the bus we walked through the grounds. The sweet strains of the Tabernacle Choir singing "O My Father" were coming from speakers hidden in the huge oak trees. "Lovely, isn't it," my husband said. Lovely?! It was just like walking into heaven! Never before in my life was I so thankful for the gospel as I was at that moment. I didn't wonder anymore why people lined up for two and three blocks to visit this spot. It wasn't to see the beautiful grounds. It was because what they found there was peace and goodwill and the spirit of truth and light."

In the January 1998 Ensign President Thomas S. Monson told this remarkable story:

"Another example is a family in the mission over which I presided, a family by the name of Agnew. They were difficult people to convert. William Agnew, particularly, would not listen to the missionaries, but finally he consented to attend our Sunday School with his wife, three children, and the two missionaries. However, when the missionaries came on Sunday morning to escort the family to the chapel, there had been a little disagreement in their home. Brother Agnew had insisted, “I will not go to the Mormon Sunday School.”

His wife replied, “But you promised, Bill. You promised these young men that you would go.”

“I’m not going, and that’s that!” he said. He became rather angry, but somewhat reluctantly he permitted his wife and children to go to Sunday School. He later told me of the events of that morning. He said, “When my wife and children shut the door and left me alone in the living room, I had nothing good to say about the Mormon faith. I was about as angry a man as one could imagine. I picked up the morning newspaper to see if I could read about the problems of the world and get my mind off religion, but it was to no avail. I kept thinking, my wife and my children have gone to meet with the Mormons. I then went into my daughter Isabel’s bedroom. I thought that perhaps I could turn on the news and hear something different. As I turned on the little radio on her nightstand, what do you think I heard? The Mormon Tabernacle Choir! What message do you think I heard? Richard L. Evans spoke on the subject ‘Let Not the Sun Go Down on Thy Wrath.’ I felt as though the Lord were talking to me personally. I got down upon my knees and promised my Heavenly Father that I would no longer rail against Him—that I would do what these young missionaries had taught me to do.”

When his wife and children returned from Sunday School, they found a new husband and a new father. They couldn’t understand why he was in such a pleasant mood. Finally they asked him what had happened to change his attitude.

He said: “I’ll tell you. I was so upset when you left that I read the paper in an attempt to get my mind off all of you. No success. Then I went to Isabel’s bedroom and turned on the radio to hear the news, and of all things, I heard the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. This man, Richard L. Evans, spoke to me and said, ‘Don’t let the sun go down on thy wrath.’ I felt closer to God at that moment than I have ever felt in my life. I am ready to go with you to the meetings. I am ready to pursue a diligent study with the missionaries.”

Isabel said, “Dad, that’s a wonderful story—-if only it were true.”

Her father said, “Isabel, it’s true.”

She said, “No, Dad. Did you say that you turned on the radio on my nightstand?”

He replied, “That’s the one—the little white one.”

“Dad,” she said, “that radio hasn’t worked for several weeks. I think the tubes are burned out.”

“Isabel,” he said, “that radio works. Come with me.” He led his family into Isabel’s bedroom, walked over to the nightstand next to her bed, and turned on the radio as he had done just one hour earlier, but no sound came forth. That radio did not work! But when our Heavenly Father needed to communicate a message to an honest seeker after truth, that radio not only worked, but it tuned him into the very program and to the very message he needed to bring him to a recognition of the truth. Little wonder that he later became the bishop of that ward. Little wonder that all three of his children are active in the Church and continue to fill positions of responsibility."

In 1996 Carlos Asay formerly of the Seventy said in his book the Seven M's of Missionary Work:

"Another step up the missionary involvement scale is to send materials that will advance the missionary cause-something that any timid soul can do. Send contributions to the Church's general missionary fund. These monies will enable others in underdeveloped countries to serve in missionary callings. Send copies of the Book of Mormon to nonmember friends. The book will teach and convert as it is read and prayed about. Send Church magazine subscriptions to truth-seeking friends. Many people hunger for wholesome reading materials, especially materials that include messages from living prophets. Send names and addresses of friends to the missionaries; it is, however, important that you obtain permission from your friends to submit their names as referrals. Send Tabernacle Choir tapes, Church videos, and other audiovisual items to interested friends. Many times these professional presentations will provide spiritual experiences that lead to conversion. Send, send, send! Each of us has a circle of acquaintances.

