Gladys Knight , the Gospel-Singing Mormon

Gladys Knight, the Grammy-winning singer, has a heart of gold with a golden voice. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a concert given by Gladys Knight and her 55-member choir, Saints Unified Voices. The choir put on nine shows over the course of four days in two LDS churches in Houston. I attended an evening performance at a chapel that was filled to capacity of 1500 people, most of whom were not members of our church.

For Gladys Knight and the SUV Choir to visit us in Houston was a miracle! The Choir has a very long waiting list for their visits and given Gladys Knight’s schedule, they only visit a handful of cities each year.

Besides, her lively version of Because I Have Been Given Much, the Choir's music consisted of many Gospel favorites such as Jesus Loves Me, His Eye is on the Sparrow, Blessed Assurance, and Via Dolorosa. I loved that she was a Mormon, singing Gospel songs to the Baptists and Catholics!

Gladys got the idea for her choir a few years ago when she sang at a concert commemorating President Gordon B. Hinckley's 90th birthday. When he teasingly confronted her about not liking the Church's music, Gladys answered that she did, but that it "needed just a little more energy." He told her, "Do something about it!" and ever since she has been singing in cities across the United States and around the world.

The Choir’s gospel music, which was all arranged by Gladys Knight, was beautiful and it was an awesome sight to see the audience connect with her as she and her Choir received several standing ovations. A woman sitting near me had tears streaming down her face throughout the two-hour performance!

My favorite part of the night, however, was when Gladys spoke of how she found our Church. Her son, Jimmy, was the first to be baptized and he "sneaked and did it." Being worried about her son, she studied our faith at first to make sure he had not "walked into the lion's den."

Gladys Knight's daughter, Kenya, followed Jimmy’s example and was next to accept our faith. She watched her children's families' spiritual progression and wanted more spirituality in her own life. Kenya told her mom that she needed to meet with our missionaries, who Gladys described as "respectful," and "all dressed up and crisp with pants (up) where they need to be." She was impressed with how they did not try to sell her our church, but rather told her that she should ask God what she should do and that He would answer her prayers. After receiving that answer, Gladys Knight was baptized by her son, Jimmy.

After her own baptism, Gladys wanted nothing more than to be a missionary. The audience laughed when she said, "Somebody get me a bike!" Now, she has her wish as she is a set-apart missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Investigators who come to her concert are invited to fill out a pull-apart card from the program so that they can receive the free gift of the CD One Voice, which contains music from the concert, a DVD of The Restoration, and a Book of Mormon.

I loved how she said, "It has been a wonderful journey. I am a brand new person."
Then, as she exited the stage, she briefly shook a few people's hands. I was close enough to touch her, but she was quickly whisked out the door by her security guards.

I cannot imagine a world without Gladys Knight! While some may have come to hear Midnight Train to Georgia, this concert's music and message was more than crowd-pleasing as it was dedicated to feeding people's souls. We love you, Gladys!