The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has an intriguing evangelization tool — Gladys Knight, the legendary Grammy Award-winning soulful female vocalist.
“Sister Knight,” as she is affectionately called by members of the church, has traveled around the country for the past 12 years with the 100-voice Saints Unified Voices choir, which she created and directs, sharing the Gospel in song during what the church calls “firesides.”
“What you’re looking at here is the very best part of [me],” Knight, 70, told a capacity crowd of 1,100 earlier this month in the chapel at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Tallmadge. The choir presented four private programs in Tallmadge and Westlake on Sept. 19 and 20.
“Sister Knight is a powerful voice for sharing the restored Gospel and breaking down some of the misconceptions about the Mormon Church. Her very presence dispels the myth that we are a white church and gives us an opportunity to share that we are a diverse worldwide church,” said Douglas L. Talley, president of the Akron Stake. “She’s a tremendous ambassador and she has created an opportunity to further enlighten people about what we believe during these firesides.”
Tally said the gospel choir has proven successful in fulfilling its mission to build faith while breaking down cultural barriers and to help LDS members (commonly referred to as Mormons because of their belief in the Book of Mormon) embrace diversity.
Whenever the choir performs, the church sees an increase in its numbers of missionaries and baptisms — which is likely due to subsequent home visits from LDS missionaries to nonmembers who complete a form requesting a gift bag of a sample CD of the choir, a copy of the Book of Mormon and a Restoration DVD (which recounts the story of Joseph Smith, founder of the church).
The low-profile appearances of Knight and her all-volunteer, multicultural choir (which won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Gospel Album) are by request of a local LDS church, and attendance is by invitation from church leaders and members. The concerts are free. No recordings, videos or photographs are permitted, and no interviews with Knight or choir members are granted.
Energy and passion filled the chapel in Tallmadge from the beginning to end of the concert. The evening included gospel music and modified church hymns including I Give Myself Away, Uphold Me, Please Don’t Pass Me By, I Smile and Blessed Assurance rendered by the choir and talks from church members, including Knight’s husband, William McDowell.
Before the choir sang one note, members of the audience were pushed to their feet and moved to clap to the beat of the rhythmic praise music coming from the accompanying three-piece band. As the music played, the choir — wearing black robes with red accents — entered the chapel from the rear, clapping and swaying to the beat as it made its way to the platform at the front.
Knight, the last choir member in the processional, beamed — flashing a bright smile and pointing her index fingers upward, signaling that this would be an evening to glorify and worship God.
“I love you guys. I do! And that’s not rhetoric,” Knight told her audience. “I’m in awe that [God] loves us so much — no matter how much we mess up.”
Knight shared that she has always been “a child of God” and that her journey into the LDS church began with her children, who became members before she did. She talked about the reaction she got from people in the African-American community: “Ooh! She done sold out!”
“I heard this was a cult, I heard this church didn’t like people of color. So, I started going to find out for myself,” said Knight, who joined the church in 1997 and was put to work “quilting, canning, cooking and feeding people,” to help fulfill the church’s mission to care for those in need.
The iconic singer added humor to handle the sensitive issue of race in a church that withheld the priesthood from men of black African descent from 1952 to 1978 and also barred black women from temple rites, saying the women of the church taught her some things about making macaroni salad and “green Jell-O, but I had to teach ’em how to make fried chicken. I can cook. They can cook too,” said Knight, whose business endeavors includes Gladys Knight’s Signature Chicken and Waffles in the Atlanta area.
Even her husband quipped that he hesitated to call his future wife because “it was well known in the African-American community that Gladys Knight had lost her mind — she had become a Mormon.”
When he called, he asked “Is it true? She answered: “What?” He asked: “That you are a Mormon?” She answered: “Do you have a problem with that?”
McDowell said he followed with three more questions: Do you believe in God? Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? She answered all in the affirmative and the conversation continued. The two married in 2001 and he was baptized into the church a year later.
Knight challenged those in attendance to do what Jesus would do — “love in spite of.” She thanked members of the audience for supporting her as an entertainer over the years and shared that she believes her God-given musical talent is a tool that she is to use to spread the Gospel.
Much like Knight, Virgie Shaw, of Copley, faced questions from family members and other African-Americans about why she became a Mormon. Both have the same answer — they felt called to the church, which welcomed them with open arms and a doctrine of inclusion.
For Shaw, who joined the church more than 10 years ago, it started with two LDS missionaries who visited her home.
“I was working in my yard and they showed up, in their white shirts, black pants and ties. I offered them water because it was so hot — it was in July,” said Shaw, 68. “To be honest, I didn’t want to hear anything they said, but it was what they did that impressed me — they volunteered to help me in my yard and they asked me if I knew anybody who needed help. That intrigued me, so I began to investigate the church.”
That investigation led to Shaw’s baptism in the LDS Church and her involvement in the Relief Society, a women’s organization in the LDS church that is charged with seeking out and helping the poor. It also brings the women of the church together to strengthen, support and teach each other.
Shaw said the fireside with Gladys Knight was an opportunity to invite people who wouldn’t otherwise enter an LDS church.
“I think they were pleasantly surprised to hear gospel music instead of hymns and actually feel the spirit in a LDS church. I’ll admit it was the first time I’ve seen that many people in the chapel and the first time I’ve seen people standing on their feet and clapping and saying Amen,” Shaw said. “It was truly a chance for LDS members to experience a part of our rich culture and a chance for people outside the LDS church to see that we are Christians, too.”
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com. She can be followed at www.twitter.com/ColetteMJenkins.