Also in 1996 in Howard L. Buddulph's Morning Breaks: Stories of Conversion and Faith in the Former Soviet Union he relates the following story:

"When missionary work was able to commence in Leningrad, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles offered a special prayer of gratitude and rededication in that city on 26 April 1990. In Moscow during the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's tour, Elder Nelson and Elder Dallin H. Oaks went to a park near the Kremlin walls on 25 June 1991, where Elder Nelson offered a blessing on the people of the Soviet Union. On the previous day, 24 June, Elder Oaks and Elder Nelson, accompanied by Elder Hans B. Ringger of the Seventy and president of the Europe Area, had gathered with others in a brief ceremony to bless and dedicate the Republic of Armenia. Elder Oaks offered a prayer in Yerevan, at a site in view of Mount Ararat (see "Two Republics in USSR Are Dedicated," p. 3)."

In the Ensign in August 1994 Kahlil Mehr wrote:

"After a forty-year absence, missionaries reentered Czechoslovakia in May 1990. The Church formally reestablished the Czechoslovakia Prague Mission (now the Czech Republic Prague Mission) on 1 July 1990. In June 1991, a great blessing occurred for the prestige and recognition of the Church in Czechoslovakia. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir came to Prague and sang in a historic opera house. Their concert was televised throughout the nation. A church once required to go underground for survival now was electronically acknowledged nationwide. This significant visit by the Choir helped firmly establish the Church as an important entity worthy of serious consideration by the Czech people."

In the April 1993 Ensign LaRene Gaunt related the following story involving President James E. Faust:

"Another spiritual highlight came two days later in Haifa in the form of an apostolic blessing. The physical and professional demands had been overwhelming for everyone involved with the tour. The following comments of a choir member are representative of similar stresses experienced by others: “Three months of arduous rehearsals, several performances, a dozen broadcasts, personal preparations for the tour, family Christmas activities, and the death of my mother had taken their toll. When I boarded the plane on December 26, I was utterly exhausted. That’s no way to begin a choir tour.” Then after arriving in Israel, the choir had four major rehearsals, including three rehearsals of the Berlioz Requiem (nearly an hour and a half long) and a rehearsal and a performance of the a cappella concert.

Before the choir’s first concert in Haifa, Elder James E. Faust pronounced a blessing upon the group. He blessed them that their bodies would be renewed and that they would have the strength to perform.

“I could physically feel the strength gradually come into me,” says choir member Toni Davis. “By the time we were on the stage, we were there in power. I believe that after you do all you can do, the Lord fills in the rest. When I returned to the hotel, I dropped to my knees and gave thanks to the Lord for the strength, not just the spiritual but also the physical.”

A week later, during a sacrament meeting in Tiberias near the Sea of Galilee, Elder Faust testified of the divinity of the work in which the choir was engaged and pronounced a second apostolic blessing upon them. Echoing the words of Helaman 10:4–5, Elder Faust’s blessing emphasized the Lord’s promise that because “thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed” (Hel. 10:4–5).

In the November 1991 Ensign Russell M. Nelson wrote:

"In June of this year, Sister Nelson and I had the great privilege of accompanying the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on its historic concert tour in Europe. We are grateful to the First Presidency for that assignment. Much has been written regarding the success of the choir and of its favorable influence that will yet continue. Members and friends of the Church worldwide join with me in expressing appreciation to the officers, staff, directors, accompanists, and to all vocalists for their wonderful service. I won’t mention anyone by name; I will simply refer to them all as members of the choir.

I’ll not comment as a music critic would. While musical experts of the world focus on what choir members can do, I would like to focus on what choir members can be. This I do because I witnessed in choir members great examples that can inspire and improve the lives of each of you who honestly strives to emulate the Lord who said, “I am the light; I have set an example for you.” (3 Ne. 18:16; see also John 13:15.) So we should strive to learn from His example—and from the good example of those who love and follow Him.

Members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir are not superhuman. They are ordinary people with ordinary frailties. But therein lies the power of their example. They believe this promise from the Lord: “Because thou hast seen thy weakness, thou shalt be made strong.” (D&C 135:5.)

Before attending their first rehearsal, choir members brought with them not only musical education and talent but qualities of personal righteousness. Before singing to their first audience, they were blessed by another promise from our Savior:

“Ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.” (Alma 17:11.)

Have you not learned that strength comes to an ordinary soul when given an extraordinary calling? The choir has! Indeed, each member seemed to be imbued with a real sense of mission, striving for those ten traits that missionaries are expected to possess and practice:“Faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.” (D&C 4:6.)

