1/20/19 - Can you hear the music of the Spirit? by Elder Uchtdorf

Sweet Emma,

When you are feeling down with the challenges of life, Elder Uchtdorf offers some advise:

"Jesus Christ issues a 'gentle call' for all to follow Him.  Meanwhile, Heavenly Father has a profound and beautiful message" to impart to His children...but do we hear their voices?

Elder Uchtdorf tells of a story of a casually dressed man who walked into a  Washington, D.C. subway, pulled a violin from its case and began to play soulful, soft music.  Thousands of commuters passed the musician on their way to work...their busy minds occupied with everyday cares and worries. 

"In their rush to get to where they were going, most of the commuters failed to notice that the man was Joshua Bell, one of the world's most accomplished violinists. He played a centuries-old violin handcrafted by Antonio Stradivari that was worth millions of dollars.  And the music he played was some of the most challenging and beautiful ever composed. 

"Joshua Bell's anonymous performance was part of a social experiment to determine if busy people would recognize or ignore sublime music played by a brilliant artist on an unparalleled instrument.  Some of the experiment organizers worried the impromptu performance would cause a traffic control nightmare at the station with hundreds crowding around to listened to the famed violinist.  But something entirely different occurred.  Nearly 1,100 people passed by Joshua Bell during his 45 minute performance.  Yet only seven stopped to take in his performance....

"We sometimes get so caught up in the grind of everyday life that we fail to recognize the sublime voice of the Spirit and disregard the profound an beautiful message our loving Heavenly Father imparts to us....  Elder Uchtdorf challenges us to look inside our hearts and hear the music of the Spirit.....If we attune our hearts, eyes, and ears to recognizing the Spirit- if we strive to  walk in the way of light- we will surely find what we seek.  We will surely learn how to hear the music....Being a disciple of Christ does not mean we live perfectly.  It means we stay on the path.  We rise when we stumble.  We hold onto the light we are given, even when we feel darkness gathering around us.....God's glorious light, love and power is all around you, always.  You need only to seek it."  (from a BYU devotional Jan 15, 2019)

If you are ever burdened with the "sameness" of your mission, please try looking for those bits of "music" all around you...evidence of God's love for you.  You are doing better than you think you are!

I love you!

💜Mom

p.s.  The other day Mari and I saw a crow fly overhead and we wished it were a parrot....like the one you saw!