There are two words which ably describe 18 year old Benjamin Hunter from Glasgow: enthusiastic and talented. You might even say that, for Benjamin, performing is in his blood. One of seven siblings, Benjamin is a third generation member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and musical talent runs in his family. Inspired by his grandparents and other family members who are professional musicians, Benjamin found a love for music and performance at an early age, and began to study musical theatre.
- Benjamin Hunter from the Glasgow congregation, in Scotland
- Benjamin Hunter in a lead role in the British Pageant
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In December 2012, encouraged by his bishop, he somewhat reluctantly attended an audition for a forthcoming Church production which he didn’t know much about and didn’t have high expectations of. That production was The British Pageant, and it changed Benjamin’s life forever. A four hour long audition secured him a key role of narrator in this momentous production, and provided him with the one of the most spiritual experiences of his young life. When Benjamin talks of his Pageant experience, it is still with enormous enthusiasm and gratitude; he recalls that as he talked with audiences before and after each performance, he began to feel a desire to serve a mission and felt that he was learning skills that would help him to teach the gospel.
Benjamin’s performance in the pageant, staged at the Preston Temple grounds in Chorley in front of around 20,000 people last July, caught the eye of director and writer, David Warner. Benjamin was invited to go to Salt Lake City where he participated in a three month long production called ‘Saviour of the World’, staged at the Conference Centre. While he was there, Benjamin also took part in the annual Christmas Concert performed by the world famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He describes both events as ‘scary’, but uniquely spiritual. Inspired by his experiences, Benjamin wanted to find a way to express his testimony and feelings but didn’t know how, until one day he read in the Doctrine and Covenants, “For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.” Feeling inspired by the scripture, Benjamin decided to record a small selection of songs on a short album called ‘Secret Prayer’. For Benjamin, the most important aspect of this work is not the music or the production, but the feeling of testimony he wanted to express through the music.
As Benjamin prepares to serve a full-time two year mission, he continues to share his testimony through musical performance. He is currently working on a scaled-down production of ‘Saviour of the World’ which will be performed in the Glasgow Stake, and no doubt as they watch his performance, audiences will agree that the words ‘enthusiastic’ and ‘talented’ certainly describe this young man.