Those are attributes the Lord deserves from His disciples. Because each of us is to be “an example of the believers” (1 Tim. 4:12), I would like to address those ten topics as members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir “were our examples” (1 Cor. 10:6) in many memorable ways."

He also said in the same address:

Knowledge is essential to competent service for any missionary. So it was with members of the choir in this tour to eight nations. To communicate more effectively, the choir sang in ten languages! In these times of changing political views, much study was also required to determine which songs should be sung, and which should not be sung.

But their quest for knowledge did not begin or end with music. They eagerly studied the culture, history, and ways of the people they had come to serve. On a moment’s notice their knowledge of the gospel had to be retrieved when questioned by the media or interested individuals.

In these lands that have known so much of hardship and strife, choir members echoed the scriptural hope “that perhaps they might bring [others] to the knowledge of the Lord their God, . . . that they might also be brought to rejoice in the Lord their God, that they might become friendly to one another, and that there should be no more contentions in all the land.” (Mosiah 28:2.)

Members of the choir knew “that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness” (Alma 24:30), lives would never again be the same.

Just think of the good you can do if you accept a difficult challenge and pursue knowledge—then use it to bless others, as did the choir!"

In the December 1991 Ensign Russell M. Nelson wrote:

"In June 1991, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir made its historic concert tour of eight countries of Europe. Included in their itinerary were performances in Warsaw, Poland; Friedrichsdorf, Frankfurt, Dresden, and Berlin, Germany; Budapest, Hungary; Prague, Czechoslovakia; and Moscow and Leningrad in the U.S.S.R. Concerts were also presented in Strasbourg, France; Zurich, Switzerland; and Vienna, Austria. Hearts were touched wherever they sang their beautiful songs of faith and devotion. The impact of this important tour has been well reported in articles appearing in the Ensign. (See Jay M. Todd, Ensign, Oct. 1991, pp. 32–53; and Russell M. Nelson, Ensign, November 1991, pp. 59–61.)

Elder Oaks and I were privileged to join the choir on that significant journey. Upon our return, we reported to President Ezra Taft Benson on 3 July 1991 the success of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s tour. Then we showed him certified copies of documents that attested to full recognition for the Church in the Republic of Russia. We shall never forget his look of joy. That has become one of our most cherished memories shared since our call to the Quorum of the Twelve in 1984."

In the October 1977 Ensign Elder Thomas S. Monson said:

"There is another very significant element of the conversion process. The majority of people do not join the Church after their first exposure to it! Studies show that the average convert has been exposed to some aspect of the Church three or four times. For example, he may hear the Tabernacle Choir; he may know a Latter-day Saint; he may have read something about the Church; he may have attended an open house. This means something vital to all of us engaged in member missionary work—that we should not become disheartened if our first attempt with a person is not successful. Just keep making appropriate and timely exposures of the gospel message. What did Paul say?—“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” (1 Cor. 3:6.) This is an important factor."

In the November 1979 Ensign Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi of the Seventy said:

"I would like to extend our warm and sincere appreciation for the angelic voices of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. During their recent trip to Japan and Korea, they were magnificently accepted by both members and nonmembers. Their wholehearted appreciation can be seen in the excellent comments of the reviews in some of our most important newspapers. I would like to share these comments.

One reviewer wrote: “You could find beauty and the profound sound of completeness or perfection” (Yomiuri Tokyo, 8 Sept. 1979).

Another wrote: “They gave us a taste of the glorious quality and power of music” (Kobe News, 10 Sept. 1979). And still another wrote: “The choir found its way to the depths of our hearts, leaving us with the most indescribable sense of beauty and feeling.” (Kyoto News, 11 Sept. 1979). The president of Chukyo Television, a major sponsor for the trip and of course he is a nonmember, said that the eyes of the choir members were so beautiful and pure that he and his associates were left deeply touched. As our beloved prophet, President Spencer W. Kimball, has told us before, “As we incline our hearts to our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ, we hear a symphony of sweet music sung by heavenly voices proclaiming the gospel of peace” (Ensign, May 1974, p. 46)."

In the May 1979 Ensign N. Eldon Tanner said: " In 1896, about two years before I was born, Mr. R. M. Bryce Thomas from London, England, paid a visit to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he first learned about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Following this visit, and after a thorough and searching investigation into the practices and doctrines of the Church, and a comparison of the teachings of the primitive Church of Jesus Christ which was established by Him, with his own church in England, he subsequently became a baptized member.

