Today I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Layton Utah Music Workshop that was put on by all the stakes in Layton, Utah. There were classes all day to choose from and I was richly blessed by attending. The keynote speaker at the opening session was the former director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Craig Jessop. What a wonderful, funny, and humble man!
In his talk, he told the story of what happened with the Choir on September 11, 2001. They were scheduled to perform in the Tabernacle and when he heard about the attacks, he called President Hinckley and asked what he should do. President Hinckley said he would speak with the brethren and get back with him. He called 30 minutes later and asked if they could perform a memorial concert. Brother Jessop said he only had one answer when speaking with the Prophet and that was, “Yes, of course President”. :) So, they pulled together a memorial concert and performed it that night. Brother Jessop said that as the choir sang “America the Beautiful” he could see tears streaming down the faces of the choir members and he didn’t know how on earth they were actually singing as well as they were, other than they obviously had angels helping them. I guess they normally conclude their concerts with “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” but felt it was too ‘upbeat’ for such a time so they skipped it. When they had performed their last number, nobody in the congregation moved. After several minutes of silence, President Hinckley motioned for Brother Jessop and whispered to him, “Do the Battle Hymn”. So they did. When they finished singing, nobody moved. They then decided to sing “God Be With You Til We Meet Again” and finally, people started to leave, but hung around Temple Square hugging, weeping, and consoling each other.
As Brother Jessop was telling this story, I saw many, many people around me wiping their eyes. Even 9 years later, I know the memories of the events of 9/11 are still tender on the hearts of the American people. I clearly remember being in my first semester of college. I heard the news story of the first plane crash on my way to my first class. At that time, everyone thought it was a freak accident. While walking to my next class about an hour later people were gathered around the TVs in the building and I stopped to watch the reports of the second plane. It was then that I realized something was terribly wrong. They announced that classes were cancelled and I drove home listening to news radio and then sat in front of my TV all day and into the night. And to learn about the Pentagon and Flight 93….it was overwhelming. The images of the planes going into the towers, the people jumping out of windows, the people running from the dust cloud as it rushed down the streets, the dirty faces of the rescuers and normal people like me. Most of all, I remember the feeling the next day. A spirit of camaraderie and togetherness like I’ve never felt before.
I love this country. My heart breaks for the families of those who were killed. I am so proud and honored to call America my home and pray that we will move in the direction that makes the Lord happy so that we can continue to receive the blessings of this great land.
After seeing all the people who were clearly touched today while remembering this anniversary, it has reminded me that we will never forget and never stop fighting for what we know is right.
God Bless America.
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