Common Hour Quotes

A boy was extended an invitation to visit his uncle who was a lumberjack in the
Northwest. As he arrived his uncle met him at the depot, and as the two pursued their way to their lumber camp, the boy was impressed by the enormous size
of the trees. There was a gigantic tree, which he observed standing all
alone on top of a small hill. The boy, full of awe, called out excitedly, “Uncle George, look at that big tree! It will make a lot of good lumber, won’t it?” Uncle George slowly shook his head, then replied, “No son, that tree will not make a lot of good lumber. It might make a lot of lumber, but no a lot of good lumber. When a tree grows by itself, too many branches grow on it. Those branches produce knots when the tree is cut into lumber. The best lumber comes from trees that grow in groves. The trees all grow taller and straighter when they grow together.” (Henry D. Taylor, LDS General Conference Report, April 1965)