Tabernacle Choir marks historic 5,000th episode of Mormon broadcast program

The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square performed the 5,000th episode of a long-standing Mormon music program on Sunday, marking a monumental milestone since it began nearly 100 years ago.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported in a statement shared with Digital that the “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast was performed at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Over 11,500 people attended.

The program began on July 15, 1929, just months before the Great Depression began.

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The LDS Church said “Music & the Spoken Word” is the longest-running consecutive broadcast of its kind. More than 6 million people listen to the broadcast every week.

Choir volunteer Heidi Swinton noted in a release that the program has weathered multiple calamities over the years, including the Great Depression and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“[The Choir] can be a voice that says, ‘We can do this. We can get through this,’” Swinton said. 

She added, “Ronald Reagan called it ‘America’s Choir,’ and I think it’s because of its longevity, because since the beginning of radio, the Choir has been out there in front heralding the good things that happen and the hard things that happened and saying, ‘Lock arms and we’ll get through this.'”

In the LDS Church statement, 101-year-old Warna Huff said she remembered listening to the first broadcast.

More than 11,500 people gathered to witness the performance at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. (Intellectual Reserve, Inc. / Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

“It was something you don’t forget,” she recalled.

“It just makes you feel something that you need. The music’s beautiful.”

Huff, who was five years old in 1929, also said that she watches the program every week.

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“It just makes you feel good,” the worshiper observed. 

“It just makes you feel something that you need. The music’s beautiful.”

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Russell M. Nelson, president of the LDS church, also recalled listening to early broadcasts.

Seen here, Richard. L. Evans during a broadcast. He hosted “Music & the Spoken Word” from 1930 to 1971. (Intellectual Reserve, Inc. / Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

“I cannot remember life without ‘Music & the Spoken Word,’” the leader recalled. 

“I was born in 1924 … I can remember, as a little boy, listening to Sunday broadcasts.”

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In a statement, the LDS Church called the performance an “unprecedented achievement [that] underscores the weekly program’s enduring legacy and its profound global impact.”

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“Music is the universal language of the Spirit,” Nelson said. “Music communicates to the heart and soul of individuals in a way that written words cannot duplicate.”