The LDS Daily WOOL Home Page
(9/14/97)
If we want to attain greatness, we must not forget this virtue of
humility. Perhaps many of those who feel so self-righteous will find
that to cultivate humility is a hard task; still it is necessary. We
look forward to exaltation, but to obtain this we must go through the
valley of humility. We must go down into it, and then ascend, and
before us is a destiny so bright that we cannot conceive it.—Elder
Anthon H. Lund, General Conference, April 1901
(9/15/97)
Choose to be humble. God will have a humble people. Either we can
choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble. Alma said,
"Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be
humble" (Alma 32:16).—President Ezra Taft Benson, General Conference,
April 1989
(9/16/97)
Why is it so difficult to accept things on faith? I think I can
suggest an answer. It is because we are so conceited. Men of the world
are in the world only because they adopt the philosophy of the world
which is the philosophy of self sufficiency. It is not a humble
philosophy--it is highly egotistical. It makes men themselves the
arbiters of all things. They look to no higher source than themselves
for the solution of all questions. Such a philosophy is diametrically
opposed to the philosophy of Christ which is that of faith. When men
adopt his philosophy they are humble--they acknowledge an intelligence
far superior to their own and they seek guidance and wisdom from that
source. When they adopt the philosophy of faith, they come out of the
world, for the world, as a term in theology is not a place but a
condition or state of mind and feeling. It requires courage to come
out of the world and adopt the philosophy of faith. Sometimes it
subjects one to ridicule and the contempt of friends which are harder
for most men to endure than physical pain; but because a thing is hard
to do or hard to believe is no assurance that it is not right.—Stephen
L Richards, Conference Report, April 1935
(9/17/97)
The Lord called Joseph Smith and others from among the weak things of
the world, because he and his associates were contrite and humble. The
great and mighty ones in the nations the Lord could not use because of
their pride and self-righteousness. The Prophet discoursing on this
question once said: "There are a great many wise men and women, too,
in our midst who are too wise to be taught; therefore they must die in
their ignorance, and in the resurrection they will find their mistake.
Many seal up the door of heaven by saying, So far God may reveal and I
will believe." (Teachings, p. 309.) The Lord's ways are not man's
ways, and he cannot choose those who in their own judgment are too
wise to be taught. Therefore he chooses those who are willing to be
taught and he makes them mighty even to the breaking down of the great
and mighty. In his mercy and justice he gives all men the means of
escape from the dominion of Satan and the bondage of sin. Therefore he
sent the Gospel and his Priesthood before the great and dreadful day
should come. "Surely," said Amos, "the Lord God will do nothing until
he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." This
restoration came that faith might increase, that the everlasting
covenant, which had been broken might be established. When we think of
our missionary system, we can see how the weak have gone forth among
the strong ones and have prevailed. The mighty and strong ones have
been broken down by the humble elders of the Church.—Pres. Joseph
Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, Vol 2, p.26
(9/18/97)
Among the cardinal virtues of the gospel is the praiseworthy virtue of
humility. To a certain king of Israel, whose power was waning before
the "pride that goeth before a fall," the prophet Samuel said: "When
thou wert little in thine own sight, the Lord blessed thee." I
interpret humility as being strength. Humility expresses itself in
lowly service, in volunteering for any service which will ameliorate
the conditions, particularly the spiritual conditions of mankind.
Humility does not mean to grovel, to be a sycophant. Humility is
inward strength outwardly expressed in good works. Great souls attain
to humility.—Charles A. Callis, General Conference, April 1942
(9/19/97)
Humility does not mean weakness. It does not mean timidity. It does
not mean fear. A man can be humble and courageous.—Pres. Ezra Taft
Benson, Mission President's Seminar, June 1979
(9/20/97)
How does one get humble? To me, one must constantly be reminded of his
dependence. On whom dependent? On the Lord. How remind one's self? By
real, constant, worshipful, grateful prayer.—Spencer W. Kimball, BYU
Speeches, January 16, 1963
Special
Edition
Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what
most people call 'humble' nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy,
smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is
nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a
cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said
to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little
envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be
thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.
If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the
first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a
biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it.
If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited
indeed.—C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
(7/24/05)
"The more I see of life, brethren,
the more I see why there is such a scriptural stress on
submissiveness, meekness, and humility. The dangers flowing from an
excess of ego are so constant and real. If we would but place an ego
screen over all our thoughts, words, and actions before they hurt
others or embarrass us! If we are steadily becoming more and more
'the man of Christ,' the mesh in that ego screen will become finer
and finer, and fewer and fewer things will slip through to harm." -
Neal A. Maxwell, "I
Will Arise and Go to My Father," Ensign, Sept. 1993, 66
8/24/06
"I am often deeply moved by evidences of humility in the
scriptures. Consider John the Baptist declaring of the Savior, 'He
must increase, but I must decrease.' (John
3:30.) Think of Moroni pleading with us not to condemn him
because of his imperfections, but to thank God that He made Moroni's
imperfections manifest so that we can learn to be wiser than Moroni
was. (See Morm. 9:31.)
