From MTC – During the Sunday Fireside talk given by Elder Ballard, David did the musical number. He sang the Spirit of God mixing it with Spanish. At the end of the performance, “he started to cry! It was so amazing,” quoted from a Sister’s blog. Right after Elder Archuleta sang, Elder Ballard said, “David Archuleta…you’re a hard act to follow!”

David once sang the Spirit of God in Spanish for a church event on January 15, 2010, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. David came there to talk to a big group of young kids (13-17 years) about good things. His speech was amazing, and he was very inspired. He did this for charity.

I got the audio of the Spirit of God from here- David’s speech Part 3, Part 4.

Pictures credit: Naree and Joanie (suttygal)

To help you have a glimpse of David’s time in MTC, the following are extracts from other missionaries’ blogs:

From Elder Parker Brown:

Before Elder Ballard spoke, David Archuleta sang!! He sang “Spirit of God.” It. was. amazing. Everyone was pretty restless and you could hear a lot of rumblings and talking when he got up. But when he started singing, all 2,000 missionaries were SILENT. Like, NO ONE was even moving an inch. He was singing so good and you could really seriously feel the spirit in the air as if it were tangible. At the very end of the song he choked up and STILL no body talked. He ended strong though and went to sat down and Elder Ballard didn’t get up to speak for like 15 seconds after. Everyone was just still. NO one talked or even whispered. I haven’t felt the spirit that strongly very many times before, I’ll say that much. haha. But WOW! it was crazy amazing….

From Sister Kelli King:

Oh my gosh, I have to tell you about the Sunday Devotional we had this week! The musical number was done by none other than… ELDER ARCHULETA! When they first announced that he was going to sing, there were whispers, and maybe a few groans. People both like and dislike him, but people kind of got tired of hearing about him. Anyway, Elder Archuleta got up to sing “The Spirit of God.” First verse: Beautiful. Second verse: He sings in in Spanish. Equally beautiful. I got chills. Last verse (he only sang 3): English again, but this time right before he got to the chorus, he started getting all caught up in the Spirit, and he started to cry! He had to try so hard to keep his voice from breaking as tears formed in his eyes as he sang “We’ll sing and we’ll shout, with the armies of heaven, Hosannah, Hosannah, to God and the Lamb.” It was beyond words. No one who saw or heard that performance could ever say anything bad about it. It was perfect. Then the speaker got up to speak. You might have heard of him. It was M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The first thing he said was, “Elder Archuleta, you’re a tough act to follow.” He spoke beautifully as well. David Archuleta left the MTC the following day. I got word that he was put in the fast-track Spanish program (because he’s going to Chile), that is only 3 weeks long, to avoid having to be in the MTC with all of the annoying fangirls/boys. I heard he’s still struggling with the language though. I wish him the best on his mission. He’ll be great.

From mckaykeetch’s blog:

Mom, to answer Shelly’s question. They never made a special announcement about Elder Archuleta but they maybe should have… ha ha The first couple days he was getting mobbed by sister missionaries. I felt bad for him. But then it got better. He actually sang in our fireside on Sunday night! It was super good.

From Sister Laura Lee Sudweeks:

So I know mom’s wondering (no he’s not going to Italy) David Archuletta.. wait.. Elder Archuletta was in the MTC with me. He entered on the same day but he left to Chile on monday. He sang in the devotional on Sunday and man……. that kid is SO shy and SO timid but I am telling you… he is powerful. He sang The Spirit of God and I know the entire congragation felt the spirit. He sang the second verse in Spanish which was really cool. Monday morning i saw him walking and complimented him. ah yeah ;]

From mysteriouswayoflife:

After President Brown’s talk, some of you might be interested to hear that Elder Archuletta sang “The Spirit of God”, with the second verse being in Spanish.  It was really great, and very emotional for everyone, including Elder Archulleta, whose voice was cracking for the last lines.

From Sister Morgan:

Anyways, this week has been pretty great.  The highlight was definitely last Sunday.  For our fireside Elder M. Russell Ballard came to speak to us.  It was the most wonderful suprise ever and on top of that he had Elder Archuleta sing. At first I was excited just to get to hear him but he ended up singing “The Spirit of God” and I can not even describe to you how strong the Spirit was especially when he sang the second verse in Spanish.  We were told that he is going to be serving in Chile and that he would leave the next day for the MTC down there.  Apparently Elder Ballard and him are quite close as he served as a sort of mentor/counselor for him.

