My Mom and I Were in a DUP Choir

I haven’t always kept a good journal so sometimes I have to go by memory. This is one of those times. I don’t know how many years, but for several years, my mother and I belonged to a DUP (Daughters of Utah Pioneers) choir. We practiced at the Pioneer Museum in Salt Lake and only performed in the summer. I did make one small journal entry in July 1975 saying the DUP Choir sang at a luncheon where President Kimball spoke.

It is a tradition that after they choose the queen for the Days of ’47 (commemorating the pioneers coming to the valley), she and her attendants speak in sacrament meetings. The main purpose of the choir was to travel with them to various wards and sing during the meeting. I’ve noticed in recent years these girls share their own talents by singing or playing the piano.

At first, our choir wore pink pioneer dresses and later we had a turquoise dress. The songs we sang were the same ones the pioneer sang back in 1847.

One place we went almost every year was the home ward of President Monson. I still remember the first time I met him, and his friendly smile.

I’ve always been grateful that my mom encouraged me to participate with her in this choir. I love to sing, but singing in a choir wasn’t usually her choice of things to do. With a small family at home, I probably wouldn’t have done this without her persuasion.