SALT LAKE CITY, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — It was a historic day Sunday, April 19 as the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square expanded the reach of their weekly broadcast, “Music and the Spoken Word,” to millions across the African continent.
Many network television stations across Africa will now receive the weekly broadcasts of sacred music and inspiration.
“For nearly 100 years, this program has aired weekly from here in the Tabernacle to the world,” said Choir President Michael O. Leavitt prior to the broadcast. “Today’s broadcast will be seen live in prime time in 25 countries in Africa.”
Senior leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, invited guests, and others gathered in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City for the inaugural live broadcast to Africa on the morning of Sunday, April 19, 2026. President D. Todd Christofferson of the First Presidency and Elders David A. Bednar and Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were in the audience.
Church missionaries first arrived in South Africa over 170 years ago.
“As I was preparing for today, as I was reviewing the history of Africa, together with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I marveled to learn and to find that on April 19 — this very day in 1853 — the very first missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stepped off that boat and onto the shores of South Africa in Cape Town,” said Derrick Porter, the executive producer and presenter of the program.
Today, there are around 1 million Latter-day Saints on the African continent.
“African people are God-fearing people. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is growing rapidly in Africa because it connects people with Jesus Christ and focuses on eternal families through temple ordinances and covenants,” explained Elder Edward Dube of the Presidency of the Seventy, who is a native of Zimbabwe.
Choir members from Africa say music is central to African culture.
“Music is a way of worship,” Elder Dube said. “It is the song of the heart. He loves us. We are His children.”
Members of the St. Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Parkley’s Creek Branch (Swahili-speaking) provided music before and after the special broadcast.
The special episode, titled “The Joy We Share,” aired on television networks across the African continent.
“My message really is finding joy through Jesus Christ,” Elder Dube said.
President Leavitt said the broadcast reached millions of people in 25 African countries.
About the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square is a world-renowned, 360-member, all-volunteer choir known for its weekly broadcast, “Music and the Spoken Word,” which has aired more than 5,000 episodes. Now in its 97th year, the program is the longest-running continuous network broadcast in history.
The Orchestra at Temple Square is a 200-member, all-volunteer symphony orchestra organized in 1999 to accompany The Tabernacle Choir and its affiliated ensembles. Together, the Choir and Orchestra share their music and faith with audiences worldwide.
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