The Dreadful Organ and a Lesson in Love by Kami Lee

At the beginning of the year I was called to be the ward organist. When I was first extended the calling, I felt reluctant to accept it considering I had only had one semester of beginning lessons and had not played in over a year. Still, I accepted and began to prepare the songs for the next Sunday. The songs that had been chosen were not very common. Throughout the week I practiced and felt that I would be fine. 

Sunday morning came and soon it was time for the opening song. It was horrible! The tempo was dragging and the bass line I was playing on the pedals didn't seem to match up with the rest of the music. I could only imagine how red my face was. It finally ended, but then it was time for the Sacrament hymn. That wasn't as bad as the first song, but bad enough that I felt my face grow a shade darker. I then went to take my seat next to the organ until it was time for the closing song. I was so embarrassed that I couldn't bring myself to look up to the congregation for fear that I would meet someone's eye. Finally it came time to end the meeting. I began to play the closing song which most people are not familiar with. I had thought that the opening song had been terrible, but the closing song was ten times worse! It was awful! Out of the corner of my eye I swear I thought I could see the bishopric flinch a couple of times. I couldn't wait for it to be over, and it seemed that every verse was longer than the last. Eventually it came to an end. 

The closing prayer was said, and I began to play postlude while tears began to well up in my eyes. I felt like I had failed everyone that day. Then out of nowhere a pair of arms wrapped around my shoulders. It was a sister in the ward that I didn't know very well. She whispered in my ear, "Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us." As she walked away I felt the tears threatening to spill over. I was gathering up my things to leave when another sister that plays the organ stopped and began to tell me some things that I was doing wrong and how to fix those problems. At that moment I couldn't believe she would do that. Couldn't she see how humiliated I already was? After that I avoided as many people as possible.

By that night I still hadn't gotten over my embarrassment, and it soon became apparent that I was eventually going to have to face members of my ward, as I see a lot of them on a daily basis. I dreaded those following days. I did run into a handful of ward members that week, and yes, they all brought up the dreadful organ, but they all seemed to have one thing in common: encouragement. Each person I talked to encouraged me to continue on, keep practicing, and I would soon catch on. I was amazed at the responses. I then thought of the sister that had stopped me to tell me how to fix some of my problems. She wasn't trying to bring me down; she was only trying to give me some advice to help me become better.

This experience has taught me just how valuable it is to love one another. President Howard W. Hunter once said, "We need to be kinder, more gentle, more forgiving, and slower to anger. We need to love one another with the pure love of Christ." I know that it was through those individuals that my humble prayers were answered.