Editor’s note: “The Spoken Word” is shared by Derrick Porter every Sunday during the weekly Tabernacle Choir broadcast from Temple Square. This week, guest narrator NFL coach Andy Reid presents “The Spoken Word.” This is the 5,051st episode broadcast on Sunday, July 5, 2026.
This week, “Music and the Spoken Word” airs at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. At 9:10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., there will be pre-show interviews with Reed and former NBA player and “Music and the Spoken Word” glitterati Thurl Bailey. The 9:10 a.m. pre-show and 9:30 a.m. broadcast will be available on the Tabernacle Choir’s YouTube channel.
Note: Reservations are currently required to attend “Music and the Spoken Word” at the Salt Lake Tabernacle. Click here for more information on how to make a reservation.
Reservations are no longer accepted for the July 5th broadcast, and there will be waiting lines for both performances. Due to construction at Temple Square, there is no overflow viewing area. For more information on the July 5 broadcast, visit thetabernaclechoir.org/america250.
I’m Andy Reid, head football coach for the Kansas City Chiefs. For years I have admired the Tabernacle Choir and its weekly program “Music and Spoken Word.” I’m honored to be a part of this broadcast that looks back on 250 years of America, the country I’m proud to call home.
Today we celebrate that milestone. For two and a half centuries, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution have guided this nation. They set our ideals and gave us a strategy to continue moving toward what the Constitution calls a “more perfect union.”
As I thought about these words, I felt a deep sense of gratitude for those who sacrificed so that this country could be better. The Founding Fathers knew it wouldn’t be easy, but they believed that if we stayed united, we would keep moving forward.
Whether on the soccer field, in the community, or at home, progress can sometimes feel like an uphill climb. But I’ve learned that progress happens when people come together toward a common goal – when they respect and support each other. That’s what the team does. I work to improve every day.
America was founded on the truth that all people are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. These include “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (see the Declaration of Independence).
These truths have guided our nation through challenge after challenge. These help us make better decisions and correct mistakes. Even in difficult times, they remind us to keep moving forward. Keep building. Keep improving.
When the Constitution was signed, Benjamin Franklin looked at the sun painted on the back of George Washington’s chair. He said he often wondered if temperatures were rising or falling. But at that moment he said, “(Now) we see that it is not the setting sun, but the rising sun.” (See James Madison’s Constitutional Convention Notes, September 17, 1787, consource.org)
For 250 years, that sun continued to rise on this land. And I believe that will continue for generations to come.
We can all play our part. We can help build a “more perfect union,” a nation “under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” (see America’s Pledge of Allegiance).
Tuning…
“Music & the Spoken Word” broadcasts are available on KSL-TV, KSL News Radio 1160AM/102.7FM, KSL.com, BYUtv, BYUradio, Dish and DirecTV, SiriusXM (Ch. 143), tabernaclechoir.org, youtube.com/TheTabernacleChoir, and Amazon Alexa (skills must be enabled). The program will be broadcast live on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time on these stations. This week’s full episodes are also available on C-SPAN, News Nation and NBC stations in Salt Lake City. Boston, Massachusetts. Washington, DC; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. and Kansas City, Missouri. Find airing information by state and city at musicandthespokenword.com/viewers-listeners/airing-schedule.
