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Utah Senate opens 2007 general session with prayer, colors and choir
Summary
The Utah State Senate convened in February 2007 for the opening day of the 50th Legislature with an invocation by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, the presentation of colors and the Pledge of Allegiance led by Staff Sergeant David Mabey, and a performance by the Orem High School choir.
Sitting as the 50th Utah State Legislature, the Utah State Senate convened in February 2007 and opened its general session with ceremonial observances including a prayer, posting of colors and a school choir performance.
The Presiding Officer called the Senate to order and welcomed members and guests to the session’s opening day. The Presiding Officer announced that Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would offer the invocation, that the Utah Guard would present the colors, and that Staff Sergeant David Mabey of the 140th Area Support Medical Company would lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland delivered the invocation, urging unity across religious creeds, backgrounds and party lines and asking for guidance for the body’s deliberations. "Regardless of our religious creeds, our race, our background, our ideas and understanding, we unite this morning as citizens," Holland said, asking that public servants "rise above party" in their work for Utahns.
The Utah Guard posted the colors, and the Presiding Officer introduced Staff Sergeant David Mabey, noting his service in Iraq and military recognitions. The Presiding Officer said that while deployed to Iraq, "sergeant Mabey was inducted into the Army's Audie Murphy Club," and that "less than 1% of Army noncommissioned officers are members of this club; Sergeant Mabey was also awarded the Combat Action Badge." These remarks were offered by the Presiding Officer during the introduction.
The chamber recited the Pledge of Allegiance with Staff Sergeant Mabey leading: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Several participants repeated the pledge as part of the ceremony.
The Presiding Officer then introduced the Orem High School show and chamber choir under the direction of Dr. Sterling Keyes. The choir performed for those in attendance as part of the opening ceremonies.
The transcript ends after the choir’s introduction and early remarks; the Senate’s subsequent business is not recorded in the provided transcript.
