The Quest for Excellence | Gordon B. Hinckley

Stand a little taller, rise a little higher, be a little better. We are of the family of God, with such a tremendous potential for excellence.

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/gordon...

"I first read these words 67 years ago in a college English class:

What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form, in moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! [William Shakespeare, Hamlet, act 2, scene 2]

I recognize that these words of Hamlet were spoken in irony. And yet there is so much of truth in them. They describe the great potential excellence of men and women. If Shakespeare had written nothing else, I think he would have been remembered for these few words of soliloquy. They go hand in hand with these words of David:

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. [Psalms 8:3–5]

And the words of the Lord to Job when He spoke out of the whirlwind and declared:

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. . . .

When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? [Job 38:4, 7]

These magnificent words declare the wonder of man. And when I speak of man, I of course speak also of woman. We are all children of God, and there is something of His divinity within each of us. We are more than a son or daughter of Mr. and Mrs. So-and-So who reside in such-and-such a place. We are more than a student at BYU. We are of the family of God, with such a tremendous potential for excellence. The distance between mediocrity and excellence can be ever so small. As we shall see again when the Winter Olympics come to Salt Lake City in 2002, that difference will be measured in tenths of seconds. The little extra effort we make becomes such a tremendous difference." - President Gordon B. Hinckley

Gordon B. Hinckley was president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when this devotional address was given at Brigham Young University on 10 November 1998.

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