On May 24, 1897, in London, England, he penned an article which he entitled, “My Reasons for...Joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” . . .

I found that this people possessed a beautiful Temple and a very fine Tabernacle, with prettily laid out and well cared for grounds; their houses too were neat and picturesque, with nice gardens attached to them, while they could boast of a Tabernacle Choir … , the best that I have ever heard. Everything to do with this people appeared to be most excellently managed and looked after, while their missionaries were preaching the Gospel in most parts of the world, having gone out altogether at their own cost, and at a very great sacrifice of self in all cases. The Church organization of the Saints too appeared to be complete and effective. . . . I therefore decided to secure some of their books, especially the Book of Mormon, in order to learn more of their character and of their doctrines.” (Thomas, first edition, p. 3.)

In the January 1979 Ensign Elder Jacob de Jager of the Seventy wrote:

"We have found that there are “many men, many minds,” and that to reach each one effectively, we must know what kind of mind he has. Since the Holy Ghost already knows, I bear my witness that praying for help and listening carefully is the best way to find out how to approach each person. Here are some of the ways of talking about the gospel that work, as Sister de Jager and I have learned by experience:

The eager person. He has been praying for the truth, and we need merely to testify that we have it. He will usually be more than willing to receive the missionaries. Of course, this kind of person is more rare than those that follow.

The affable person. He is delighted to learn that you are a Mormon. He used to follow the Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcast for many years.

“What a marvelous speaker Richard Evans, the narrator, was!” And in a few minutes, he smiles cordially and excuses himself and is gone. How to proceed? One of the things we try to do is to bear testimony to the unique circumstances that have brought us together, testifying that the Lord has an important message for him about the Church, and get his name and address for the missionaries. We then write him, reminding him of his desire to learn of our message, telling him of our associates who will call upon him. We are not responsible for teaching, just for making the link with the missionaries."

In the November 1978 Ensign Elder Thomas S. Monson told of an experience of Evan Stephens:

"Who can help but be uplifted and inspired just to worship in this historic tabernacle and to listen to this glorious choir?

It has been said that “when Evan Stephens was conductor of the Tabernacle Choir, he was thrilled on one occasion by a sermon delivered by the late President Joseph F. Smith on the subject, [of “The Faith of Latter-day Saint Youth.”] At the close of the service Professor Stephens strolled alone up City Creek Canyon [to the north], pondering the inspired words of the President. Suddenly [the inspiration of heaven] came upon him and seated upon a rock which was standing firm under the pressure of the rushing water, he wrote with a pencil” these words:

Shall the youth of Zion falter
In defending truth and right?
While the enemy assaileth,
Shall [they] shrink or shun the fight?
No!

True to the faith that [their] parents have cherished,
True to the truth for which martyrs have perished,
To God’s command, Soul, heart, and hand,
Faithful and true [they] will ever stand.
(Hymns, no. 157; J. Spencer Cornwall, Stories of Our Mormon Hymns, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1963, p. 173.)

In that early day, I am confident that youth were faced with difficult challenges to meet and vexing problems to solve. Youth is not a time of ease nor of freedom from perplexing questions. It wasn’t then, and it surely isn’t today. In fact, as time passes it seems that the difficulties of youth increase in size and scope. Temptation continues to loom large on life’s horizon. Accounts of violence, theft, drug abuse, and pornography blare forth from the television screen and peer constantly from most daily newspapers. Such examples blur our vision and fault our thinking. Soon assumptions become generally accepted opinions, and all youth everywhere are categorized as “not so good as yesteryear,” or “the worst generation yet.” How wrong are such opinions! How incorrect are such statements!

True, today is a new day with new trials, new troubles, and new temptations, but hundreds of thousands of Latter-day Saint youth strive constantly and serve diligently, true to the faith, as their counterparts of earlier years so nobly did. Because the contrast between good and evil is so stark, the exceptions to the prevailing trends are magnified, observed, and appreciated by decent persons throughout the world."

In the September 1973 Ensign we learn this interesting fact:

"A Church program initiated in 1965 to host visiting dignitaries has now grown so large that two couples, Brother and Sister W. Stanford Wagstaff and Brother and Sister A. Palmer Holt, have been called to assist the Church hostess, Sister Irene E. Staples.

In addition, Sister Phyllis Sandberg has been named chairman in charge of hostesses for the new General Church Office Building.

Sister Staples has hosted many thousands of people since her call eight years ago, and last year she assisted some 22,000 official visitors at Church headquarters.

