Ann Lewis Homecoming Talk
Europe Central Area Mission
9 March 2025
As I thought and prayed about what sort of message to share today, out of the blue, the title of a book of essays I read years ago by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich and Emma Lou Thayne came into my mind. It was called “All God’s Critters Got a Place in the Choir.”
I don’t remember the particular content of the essay the book is named for, but I’m sure it had something to do with the thought that we are all important and we are all needed because each of us speaks with a different voice.
This line comes from a song written by Bill Staines and the first stanzas go like this:
All God’s creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
Some just clap their hands or paws, or anything they’ve got now
Listen to the top where the little bird sings
On the melodies and the high notes ringing
And the hoot owl cries over everything
And the blackbird disagrees
Singing in the nighttime, singing in the day
When little duck quacks and he’s on his way
And the otter hasn’t got much to say
And the porcupine talks to himself
This song continues through the animal kingdom, describing how each contributes to the choir in it’s own special way.
John and I have just returned from an 18 month choir trip in the Central Europe Area. I don’t have a fancy voice, but I have a voice, and I was able to use my voice in some interesting and significant ways–quite a miracle, actually.
Today I want to talk a bit about our individual voices, and how we are all part of a really important choir.
When we served in Washington a few years ago, one of my favorite messages to our missionaries came from the booklet;
Adjusting to Missionary Life p. 18
Serve from your strengths. Make a list of your strengths, talents, and spiritual gifts. Your strengths are part of the Lord’s storehouse, from which He draws to bless His children and build His kingdom. A crucial part of your mission is to cultivate your gifts and consecrate your strengths to help others come to Christ. Focus more on what you do well than on what you do wrong. Plan ways each week to develop and use your gifts to serve and bless others. (See D&C 82:18–19.)
I LOVE this counsel. It’s usually hard for us to say out loud what we are good at, but it’s important that we think about our own specific gifts and talents so we can figure out how to use them.
Heavenly Father created us. He gave us what we have. He made us who we are. He wants us to use our gifts to help or succor others.
King Benjamin, Mosiah 2:34; 4:16:
Ye are eternally indebted to your Heavenly Father to render to him all that you have and are.
And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need;
He’s pretty specific that what we have and who we are is important. And there are people who need those very things–not in general, but specifically from YOU.
Our job is to figure out our gifts and how we can use them. Our job is also to notice gifts others have and appreciate them, compliment them and praise them. Miracles happen as we combine our gifts, talents and strengths to bless our families, our companionships, our ward family, our neighborhoods, and the Kingdom of God on earth.
I get the feeling that Heavenly Father loves puzzles and putting pieces or people together. He forms choirs, he puts us in Friendships, Families or Wards or Missions because we have different voices and we are better together than we are by ourselves. Some sing high on the telephone wire, others sing low and some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they’ve got.
Are you paying attention to what voice you bring to the choir?
Have you ever made a list of YOUR strengths, gifts, talents and interests?
Your Patriarchal Blessing will give you some ideas. Your mom or dad, friends, or spouse could probably suggest things they’ve noticed that you’re good at.
Go home today and start your list. Add to it as you think of things you enjoy doing that you’re good at. Then plan ways each week to develop and use your gifts to serve and bless others in ways that bring them to Christ.
Your plans might include ways of ministering here in the ward or in your family. They might even focus on family members beyond the veil. They might include missionary service at home or abroad.
Did you know you can go to the Missionary Portal and shop for service opportunities that match your interests? It’s really fun! You should try it!
As we served in the Central Europe Area, I found it quite remarkable that things on my list matched specific jobs that needed to be done there. I was needed to write articles and edit documents. I was a photographer. I created social media content. We got to speak German and serve in a small German branch. John and I got to serve and help our fellow missionaries, many of whom had never served missions before. And I got to spend my evenings doing German Family History research and temple work. The things we did were things we loved to do.
God blesses us with gifts. These gifts not only bless OUR lives, but they are primarily given to bless OTHERS’ lives. And they provide us with means and abilities to give back (we are so blessed).
I love this thought from Albert Einstein (very much like King Benjamin):
“Strange our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of others. . . for countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy.
“Many times a day, I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of other people, both living and dead and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received and am still receiving.”
Your gifts are valuable and needed in the Kingdom of God on earth.
Elder Henry D. Moyle
“I have a conviction deep down in my heart that we are exactly what we should be, each one of us. . . . I have convinced myself that we all have those peculiar attributes, characteristics, and abilities which are essential for us to possess in order that we may fulfil the full purpose of our creation here upon the earth. . . .
” . . . that allotment which has come to us from God is a sacred allotment. It is something of which we should be proud, each one of us in our own right, and not wish that we had somebody else’s allotment. Our greatest success comes from being ourselves” (Improvement Era, December 1952, 934).
