Circle completed in Winter Quarters for Tabernacle Choir

OMAHA, NEB. — Mormon pioneers sang as they crossed the plains after their exodus from Nauvoo. The songs lifted spirits, helped renew courage and generally provided a distraction from the rigors of their journey.

__IMAGE1__Members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square are following in the footsteps of their pioneer ancestors, literal and spiritual progenitors who trekked westward to \"find the place which God hath prepared.\"

On tour in several Central and Midwestern states, the choir includes \"Come, Come, Ye Saints\" in its concert program. With its performance in Omaha's Holland Performing Arts Center Tuesday evening, June 23, a circle seemed completed.

It was near here, while camped at Locust Creek in April 1846, that Englishman pioneer William Clayton, upon hearing news that his wife, Diantha Farr Clayton, whom he had left behind in Nauvoo, had given birth to a son. In an expression of joy, he wrote the words of the now-famous hymn set to an English tune.

Nebraska Omaha Mission President Jan E. Newman will finish his tenure the first of July. Having the Tabernacle Choir perform in Omaha and visit the Mormon Trails Center at Winter Quarters is a great send-off, he said.

\"This is a sacred area,\" he said. \"It is probably one of the more sacred sites in church history. Across the street are the Omaha Nebraska Temple and the Mormon Pioneer Cemetery.

\"To have the Mormon Tabernacle Choir come here adds to the sacredness and holiness of this place.\"

See the full story on ldschurchnews.com.

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This story is provided by the LDS Church News, an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is produced weekly by the Deseret News.