Many of the European guests to Salt Lake City have been invited to attend the area general conference in Munich in August, as well as special receptions and Tabernacle Choir concerts in Munich, Paris, and London. Sister Staples will be traveling with the choir as she has done on their previous concert tours.

"With the contacts I make here, I send thousands of referrals to the missionaries. I don’t know what happens to all of them, but often I receive reports of people joining the Church because of the work we have done here.”

In the October 1962 General Conference President David O. McKay said:

"This has been one of the greatest conferences, I suppose, that we have ever held in the Church. The music today, as you know, has been furnished by the Tabernacle Choir. We have been inspired by their singing at both sessions today and Saturday morning when their singing was heard by millions. Many radio and television stations have been opened to us because of the singing of this great organization. Their contribution to our missionary work is inestimable. In July of this year, they participated in the first formal world-wide television program by way of Telstar satellite, held at Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota. At this time the choir was seen and heard on television by millions across the ocean in Europe and England in addition to the millions in this country.

In August they made a tour of the Northwest, giving two concerts on August 15th and 16th at the Seattle World's Fair. People from all over the world attended these concerts, and it was reported that the concert hall was so crowded on both nights that many were turned away."

Stephen L. Richards in October 1955 Conference said: "I thank the Lord for the inspiration of this great conference, coming to us from lovely singing, part of which we ave jug listened to, and from the lofty, inspirational messages of our brethren. I humbly pray that I may contribute a little to the appreciation of the great work in which we are engaged and to its advancement in the world. I think the missionary work of the restored Church of our Lord has received major emphasis at this conference. The extended and outstanding labors of our beloved President; the dedication of a European temple with the prospect of others to follow; the history-making tour of the choir over the seas to foreign lands; the organization of new missions on the other side of the world, and the extended visits of existing missions by our brethren of the Twelve, have all served to arrest and focus our attention on missionary work to an extent probably never exceeded in the history of the Church, except perhaps in its early beginning when such a vast propotion of the means and energies of the people were devoted to the carrying of the gospel to foreign lands.

What an encouragement, and what rejoicing this has brought to all those love the Lord's work of the latter days! On every hand are heard expressions indicative of the gratification and joy of the people in these accomplishments. They voice their love for and admiration of the President, their jubilation over the successful trip of the choir, and their expectation of great results to follow."

Stephen L. Richards in the April 1952 Conference said:

Since singing usually begins our public worship, at this point I would like to speak a little of the choirs of the Tabernacle. Here is and has been for over seventy-five years the home of the Tabernacle Choir. I would not venture to say whether the Tabernacle has made the choir or the choir has made the Tabernacle famous. It is sufficient to know that all through the years we have had a great choir in a great setting. As many as sixty years ago the Tabernacle Choir had a national reputation.

Through eisteddfod, its high placement in contest in the World's Fair, and through concerts in big cities, east and west, it early attained renown in musical circles. In recent times, through national and international broadcasts, the Tabernacle Choir and the Spoken Word are household words throughout the land. During its history, both before and after enlarged facilities became available, two aspects of its work have been outstanding and conspicuous: First, the devotion of the members; and next, the excellence of its leadership.

I doubt if any comparable volunteer organization of its size and responsibilities can present as fine a record for as long a time. The Church is and has been for these many years proud of this great organization, and I believe we all feel a lasting debt of gratitude to the great conductors, the great organists and technicians, and the great members of this illustrious organization. I attribute their greatness, in large measure, to the deeply religious fervor which has always actuated them. I know that with their artistic temperaments they have loved to sing, but the consistency of their performance has come out of a sense of conscientious duty and opportunity to serve the Lord and advance his kingdom.

From that sentiment have come some of the great contributions which the choir has made-contribution which breathe the spirit and essence of the latter-day work, contribution which have inspirited the missionary for his work, which have honored and venerated the pioneers who laid the foundations, which have extolled the glory and virtue of Christ our Lord and his honored prophets, and which have brought comfort and solace to the poor, the discouraged and bereaved. Here is a choir which, through the generations, has seen purpose in its work, which has striven steadfastly to advance a great cause, which has made art serve its Author, the Lord of the universe. God bless our Tabernacle Choir, from the beginning through the generations, as an emissary of art and truth in the earth."

