LEHI — As three of the 93 members in the Lehi Area Chamber of Commerce, Laurie Bailey, Karl Tobler and Josh Walker associate with one another frequently. There are chamber meetings and business meetings — oh, and then choir practice.

The Utah County residents sing together in the 360-member Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

“The first response when someone finds out I’m a member of the choir is almost like meeting a rock star. They always want to know what it’s like,” Bailey said.

Tobler travels outside Utah and meets people who know about the LDS Church’s choir. As a matter of fact, each choir member is considered a musical missionary.

“Just yesterday, I golfed in Hawaii with a man from Los Angeles. He knew of the choir’s reputation. I’ve been with other men who swore and when they found out that I was in the choir they apologized for swearing in front of me. There is a great deal of respect,” Tobler said.

Even though the choir is sizable, there is some public exposure for the three, especially during the LDS Church’s semiannual general conference.

“I have a lot of friends that tell me they play a game during conference of ‘who can spot Josh first,’ ” Walker said.

Walker is not only on the LACC executive board but the American Fork and Pleasant Grove chambers’ boards. He owns Walker Productions and the Little Ad Magazine. Bailey is the 2013 chamber chairwoman and is the project assistant for Big-D Construction in its Lindon office. Tobler owns Mattress Warehouse’s six stores.

Plus all three have families and civic duties.

“It is very difficult to juggle so many things that tug and demand of my time. I have to be selective and decide which has greater good and opportunity at a given time,” Tobler said.

An empty nester, his children are starting their own families, which he said relieves him of one huge time commitment, but the choir commitment is huge. Each member is required to be at practice every Thursday night, Sunday morning and sometimes Tuesday nights. Often there are longer practices on Sunday after the “Music and the Spoken Word” broadcast.

“I’ve been in a bishopric, a scoutmaster and in the stake young men’s presidency and none of these was as busy as the choir commitment,” he said.

There also are conferences, tours, concerts to prepare for and recordings to make. A usual time frame for the week of a recording and Christmas concert is Tuesday through Friday evening, and most of Saturday. The choir goes on tour every other year for about 10-13 days.

Walker said he couldn’t do it without his wife.

“There is no way I would be able to volunteer and serve in so many organizations without the love and support of my wife, Julane, and family. My wife strongly encouraged me to audition for the choir and is my greatest supporter in work, church and everything else,” he said.

Each has individuals reasons for being in choir.

“Being in the choir helps me in my business by learning to be a part of the team, not being out on my own but part of a bigger organization that needs to work together,” Tobler said. “When I am in choir, I am not the boss. I can and need to cooperate and listen and do my job the best I can.”

He said he takes that knowledge and reinforces what he has learned with his work team.

Then there are the “wow” moments.

“There are amazing spiritual moments that happen while singing with the choir and there are times when it’s difficult to sing because of how strong the spirit is hitting me. I love doing concerts with guest artists and singing at conference. I also love the friendships I have formed and how we are like a family,” Walker said.

Participating in the Nauvoo temple dedication was one of those moments for Bailey. “We were so lucky to be a part of that. And the other concerts we performed while in that area were wonderful,” she said.

“There are many ‘wow’ moments,” Tobler said. “Singing this very inspiring and some famous music is in itself a ‘wow’ experience. One of the major reasons for music in our church meetings is to invite the spirit to be there and to open the hearts of those worshiping. So when we sang ‘Come thou fount of every blessing’ in conference a year ago it was a major spiritual experience for many of us and many of those who listened.”

Walker said choir is a family legacy.

“My great-grandfather and my grandmother were both in the choir and I’m grateful I can carry on the family singing legacy,” Walker said.

For Tobler, being a choir member was a lifelong dream.

“My great-grandmother Sarah Smith Noall sang in the choir back in 1927 and I wanted to serve and share my talents,” Tobler said.

Bailey’s son and her sister for a time were in the choir.

“I have a feeling of a different outlook on life when in the choir,” Bailey said. “There is so much memorization that I am always listening to a practice CD or refreshing in my mind previous numbers that are coming up on ‘Music and the Spoken Word.’ So those songs are always running in the back of my mind. Literally there is always a hymn going through my mind while working — whether on the computer or phone at work. I try to keep that peaceful feeling during working hours and share that with my fellow employees, friends.”