To the Lord greatness is meekness, strength is humility, and power is faith.
Humility, a Key Virtue
Could the lowly virtue of humility be the key that unlocks the path to perfection, this simple virtue that is so often seen by the world as merely weakness, could it contain some great power to perfect the human heart? Is humility a key virtue, a virtue that has the power to unlock other virtues, virtues such as faith, obedience, charity, patients, courage; qualities that we seek for in our lives that somehow elude us no matter how hard we strive for them? Explore with me the role that humility plays in our road to perfection, since ultimately our goal is that, to “be… perfect even as… [Our] Father in Heaven is perfect.”(Matt 5:48)
The best place to start this journey is in the knowledge that the true key to perfection is Christ; it is only through Christ that we can be exalted and perfected to live in the celestial kingdom as perfect immortal beings. After all we can do, it will not be possible to perfect ourselves; we must rely on the atonement of our loving Savior. Christ says over and over come unto me, “I am the way the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) The way to eternal life is through following Christ, through obedience to his commandments our feet are put on the path to perfection and eternal life. Where we all get into trouble, in this seemingly simple doctrine, is that point in our lives when we know what is right, but we have trouble doing what it right. We know that faith without works is dead (James 2:17-20), so this is where we all end up, this is where we struggle, in the doing, not necessarily the believing. Have you ever struggled to keep the commandments of the Lord and over and over again you’ve failed. You probably wondered things like; “how can I do it”, “how can I follow him”, “what is the first step that I must take.” Have you ever become discouraged with what seems like an everlasting personal struggle against your own weakness? You may be surprised to find out that humility is a good place to start to come unto Jesus.
Trust
“Come unto Jesus, ye heavy laden,
Careworn and fainting by sin oppressed.
He’ll safely guide you unto that heaven,
where all who trust him may rest.”
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil." (Proverbs 3: 5)
“Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.” (Psalms 4:5)
“And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.
My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.
He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.
He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me.” (2 Nephi 4:19)
“O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.” (2 Nephi 4:34)
“For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.
Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.” (2 Nephi 28:30-31)
“And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved.” (Alma 5:13)
“And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.” (Alma 36:3)
“And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.” (D&C 11:12)
How is meekness different from humility?
“Come unto Jesus; he’ll surely hear you
If you in meekness plead for his love,
Oh, know you not that, angles are near you,
from brightest mansions above.”
Dictionary definitions: humbly patient or docile, as under provocation from others. overly submissive or compliant; spiritless; tame. gentle; kind. forbearing; yielding; unassuming; pacific, calm, soft. the feeling of patient, submissive humbleness. a disposition to be patient and long suffering.
Could the lowly virtue of humility be the key that unlocks the path to perfection, this simple virtue that is so often seen by the world as merely weakness, could it contain some great power to perfect the human heart? Is humility a key virtue, a virtue that has the power to unlock other virtues, virtues such as faith, obedience, charity, patients, courage; qualities that we seek for in our lives that somehow elude us no matter how hard we strive for them? Explore with me the role that humility plays in our road to perfection, since ultimately our goal is that, to “be… perfect even as… [Our] Father in Heaven is perfect.”(Matt 5:48)
The best place to start this journey is in the knowledge that the true key to perfection is Christ; it is only through Christ that we can be exalted and perfected to live in the celestial kingdom as perfect immortal beings. After all we can do, it will not be possible to perfect ourselves; we must rely on the atonement of our loving Savior. Christ says over and over come unto me, “I am the way the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) The way to eternal life is through following Christ, through obedience to his commandments our feet are put on the path to perfection and eternal life. Where we all get into trouble, in this seemingly simple doctrine, is that point in our lives when we know what is right, but we have trouble doing what it right. We know that faith without works is dead (James 2:17-20), so this is where we all end up, this is where we struggle, in the doing, not necessarily the believing. Have you ever struggled to keep the commandments of the Lord and over and over again you’ve failed. You probably wondered things like; “how can I do it”, “how can I follow him”, “what is the first step that I must take.” Have you ever become discouraged with what seems like an everlasting personal struggle against your own weakness? You may be surprised to find out that humility is a good place to start to come unto Jesus.
