Today I have been asked to speak on humility. True to the Faith tells us that “to be humble is to recognize gratefully our dependence on the Lord—to understand that we have constant need for His support. Humility is an acknowledgment that our talents and abilities are gifts from God.” King Benjamin teaches this principle in Mosiah 4:11, when he teaches: “And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and haveatasted of his love, and have received a bremission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own cnothingness, and his dgoodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of ehumility, fcalling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing gsteadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.”
As a child, I did not understand the concept of humility. I thought that humility meant believing we were of little worth. It wasn’t until I was older that I understood that humility does not mean pondering our worthlessness; rather, in my many ways it helps us understand our great worth. By acknowledging our dependence on God, we come to greater understand all that He does for us, and the great love He has for us as His children. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has taught, “Some suppose that humility is about beating ourselves up. Humility does not mean convincing ourselves that we are worthless, meaningless, or of little value. Nor does it mean denying or withholding the talents God has given us. We don’t discover humility by thinking less of ourselves; we discover humility by thinking less about ourselves. It comes as we go about our work with an attitude of serving God and our fellowman.” We should remember the example the Savior has set for us. At the end of His mortal life, the Savior took the time to humbly wash His disciples’ feet. He told them: “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him” (John 13:14–16).
While I misunderstood humility to mean acknowledging a lack of worth, the word is sometimes misunderstood in other ways. Some would view humility as a weakness, an undesirable character trait. Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the Seventy has said, “it should come as no surprise that, in the estimation of some, humility ranks quite low on the scale of desirable character traits. Popular books have been written in recent years on integrity, common sense, civility, and a host of other virtues, but apparently there is little market for humility. Obviously, in these coarsening times when we are taught the art of negotiating by intimidation, and assertiveness has become a byword of the business world, those seeking to become humble will be a small and overlooked but critically important minority.”
It is important that we remember that humility “is not a sign of weakness, timidity, or fear; it is an indication that we know where our true strength lies (True to the Faith).” The Lord has told us, in Ether 12: 27, “And if men come unto me I will show unto them theiraweakness. I bgive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my cgrace is sufficient for all men that dhumble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make eweak things become strong unto them.” Recognizing our dependence on God and Christ can bring us courage and confidence. In Alma 26:12, Ammon tells us “Yea, I know that I am anothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will bnot boast of myself, but I will cboast of my God, for in his dstrength I can do all ethings”. By humbling ourselves before God, we receive greater strength and power than we could ever have on our own.
Bishop Richard C. Edgley has noted that “In the kingdom of God, greatness begins with humility and submissiveness. These companion virtues are the first critical steps to opening the doors to the blessings of God and the power of the priesthood. It matters not who we are or how lofty our credentials appear. Humility and submissiveness to the Lord, coupled with a grateful heart, are our strength and our hope.” He goes on to say that “Humbly submitting our will to the Father brings us the empowerment of God—the power of humility. It is the power to meet life’s adversities, the power of peace, the power of hope, the power of a heart throbbing with a love for and testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ, even the power of redemption.” Far from being weakness, humility gives us power to do the things upon the earth that Christ would have us do. President Uchtdorf has noted that while “Pride is a switch that turns off priesthood power. Humility is a switch that turns it on.” Elder Bruce R. McConkie said that “All progress in spiritual things is conditioned upon the prior attainment of humility.”
All that we have and all that we are comes from the Father. Elder Neal A. Maxwell once said that: "The submission of one's will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God's altar. The many other things we 'give,' . . . are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God's will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!" Giving our will to the Lord is one way we can show true gratitude for all that He has done for us.
Jesus Christ is the best example of humility. Although He lived a perfect life, He always acknowledged that His strength came because of His Father. In John 5:30, He said “I can of mine own self do nothing… I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” In the Garden of Gethsemane, as He prepared to suffer for the sins of the world, the Savior said, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” In speaking of Christ’s Atonement, Elder Marlin K. Jensen has said that “the greatest act of courage and love in the history of mankind—Christ’s atoning sacrifice—was also the greatest act of humility and submissiveness.”
What can we do to develop humility in our own lives? The Savior has told us that “Whosoever therefore shall ahumble himself as this little bchild, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18: 4.)” From this verse we learn that to become humble, we must become as a child. What does it mean to become as a child? In Mosiah 3:19, King Benjamin taught: “For the anatural bman is an cenemy to God, and has been from the dfall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he eyields to the enticings of the Holy fSpirit, and gputteth off the hnatural man and becometh a isaint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a jchild, ksubmissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.” These are the qualities we should seek to develop within ourselves if we want to be truly humble.
A key to developing humility is to avoid pride. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has described pride as “a sin of comparison, for though it usually begins with ‘Look how wonderful I am and what great things I have done,’ it always seems to end with ‘Therefore, I am better than you.’” Elder Dallin H. Oaks has taught: “Those who engage in self-congratulation over a supposed strength have lost the protection of humility and are vulnerable to Satan’s using that strength to produce their downfall. In contrast, if we are humble and teachable, hearkening to the commandments of God, the counsel of his leaders, and the promptings of his Spirit, we can be guided in how to use our spiritual gifts, our accomplishments, and all of our other strengths for righteousness.”
Bishop Edgley shares a story that exemplifies humility, particularly in regards to hearkening to the counsel of our church leaders. “A story is told of an encounter between the Prophet Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. In the presence of a rather large group of brethren, the Prophet severely chastised Brother Brigham for some failing in his duty. Everyone, I suppose somewhat stunned, waited to see what Brigham’s response would be. After all, Brigham, who later became known as the Lion of the Lord, was no shrinking violet by any means. Brigham slowly rose to his feet, and in words that truly reflected his character and his humility, he simply bowed his head and said, “Joseph, what do you want me to do?” The story goes that sobbing, Joseph ran from the podium, threw his arms around Brigham, and said in effect, “You passed, Brother Brigham, you passed” (see Truman G. Madsen, “Hugh B. Brown—Youthful Veteran,” New Era, Apr. 1976, 16).”
As we seek to follow the Savior’s example and become more humble, I know that we will be brought closer to God. We will be empowered by our humility to do the things that God has required of us. Humility is not weakness, but rather a strength, and it will help shape us into who our Father wants us to be. I testify of these things, and I close in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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