Everywhere the Tabernacle Choir went on its concert tour July 19-Aug. 1, it was greeted with warmth and, in some cases, official ceremony.

Among dignitaries attending concerts and paying tributes to the choir were governors of two states and a Canadian province's lieutenant governor.Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder attended the concert in Richmond, the first concert on the tour, and addressed the audience before

the choir's performance. Ontario's Lt. Gov. Henry N.R. Jackman attended the concert in Toronto and exchanged gifts with President Gordon B. Hinckley of the First Presidency. (See Church News July 25 and Aug. 1.)

Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar attended the concert in Springfield July 30 and, at a reception afterward, issued a proclamation declaring that day as Mormon Tabernacle Choir Day. (Earlier, Springfield Mayor Ossie Langfelder proclaimed July 30 as Mormon Tabernacle Choir Day in the city.)

After reading his proclamation in Springfield's Old State House, Gov. Edgar commented that had the citizens of Illinois been more hospitable toward Mormons in the 1800s, the choir would not have had so far to travel for its concert in Springfield. It was in Carthage, Ill., that the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob. Nauvoo, another city in Illinois, was headquarters of the Church from 1839-1846. Choir members visited Nauvoo and Carthage en route to Springfield July 29.

Edward G. Pree, president of United States Concert Corporation, greeted choir members in a hotel dining room upon their arrival in Springfield. He said the city of Springfield had much to offer "but now that we have the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, we have everything."

He said he became interested in the choir after he met President Ezra Taft Benson, then Secretary of Agriculture, when he went to Illinois on an official visit. "I was his driver and was very impressed with him," related Pres.

After dinner at their hotel in Springfield, choir members walked a couple of blocks to a neighborhood of restored homes, one of which had been the residence of Abraham Lincoln. The National Parks Service kept the home open late so choir members, their spouses and other guests could visit the home without having to stand in long lines during regular hours.

About half a block down the street from the home, the Springfield Municipal Band performed a concert in honor of the choir. At one point in the program, the band's leader announced his group would "do something fitting for the era of Abraham Lincoln and for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir." The band then played "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic." The latter number is an anthem from the Civil War era that has become a musical trademark for which the choir is famous worldwide.

Near the end of the outdoor concert, choir director Jerold D. Ottley was invited to lead the band in performing a march, "National Emblem."

The setting for the band concert reflected a theme of the choir's tour - a visit through Americana: White picket fences bordered an assemblage of neatly restored homes; lanterns carried by young women in hoop skirts and old-fashioned lamps on posts illuminated sidewalks; fireflies flickered in the night's darkness.

Before the Tabernacle Choir's concert began in Springfield July 30, the governor called out his honor guard, a reactivated Civil War regiment dressed in period uniforms, to post the flags of the nation, state and regiment in Prairie Capital Convention Center, where the concert was held.

Earlier in their tour, choir members visited AmeriFlora, a large park in Columbus, Ohio, displaying flowers and shrubs from throughout the world. There, Columbus Mayor Gregory Lashutka met with Elder Lynn A. Sorensen of the Seventy and a counselor in the North America Northeast Area presidency and a group of choir members and presented a proclamation declaring July 23 as Mormon Tabernacle Choir Day in the park.

The choir received red-carpet treatment in Ames, Iowa, July 28, although most choir members missed seeing it. A long red carpet was rolled out at one entrance to Iowa State Center, where the concert was held. A sign extended a welcome to the choir. Since the eight bus drivers who took the choir to the center were directed to another entrance, all but a few choir members missed the red-carpet welcome.

During the concert, Lloyd Newell announced that President Benson received his master's degree from Iowa State in 1927. He also pointed out that some of the history of the Church and choir could be traced back to Iowa. After the choir sang "Come, Come, Ye Saints," Brother Newell informed the audience that the hymn's lyrics were written near present-day Croydon, about 100 miles south of Ames. When he asked how many in the choir had ancestors who passed through Iowa as Mormon pioneers, more than a fourth of the singers stood.

The choir was hosted twice by officials and members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The first time was during a visit to Kirtland, Ohio, where the choir sang "The Spirit of God" and "The Lord's Prayer" in the Kirtland Temple. (See Church News Aug. 1.) The second time was in Independence, Mo., where, in addition to opening its Auditorium for a concert, RLDS leaders arranged for choir members to take special tours of their temple nearing completion of construction. A special recital on the Auditorium's 110-rank organ was presented to choir members.

The Public Affairs Department of the Church arranged for receptions either before or after each concert throughout the tour. Darlene Hutchison and Gerald Pond of the Public Affairs Department in Salt Lake City went to each reception; earlier they worked with local public affairs directors in arranging publicity and helping with the receptions, which were attended by civic and government leaders, prominent business people, leaders of various religious groups, and other distinguished guests, as well as by local LDS Church leaders and their spouses.