Missionaries Sing US National Anthem at Colorado Rockies Baseball Game

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By Joel Randall, Church News

“Please remain standing, and kindly remove your caps,” an announcer sounded across the 76-acre stadium. “Performing the national anthem today are members of the Colorado Denver North Mission.” A reverent silence fell upon the crowd as 180 well-dressed young men and women with black name tags smiled, straightened their posture and looked to their conductor.

Not an everyday sight, especially not at a baseball game.

The Colorado-based mission sang the United States national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” at a Major League Baseball home game between the Colorado Rockies and the Boston Red Sox. The game was held July 24, celebrated by many Latter-day Saints as Pioneer Day.

“It exposes missionaries to people who wouldn’t otherwise have seen them,” said Colorado Denver North Mission President Charles Clawson of the opportunity. “When they see them on the street or in their neighborhood or walking around proselyting, they’re more likely to stop them and say, ‘Oh hey, I saw you at the Rockies game. Something felt different when I heard you sing.’”

Chance Encounter at an Ice-Cream Shop

It all started last fall, when a local stake presidency member, with ties to the Colorado Rockies organization, suggested the Colorado Denver North Mission sing the national anthem.

A representative of the Rockies contacted President Clawson to ask if the mission was interested — and was met with a resounding yes — then later proposed three dates for the performance. When President Clawson saw Pioneer Day as an option, he knew it was more than coincidence.

The next step was finding a conductor. Around Christmastime 2023, President Clawson and his wife, Sister M’Recia Clawson, spoke at a session of Boulder Colorado Stake conference. They were treated to a piano duet by Annie Pyper and her husband, Ted Pyper, of the Lafayette Ward, playing a creative arrangement of “I Am a Child of God.”

After the conference, the Pypers joked about whether they should go to a Mexican restaurant that Sister Clawson mentioned in her talk or an ice-cream shop that President Clawson mentioned in his. The duettists decided on ice cream.

At the same time, President Clawson took the missionaries from the Boulder stake out for ice cream. The Pypers met the mission leaders for the first time while standing in line together waiting to order.

“I was talking to them and complimenting them on what a good job they did on the special musical number,” President Clawson said. He talked to Annie Pyper about her musical experience, which included singing and extended to conducting choirs since she was 14 years old.

A prompting came to President Clawson’s mind, “and the Holy Ghost said, ‘There’s your director right there.’”

From the Mission Field to the Baseball Field

Pyper was thrilled to accept the offer of preparing such a large group of missionaries to sing the national anthem.

“I’m just so grateful,” she later said about the chance encounter. “To me, it’s God orchestrating what needs to be orchestrated.”

Pyper gathered with missionaries at their multizone conferences in June and July to help them learn the various vocal parts, sing a capella and show a cheerful facial expression. And she always made time to bear her testimony and explain the significance of the message they were sharing through music.

President Clawson observed: “She has been amazing at working with these missionaries. She’s so enthusiastic and vibrant and a total pro.”

The rehearsals were a joy for Pyper, she said, with hard-working and eager missionaries willing to share the Light of Christ.

Meeting the Missionaries Through Song

Although the national anthem is not a hymn about the Savior, said Pyper, it allowed the missionaries to sing praises to Heavenly Father for the freedoms they enjoy. “Just them being gathered together, bearing Christ’s name and then singing about a land that God has certainly prepared for the Restoration of the gospel definitely brings a wonderful spirit.”

President Clawson said those who meet missionaries often feel there’s something special about their presence. Allowing tens of thousands to become familiar with the elders and sisters through an MLB game, he said, is “an amazing opportunity to connect with that many people all at once, to prepare them to then meet missionaries in their respective lives.”

Pyper said the Holy Ghost washes over her when she sees missionaries, and even more so when the representatives of the Savior join together. “You cannot help but feel such a powerful spirit that accompanies that quantity of missionaries who are bearing Christ’s name.”

And with Wednesday’s national anthem performance, a multitude of listeners could witness this powerful spirit firsthand.

“I hope it makes them more open to inquire online to seek out the missionaries, open to be more receptive when they’re contacted by the missionaries,” said Pyper. “I know that God works in awesome ways, in all different kinds of ways, and I know this opportunity was opened up to them for His purposes.”

Sharing ‘Testimony and Witness of Christ’

President Clawson hopes his missionaries will get three things out of this experience:

1. A recognition that they can proselytize to a large number of people through their presence, countenance and voice.
2. A sense of gratitude for their country, which allowed the Restoration to take place.
3. A meaningful memory from their mission that will stick with them as they walk the covenant path throughout their lives.

Pyper’s desire for the performance comes from a temple dedicatory prayer. In April 2024 general conference, Church President Russell M. Nelson encouraged listeners to read Doctrine and Covenants 109, which documents the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple in 1836.

As Pyper acted on this invitation, she was led to Verse 79: “Help us by the power of thy Spirit, that we may mingle our voices with those bright, shining seraphs around thy throne, with acclamations of praise, singing Hosanna to God and the Lamb!”

Pyper added: “That’s what we’re praying for — we’re praying for the Spirit to be with us, and we want to mingle our voices with all the angels that share that testimony and witness of Christ and of the land that has so much purpose.”

‘Spiritual Experiences Became Powerful Testimonies’

Elder Logan Randall from St. Joseph, Michigan, said it was exhilarating to represent the Church of Jesus Christ to such a large audience. “President Clawson always invites us to think big when looking for opportunities to share the restored gospel with others. This is the perfect embodiment of that.”

Scheduled to finish his mission in two weeks, Elder Randall said it was an incredible way to conclude his two-year journey of sharing the Savior’s gospel. “Many people do not know who we are or who we represent, and singing the national anthem of the United States of America was a great way to ‘Let [our] light so shine’ (Matthew 5:16).”

For Sister Chloe Wayas of Surprise, Arizona, singing at the Rockies game and practicing with fellow missionaries became a core memory. “Some missionaries were crying, and spiritual experiences became powerful testimonies to us. The Holy Ghost really can work into our hearts through music.”

She learned that everything is made possible because of a loving God, from the freedoms she enjoys to the blessings she receives. Having served in her mission for 15 months, Sister Wayas was grateful to share Heavenly Father’s love to those who may not know it’s available.

“Something I hope the listeners take away is that God is in control in this dark and fallen world that we live in, and because of that, we can trust in Him and not forget what He has done for us.”

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