Trust
“Come unto Jesus, ye heavy laden,
Careworn and fainting by sin oppressed.
He’ll safely guide you unto that heaven,
where all who trust him may rest.”
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil." (Proverbs 3: 5)
“Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.” (Psalms 4:5)
“And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.
My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.
He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.
He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me.” (2 Nephi 4:19)
“O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.” (2 Nephi 4:34)
“For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.
Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.” (2 Nephi 28:30-31)
“And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved.” (Alma 5:13)
“And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.” (Alma 36:3)
“And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.” (D&C 11:12)
How is meekness different from humility?
“Come unto Jesus; he’ll surely hear you
If you in meekness plead for his love,
Oh, know you not that, angles are near you,
from brightest mansions above.”
Dictionary definitions: humbly patient or docile, as under provocation from others. overly submissive or compliant; spiritless; tame. gentle; kind. forbearing; yielding; unassuming; pacific, calm, soft. the feeling of patient, submissive humbleness. a disposition to be patient and long suffering.
· meek - humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness; "meek and self-effacing"
· meek - very docile; "tame obedience"; "meek as a mouse"- Langston Hughes
· meek - evidencing little spirit or courage; overly submissive or compliant; "compliant and anxious to suit his opinions of those of others"; "a fine fiery blast against meek conformity"- Orville Prescott; "she looked meek but had the heart of a lion"; "was submissive and subservient"
meek - Humble, modest, meager, or self-effacing; Submissive, despirited, or of broken will
Meekness is a word most often defined by the word humble, but if we look to the scriptures we will better understand what the Lord meant when he said “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matt 5:5) Though in this case meekness and humility are sunomonous, in general there is a interesting distinction between the two terms. Meekness is a precursor to the virtue of humility. The meek of the earth are those who have suffered, who have had many trials in their lives, who have endured much sorrow and pain. Weather they suffer in innocence at the hands of wicked men, or the uncontrollable forces of nature, or weather they suffer of plagues of conscience and sin, follies of human weakness, and disasters of their own making, isn’t an important factor in the creation of meekness, but what is essential is that they are humbled through their suffering, unto the bringing of their hearts to Christ. Christ was born among a lowly people, a people who had been in bondage for many thousands of years, a people who had known sorrow and pain. He felt great compassion for them, there were however only a few who were meek and humble, and these are the ones who followed him. These are the ones who gained from their sorrow a humble heart and a contrite spirit, and who in humility recognized righteousness.
David writes in Psalm 37 about what we should do when we suffer, when our lives are difficult, and when we are sorely tried and tested. His council if followed is what separates the meek from the downtrodden, despondent, and desperate wretches of the earth. “Fret not thyself because of the evildoers…for they shall soon be cut down…Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Cease from anger…for those who wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be…but the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” (Psalm 37: 1-11) To be meek unto the turning of our heart to the Lord means that we cannot be angry in our suffering, we can’t give in to negativity and despair in life’s hardship, but we must be positive and patient, we must trust in the Lord, and endure it well. When we have this attitude about suffering and trial, then we will be meek, and when we are meek we will be fed, we will have peace, and we will inherit the earth.
A favorite play of mine, Les Miserable, provides an interesting study in meekness, humility and the eventual strength that they create in a person’s character. In the beginning of the play a convict out on parole, who has suffered much injustice in his life, develops a meek and humble heart. Jan Valjean, upon being released from prison is invited into the home of a priest. He is treated with kindness, at a time when he had no friend in the world, but despite this act of charity he takes advantage of the priest and assaults him and steals from him. What happens next changes the life path of Valjean, as he is given a priceless gift by this wise priest. As you read this excerpt from the play notice the impact that a momentary diction by a man of God, has on the feelings of Valjean.
