Looking back at 5,000 episodes of 'Music & the Spoken Word’

The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square celebrates a historic milestone on July 13, 2025, when it airs its 5,000th broadcast of “Music & the Spoken Word.” This occasion will commemorate more than nine decades of inspirational sacred music and messages shared with audiences around the world. To discuss this achievement nearly a century in the making, Tabernacle Choir President Michael O. Leavitt and the “voice of the choir,” producer, principal writer and presenter Derrick Porter join the Church News podcast — recorded inside the Tabernacle on Temple Square — to discuss the importance of sacred music. They explore how the choir’s music has touched the lives of members and friends of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worldwide for generations past and will for generations to come. 

The Church News Podcast is a weekly podcast that invites listeners to make a journey of connection with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe. Hosts Jon Ryan Jensen, editor of the Church News, and Church News reporter Mary Richards share unique views of the stories, events, and people who form this international faith. With each episode, listeners are asked to embark on a journey to learn from one another and ponder, “What do I know now?” because of the experience. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.