In the October 1934 Conference Elder David A. Smith of the Presiding Bishopric said:

"I thank the Lord for the inspiration of this great conference, coming to us from lovely singing, part of which we ave jug listened to, and from the lofty, inspirational messages of our brethren. I humbly pray that I may contribute a little to the appreciation of the great work in which we are engaged and to its advancement in the world. I think the missionary work of the restored Church of our Lord has received major emphasis at this conference. The extended and outstanding labors of our beloved President; the dedication of a European temple with the prospect of others to follow; the history-making tour of the choir over the seas to foreign lands; the organization of new missions on the other side of the world, and the extended visits of existing missions by our brethren of the Twelve, have all served to arrest and focus our attention on missionary work to an extent probably never exceeded in the history of the Church, except perhaps in its early beginning when such a vast proportion of the means and energies of the people were devoted to the carrying of the gospel to foreign lands.

What an encouragement, and what rejoicing this has brought to all those love the Lord's work of the latter days! On every hand are heard expressions indicative of the gratification and joy of the people in these accomplishments. They voice their love for and admiration of the President, their jubilation over the successful trip of the choir, and their expectation of great results to follow. . . .

It was an inspiring sight during that week to see the people come into the great Ford Gardens, two thousand or more at nearly every performance. At night nearly every seat was taken. Several nights every seat was taken, and one night nearly a thousand, as near as I could reckon, sat for more than a half hour in a rain storm to hear the balance of the program.

During the week we were invited to sing on the street in Chicago. We left the hotel where we were staying, in a fleet of Ford cars as the guests of the Ford Motor Company, and were escorted through the streets of Chicago to the plaza between the Daily News and Chicago Civic Opera buildings, where the concert was given. It was a wonderful sight. As far as we could see the streets were filled with people anxious to hear. And as the choir began to sing the windows of the buildings thirty and forty stories high were filled with people. As I stood there and listened I thought of the contrast when about ninety years before our fathers had been driven from a city in Illinois by mob violence, and now we, their children, had returned, and on every hand found the spirit of kindness, and words of encouragement and praise.

It was an inspiring sight during that week to see the people come into the great Ford Gardens, two thousand or more at nearly every performance. At night nearly every seat was taken. Several nights every seat was taken, and one night nearly a thousand, as near as I could reckon, sat for more than a half hour in a rain storm to hear the balance of the program.

During the week we were invited to sing on the street in Chicago. We left the hotel where we were staying, in a fleet of Ford cars as the guests of the Ford Motor Company, and were escorted through the streets of Chicago to the plaza between the Daily News and Chicago Civic Opera buildings, where the concert was given. It was a wonderful sight. As far as we could see the streets were filled with people anxious to hear. And as the choir began to sing the windows of the buildings thirty and forty stories high were filled with people. As I stood there and listened I thought of the contrast when about ninety years before our fathers had been driven from a city in Illinois by mob violence, and now we, their children, had returned, and on every hand found the spirit of kindness, and words of encouragement and praise. . .

We found a friendly attitude wherever we went and came away feeling that we had performed a wonderful missionary service. We had in mind constantly the saying of the Lord: "My soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing on their heads." We wanted a blessing. We felt the Lord was fulfilling his promise upon our heads, and we pray that his blessings shall continue to be upon us, that we may continue to serve him in song, in faith, and in a desire to be worthy of the blessings which he has bestowed upon us and which he has promised to bestow upon us all through our faithfulness."

In the October 1930 Conference President Heber J. Grant said:

"But the real thrill came when I heard the two selections that were rendered by our Choir. I have never heard our sweet singer, Sister Laurinda P. Brewerton, who sang the solo part in "Inflammatus," sing better at any time than she did on that occasion. It seemed to me that she was inspired. I know that the band must have been inspired.

I rejoice in the broadcasting. I repeat the gratitude of the General Authorities to the employers of the members of our Choir who are excused each week in order to participate in this broadcast."

In 1912 in the Improvement Era Heber J. Grant said:

"I say God bless our individual singers and the members of our musical organizations.

I know of no more self-sacrificing and loyal people than those who constitute our choirs, and who are constantly singing at funerals and in our meetings for the benefit of the Saints. Their talents are given freely, and almost without exception without financial reward. I for one appreciate, beyond my ability to tell, the self-sacrificing and loyal devotion of our singers. I wish them God-speed, and there is no blessing too good for these faithful workers. From the bottom of my heart, I pray that the choicest blessings of the Lord may ever attend them, and that they may constantly grow and improve in their art, and that they may also advance in a knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ." (Improvement Era, 15:787).

