BOUNTIFUL—The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square’s “Music & the Spoken Word” celebrated the airing of its 5,000th episode on July 13. It was a historic milestone for the choir but it was especially meaningful for a Bountiful woman who was honored during the program. Lela Christensen was recognized as the oldest living person who has been a member of the choir. She sang from 1964-1987. Christensen will turn 99 Aug. 10.

Christensen’s daughter Susan Alldrege also sang in the choir and between them they served for 38 years.

“My first concert was at President Lyndon B. Johnson’s inauguration,” said Christensen. “We sang at all of the inaugurations, Nixon’s and Reagan’s. With Reagan we were on the steps of the Abraham Lincoln memorial. When he came out he parted through the choir and came down to the bottom. The first thing he did was greet us.”

 Christensen said she traveled the world with the choir. “I sang at the pyramids and in Mexico, Europe, Asia, Brazil, Canada and the United States.”

Her first experience with the choir was years before during World War II. “My husband Kurt was a soldier and we got married while he was on leave,” she said. “The next day after we were married we decided to go to Music & the Spoken Word. That was the first time I’d seen it. Little did I ever realize that I would sing in the choir.”

Kurt Christensen also had a memorable experience with the program while serving in Japan. “He heard the broadcast while he was on a carrier,” she said. “They crossed the equator and it was Monday there but he realized it was Sunday here. He was a radar operator and he tried to get the broadcast on. He kept trying and on the seventh bounce they got Music & the Spoken Word.”

It had to be in a specific place to pick that up, she said. “If the ship hadn’t crossed that line it wouldn’t have happened.”

As many other couples during the war, the Christensens married during his leave. “Mom met my dad in high school,” said Alldrege. “They had dated some then he was called out to war. They had talked a little about marriage but when he got leave they decided to get married.”

People were so understanding because of the war, she said. “They only had two to three days to get ready for the wedding. The dress shop opened early so she could get her dress. They had to get the invitations made and out all in one day.”

They had to get a marriage license and the person was locking up the office to go home, Alldrege said. “They asked if he would be able to help them and he did. They ran to the Salt Lake Temple and they were 20 minutes late but they held everything up for them. It was wartime – people understood.”

The next morning after the broadcast Dad had to say goodbye and he left, she said. “(On the ship) the captain saw him scrubbing the deck. When he found out that he’d gotten married he told him to contact his wife because they had another five days in port. So she got on a train and came out to California. When she arrived the captain told them to go spend time together.”

When the ship left she stood on the pier and watched him leave, said Alldrege. “He watched her (until they were out of sight).” Kurt passed away at 96 and they had been married for 75 years.

Christensen wrote a book about her experience with the choir “The Spirit of Music: A Missionary Tool.”

One experience in particular stands out, she said. “I was serving on Temple Square. A man who was a complete atheist came to a broadcast. He was very touched by Music & the Spoken Word.” 

He was crying and confused about how it made him feel, said Christensen. “He came to me and asked about the choir. We talked for a long time about what we believe in. Usually we don’t know the outcome but about a year later I got a letter from him saying that he was baptized and they were going to come back to where it all began.”

Music & the Spoken Word is the world’s longest continuously running network broadcast with more than 6 million people in 50 countries tuning in each week, according to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“‘Music & the Spoken Word’ knows no boundaries in this great world with multiple races and nationalities,” said Church President Russell M. Nelson. “‘Music & the Spoken Word’ is a global resource. Music is the universal language of the Spirit. Music communicates to the heart and soul of individuals in a way that written words cannot duplicate.”