Standing on the Shoulders of Giants – July 23, 2000
We owe so much of what we enjoy today to others. As Gordon B. Hinckley has written, “We stand on the shoulders of those who preceded us, men and women of courage and conviction who, in the midst of adversity, put their trust in the Almighty and worked endlessly to make their dreams come true.”1
Whatever we may do today, our opportunities and enjoyments exist because of the courage of patriots, the vision of pioneers, and the inspiration of our ancestors. Following in their footsteps, we find that the roads to our dreams have been paved by their faith, perseverance, and sacrifice. We might echo the words of Sir Isaac Newton, who described his achievements: “If I have seen farther [than other men], it is by standing upon the shoulders of Giants.”2
We’ve each been able to see further and reach higher because of the efforts of others. Remembering these giants who have blessed our lives, we begin to realize that future generations will be shaped by our choices, and that ours will be the shoulders upon which they stand.
Our efforts need not be grandiose or well publicized to be important and far-reaching. We may never know how many others we lift when we let our dreams reach beyond our circumstances.
A decade after three-year-old Brandt Yardley was diagnosed with brain cancer, he wrote a book detailing his experiences with surgery, radiation treatments, and chemotherapy to offer hope and comfort to other children facing life-threatening conditions. Like the seeds blown from a dandelion, his book, Brandt’s Dream, will bless the lives of countless friends he may never meet.
When we look for ways to leave the world better than we found it, we are inviting future generations to stand on our shoulders. And, like the forebears we revere, we will be remembered for our selfless acts that outlive us.
A visitor to several rural communities commented on the size and location of many towering trees. Gazing at them, she could picture the loving hands that had planted and watered seedlings decades before so that future generations could enjoy the shade.
We can each be such a pioneer—one who leaves the world better by planting seeds of hope, courage, and love. All will be well in our families and in the world when we gratefully remember the giants upon whose shoulders we stand, and we faithfully leave footprints for future generations to follow.
Program #3701
1. Standing for Something (New York: Times Books, 2000), xvii.
2. John Bartlett, ed., Familiar Quotations, 15th ed. (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1980) 313.