It was interesting finding out what the General Authorities had to say about the Mormon Tabernacle choir over the years. I hope these quotes are of some interest to you.

Mormon Tabernacle Choir as a Missionary Organization

As I was researching my post on Singing and LDS Missionaries I came across a large body of quotes on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as a missionary organization. I decided to find out what has been said about the group by the General Authorities. I will deal with their history and mission in my first post, statements by the LDS general authorities in my second, in my third post I will discuss actual member missionary work one member is doing and my final post will be about their most recent album Called to Serve.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir has 360 members and represent men and women from many different backgrounds and professions and range in age from 25 to 60.

Under FAQs it says: "As the Latter-day Saints moved west, Church President Brigham Young included musicians among members of the advance parties. Consequently, a small choir first sang for a conference of the Church in the Salt Lake Valley on August 22, 1847, just 29 days after the first group arrived. The origins of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir may be found in the desire and commitment of early converts to include appropriate music in both sacred and secular events. . . . Just west of the temple in Salt Lake City stands the historic Mormon Tabernacle, completed in 1867 after 4 years of construction. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir got its name from the structure, which has been home to the Choir since its earliest years. It is said that Brigham Young suggested the Tabernacle's unusual design after contemplating a hollowed-out eggshell cracked length- wise. Brigham Young wanted the Tabernacle roof to be self- supporting, without pillars or posts to obstruct audience views. (The balcony with its supporting pillars was added later.) Because of its extraordinary acoustics and historical significance, the Tabernacle has been designated both a national historic landmark and a national civil engineering landmark. The Tabernacle's design also accounts for its extraordinary acoustics—another reason the Grammy Award-winning Mormon Tabernacle Choir calls the Tabernacle home." The first leader of the Tabernacle Choir was John Parry.

On 6 April 1892 at the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple Richard Neitzel Holzapfel wrote: "The congregation of thousands followed the clarion sound of the Tabernacle Choir in unitedly singing one of the Church’s most soul-stirring hymns, “The Spirit of God,” first sung at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple fifty-six years earlier and sung at the dedication of every temple since that time. “When the great song, ‘The Spirit of God Like A Fire is Burning’ was sung by the united audience,” wrote Charles Savage, Utah photographer and choir member, “a feeling different thrilled through me from any one I ever experienced. The hosannah shout was something long to be remembered and one I never expect to hear again during my life.” (Charles Roscoe Savage Journal, 6 Apr. 1892, Manuscript Division, BYU Library).

The Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir commenced broadcasting on Tuesday afternoons and have been singing live on radio and later television since 15 July 1929 in a program which became Music and the Spoken Word . For the first three years they were carried over the U.S. NBC network. But a short three years later, the choir did a double switch to Sunday mornings and to CBS. There have been three men that have given sermons on the program: Richard L. Evans, J. Spencer Kinard, and Lloyd D. Newell. They have sang at five different U.S. Presidential inaugurations.

Lisa Ann Jackson wrote: "The broadcast began in the late 1920s with an idea that came to Earl J. Glade, founder and manager of what would become Salt Lake City radio station KSL. It struck him that an emerging technology—network radio signals—could be used for a musical broadcast featuring the Tabernacle Choir and organ. Brother Glade convinced the choir, and the first broadcast aired on 15 July 1929 to 30 stations.

In June 1930 Richard L. Evans was named the official announcer. The broadcast, which started on NBC, was picked up by the CBS Radio Network, which still carries it today. The voice of Brother Evans, who became Elder Evans with his calls to the Seventy and later the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, rang out for 41 years on Music and the Spoken Word. He became a household name, and some not of his faith claimed him as their spiritual leader.

I belong to the Richard L. Evans church,” one elderly gentleman told missionaries who knocked on his door. Robert D. Monson of Ogden, Utah, was one of those elders. “We could not convince him that the church we represented and the church of Richard L. Evans were one and the same,” Brother Monson wrote in a letter to the choir. “After repeated attempts to convince him, we presented him a copy of the Book of Mormon and parted friends.”

Elder Evans’s tenure came to an end with his unexpected passing on a fall night in 1971. His final broadcast had aired just hours before."

Richard L. Evans was instrumental in bringing Music and the Spoken Word to television in 1949 which has continued until today as the longest continuous broadcast of any show in America. They have performed in over 4,000 broadcasts. Music and the Spoken Word is broadcast on 2,000 radio, television, cable, and satellite stations on four continents

Each year the choir goes out on tour and considers that missionary work. Robb Cundick in 2005 shared his touring journal. The On the Road in 2007 Touring Journal is also available.

