Inspiring Short: Can You Hear the Music? | Dieter F. Uchtdorf | 2024

On January 12, 2007, a man dressed in a jeans and a t-shirt walked into a Washington DC subway station, pulled a violin from its case and began to play. As he played, thousands of commuters passed the train station on their way to work. They had busy days ahead of them. A list of things to do, worries and troubles. Their minds were occupied with everyday trivial things. But some undoubtedly were wrestling with greater problems, challenging health diagrams, relationships that were unraveling, financial loss or some other pressing anxieties. In short, these people were people like you and me, but consumed with trivial and tragic, the pity and profound. Did they notice the musician? Or was the man with the violin merely part of the impressionistic blur that shaded the all-too- familiar backdrop of their daily lives? The man's name was Joshua Bell, one of the most accomplished musicians in the world. The violin he played was handcrafted in 1713 by Antonio Stradivari. Joshua Bell had purchased it a few years earlier for an estimated three and a half million dollars. And the music he played was some of the most challenging and beautiful ever composed. Now, this whole experience in the subway station had been set up by a journalist from the Washington Post, who was curious to know what would happen if a world-class musician given an ominous virtuoso performance in the walkways of an ordinary subway station. Now here's what happened. Of the nearly 1,100 people who passed by Joshua Bell during his 45-minute performance, only seven people stopped what they were doing to hang around and take in the performance at least for a minute. The lesson this story teaches is profound. Not only does it tell us something important about life and living, it reveals important insight into our spiritual lives as well. We sometimes get so caught up in the grind of everyday life that we fail to recognize the sublime voice of the Spirit. This experiment can prompt us to look inside our hearts and ask, can I hear the music of the Spirit? I testify that our loving Father in Heaven is reaching out to you. The Savior is speaking to you. Come, follow me. In every hour of the day and throughout the night, he communicates through the divine music of the Spirit. Can you hear it?