Every good story contains a valuable message. The banquet after my presentation at The Academy of LDS Dentists Annual Meeting, hosted guest speaker Lloyd Newell. He spoke about the history of the radio broadcast Spoken Word almost in its 90th year! Also, he gave us a preview of his message for that Sundays program about how comparing yourself to others only brings misery.

After dinner, I introduced myself as a fellow storyteller and shared one of my signature stories about how we all make a difference. His personal invitation to attend his storytelling program live on Sunday morning at the Mormon Tabernacle, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Salt Lake City, was my mission (pun intended). It’s open to anyone but the personal request motivated me to get myself up and out early. He read his inspirational message at the dinner, but on Sunday, he didn’t look down at notes once and didn’t utter a word that wasn’t developing the story and its message. Each unnecessary word waters down the impact of the story. Lloyd Newell is a perfect example of the art of storytelling.

The message of the story was enhanced by the music of the tabernacle choir. Impressive. Soulful. Touching. Here is one of their signature songs performed at the end of every Sunday program: God Be with You Till We Meet Again. If you haven’t witnessed this event, the experience is well worth it.

A little trivia about the program participants: Choir members serve a maximum of 20 years or until they reach age 60, after which they must retire so new voices can be welcomed. This rule does not apply to the storyteller/broadcaster Lloyd Newell who has been volunteering in the role for 28 years now, the longest tenured person in this program.

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