On Humility

Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.
--Moses 1:10

It is a long time coming that I write explicitly on humility, as it is one of things that I need to work on the most. Perhaps it was pride, the nemesis of humility, which has kept me from broaching which I sense for many is a difficult topic to face.

The great Gospel reference book True to the Faith tells us that humility is "an acknowledgment that your talents and abilities are gifts from God. It is not a sign of weakness, timidity, or fear; it is an indication that you know where your true strength lies." (p. 86) This is referring to the notion that our strength lies in the Savior and His Atonement. On paper this is an easy thing to say, but how difficult it is to truly acknowledge this in our daily lives!

I think that becoming truly humble, recognizing the Lord in our lives starts by gaining faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in His power to save. It does not come in the self-effacing form, being of a "sad countenance" (see Matt. 6:16). Humility is not publicly belittling ourselves.

I learned this as a youth from a golf instructor who had learned this principle long before I started taking lessons from him. Every week I would receive lessons from him on the driving range, and if I did well during the beginning of the lesson he would take me out on the course to play a few holes with him. He of course always beat me, but in kind was always willing to provide positive support when I did well. On one occasion he complimented me for a good hole, and I responded that I really wasn't that good. As I recall, he asked why I answered in this self-effacing manner, and I responded that I didn't want to look proud. He calmly replied that a "thank you" would suffice. That experience has stuck with me to this day, and reminds me that it's okay to have talents, but it's not okay to misattribute their source. Humility comes as we recognize that our talents, just as fast as we receive and develop them, may be taken away if we do not use them to serve.

In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin gave a wondrous discourse on human nature, including a nugget on the importance of humility:

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 have tasted of his love, and have received a remission 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 nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.

And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.

--Mosiah 4:11-12

How great are these promises if we remain humble! If we know that we can be always rejoicing, be filled with love of God, have a remission of sins, and grow in knowledge of the Savior, why is it that we tend to exalt ourselves over our brother or sister? This question can be answered in a number of ways, but I would like to simply say that it is because we are imperfect, and tend to look toward helping ourselves before helping our neighbor.

This brings me to a point about gaining humility: we are humble as we sincerely acknowledge others before ourselves, finding joy in the accomplishments of others. My childhood golf instructor was again a great example to me of this virtue, constantly involved in my well-being, seemingly laying aside his own preoccupations to teach me about golf and life. There were many times that I showed up late to lessons, or forgot to bring my check in on time. However, he always saw past this, because he seemingly knew that these issues were non-issues in the grand scheme of life. He truly emulated Christlike qualities.

It is my prayer that we all may be able to emulate the Savior in all that we do. May we always acknowledge that our strength comes from Him, and his Atonement which makes growth and progression possible.

Have a great week!