Outstanding young people!

     I first heard of the BYU Young Ambassadors many years ago but never actually got to see them perform. They're similar to the Vienna Boys Choir in that they go on year after year but the members change. They are here in Nauvoo for 2 weeks and we have watched one of their 2 different shows and heard them bear testimonies through words and music at a fireside. It was interesting to find out they were founded 45 years ago at the request of the U.S. Dept. of Defense who asked BYU to organize a group to represent our country at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan. Since then they have continued to perform in over 60 countries so far, most recently in China and Southest Asian countries, next year in South Africa. Hence the title "Ambassadors".There are 10 band members, 8 technicians for sound and lighting in addition to the 20 singer/dancers here. They are produced by the School of Music in the College of Fine Arts and Communications at BYU in Provo, Utah. If you're curious about them, you can go to either:
youngambassadors.byu.edu  or www.youtube.com/user/BYUYoungAmbassadors   to see and hear.
     At the fireside at church we learned that at least one young woman served a mission here previously and at least 3 have been here as young performing missionaries (YPM). One young man that was a YPM here returned the following 2 years as a choreographer and now is here in the Young Ambassadors. Incredibly talented as they are, they are enthusiastic, faithful, sincere, humble, REAL people. They all help set up equipment, while here they will be doing at least one major service project and have all spent time doing temple work. They work hard to stay in shape so they can dance energetically while singing with attached cordless microphones and, amazingly enough, you never hear anyone panting! They are NOT all model-perfect by the world's standards but they are sweet and beautiful. (Lisa, this is one statistic I noted just for you if you ever read this blog..) There are only 2 blonde males and one blonde female and 7 of them wear glasses- although not always when performing and doing cartwheels, lifts, etc. During the fireside, interspersed with heartfelt simple songs using incredible harmony, we learned that one young woman lost her mother at 17 and struggled with bitterness over it, one drifted in her faith for a while, but they all have a strong testimony of the love of the Savior for all mankind. They smiled, cried, and gave their all.
     Our Father in Heaven has given every single one of his children at least one gift or talent. They aren't all musical. Some gifts are artistic, some are organizational, some are like courage or instinctive compassion or inventiveness but EVERYBODY has at least one. Jesus spoke in a parable about talents and what we are expected to do with them. I am grateful for talents I have been given and I try to share and expand whatever I can to help others. My parents were very service-oriented and I have tried to carry it on as a heritage. My children are all headed in that direction, too. I hope my grandchildren will all be as well. We can't change the whole world but we can do a little bit to make the little spot around us a little brighter.