"You're standing up there in this huge hall and you can look out and see the faces. And when you see them light up, or see someone wipe a tear away, you know you've given them something special," Gehris said. " . . . That's my way of giving a Christmas gift to all of them."

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir by the numbers

What: The Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Who: 360 LDS singers, all volunteers.

When: Choir was formed by Brigham Young in 1847 to boost the spirits of the settlers he led to the Great Salt Lake that year.

Where: The Conference Center at Temple Square in Salt Lake City.

What: Each of the choir's Christmas concerts will fill the Conference Center's 21,000 seats. Live and tape-delayed broadcasts will air on more than 2,000 stations in about 2 dozen countries.

11,623: Pipes in the Tabernacle organ.

75: Performances per year.

10: Presidents who have heard the choir in person.

5: Gold records (500,000 in sales).

2: Platinum records (1 million in sales).

1: Grammy Award, for its 1959 recording of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" with the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra.

1: Emmy Award, for its 1987 "Christmas Sampler," a special with Shirley Verrett. — Associated Press

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On the Net: www.mormontabernaclechoir.org