A special guest from South Africa joined her voice with Mormon Tabernacle Choir members in their Thursday rehearsal before the October general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Roma Thompson, a producer for the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), practiced with the Choir many of the songs performed on Sunday’s Music & the Spoken Word broadcast.

Thompson sang for the majority of the rehearsal and enjoyed rubbing shoulders with members of the Choir. She said she loves singing and that “it was such a privilege to sing, very quietly, so I would not disturb anybody.”

Thompson said she was overwhelmed just knowing she would experience the Choir in person, let alone be part of its signature sound for an entire evening.

“When I watch the program now in the future, it’s going to have fuller meaning to me. . . . My expectations were far exceeded.”

During her visit, Thompson also attended the live broadcast of Music & the Spoken Word in the Conference Center, where she was a guest in the control room to witness the ins and outs of broadcasting such an iconic program. The icing on the cake was having a personal visit with the Choir’s announcer, Lloyd Newell.

SABC had broadcast Music & the Spoken Word for a number of years, but then it was dropped from the programming. Thompson, who has worked at SABC for nearly 40 years, was crucial in bringing the program back to South Africa a few years ago, where it has enjoyed a warm reception with viewers. She currently is the Commissioning Editor in SABC's Religious Department.

Now with so many of her dreams relative to the Choir fulfilled, she says she has one remaining wish: to hear the Choir perform live in South Africa.