Having become accustomed to serving in callings behind the scenes, on a piano or organ bench, I was positively terrified when I received the call to be our ward's Primary Chorister. Yes, my fingers are musically inclined, but that does not mean my voice is. My alto pitch falls short of reaching a good portion of notes in the Children’s Songbook and I felt like a squeaky schoolboy at the height of puberty.
With the help of a comforting priesthood blessing, I shoved aside my shy insecurities and instead pushed on stage a “spunky”, “effervescent” personality (in the words of the preceding chorister!). Hindsight is 20/20 and I could not have asked for a better calling. I love music, I love the gospel, and . . . yep, I still love kids. Why the Mustache Chorister? In my first month of the calling, my catchphrase became “I mustache you to sing!”, dramatically holding up a paper mustache on a stick. Cheesy, I know, but the kids ate it up. I spontaneously promised to bring them each their own mustache the following week. By the time Sunday rolled around, three different adults had relayed a very similar message to me (in a facetiously threatening undertone…): “Did you see the kids’ faces when you promised them mustaches??! You’re going to bring them, right? The kids certainly won’t let you forget!” I took the hint and the Mustache Chorister was born. |