Soldier: “Tell his reverence your story –
Let us see if he’s impressed –
You were lodging here last night you were the honest bishop’s guest –
And then out of Christian goodness when he learned about your plight,
You maintain he made a present of this silver” –
Priest: [to the Soldiers] “That is right.
[To Val jean] “But my friend you left so early, surely something slipped your mind,
you forgot I gave these also, would you leave the best behind.”
[to the Soldiers] “So masseur’s you may release him, for this man has spoken true,
I commend you for your duty, may God’s blessing go with you.”
[to Valjean]
“And remember this my brother, see in this some higher plan,
you must use this precious silver, to become an honest man.
By the witness of the martyr’s, by the passion and the blood,
God has raised you out of darkness; I have bought your soul for God.”
Jan Valjean: [alone now]
“What have I done, sweet Jesus, what have I done,
become a thief in the night, become a dog on the run,
have I fallen so far, and is the hour so late
that nothing remains but the cry of my hate,
the cries in the dark that nobody hears,
Here where I stand at the turning of the years.”
“If there’s another way to go,
I missed it twenty long years ago –
my life was a war that could never be won,
they gave me a number, and murdered Valjean
and they chained me and left me for dead,
just for stealing a mouth full of bread.”
“Yet why did I allow that man, to touch my soul and teach me love.
He treated me like any other, he gave me his trust, he called me brother.
My life he claims for God above, can such things be,
for I had come to hate the world, this world that always hated me.”
“Take a life for a life; turn your heart into stone,
This is all I have lived for; this is all I have known.
A word from him and I’d be back, beneath the lash, upon the rack,
Instead he offers me my freedom; I feel my shame inside me like a knife.
He told me that I have a soul, how does he know?
What spirit comes to move my life, is there another way to go?”
“I’ll escape now from the world, from the world of Jan Valjean –
Jan Valjean is nothing now, another story must begin.”
Before this true act of charity by the priest, Valjean is just a downtrodden, despondent, and desperate wretch, with his heart full of anger and hate for the world that has wronged him. Through the love, compassion, and forgiveness of this priest, Valjean is brought down into the depths of humility, his suffering no longer makes him angry, he can no longer cry out in hate, not now that he has been treated with such benevolent love, he is truly meek at this moment in his life. There is nothing more humbling that to be forgiven of our sins, to be treated with benevolence when we have been mean or cruel. It is in these moments in our lives when we have no pride, when we are painfully and gratefully aware of the good that has been given us, this is when we are truly meek. Jan Valjean creates a new story, a new life, a life of service, a life of righteousness, a life of strength; out of these depths of meekness and humility comes the power to change, and out of this change comes the story of a man of faith, courage, strength, and love.
Trials
It is through the trials in our lives that we are brought before God with humble hearts. It is this intense need that we have for God’s assistance that motivates us to seek God out, to fast and to pray, as we seek for his guidance through our hardships. There are many kinds of trials in life, the kinds that come through no fault of our own and the kind that we bring upon ourselves through foolishness, and sin, and then there are the kind that are given to us by God in the form of human weaknesses. Human weakness is our greatest struggle in this life, most of what we suffer is a product of our own weakness, but it is the Lord’s plan that we suffer so that we can be sufficiently humble, and he gave unto us weakness in order that we might suffer. The Lord said “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” (Either 12: 27) We will see our weaknesses more clearly, when we are humble before the Lord, and then the Lord will make weak things become strong.
