October General Conference: President Nelson Hosts Multicultural Choir

After their long-awaited performance at the Saturday afternoon session of the 191st Semi-Annual General Conference, members of a multicultural choir received a special surprise moment with the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his wife.

At the end of the general conference broadcast, President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, walked up the stairs to the choir gallery to greet and congratulate the choir.

Moments later, when President and Sister Nelson walked away, a wave of arms through the choir moved to wipe away tears.

The unforgettable moment had been in the works for over a year, as the choir was originally selected to perform at general conference in April 2020, but was unable to due to the outbreak of the COVID pandemic -19.

Their big opportunity finally presented itself on Saturday afternoon, and everyone involved said it was a heartwarming and memorable experience.

“It’s not the trip we expected, but it’s amazing,” said Jamie Kalama Wood, the choir director.

What did the Nelson say to the choir?

Wood stood close enough to capture the message and then relayed it to everyone outside the conference center as they gathered for a group photo.

“He asked us how we found this amazing choir and what the auditions should be like,” said Wood, who was swarmed with choir members who wanted a photo with her. “Then he said, ‘They sound just like the Tabernacle Choir,’ which is a wonderful compliment. … What I do know is that I felt such a wonderful spirit from the choir while we were singing.

After taking a group photo outside, the joyful 180-member choir sang short interpretations of “I am a child of God” and “We thank you, O God for a prophet”.

It was an “incredible experience,” said Benny Yamagata, a Latter-day Saint from Los Angeles who sang in the bass section.

“The coming of President Nelson meant the absolute world to us,” he said. “I think this is the start of a new era and the church, one of the multicultural, global churches as opposed to just one focused here in Utah.”

Alisha Moreira, a viola from Cape Verde who now lives in Provo, recalled watching the Tabernacle choir when she was little and having a power cut in the middle of a song or song. a general conference session. Singing with the choir on Saturday, Moreira felt she represented all of her friends and church members back home.

Trent Toone, Deseret News

“They are all with me. It is like an honor and a pride to be here, ”she said.

Tears began to flow as Moreira saw President and Sister Nelson approach the choir.

“I felt honored because he recognized us,” she said. “Saying thank you to him is like saying thank you to the whole world. “

Thom Reed said the experience was hard to describe in words. He was also deeply touched that President and Sister Nelson came to recognize the choir.

“I’m still kind of basking in the spirit of this. It was just an amazing experience to add our voice to the voice of prophets, seers, revelators and our general church officers in a general conference session, ”said Reed. “For many of us, this will be a unique opportunity to do so. It is something that I will cherish, and it has been a great blessing to me.