Harmonizing Our Lives – January 14, 2001
Many of life’s sweetest joys result from being part of something greater than ourselves. Happy families, lasting friendships, successful careers—all require us to love and respect others enough to work beside them, to stand behind them, and to protect their interests as our own. Harmonizing our lives with the lives of people around us is seldom easy, but our success and happiness depend on it.
The wonderful sounds of choirs and symphonies are possible because each musician adds something more to the music. In like manner, our Heavenly Father has placed us each on earth with something to contribute to the beautiful harmonies that can exist in our homes, neighborhoods, and communities.
As Walt Whitman wrote, “You are here . . . life exists . . . the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse.”1
In 1989 the contributions of many turned tragedy into harmony when a 10-year-old boy was lost in the expansive Hidden Treasure Mine. While family, friends, and concerned strangers searched the 21 miles of abandoned caverns, others arrived with food, offered resources, and prayers, or expressed their concern to the grieving family.
After five days of searching, Joshua Dennis was found because a man who had spent time in the mine as a child led searchers to a location they had missed. Then another volunteer, who had gotten low scores on hearingtests, heard the missing boy’s cries for help.2
Life’s greatest satisfactions often come not from singing solos; they come from realizing that God invites us to combine our efforts with the talents of others. When we do, we create wonders none of us could have accomplished alone.
Program #3726
1. “O Me! O Life!” Leaves of Grass, lines 9-10.
2. Carolyn Goates Campbell, “Hidden Treasures: Ten-Year-Old Josh Dennis Lost in Mine,” Ensign, August 1991, 30-35.