The Tabernacle Choir Blog

How a Trip to Temple Square and a Choir Recording Changed their Life

An article from Ensign magazine details an experience from the life of Thor and Solvor Torgersen of Hosle, Norway. Thor and Solvor were in the United States for business and chose to visit various sites after completing their business responsibilities. Salt Lake City was on the list of desired destinations—the couple was eager to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. An excerpt from the article is below:

    Thinking that the Tabernacle Choir rehearsed on Friday nights, the Torgersens     flew to Salt Lake City on a Friday evening—their last night in the United States.     “We quickly rented a car and drove to Temple Square,” recalls Thor. “We hurried     to the Tabernacle, but no one was there.” The door was locked!

    “It was late, but we started knocking,” says Thor. “Actually, we started banging on     the door. For some reason, we felt we had to get inside.”

    Fortunately, someone inside heard the persistent banging. Elder Wilmer Taylor, a     Temple Square missionary, kindly invited the couple in and showed them around     the empty tabernacle. He also explained that the choir rehearsed on Thursdays,     not Fridays.

    “We can’t wait until next Thursday!” Solvor pleaded. “Our plane leaves for Norway     tomorrow, and we have come all this way just to hear the choir!”

    Elder Taylor offered to return the next morning and take them on a tour of Temple     Square; the Torgersens agreed. On that crisp fall morning, they heard for the     first     time about the temple, the Prophet Joseph Smith, the angel Moroni, and     the Book of Mormon.

    They concluded the tour in the Tabernacle and were about to leave when a choir     recording of “God Be with You Till We Meet Again” began to play. “I sat down and     started crying,” recalls Solvor. “I couldn’t stop. Thor attributed my strange     behavior to being overcome by beautiful music, but I didn’t tell him what really     happened, because I couldn’t speak.”

Click here to read the full article »

The Choir's Thursday rehearsal continues to be open to the public. Additionally, the Choir's weekly Music & the Spoken Word broadcast is open to the public each Sunday morning.

Click here for a guide to attending the rehearsal and broadcast »