It is humility that brings us to our knees to repent of our sins, and to do what the Lord has commanded. “If my people…shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face…then will I forgive their sins?” (2 Chronicles 7:14) It is through humility that we enact the power of the atonement in our lives and receive forgiveness of our sins. Through humility we will come to our knees in prayer, and we will seek forgiveness of our sins. It is humility which breads repentance and a change of heart the kind of change that Mosiah speaks of when he says “the Spirit of…has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” When we repent of our sins we are worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost, “the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost…shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14: 26)
If we are striving to come unto Christ, and if we need these attributes to do so, which I believe we all do, let us take the first step towards perfection and become as little children, submissive, meek, and humble. “Instead of asking why we are given trials, we should ask: If I am sufficiently humble what human weakness can now become a strength.” (Neal A. Maxwell) Trials are an essential part of our humility. The natural man is an enemy to God, by our nature we would not come unto Christ; we must abandon the natural man. One of the ways the Lord helps us to do this is by giving us trials, trials that will help us to be humble. The most interesting facet of trials in my opinion is that most of the time they are self-inflicted. More often then the things we can’t control, our lives are plagued with sin, it is from sin that our deepest distress and anguish come from. It is because of our human weakness that we sin. Do you see the cycle here? We are given weakness, through human weakness we sin, sin brings us trials, through trials comes pain and anguish, through pain and anguish humility, through humility repentance, through repentance faith in Christ, through faith in Christ the power to change to righteousness, through righteousness eternal life. Line upon line precept upon precept, this is the natural order of things.
The Pride Cycle
It is interesting to me that the world often connects humility with weakness and pride with strength. To the Lord humility is strength, and pride is captivity. A humble heart is a faithful heart, but a prideful heart cannot have faith, a heart full of pride cannot trust in the Lord, pride by its very definition is a trust in ones own self. The Lord warns us, “Lean not unto thine own understanding…Be not wise in thine own eyes.” (Proverbs 3: 5-7) As we are taught by Nephi, “O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. But to be learned is good, if they hearken unto the counsels of God.” (2 Nephi 9: 28-29)
Pride is one of the greatest of stumbling blocks to Eternal Life, and humility is the door by which we can enter the straight and narrow path. “Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins? Behold, are ye stripped of pride? I say unto you, if ye are not ye are not prepared to meet God. Behold ye must prepare quickly; for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath not eternal life.” (Alma 5: 27-28)
Pride can confuse the spiritual perspective and come between Christ and us. Pride blinds our hearts to the spirit, and leads us to the captivity of sin. In consequence of pride we are denied the blessings of the spirit. Pride breads disobedience, rationalization of sin, and ultimately spiritual death. Alexander Pope wrote, “Of all the things that conspire to blind men’s judgment – it is pride the ever failing vice of fools.”
Humility is vital to our spiritual progress; we must be humble before God. I hope that we will remember that pride keeps us from having the blessings of Christ’s atonement in our lives. Let us not be blinded by pride. My hope is that through humility we will have ears to hear and eyes to see, and we will add virtue upon virtue all the days of our lives.
In Doctrine and Covenants section 112, the Lord is speaking to Thomas B. Marsh president of the quorum of the twelve. During this time when Thomas is receiving this calling from the Lord to be the leader of the quorum of the twelve apostils, the Lord gives him this advice, “Be thou humble in thy weakness and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand and give the answers to thy prayers.” (D&C 112:110) What wise council for all of us, for this is the beginning of all gospel truth, this is how we gain faith, listen to the spirit, gain truth, be obedient, and this is how we become strong.
“Be thou humble, in thy weakness
And the Lord thy God shall lead thee,
shall lead thee by the hand –
And give thee answers to thy prayers.”
“Be thou humble in thy pleading
And the Lord thy God shall bless thee
Shall bless thee with a sweet –
And calm assurance that he cares.”
Be thou humble in thy calling
And the Lord thy God shall teach thee –
to serve his children gladly,
with pure and gentle love.”
“Be thou humble in thy longing
And the Lord thy God shall take thee,
shall take thee home to –
ever dwell with him above.”
