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Gladys Knight and the Saints Unified Voices Choir
 In 1997 Motown legend Gladys Knight became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Since that time, she has taken up the charge to share the gospel through her inspiring musical talents. The Church’s admiration of worship through song has always been apparent, but Gladys Knight and her new choir, the Saints Unified Voices, are singing praises that might surprise you, and might just push you to your feet!
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"I know why I sing. At first I thought it was just to entertain. But now I know this gift from God is a platform from which I am to share His gospel."
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Gospel music and modified Church hymns are not the sort of music most members of the Church are accustomed to hearing inside our chapels at Sunday firesides. But that changed ever since renowned singer and entertainer Gladys Knight first directed her newly formed LDS choir at the
Las Vegas
Green
Valley
stake center in 2002, which was filled to capacity with Church members and their friends.
That night she turned a traditionally conservative mood into a toe-tapping, hand-clapping, arm-swaying celebration praising Jesus Christ through music.
“At first, the audience held back, looking around and wondering if this kind of response was allowed,” says choir member Elaine Christensen. “But it didn’t take long for them to get caught up in the spirit of the music.”
Since its debut, the Saints Unified Voices (SUV) directed by Gladys Knight continues to present an extraordinary adventure of music and spoken words reflective of the cultural diversity of our worldwide Church.
What an effective platform for sharing the gospel! People who wouldn’t otherwise enter an LDS church are overfilling the chapels and cultural halls just to experience an evening with Gladys Knight and her choir.
According to President Ivan Holland of the Las Vegas Nevada Anthem Stake, which hosted the choir’s fireside in April, about five hundred copies of the Book of Mormon and two hundred Church videos were distributed in one night. “I can’t think of any event our stake could host that would bring in as many visitors as Gladys Knight’s choir,” says President Holland.
Currently, the SUV Choir, as the members affectionately call themselves, has more than one hundred volunteers from several cultural backgrounds who reside in the Las Vegas area where the choir is headquartered. A few commute from
California
and some travel from
Utah
to every rehearsal and performance.
“It’s worth the commute just to sing with Gladys and the choir members,” says Damon Andelin, who lives in
St. George
,
Utah
.
“It’s an honor for me.”
As a musician from childhood, Gladys Knight’s mother always told her that God had given her a musical gift to share. After her baptism into the Church in 1997, joining through the example and influence of her son and daughter and their families, Gladys realized that God had a larger purpose for her gift and she uses it to do the Lord’s work.
“I know why I sing,” she says. “At first I thought it was just to entertain. But now I know this gift from God is a platform from which I am to share His gospel.”
>> View the Complete Article Here
By Cheryl Stewart Osborn LDSLiving Magazine Jan/Feb Issue
>> Click Here for Information about LDS Living Magazine
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