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Show Labor Of Love of the increased love they have for one another. Brother and Sister Jordan Hettinger report that their entire lives have been changed. Says Sister Hettinger: "I was having physical and emotional prob lems to the point of breakdown, and though we were getting medical help and counseling through the church, family agencies and a psychiatrist, I still had nothing to hold on to. I had completely isolated myself. But with urging from my husband and friends, I consented to come to choir. Making the effort and sacrifice has given me confidence and purpose. It was the only plate she would go at ail, explains Lou (Mrs. Mitchell) Erkelens, a neighbor at Fairchild Air aud tell Continued from Page 4 has renewed my spirit! Hie stories of the heights of inspira- tion, the ultimate in spirituality, person al growth and fulfillment continue to pour forth after every offering. As tears well up in their own throats singing the melodious strains of the Mormon hymns, choristers can also witness the tears in the eyes of their audiences, and they know their message of the gospel is getting through. Inc dents connected with the choir continually amaze members with the mysteries of how the Lords hands work through diem to touch the lives of both gentiles and church members alike. When the choir first began, and Sister Laura (Mrs. David) Cooper was given the list of potential members to call, she came upon an unfamiliar name. The woman on die other end of the telephone knew nothing of choirs and singing. She was not a Mormon, but listened, and at the end of the conversation requested the missionaries to call. Where or why her name came to be on die hst, no one has yet discovered At the very first performance at Expo, a woman came to tell Sister Brett of the beauty of the music. Since then, her family have been regular church i- Ronald D. Rankin, who handled public relations for church exposition at Expo 74, shows Irina Popova, USSR press attache, a display Public Relations Director Force Base near Spokane, where Brother Hettinger is a civilian medical technician. She was completely withdrawn within herself. But now she, like all of us, anticipates each concert and practice session with joy, he said. Members of the Colville, Wash., ward have driven over 200 miles round trip from the Canadian border each week to make the practices, hut not one would give up these and the performances which have been scheduled as often as four times a week through the summer. attenders. At a funeral this past summer, a gnarled old man proclaimed his inspiration and, moved by the music, said he wanted to know more about the church. copies of the Book of Mormon seemed available, but rummaging finally uncovered the bishops own worn copy which the man tucked gratefully under his arm, murmuring his thanks. As testimony to the musical exceln lence of die group, a fairly group of black entertainers at the fair took time off from their own performing schedule to listen to the hymns of inspiration during a July performance. one We have all your records, declared, and choir members smiled, No Ron Rankin Found A Much Better Life COVER D'ALENE. IDAHO Ronald D. Rankin, public relations director of the churchs pavilion at Lxpo 74, is a man with a strong testimony of the gospel. The Rankin family moved to Couer d'Alene nine years ago from La Habra. Calif, to get off the tread mill. In California. Brother Rankin had worked in public relations and sales, had headed a tool firm, directed a Chamber of Commerce among other positions, and had directed the political campaign o! a presidential aspirant. Now; I'm in labor work sawing iogs. planting trees, slashing, snagging for a dead timber and felling lumber iiving and loving every minute of it." said Brother Rankin. He was called last spring to direct the public relations at the churcli exposition at Expo. 74 at Spokane, Wash., about 30 miles away. Since then he has donated countless hours to that work. He laughed as he recalled one of the first thingsihe diditer. moving to northern Idaho,' I remenroered, the. .crowded , smog gy freeways t soherntifornia, and commuting to work ia theffnorning and fighting the traffic in tne evening. . When we got up here they had finished tho freeway from Couer dAlene to Spokane, and it wasnt too heavily traveled. I went out with my wife one early Sunday morning, sat down in the middle of the deserted freeway and opened the Sunday paper as though reading it. I had my wife take a picture, and then sent copies to friends in southern California, he said. A likable person, Brother Rankin made friends with many of the workers in foreign pavilions at Expo, and told them of the church and the gospel plan. He first encountered the church in Anaheim, Calif., in 1960, when the missionaries knocked on the Rankin front door. Both my wife and I were Protestants, but not active. We felt our but not us. children needed religion We had been going to various churches, trying in some way to find what we wanted. "I told my wife that we had tried everything but the Mennonites and the Mormons. I didnt want to grow a beard, and we were sure the Mormons weren't Christian because they had their own bible. I hadnt finished talking over five minutes when the doorbell rang, and two missionaries stood at the door and Continued on page 12 well-know- knowing they had the supreme compliment being mistaken for the famed Mormon Tabernacle Choir. too, sing in the choir. One, Bob Ward, proclaims, I have a spiritual testimony that this is the true church, but he adds that he must overcome an intellectual block before he can truly convert. He explains that he joined the choir because of its excellence and because of Sister Brett, who has a reputation of being one of the citys most outstanding musicians. He had sung for years in another church, but now attends Spokane Ninth Ward regularly, praising his member friends and affirming the many blessings hes received from the associas, tion. He was in critical condition following an automobile accident this past summer. Priesthood members of the choir administered to him in the hospital, and he believes his miraculous recovery, with no scarring at all, was due to the members concern and prayers which came to him because of his participation in the choir. More than one family has been saved through this musical service to their church. Many couples attend together . It has brought us closer together, and we have grown to love one another, traveling back and forth as we do, said Sister Marlene (Mrs, Martin) Thompson. It's also been a musical education, and weve taken our knowledge back to our ward choir, which we seldom miss participating in." Most choir members agree that the primary source of their own inspiration and excellence has been their director. Sister Brett, and without exception every member believes he or she is honored to sing under her tutelage. They believe her to be among the finest choral directors in the church. The concentration of the group at rehearsals as every eye is glued upon the director is sharply contrasted by the camaraderie they engage in during their breaks. Equal to Mrs. Bretts direction is the accompaniment of Sister Cynthia (Mrs. Byron) Powell and the work of other officers including Sister Joyce (Mrs. Robert) Cloward, secretary, and Roger Reed, president. The choir was first formed from a nucleus of a sporadic stake choir which sang for conferences and general meetings beginning seven years ago. It added members from 15 wards in two stakes to become 130 voices strong. Although most have extensive musi cal backgrounds and there are many solo voices among them, some only discovered they could sing after they met Sister Brett. The power to save skill, talent and genius from going to waste is as near to Divine wisdom as anything we are likely to know in this world, says Elder LeGrarsd Richards of the Oohnfcil of the Twelve in his book, A Marvelous Work i a and a Wonder; Sister Brett and the Spokane Mormon Expo Choir members have that gift NG NOVEMBER 9, 1974 CHURCH 5 |