The hymn does not say that if we are humble the Lord will makes us rich and mighty, or that he will set us up as rulers, or give to us the successes of this world. It says that if we are humble the Lord will lead us and give us answers to our prayers. It says that the Lord will bless us with a sweet assurance that he cares. It says the Lord will teach us to serve gladly with pure and gentle love. This must tell us something about what it means to the Lord to be strong, to be great, or to have power; these are also things promised to the righteous. “Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.” Matt 5:5. To the Lord greatness is meekness, strength is humility, and power is faith. If we are humble God will lead us by the hand, answer our prayers, teach us to serve, send us comfort and hope, increase our faith, and ultimately take us home to live with him. If we are humble we will have faith in Christ, be obedient to his commandments, serve others and be selfless, and we will listen and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
This is the great cycle of the Book of Mormon, from humility to righteousness, from righteousness to prosperity, from prosperity to pride, from pride to destruction, from destruction to humility, and back again. One of the great lessons we can gain form the Book of Mormon is how destructive pride can be, and from that we can learn to avoid pride and seek humility. So is there a formula for overcoming pride and becoming humble?
Examine this verse from the book of Heleman, “And they were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many of their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much affliction. Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in their faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.” (Heleman 3:35) It has become apparent that humility will most often result from trials, as with the persecuted in this verse, most of us must wade through much affliction, before we are sufficiently humble to progress.
In the beginning of Heleman chapter three, the Nephite’s have established a very righteous society, in fact it says that tens of thousands are converted and baptized. Their society becomes very prosperous, they build houses of cement and are educated and keep many records, and this was a time of freedom and peace during the reign of the judges. Sadly in the space of a mere eight years some of the people began to be prideful because of the prosperity the Lord has blessed them with.
Humility can open up so much capacity to become more spiritual, what we lack now in ability to be obedient to God’s commandments, we can gain by being more humble. We will be closer and closer to God, firmer and firmer to stand against the wiles of the world, as we wax stronger and stronger in humility. It is through those trials in our lives that we are brought before God with humble hearts. It is this intense need that we have for God’s assistance that motivates us to seek God out, to fast and to pray, as we seek for his guidance through our hardships. What is initially gained through this human plight is first humility, because we must first be humble before we can receive what we seek. Most often what we seek is not humility but things like knowledge, understanding, and more capacity accomplish our goals; but it is humility that is the key to coming unto Christ. Because of their humility came their faith in Christ, from their faith in Christ came their joy and consolation, and their sanctification, because they were willing to yield their hearts unto God. Out of our faith in Christ will come the power of righteousness, and the power of spiritual strength.
Blessed are they who humble themselves
"Therefore blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble.” (Alma 32:16) Alma was speaking from personal experience, he had known the anguish of sin in his life, he had once been compelled by God to humble, and knew of the pain of coming unto Christ in that way; he also new of the joy of repentance and forgiveness, and the joy and power of faith unto salvation.
“I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit…all mankind must be born again…changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters…Unless this be the case, they must be cast off; and this I know, because I was like to be cast off. Nevertheless, after wading through much tribulation, repenting nigh unto death, the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God. My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of God. My soul was racked with eternal torment; but I am snatched, and my soul is pained no more.” (Mosiah 27:24-30)
I rehearse this scripture as a reminder of the process the Lord uses to humble us. This earth life has many purposes, but through the trials and tribulations we suffer through, we are humbled and then proven to the Lord to see if we will do whatsoever the Lord has commanded us. The question Alma puts to us here is will we humble ourselves or will the Lord have to compel us to be humble?
How do we begin to humble ourselves before the Lord? We must go to the Lord in prayer and with all sincerity ask the Lord for humility, we must seek to know our weaknesses. The Lord will show unto us our weaknesses if we will ask him. We can not presume to know our weaknesses, though most of us do, it is the Lord alone who will make our weaknesses strengths unto us, and he know which weaknesses we must first tackle, tackling our weaknesses in the correct order is essential to overcoming them. “For they do not forsake their sins, and their wicked ways, the pride of their hearts, and their covetousness, and all their detestable things, and observe the words of wisdom and eternal life which I have given unto them.” (D&C 98: 20)
The act of repentance itself is full of humility, and more humility comes to us through the process of repentance. "And it also came to pass that whosoever did belong to the church that did not repent of their wickedness and humble themselves before God—I mean those who were lifted up in the pride of their hearts—the same were rejected, and their names were blotted out, that their names were not numbered among those of the righteous." (Alma 6: 3)
“And the people of Nephi began to prosper again in the land, and began to multiply and to wax exceedingly strong again in the land. And they began to grow exceedingly rich.
