The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square’s “Music & the Spoken Word” program on Sunday, April 19, will be a special broadcast airing live on television networks in more than a dozen African countries, reported ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
The episode, titled “The Joy We Share,” will feature music and footage from several countries, including Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe. (See below for the list of stations broadcasting the episode and times.)
“Music is such an important part of how we worship as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” said Elder Isaac K. Morrison, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the Church’s Africa West Area presidency.
“The gospel of Jesus Christ is joyful, hopeful and filled with light,” Elder Morrison added. “The music of the choir is joyful, and we are so excited to be able to share this sacred music with our friends and neighbors across all of Africa. Our hope is that as people listen, they will feel hope, feel peace and feel the love of the Savior in their hearts.”
How to watch the April 19 ‘Music & the Spoken Word’
The special episode will originate from the Salt Lake Tabernacle in downtown Salt Lake City at 9:30 a.m., Mountain Daylight Time. Doors open at 8:15 a.m., and admission is free and open to the public, though seating is limited. It’s recommended those attending in person are 8 and older.
There will be pre-show and post-broadcast performances that will include performances by members of the St. Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and members of the Parleys Creek Branch (Swahili speaking) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It will include brief messages from Church leaders with connections to Africa.
The pre-show begins at 9 a.m., the 30-minute broadcast is at 9:30 a.m., and the post-show is 10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., and all three will be available on Facebook at bit.ly/tabernaclechoir-africa.
This special episode will expand the reach of the program to an anticipated African audience of approximately 8 million people across the continent, reported the announcement. For information on the broadcast, see thetabernaclechoir.org/africa.
The 360-voice Tabernacle Choir and the 200-member orchestra, all of whom are volunteers, present the weekly 30-minute “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast. They celebrated the 5,000th episode in July 2025.
‘Special things are happening in Africa’
Derrick Porter, the executive producer, principal writer and presenter of the weekly “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast, traveled to Africa in January and February and visited Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa; and Harare, Zimbabwe; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; and Lagos, Nigeria.
“This has been a most remarkable trip,” Porter wrote in an email to the Church News. ”We began our journey in South Africa, continuing on to Zimbabwe, then to Kenya, next to Ghana and finally to Nigeria. In each location we had the opportunity to meet with members and friends of the Church, discussing together the power of music.”
In addition to recording the “Spoken Word” to air on April 19, he and the team from Bonneville Distribution, which handles the worldwide distribution of the weekly “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast, met with potential distribution partners, had business meetings with radio and television station officials and conducted TV and radio interviews. Those included being hosted on “The Morning Brief” in Lagos, “The Today Show” in Johannesburg and “GH Today” in Accra.
Currently, “Music & the Spoken Word” is viewed or listened to by more than 700,000 viewers each week in Africa, Porter said.
“Sacred music is powerful because it brings us closer to heaven. When we incorporate sacred music into the habits of our lives, we can feel God’s power. Because of the Holy Ghost, we feel of the music’s witness that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer,” Porter said.
Porter noted that in preparing for the trip, he learned that 169 years ago his fourth-great-grandparents joined the Church in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. “I was able to visit the very spot on the Bushman’s River where they were baptized.”
Porter also participated in devotionals where hundreds attended in Accra, Lagos and Nairobi under the direction of local leaders. He also participated in a home evening night at the University of Zimbabwe and a YSA fireside in Johannesburg.
“It was very evident that special things are happening in Africa. The people are faith-first. They are looking to God,” Porter wrote, adding: “I left Africa feeling greatly inspired. I hope I can be more like these amazing Saints.”
Broadcast in Africa
Live broadcast schedule by station
- TVA-TV (Televisão Africa): Praia, Cape Verde, 2:30 p.m. CVT (Portuguese; also reaches Angola, Mozambique and Guinea)
- GH One: Accra, Ghana, 3:30 p.m. GMT
- Channels Television: Lagos, Nigeria, 4:30 p.m. WAT
- NTV: Nairobi, Kenya. 6:30 p.m. EAT
- NBS: Kampala, Uganda, 6:30 p.m. EAT
- Balaguru TV: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 6:30 p.m. EAT
- Buja Media: Bujumbura, Burundi, 5:30 p.m. CAT
- BT Media: Yaoundé, Cameroon, 4:30 p.m. WAT
- B-One TV: Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, 4:30 p.m. WAT
- DRTV Congo: Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, 4:30 p.m. WAT
- RBA-TV: Kigali, Rwanda, 5:30 p.m. CAT
- Cape Town TV: Cape Town, South Africa (nationwide), 5:30 p.m. SAST
- Channel Ten Plus: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 6:30 p.m. EAT
- ZTN-TV: Harare, Zimbabwe, 5:30 p.m. CAT
Tape-delayed broadcast
- SABC-TV: Johannesburg, South Africa (nationwide + additional African countries) — Sunday, April 26, 2026, at 9 a.m. SAST (one-week tape delay)
To see broadcast information by country or state and city, go to musicandthespokenword.com/viewers-listeners/airing-schedules.
