MESSAGES FROM MUSIC AND THE SPOKEN WORD, by Richard L. Evans, J. Spencer Kinard and Lloyd D. Newell, Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Shadow Mountain Press, 356 pages, $21.95.
To help commemorate 75 years of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's continuous network broadcasting — a world record — Shadow Mountain, an emblem of Deseret Book, has joined the choir in reprinting 140 selected messages given over nearly 4,000 broadcasts.
"Messages from Music and the Spoken Word" features the three men who have delivered "The Spoken Word," Richard L. Evans, J. Spencer Kinard and Lloyd D. Newell. Additionally, the book includes an audio CD of 10 notable messages from actual broadcasts given from 1940-2002.
The first broadcast was Monday, July 15, 1929, when 19-year-old Ted Kimball climbed a ladder to speak into a borrowed microphone and announce the musical numbers to be performed by the choir. Anthony Lund conducted the choir and Edward P. Kimball, Ted's father, was at the organ.
Since then, the broadcast has continued in popularity and astounding consistency, with only three men delivering the Spoken Word, which were always short, non-denominational and encouraging.
Richard L. Evans became a living legend during his 41 years as the announcer, writer and producer of "Music and the Spoken Word." His closing words continue on the program today — "Again we leave you from within the shadows of the everlasting hills. May peace be with you this day and always."
Evans, whose rich bass voice was perhaps unparalleled in its quality, was called during his service with the choir to become an LDS apostle, but he continued his tenure with the choir. His unique gift with words made the message almost as anticipated as the choir's music. He died much too young, at 65 in 1971, after suffering from a viral infection. In his final broadcast, Evans said: "There are times when we feel that we can't endure — that we can't face what's ahead of us, that we can't carry the heavy load. But these times come and go … and in the low times we have to endure; we have to hold on until the shadows brighten, until the load lifts …. There is more built-in strength in all of us than we sometimes suppose."
This was one of more than 2,000 sermonettes Evans wrote and delivered during those magical years. Although some speculated that Evans' successor would also be an LDS apostle, thus continuing the unique prestige of the messages, that was not the case. Both Kinard and Newell were chosen by an audition process.
Although Evans' work dominates this book, and justly so, there are also samples also of Kinard, who served 18 years, and Newell who began his service in 1990 and continues today.
During Kinard's tenure, other writers were invited to contribute scripts on a rotating basis, and that process continues today. The role these announcers have played has consistently been on a volunteer basis, without remuneration. The volume would have been better had the publishers included the names and backgrounds of the additional writers who have contributed to the broadcast for approximately 30 years.
Still, for anyone who has followed and revered the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, this book will be a treasured addition.
E-MAIL: dennis@desnews.com