But notwithstanding their riches, or their strength, or their prosperity, they were not lifted up in the pride of their eyes; neither were they slow to remember the Lord their God; but they did humble themselves exceedingly before him.
Yea, they did remember how great things the Lord had done for them, that he had delivered them from death, and from bonds, and from prisons, and from all manner of afflictions and he had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies.
And they did pray unto the Lord their God continually, insomuch that the Lord did bless them, according to his word, so that they did wax strong and prosper in the land.” (Alma 62: 48-51)
Fruits of Humility
This is why humility is a key virtue; it is a virtue that unlocks the way to many more attributes we want to acquire. How many of the following attributes in the Hymn “More Holiness Give Me” require a humble heart to receive them?
“More Holiness give me, more strivings within
More patients in suffering, more sorrow for sin
More faith in my Savior, more sense of his care
More joy in his Service, more purpose in prayer.”
“More gratitude give me, more strivings within
More patients in suffering, more hope in his word
More tears for his sorrow, more pain for his grief
More meekness in trial, more praise for relief.”
“More purity give me, more strength to o’er come
More freedom form earth stains, more longing for home
More fit for the Kingdom, more used would I be
More blessed and Holy, more Savior Like thee.”
And the Lord thy God shall bless thee
Shall bless thee with a sweet –
And calm assurance that he cares.”
Be thou humble in thy calling
And the Lord thy God shall teach thee –
to serve his children gladly,
with pure and gentle love.”
“Be thou humble in thy longing
And the Lord thy God shall take thee,
shall take thee home to –
ever dwell with him above.”
The hymn does not say that if we are humble the Lord will makes us rich and mighty, or that he will set us up as rulers, or give to us the successes of this world. It says that if we are humble the Lord will lead us and give us answers to our prayers. It says that the Lord will bless us with a sweet assurance that he cares. It says the Lord will teach us to serve gladly with pure and gentle love. This must tell us something about what it means to the Lord to be strong, to be great, or to have power; these are also things promised to the righteous. “Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.” Matt 5:5. To the Lord greatness is meekness, strength is humility, and power is faith. If we are humble God will lead us by the hand, answer our prayers, teach us to serve, send us comfort and hope, increase our faith, and ultimately take us home to live with him. If we are humble we will have faith in Christ, be obedient to his commandments, serve others and be selfless, and we will listen and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
This is the great cycle of the Book of Mormon, from humility to righteousness, from righteousness to prosperity, from prosperity to pride, from pride to destruction, from destruction to humility, and back again. One of the great lessons we can gain form the Book of Mormon is how destructive pride can be, and from that we can learn to avoid pride and seek humility. So is there a formula for overcoming pride and becoming humble?
Examine this verse from the book of Heleman, “And they were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many of their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much affliction. Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in their faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.” (Heleman 3:35) It has become apparent that humility will most often result from trials, as with the persecuted in this verse, most of us must wade through much affliction, before we are sufficiently humble to progress.
In the beginning of Heleman chapter three, the Nephite’s have established a very righteous society, in fact it says that tens of thousands are converted and baptized. Their society becomes very prosperous, they build houses of cement and are educated and keep many records, and this was a time of freedom and peace during the reign of the judges. Sadly in the space of a mere eight years some of the people began to be prideful because of the prosperity the Lord has blessed them with.
