by Mike Taylor
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as Mormons) are called as missionaries. Members of the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir and The Orchestra At Temple Square are all volunteer missionaries. They are called to bear their testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, and are blessed in their callings.
My sweet sister, Susan, was a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for twenty years. She volunteered to become a member of that group and traveled the world. Once while the choir was on tour she fell and seriously cut her leg. Elder Russell M. Nelson, a physician who was also an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was on tour with the choir at that time and was able to stitch up the gash. She was able to continue on the tour. She said that she had many spiritual experiences come to her as she sang in the choir.
Susan suffered from multiple sclerosis most of the time that she was in the choir, making attending the practices difficult for her. Her husband always supported her in her efforts to make each practice and performance. I asked her if she would rather have not been in the choir if she could have found a way to share her talent of singing some other way. She calmly replied that the years she volunteered her service in the choir were the some of the best years of her life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4BWhvIlFVE
My uncle Reed served as a volunteer member of the Choir for nearly 30 years. He said of his time on the choir, “Those times were demanding, and I was away from my family often, but the times that I was able to contribute to the mission of the choir were priceless. My family was blessed as I served.”
Additional Resources:
Called To Sing: Tabernacle Choir Members are Musicians Who Have a Mission
Mormon Tabernacle Choir Official Website
Music and the Spoken Word Website