And, I might add, our greatest joy comes from participating in the choir, in fulfilling the measure of our creations, in adding our piece to the puzzle. It takes every “Critter” or every willing person. It takes us all and “If ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work” (see D&C 4).
I am grateful for the opportunities we receive to participate. I know Heavenly Father has gifted each one of us with particular strengths, interests, talents and abilities that are needed here and out in the world to bring others to Christ, to bring others joy, to bring understanding, to bring love.
Testimony
We are grateful for the opportunity we’ve had to serve in Europe. It was Marvelous and perfect for us.
And we are happy now to be home, back with our family and loved ones here. We are looking forward to the next choir number with all of you!
Here’s the entire song:
All God’s creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
Some just clap their hands or paws, or anything they’ve got now
All God’s creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
Some just clap their hands or paws, or anything they’ve got now
Listen to the top where the little bird sings
On the melodies and the high notes ringing
And the hoot owl cries over everything
And the blackbird disagrees
Singing in the nighttime, singing in the day
When little duck quacks and he’s on his way
And the otter hasn’t got much to say
And the porcupine talks to himself
All God’s creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
Some just clap their hands or paws, or anything they’ve got now
Dogs and the cats, they take up the middle
While the honeybee hums and the cricket fiddles
The donkey brays and the pony neighs
The old grey badger sighs
Listen to the bass, it’s the one on the bottom
Where the bullfrog croaks and the hippopotamus
Moans and groans with a big t’do
And the old cow just goes moo
All God’s creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
Some just clap their hands or paws, or anything they’ve got now
It’s a simple song, a little song everywhere
By the ox and the fox and the grizzly bear
The dopey alligator and the the hawk above
The sly old weasel and the turtle dove
All God’s creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
Some just clap their hands or paws, or anything they’ve got now
All God’s creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
Some just clap their hands or paws, or anything they’ve got now
All God’s creatures got a place in the choir
Some sing low and some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
Some just clap their hands or paws, or anything they’ve got now
All God’s creatures got a place in the choir
Songwriters: Bill Staines
A Place In The Choir lyrics © BMG Rights Management
—————
Bonus: (I didn’t use this talk, but loved reading it.)
Songs Sung and Unsung
By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 2017
I plead with each one of us to stay permanently and faithfully in the choir.
“There is sunshine in my soul today,” Eliza Hewitt wrote, “more glorious and bright than glows in any earthly sky, for Jesus is my light.” With radiance in every note, that marvelous old Christian hymn is virtually impossible to sing without smiling. But today I wish to lift out of context just one line from it that may help on days when we find it hard to sing or smile and “peaceful happy moments” do not seem to “roll.” If for a time you are unable to echo the joyous melodies you hear coming from others, I ask you to hold tenaciously to the line in this hymn that reassures, “Jesus listening can hear the songs [you] cannot sing.”
Among the realities we face as children of God living in a fallen world is that some days are difficult, days when our faith and our fortitude are tested. These challenges may come from a lack in us, a lack in others, or just a lack in life, but whatever the reasons, we find they can rob us of songs we so much want to sing and darken the promise of “springtime in [the] soul” that Eliza Hewitt celebrates in one of her verses.
So what do we do in such times? For one thing, we embrace the Apostle Paul’s counsel and “hope for that [which] we see not … [and] with patience wait for it.” In those moments when the melody of joy falters below our power of expression, we may have to stand silent for a time and simply listen to others, drawing strength from the splendor of the music around us. Many of us who are “musically challenged” have had our confidence bolstered and our singing markedly improved by positioning ourselves next to someone with a stronger, more certain voice. Surely it follows that in singing the anthems of eternity, we should stand as close as humanly possible to the Savior and Redeemer of the world—who has absolutely perfect pitch. We then take courage from His ability to hear our silence and take hope from His melodious messianic intercession in our behalf. Truly it is “when the Lord is near” that “the dove of peace sings in my heart [and] the flow’rs of grace appear.”
On those days when we feel a little out of tune, a little less than what we think we see or hear in others, I would ask us, especially the youth of the Church, to remember it is by divine design that not all the voices in God’s choir are the same. It takes variety—sopranos and altos, baritones and basses—to make rich music. To borrow a line quoted in the cheery correspondence of two remarkable Latter-day Saint women, “All God’s critters got a place in the choir.” When we disparage our uniqueness or try to conform to fictitious stereotypes—stereotypes driven by an insatiable consumer culture and idealized beyond any possible realization by social media—we lose the richness of tone and timbre that God intended when He created a world of diversity.