On Saturday, 2 October 1993 Gerry Avant in the Church News described how the Tabernacle Choir members are called as missionaries:

"Choir members are called not only to sing but also to serve as special missionaries. After they pass strict audition requirements and have been accepted into the choir, they are sent letters calling them to serve in the choir. The letters are similar to the ones issued to full-time missionaries.

Each choir member is set apart as a special music missionary, with the calling to sing to their brothers and sisters everywhere in the world," said Wendell M. Smoot, president of the choir. "These choir members are given the understanding that their membership in the choir does not only involve singing at general conferences, concerts, firesides, broadcasts and other events where the choir participates, but it also includes their personal interfacing in a friendly and positive way with those who are not members of the Church.

"There are people who have a great curiosity about the choir and are willing to talk with one of its singers but who initially might not talk with a full-time missionary.

Choir members help soften hearts. Missionaries find it's much easier to talk with people after they've heard music by the Tabernacle Choir."

Pres. Smoot said that each choir member has cards with his or her name and address and a picture of the choir on the front and information about the Church and choir on the back. Choir members may give these cards and sometimes cassette recordings to the people they meet."The choir members have a particular liking to the souvenir tape we produced several years ago entitled 'Sixteen Favorite Songs and Hymns of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Story of the Restoration,' " Pres. Smoot said. "It is available through Church Distribution and is one of the most popular recordings that we have. Over the years, choir members have given many thousands of cassette recordings of this particular album to people throughout the world. The impact of this one recording upon missionary work probably will never be known-untold numbers have been prepared to receive the gospel message after being touched by the singing of the Tabernacle Choir on this one tape.

"As a result of this type of missionary activity, the choir receives many letters following a choir tour requesting more information about the Church and the choir itself. As a result of these letters, which choirmembers receive almost weekly, it is the responsibility of the choir members to respond and set up a correspondence with these individuals in answering their questions. This is the procedure we follow in most areas of the world. However, in those countries where the Church is not legally recognized, the choir members do not distribute any kind of information about the Church, nor do they engage people in conversations about the Church. This was the case on our concert tour to Israel."

On Saturday, July 7, 2007 Gerry Avant wrote again in the Church News about some missionary activities they perform:

"Musicians on a mission.

That's the best description of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and members of the Orchestra at Temple Square. From June 21 through July 3, their mission field was in one Canadian province and four U.S. states. As is the case with many missionary endeavors, the musicians found their labors challenging and exhausting, but extremely rewarding.

Their tour got off to a rigorous start, calling for four concerts within 24 hours — a performance schedule few other groups would even consider. On three charter planes, they left Salt Lake City on June 21, arriving in Toronto, Ontario, that afternoon. On June 22, they performed matinee and evening concerts in Roy Thomson Hall. About 11 p.m., following the last concert in Toronto, they boarded 11 buses and traveled to Buffalo, N.Y., with some buses arriving between 1-2:30 a.m. . . .Most missionaries are transferred from one area of their mission to another every few months. But these musical missionaries transferred nearly every day....Nearly every missionary returns home with at least one "awesome" experience to share with family and friends. For many on the choir's tour, Ravinia provided some of the highlights. First, the audience broke attendance records for a classical music concert. The covered amphitheater was filled, and several thousand watched the concert from the lawn. Some 10,000 people attended that concert.

Another highlight came at the end of the concert. For an encore number, Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago's Catholic Diocese, stepped on the conductor's podium and led the choir and orchestra in a version of "This Land Is Your Land" modified to include Chicago-area landmarks. . . .

The choir's first tour, he said, was in 1893, when it traveled to Chicago. "And now, in the year 2007, the choir is continuing to fulfill its divine destiny in reaching out, making friends and bringing the Spirit of the Lord into these concert halls."

Mac Christensen, president of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, said, "This tour has touched hearts of people, members and non-members. It has touched people at hotels and along our route as well as at concerts. Wherever the choir has been, we've had missionary experiences. The Spirit was so strong. People have had tears in their eyes. There has been no doubt Heavenly Father was in charge. The tour of 2007 will go down as one of the greatest missionary tools."

The Mormon Tabernacle is a major source of missionary referrals and produces thousands of interested investigators each year for full-time missionaries to teach. Many member also engage in member missionary work in the Salt Lake Valley. In addition that last album released by them had a missionary theme. For over a decade they have been responsible for the conversion of thousands of new converts.