Mormon Tabernacle Choir member resigns over inauguration performance
Update 6:55 p.m.: Nevada Senator, and member of the LDS Church, Harry Reid, says he supports Jan Chamberlin, a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir who resigned over the decision to perform at next month’s inauguration of President-elect Trump.
In a statement to the Salt Lake Tribune, Reid said “I understand completely the difficult choice Jan had to make. She loves the choir, she loves to sing, she loves to promote the values she holds dear, and she loves her church — the same church that Trump’s top adviser, Steve Bannon, mocked when he ridiculed Mitt Romney’s sons.”
ORIGINAL STORY: A member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has resigned saying she cannot perform at the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump and look herself “in the mirror again with self-respect.”
In a letter to the choir president that she later posted on Facebook, Jan Chamberlin said she has spent many sleepless nights dwelling over whether to perform or not.
“I have reflected carefully on both sides of the issue, prayed a lot, talked with family and friends, and searched my soul,” Chamberlin wrote. “I have highly valued the mission of the Choir to be goodwill ambassadors for Christ, to share beautiful music and to give hope, inspiration, and comfort to others. I’ve tried to tell myself that it will be alright and that I can continue in good conscience before God and man.”
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir accepted an invitation to sing at Trump’s inauguration last week. The decision has sparked a firestorm of comments among members of the church and thousands of signatures on an online petition demanding the church reverse its decision.
In her Facebook posting, Chamberlin wrote the decision to not perform is based on her faith and moral standing.
“I only know I could never ‘throw roses to Hitler’,” she wrote. “And I certainly could never sing for him.”
The church said in an announcement last week that participation in the inauguration is not required, and is not a political statement but rather a “demonstration of our support for freedom, civility and the peaceful transition of power.”
Chamberlin says since her posting of the resignation letter, she has received several messages of hate.