Now, this is not to say that everyone in this divine chorus can simply start shouting his or her own personal oratorio! Diversity is not cacophony, and choirs do require discipline—for our purpose today, Elder Hales, I would say discipleship—but once we have accepted divinely revealed lyrics and harmonious orchestration composed before the world was, then our Heavenly Father delights to have us sing in our own voice, not someone else’s. Believe in yourself, and believe in Him. Don’t demean your worth or denigrate your contribution. Above all, don’t abandon your role in the chorus. Why? Because you are unique; you are irreplaceable. The loss of even one voice diminishes every other singer in this great mortal choir of ours, including the loss of those who feel they are on the margins of society or the margins of the Church.
But even as I encourage all of you to have faith regarding songs that may be difficult to sing, I readily acknowledge that for different reasons I struggle with other kinds of songs that should be—but are not yet—sung.
When I see the staggering economic inequality in the world, I feel guilty singing with Mrs. Hewitt of “blessings which [God] gives me now [and] joys ‘laid up’ above.” That chorus cannot be fully, faithfully sung until we have honorably cared for the poor. Economic deprivation is a curse that keeps on cursing, year after year and generation after generation. It damages bodies, maims spirits, harms families, and destroys dreams. If we could do more to alleviate poverty, as Jesus repeatedly commands us to do, maybe some of the less fortunate in the world could hum a few notes of “There Is Sunshine in My Soul Today,” perhaps for the first time in their lives.
I also find it hard to sing sunny, bouncy lyrics when so many around us suffer from mental and emotional illness or other debilitating health limitations. Unfortunately, these burdens sometimes persist despite the valiant efforts of many kinds of caregivers, including family members. I pray we will not let these children of God suffer in silence and that we will be endowed with His capacity to hear the songs they cannot now sing.
And someday I hope a great global chorus will harmonize across all racial and ethnic lines, declaring that guns, slurs, and vitriol are not the way to deal with human conflict. The declarations of heaven cry out to us that the only way complex societal issues can ever be satisfactorily resolved is by loving God and keeping His commandments, thus opening the door to the one lasting, salvific way to love each other as neighbors. The prophet Ether taught that we should “hope for a better world.” Reading that thought a thousand years later, war- and violence-weary Moroni declared that the “more excellent way” to that world will always be the gospel of Jesus Christ.
How grateful we are that in the midst of these kinds of challenges, there comes, from time to time, another kind of song that we find ourselves unable to sing, but for a different reason. This is when feelings are so deep and personal, even so sacred, that they either cannot be or should not be expressed—like Cordelia’s love for her father, of which she said: “My love’s … richer than my tongue. … I cannot heave my heart into my mouth.” Coming to us as something holy, these sentiments are simply unutterable—spiritually ineffable—like the prayer Jesus offered for the Nephite children. Those who were witnesses to that event recorded:
“Eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard … so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;
“… No tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak.”
These kinds of sanctified moments remain unuttered because expression, even if it were possible, might seem like desecration.
Brothers and sisters, we live in a mortal world with many songs we cannot or do not yet sing. But I plead with each one of us to stay permanently and faithfully in the choir, where we will be able to savor forever that most precious anthem of all—“the song of redeeming love.” Fortunately, the seats for this particular number are limitless. There is room for those who speak different languages, celebrate diverse cultures, and live in a host of locations. There is room for the single, for the married, for large families, and for the childless. There is room for those who once had questions regarding their faith and room for those who still do. There is room for those with differing sexual attractions. In short, there is a place for everyone who loves God and honors His commandments as the inviolable measuring rod for personal behavior, for if love of God is the melody of our shared song, surely our common quest to obey Him is the indispensable harmony in it. With divine imperatives of love and faith, repentance and compassion, honesty and forgiveness, there is room in this choir for all who wish to be there. “Come as you are,” a loving Father says to each of us, but He adds, “Don’t plan to stay as you are.” We smile and remember that God is determined to make of us more than we thought we could be.
In this great oratorio that is His plan for our exaltation, may we humbly follow His baton and keep working on the songs we cannot sing, until we can offer those “carol[s] to [our] King.” Then one day, as our much-loved hymn says:
We’ll sing and we’ll shout with the armies of heaven,
Hosanna, hosanna to God and the Lamb! …
… As Jesus descends with his chariot of fire!
I testify that hour will come, that God our Eternal Father will again send to earth His Only Begotten Son, this time to rule and reign as King of kings forever. I testify that this is His restored Church and is the vehicle for bringing the teachings and saving ordinances of His gospel to all humankind. When His message “has penetrated every continent [and] visited every clime,” Jesus will indeed “[show] his smiling face.” There will be plenty of eternal sunshine for the soul that day. For this promised hour to come, I longingly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Our Frankfurt Germany Mission 