From Elder Spencer Thompson:

Sunday for a fireside we had Elder M. Russell Ballard speak to us and give us the best kind of encouragement we needed as a final Sunday spiritual boom! We also had Elder David Archuleta sing The Spirit of God, oh and for all of these Archuleta fans that may be reading this email, I spoke with him and see him just about every day, he usually sits in one spot which is where my district sits. haha. I have spent more time with a celebrity in the MTC than I have ever done in my whole life. Crazy huh? Archuleta is someone we all can look up to. He is one of the most famous people in America, richer than rich, and he is out here serving the Lord. I had respect for him already for doing that, but after hearing him sing that song and watch him begin to cry because of how that song made him feel, he is an awesome person. Very awesome.

From Jen’s blog:

But this week has probably been one of the best weeks yet!! It started off w/ last tuesdays devotional when I sat in front of Elder David Archuleta and we had a good 10 minute convo before devo started… we are basically best friends now, except for he just left for Chile yesterday. But apparently he was actually supposed to go to Thailand last year but then it flooded, so he knew a little bit of Thai so that was fun! But ya he was really nice and I saw him here and there the rest of the week so it was fun!

Sunday was SOOO GOOODD!! Our devotional was amazing!! Our first speaker was President Brown (President of the MTC) then we had a musical Number by Elder Archuleta and he sang The Spirit of God, and did sooo good!! I wasn’t really a fan before, but I can now say I am a David Archuleta fan! hahaha Then our main speaker was M. Russell Ballard! So that makes it 3 apostles that have come out of the 6 weeks I’ve been here!!

From Elder Ian Derik Sanderson:

On Sunday night, Elder M. Russel Ballard came and talked to us. He spoke about expectations too. Elder Archuleta sang “The Spirit of God” for us. It was awesome. He can melt butter with his golden pipes. I was really impressed by the Spirit when he sang “armies of heaven” because that’s what we are. We are the army of heaven. We have this wonderful, fantastic, super baller message to share with the world. We are doing the Lord’s work. I’m so grateful to be a part of it.

From Elder Cayden Brown:

So Sunday was an incredible day. We had the privelege of hearing from M Russell Ballard, our fourth apostle! We are so lucky to hear from so many of them. It is honestly the best night when we find out an apostle is here. His talk was way good- such an incredible guy and it was nice because he was really relaxed but very powerful. One cool thing, everyone is going to love this, was that Elder Archuleta sang at this devotional. Apparently Ballard and him are good friends, how would it be to friends with an apostle, so it was kind of a night for both of them. I will not lie though, dang he can sing. It was an amazing song and so very spiritual. It was a very unique and memorable experience. . way good meeting.

From oncetherewasasister:

After sacrament meeting, it was time for the Fireside. M. Russell Ballard came. He was so funny! He made this one comment in reference to the twelve apostles, “We may be a bunch of old guys…..but we are pretty cool!” The whole place was laughing. Not only did he give a great talk, but we had a very special musical number by none other than David Archuletta. Now, those who know me know I am not a huge fan and the whole whoop about him here has been driving me nuts haha. But……he did amazing! Seriously I had chills like 12 different time. Homeboy can sing. It was his last week here so he even got emotional at the end. I think it is awesome he was willing to give up his music career to go on a mission.

From Elder Rainock:

Before he (Russel Ballard) spoke we heard a beautiful rendition of “The Spirit of God” by Elder Archuleta – all the sisters were in tears I’m sure, mainly because they knew they’d have to wait two years before having a chance with him. He sang in English and one verse in Spanish, it really was fantastic and he got pretty emotional at the end.

From Sister Danika Montgomery:

AND THEN…David Archuleta sang The Spirit of God.  In English and Spanish.  Like a pro.  Oh, wait…that’s what he is.  For good reason.  He got kind of emotional at the end but finished it like a trooper.  Sorry to be cliche, but you could have heard a pin drop.  Elder Ballard stood up immediately after and said: “Elder Archuleta…you’re a hard act to follow…”

From /Elder Cox:

After him, Elder David Archuleta sang. On Tuesday, for the devotional, we actually sat directly in front of him. Sister Itri wanted to talk to him, so she struck up a conversation with the guy next to him (behind us). Then Elder Archuleta asked her what language she was speaking and said that he had learned some Thai for a performance he was going to have in Thailand (cancelled due to flooding). I didn’t actually talk to him, but I met David Archuleta up close. Yeah, take that, Erin! I’m not a fan of his music. He got up on Sunday (since he left yesterday) to sing ”The Spirit of God”. He sang the first verse in English, then one in Spanish, then the last verse in English again. Holy. Freaking. Crap. The spirit was so strong while he sang. It was amazing, too. At the end, when he was singing ”Amen, and Amen” he started to cry. Usually I would think, oh great. But the spirit was so intense, I couldn’t help but feel for him. Sorry you missed it.