Humility can open up so much capacity to become more spiritual, what we lack now in ability to be obedient to God’s commandments, we can gain by being more humble. We will be closer and closer to God, firmer and firmer to stand against the wiles of the world, as we wax stronger and stronger in humility. It is through those trials in our lives that we are brought before God with humble hearts. It is this intense need that we have for God’s assistance that motivates us to seek God out, to fast and to pray, as we seek for his guidance through our hardships. What is initially gained through this human plight is first humility, because we must first be humble before we can receive what we seek. Most often what we seek is not humility but things like knowledge, understanding, and more capacity accomplish our goals; but it is humility that is the key to coming unto Christ. Because of their humility came their faith in Christ, from their faith in Christ came their joy and consolation, and their sanctification, because they were willing to yield their hearts unto God. Out of our faith in Christ will come the power of righteousness, and the power of spiritual strength.
Blessed are they who humble themselves
"Therefore blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble.” (Alma 32:16) Alma was speaking from personal experience, he had known the anguish of sin in his life, he had once been compelled by God to humble, and knew of the pain of coming unto Christ in that way; he also new of the joy of repentance and forgiveness, and the joy and power of faith unto salvation.
“I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit…all mankind must be born again…changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters…Unless this be the case, they must be cast off; and this I know, because I was like to be cast off. Nevertheless, after wading through much tribulation, repenting nigh unto death, the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God. My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of God. My soul was racked with eternal torment; but I am snatched, and my soul is pained no more.” (Mosiah 27:24-30)
I rehearse this scripture as a reminder of the process the Lord uses to humble us. This earth life has many purposes, but through the trials and tribulations we suffer through, we are humbled and then proven to the Lord to see if we will do whatsoever the Lord has commanded us. The question Alma puts to us here is will we humble ourselves or will the Lord have to compel us to be humble?
How do we begin to humble ourselves before the Lord? We must go to the Lord in prayer and with all sincerity ask the Lord for humility, we must seek to know our weaknesses. The Lord will show unto us our weaknesses if we will ask him. We can not presume to know our weaknesses, though most of us do, it is the Lord alone who will make our weaknesses strengths unto us, and he know which weaknesses we must first tackle, tackling our weaknesses in the correct order is essential to overcoming them. “For they do not forsake their sins, and their wicked ways, the pride of their hearts, and their covetousness, and all their detestable things, and observe the words of wisdom and eternal life which I have given unto them.” (D&C 98: 20)
The act of repentance itself is full of humility, and more humility comes to us through the process of repentance. "And it also came to pass that whosoever did belong to the church that did not repent of their wickedness and humble themselves before God—I mean those who were lifted up in the pride of their hearts—the same were rejected, and their names were blotted out, that their names were not numbered among those of the righteous." (Alma 6: 3)
“And the people of Nephi began to prosper again in the land, and began to multiply and to wax exceedingly strong again in the land. And they began to grow exceedingly rich.
But notwithstanding their riches, or their strength, or their prosperity, they were not lifted up in the pride of their eyes; neither were they slow to remember the Lord their God; but they did humble themselves exceedingly before him.
Yea, they did remember how great things the Lord had done for them, that he had delivered them from death, and from bonds, and from prisons, and from all manner of afflictions and he had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies.
And they did pray unto the Lord their God continually, insomuch that the Lord did bless them, according to his word, so that they did wax strong and prosper in the land.” (Alma 62: 48-51)
Fruits of Humility
This is why humility is a key virtue; it is a virtue that unlocks the way to many more attributes we want to acquire. How many of the following attributes in the Hymn “More Holiness Give Me” require a humble heart to receive them?
“More Holiness give me, more strivings within
More patients in suffering, more sorrow for sin
More faith in my Savior, more sense of his care
More joy in his Service, more purpose in prayer.”
“More gratitude give me, more strivings within
More patients in suffering, more hope in his word
More tears for his sorrow, more pain for his grief
More meekness in trial, more praise for relief.”
“More purity give me, more strength to o’er come
More freedom form earth stains, more longing for home
More fit for the Kingdom, more used would I be
More blessed and Holy, more Savior Like thee.”
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