Peace in Each Piece

The small advertisement in the Yugoslavian newspaper caught the eye of concert pianist Ljerka Pleslic Bjelinski.

“Wanted: Accomplished pianist to accompany professional singers from Vienna. Please contact the Zagreb Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

Ljerka, who has been playing the piano since she was four years old and who has a professional career in Yugoslavia, decided she had time to apply. At the branch, she met Lawrence Vincent, president of the Vienna International Branch, Vienna Austria Stake, and his wife, Jean, who had been invited to present a vocal recital in early 1987.

After agreeing to accompany the vocalists, Ljerka remembers that at the Saturday recital, “a feeling came over me that I will never be able to explain. I know that whatever happened had affected my playing, and I was playing better than I ever had before.”

The Vincents invited Ljerka to Church meetings, and she received a copy of the Book of Mormon. From the day after the recital, she attended church every Sunday until she was baptized on 24 December 1989.

Her son Alan, a well-known conductor in the country, commented on the notable difference in her life. “I liked the new peace in her playing and in her personality,” he said.

Sister Bjelinski, who is married to one of Yugoslavia’s leading composers, Bruno Bjelinski, now knows that the feeling was the Spirit. She is anxious to share her experience with those around her.

When possible, she has her twenty-four students perform in the Zagreb meetinghouse. “My students feel something special when they play there, but they don’t know why. I believe musicians have a great contact with the Spirit.”

Sister Bjelinski is active in the Zagreb Branch, Austria Vienna East Mission, and does not limit her service to performing. “I will serve any way I can,” she says.—Ken Rogerson, Layton, Utah

Pianist Ljerka Bjelinski has found that spiritual feelings expressed through music can do much good. (Photo by Peggy Jellinghausen.)