Recently, around 600 people from in and around York enjoyed a very special ‘Fireside’ evening with Merrill and Jay Osmond, members of the original, world famous ‘Osmonds’ pop group and Merrill’s son Justin, who entertained and inspired an excited audience with stories from their lives, faith experiences, love of God and songs from their hearts.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
If ‘Fireside’ is a throwback term to describe a spiritual evening of singing and sharing testimonies (around the campfire in the old days) then this modern version was no less lively. Church members responded to Church leaders' invitation to ‘invite a friend’ with over 200 non-members joining the audience of around 600.
With his brothers, Merrill Osmond has sung lead on 27 gold records, produced and written the music and lyrics for five ‘number one’ hit records and produced 47 platinum and gold records (no other recording artists have earned as many gold records in one year as the Osmond family).
In 1983, Merrill co-founded ‘The Children’s Miracle Network’ that has since raised more than $4 billion for children’s hospitals around the world. Merrill is also Patron of The Hearing Fund UK, a charity founded by his son, Justin, which helps children living with hearing loss and raises deaf awareness globally.
The brothers and Justin performed and spoke in aid of The Hearing Fund UK at a Celebrity Dinner on the Friday (at the Leeds Marriott Hotel) and at an Annual Gala on the Saturday (at the Leeds Royal Armouries). Church members from the region, Beverley Hetherington and Ursula Balla, signed BSL for the events.
After the Sunday ‘Fireside’, Merrill, Jay and Justin held an open Q&A session that allowed Church members, adoring fans and visiting dignitaries alike to ask them about their experiences.
They then mingled with the crowd and eventually managed to leave, expressing appreciation for the warm welcome they received and a love for York and its people.