Tabernacle Choir Celebrates 5,000th Music & Spoken Word Episode

On July 13, 2025, The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square celebrated the 5,000th episode of its weekly broadcast "Music & the Spoken Word," marking the longest continuously running network broadcast in history. The milestone event, held at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City with over 11,500 attendees, featured tributes to the program's nearly 100-year legacy and included performances using historic artifacts such as the original baton from the first 1929 broadcast. The program, which began just before the Great Depression, reaches more than 6 million listeners worldwide each week and has provided a source of comfort and unity through many global challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Prominent figures such as choir President Michael O. Leavitt, LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson, and National Association of Broadcasters chair Perry Sook highlighted the broadcast's enduring impact on faith, culture, and community. Former narrators and hosts recalled the program's emotional influence, with anecdotes of listeners whose lives were touched or changed by its messages. The celebration underscored the choir's role as a beacon of peace and inspiration, continuing a tradition of music and spoken word that has resonated globally for nearly a century.