Since 1929, "Music and the Spoken Word" has blessed the lives of those tuning in to the radio every week. On July 13, the program reached its 5,000th broadcast.
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square director Mack Wilberg, choir president Mike O. Leavitt and "Music and the Spoken Word" announcer Derrick Porter spoke to the press two days before about the program's significant milestone.
“To be not only celebrating the 5,000th broadcast, but these many, many years and to be part of that. It’s a great privilege and an honor,” Wilberg said.
Music and the Spoken Word began broadcasting on July 15, 1929. It has given comfort and hope to people during many major world events, such as the Great Depression and World War II.
“Regardless of what’s been happening in the world, 'Music and the Spoken Word' has been there each and every single week, never missing a single week in the last 5,000 weeks,” Porter said.
The program made the leap to television in 1962 and soon became available through cable and satellite broadcasting. Today, it can be accessed online through YouTube and other social media channels, allowing people from all over the world to be inspired.
Many unique testimonies of the program's impact on individuals around the world were represented in the story told in the 5,000th episode.
One testimony was about a little boy who had been battling cancer since the age of 6 and how the hymn “Consider the Lilies” gave him and his father the strength to say, "I know because of Jesus Christ, I have the ability to do hard things."
With 5,000 episodes and more on the way, the future is bright for the radio program.
“We’re being heard in lots more countries and by larger populations, so we’ll seek to have new offerings to add to what we do and expand the number of people and places where it's heard,” Leavitt said.
"Music and the Spoken Word" broadcasts every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time and is streamed on multiple platforms, including YouTube.