Keep Playing

A mother, wishing to encourage her young piano student, bought tickets for a performance of the great Polish pianist, Paderewski. The night of the concert arrived and the mother and son found their seats near the front of the concert hall. While the mother visited with friends, the boy slipped quietly away.

“Suddenly, it was time for the performance to begin and a single spotlight cut through the darkness of the concert hall to illuminate the grand piano on stage. Only then did the audience notice the little boy on the bench, innocently picking out ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.’

“His mother gasped, but before she could move, Paderewski appeared on stage and quickly moved to the keyboard. He whispered to the boy, ‘Don’t quit. Keep playing.’ And then, leaning over, the master reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child, to add a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized.

“In our lives, unpolished though we may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear, time and time again, ‘Don’t quit. Keep playing.’ And as we do, He augments and supplements until a work of amazing beauty is created. He is right there with all of us, telling us over and over, ‘Keep playing.’"

Eye Single

"Latter-day Saints whose eyes are single to God’s glory see life from a vastly different perspective than those whose attention is directed elsewhere. Such members, for instance, care little about receiving credit or recognition for their good deeds. They are more interested in feeding the Lord’s sheep than in counting them. In fact, they frequently find their greatest happiness in serving anonymously, thereby leaving the beneficiaries of their kindness with no one to thank or praise except the Lord."
-Elder Marlin K. Jensen 

How People Improve

"My experience has taught me this about how people and organizations improve: the best place to look is for small changes we could make in things we do often. There is power in steadiness and repetition. And if we can be led by inspiration to choose the right small things to change, consistent obedience will bring great improvement."
-Elder Henry B. Eyring

Heaven

“Heaven is a place, but also a condition; it is home and family. It is understanding and kindness. It is interdependence and selfless activity. It is quiet, sane living; personal sacrifice, genuine hospitality, wholesome concern for others. It is living the commandments of God without ostentation or hypocrisy. It is selflessness. It is all about us. We need only to be able to recognize it as we find it and enjoy it."
-President Spener W. Kimball

The Cultivation of Christlike Qualities

“The cultivation of Christlike qualities is a demanding and relentless task—it is not for the seasonal worker or for those who will not stretch themselves, again and again.”
-President Spencer W. Kimball

Differences

"The children of God have more in common than they have differences. And even the differences can be seen as an opportunity. God will help us see a difference in someone else not as a source of irritation but as a contribution. The Lord can help you see and value what another person brings which you lack."
-President Henry B. Eyring

The Joy of Unity

"The joy of unity He wants so much to give us is not solitary. We must seek it and qualify for it with others. It is not surprising then that God urges us to gather so that He can bless us."
-President Henry B. Eyring

Modest in Your Wants

"I think of many of our younger single and married members; I hope that you will be modest in your physical wants. You do not need everything that you might wish. And the very struggle of your younger years will bring a sweetness and security to your later life."
-President Gordon B. Hinckley

He Needs All of Us

"I’ve often wondered of the struggles that may have plagued the mind of Moses when the Lord asked him to leave his royal privileges and position in order to serve him in abject poverty and meagerness. Contrast his mission with the Lord’s design for Joseph to stay in Egypt, to use his power and prestige for righteous purposes. Apparently Jeremiah was never given the blessings of marriage or children although Jacob had the comfort and companionship of four righteous women and many children. Joshua seems to have been an incredibly confident, charismatic, take-charge kind of leader, but Moses was often reluctant and tentative and sometimes had to ask the Lord twice for directions. Each had a crucial—but very different—role to play.

"Furthermore, age seems to make little difference in the diversity of this tapestry. David was a Mere child when he deftly dispatched Goliath, but Abraham was more than one hundred years old when he gave us the supreme Mortal example of faith and obedience. Esther had the wealth and attention of kings, giving her the opportunity to help save a nation, whereas Ruth was a poor, unaccepted Moabite—but one whose royal blood, ironically, carried the lineage of the Son of God himself. The Lord uses us because of our unique personalities and differences rather than in spite of them. He needs all of us, with all our blemishes and weaknesses and limitations."
-Patricia Holland

Preludes to An Even Greater "Yes"

"Sometimes in our sowing and reaping and sifting, it may seem that God says 'no' or 'not now' or 'I don’t think so' when what we want for him to say—what we wish our tapestry to receive—is an affirmative 'yes' or 'certainly, right now' or 'of course it can be yours.' I want you to know that in my life when I have had disappointments and delays, I have lived to see that if I continue to knock with unshakable faith and persist in my patience—waiting upon the Lord and his calendar—I have discovered that the Lord’s 'no’s' are merely preludes to an even greater 'yes.' I have learned in the twenty-five years since I was your age that the very delays and denials we worry about most, the very differences from each other that trouble our self-esteem, are the differences and delays that are the very best for our happiness and fulfillment."
-Patricia Holland