Since he was about seven years old, Spencer Knutti has watched for his “his lady” during general conference from his home in northern Virginia. “His lady” is a member of The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square whom Spencer always looks forward to seeing on the TV, even though he has no connection to her.
When his parents asked young Spencer why he always watched for that particular singer he simply replied, “I don’t know. She just looks really nice, like she would make me snickerdoodles.”
As he grew up, Spencer watched for the singer at each general conference. But then the family couldn’t find her during the October 2023 conference, and she was likewise nowhere to be seen in the annual Christmas concert.
The family wondered if she had retired. As a surprise for Spencer, his parents decided to see if they could try and get in contact with her. They thought Spencer, who was away from home attending college in north Texas, might appreciate hearing from her.
A friend was able to identify the singer as Glenna Bradford and provided her email address. The Knuttis sent Glenna a message wishing her well and explaining what Spencer had said about her all those years ago.
About a month later, Glenna emailed back and said, “There’s a package on the way, please forward it to Spencer.”
Spencer’s parents sent the package to him and told him not to open it until he could be on FaceTime with them.
“I had no idea what was going on because [my parents] said they knew who it was from, but they wouldn’t tell me,” Spencer remembers. With his parents watching, Spencer opened the package to find a note and a bunch of snickerdoodle cookies, each one in an individual Ziploc bag.
Still confused, Spencer skimmed the note. When he saw it was signed “Your lady, Glenna” everything clicked—this was from The Tabernacle Choir singer he had always watched.
“I had no words. I was so surprised. And so just overjoyed and taken aback that, you know, this random lady that I’ve been watching on TV all my life also knows who I am now, and sent me cookies,” Spencer says. “And they were really good cookies too.”
And while a box of cookies could be seen as a relatively simple gesture, for Tabernacle Choir member Glenna, sending it represents something more significant.
“This experience really was kind of the fulfillment of a blessing I was given when I was set apart [as a musical missionary],” Glenna says. “One thing [I was] blessed with is that others would see my face and be turned to Christ. … And when I got this letter from Spencer’s parents, it kept tugging at my heart. … I sent those cookies because it felt like it was the Lord speaking directly to me saying, ‘See, I love you. And I’ve taken care of you and I’ve accepted your service and your sacrifice.’ And that is a sacred thing for me.”
For the 13 years that Glenna was in the choir, she traveled nearly a hundred miles from her home near the Idaho border to Temple Square a minimum of twice a week to attend rehearsals. And while it was a sacrifice, Glenna also says, “That choir saved my life in so many ways,” including after her son and only child passed away.
For Spencer, receiving Glenna’s note and cookies was a special experience for another reason.
“I felt connected with her in a way that I didn't necessarily realize. A lot of what she was talking about in the note that she wrote was how meaningful serving in that choir has been for her as a musician,” Spencer says. “She shared that music has been an avenue for her to be able to communicate more complex feelings and emotions than she can really put into words. And that’s something that I feel very similarly to, and that’s part of the reason I’m at school for music. And why I want to be a music teacher [to] spread the love, spread the joy.”
Glenna and Spencer have continued to communicate through email and text. And as their friendship goes on, Spencer’s mom, Cheryl, is grateful someone would show such love to her son.
“What kind of woman does this? The most beautiful, kind type of person does this,” she says. “We knew he would love it; we knew he would be so touched. … And it was just such a delight for us to have someone be so kind to Spencer.”
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