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President Russell M. Nelson shakes the hand of choir conductor Roberta Brown of the Penrith Australia Stake as Sister Wendy Nelson looks on after a devotional in Sydney, Australia, on May 19, 2019. In the background are then-President Scott Runia and Sister Tamara W. Runia, then the Australia Sydney Mission leaders.2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.
By Mary Richards, Church News
Roberta Brown of the Penrith Australia Stake knows what it means to “reach out to the one” as President Russell M. Nelson has invited everyone to do for his 100th birthday — because she was once “the one” the Prophet reached out to himself.
In May 2019 as part of his Pacific ministry, the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was in Sydney, Australia, where he spoke to a capacity crowd of 8,000 Church members in the International Convention Centre.
Brown was assigned to lead a stake choir, and in her role, she was leading the closing song — “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet” — when the words on the screen were not matching what the congregation was trying to sing and what Brown was trying to lead from the hymnbook.
“I felt a bit sad that time because I didn’t see what was going to happen on the spot,” she recalled. “Despite the confusion, ... I was comforted in knowing our members still were able to sing with their hearts and memory loud and proud for the Prophet.”
Sister Tamara W. Runia, now First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency, was on the stand because she and her husband, Brother Scott Runia, were leaders of the Australia Sydney Mission at the time.
Sister Runia described hearing voices skip and pause as the singers tried to catch up and keep going. “Yet, somehow, the woman leading all of us has bravely kept the audience singing,” she said.
When the song ended and the closing prayer was said, before anyone on the stand moved at all, Sister Runia saw the Prophet stand and walk directly toward Brown with his hands outstretched. And she saw Brown smile back at President Nelson as he spoke to her.
“Truly this man, a Prophet of God, left the 99, or rather the 8,000, to go after the one,” Sister Runia said.
Brown said it was a humbling and spiritually uplifting experience to meet the Prophet and to prepare a choir to sing at the event. Having him come up to meet her right afterward showed her how much he enjoyed the music and that it had touched his heart.
“I thought of how Heavenly Father is real, and I could feel His love and presence around us,” Brown said. “I felt beyond blessed to shake the Prophet’s hand, and I thought of how music has blessed my family and my kids who carry on our family’s musical talents.”
Brown described herself as speechless when she was asked to lead a choir only four weeks before the devotional. From experience she knew that putting together a large choir with youth wouldn’t be easy, but she said the choir members and stake and ward leaders had “hearts knit together in unity and in love” (Mosiah 18:21) and had faith and trust in the Lord.
“It’s an eternal experience and memory for me to treasure, with deepest gratitude to my Heavenly Father for the opportunity and talent He has given me to serve Him through music and singing.”
Brown said the invitation to reach out to the one as the Savior did reminds her of how she should reach out to minister to her Relief Society sisters and her family, friends, neighbors and others around her.
The invitation is counsel from the Prophet to invite all to come unto Christ, she said, by sharing the gospel through actions, words and service and by sharing the love of the Savior.
“He died for us, and we must strive to do our best by obeying the Lord’s commandments so we can be able to return back to Him,” Brown said.
Copyright 2024 Deseret News Publishing Company.