Nor should we forget the exclamation of Moses, who, after experiencing
the greatness of God and His creations, acknowledged that 'for this
cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.' (Moses
1:10.) Is not Moses' recognition of our complete dependence on
God the beginning of true humility?
"I resonate to the English author John Ruskin's memorable statement
that 'the first test of a truly great man is his humility.' He
continued: 'I do not mean, by humility, doubt of his own power. ...
[But really] great men ... have a curious ... feeling that ...
greatness is not in them, but through them. ... And they see something
Divine ... in every other man ... , and are endlessly, foolishly,
incredibly merciful.' (The Works of John Ruskin, ed. E. T. Cook and
Alexander Wedderburn, 39 vols. (1903-12), 5:331.)" - Marlin K. Jensen,
"To
Walk Humbly with Thy God," Ensign (CR), May 2001, p.9
12/9/06
"People ask me frequently what is my favorite verse of scripture. I
have many and this is one of them, 'Be thou humble; and the Lord thy
God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers'
(D&C 112:10).
What a promise to those who walk without arrogance, to those who walk
without conceit, to those who walk without egotism, to those who walk
humbly. 'Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the
hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.' What a solid and wonderful
promise that is. (Japan Tokyo North, Japan Tokyo South, and Japan
Sendai Missionary Meeting, May 18, 1996.)" - Gordon B. Hinckley,
"Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley," p.265
10/19/07
"What are a broken heart and a contrite spirit?
And why are they considered a sacrifice?
"As in all things, the Savior’s life offers us the perfect example: though Jesus of Nazareth was utterly without sin, He walked through life with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, as manifested by His submission to the will of the Father. 'For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me' (John 6:38). To His disciples He said, 'Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart' (Matthew 11:29). And when the time came to pay the ultimate sacrifice entailed in the Atonement, Christ shrank not to partake of the bitter cup but submitted completely to His Father’s will.
"The Savior’s perfect submission to the Eternal Father is the very essence of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Christ’s example teaches us that a broken heart is an eternal attribute of godliness. When our hearts are broken, we are completely open to the Spirit of God and recognize our dependence on Him for all that we have and all that we are. The sacrifice so entailed is a sacrifice of pride in all its forms. Like malleable clay in the hands of a skilled potter, the brokenhearted can be molded and shaped in the hands of the Master." - Bruce D. Porter, "A Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit," General Conference, 6 October 2007
2/11/08
"Elder
Bruce R. McConkie taught us that 'all
progress in spiritual things is conditioned upon the prior attainment
of humility.' (Mormon
Doctrine, 2nd ed. (1966), 370.) Humility has been
described as having the 'desire
to submit to the Lord,'
the 'desire to seek the
Lord's will and glory,'
and the 'desire to remove
pride.' (Gospel Principles (1997),
4.) King Benjamin told his people that they should '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'
(Mosiah 4:11).
The Lord counseled in the Doctrine and Covenants that 'inasmuch
as they were humble they might be made strong, and blessed from on
high, and receive knowledge from time to time'
(D&C 1:28)."
- Keith Crockett, "Retaining
a Remission of Sin,"
Ensign (CR), November 2000, p.77
9/1/08
"Humility is a virtue. One who
possesses it is teachable and amenable to instruction. You should,
therefore, be humble and 'hunger
and thirst after righteousness'
so that your abilities may be developed, your gifts cultivated, your
skills polished, and your confidence increased. In the process, you
will 'be filled with the
Holy Ghost' and strengthened
in your calling (3 Nephi 12:6)." -
Carlos E. Asay, "In the Lord's Service: A Guide to Spiritual
Development," p.1
4/8/09
"If they would only
remember that the Lord commands His people to do nothing save He
prepares a way whereby they can accomplish it, what hope and courage
it would afford them in their labors! We ought to be a hopeful,
prayerful, humble people. We ought to remember the Lord in all things.
We should not forget Him when we are prospered. If we are blessed
because of our humility and faithfulness, we ought not to imagine in
our hearts that we have been able to accomplish some great thing
independent of the Lord. On the contrary, the more the Lord blesses
us, the more responsibility He places upon us, the more humble we
ought to be."
- Abraham O. Woodruff, "Conference
Report," October 1901, First Day—Morning Session, p.13
7/13/09
“I question that one can approach nearer to the throne of grace and
feel more vividly the influence of the Holy Spirit than in the
meetings of the First Presidency and the Twelve in the temple of the
Lord. This is particularly true when these brethren are engaged in
calling upon our Father, expressing gratitude for his blessings and
humbly and sincerely appealing for his help and guidance. The power of
the priesthood is manifest; God's highest authority upon earth is
there present. As the servants of the Lord, they humble themselves
before him, testifying in prayer of his goodness to them, pleading for
his inspiration to assist them in their labors, and beseeching his
blessings upon the Church, the world, and his children generally.” - Joseph
Anderson, “Prophets I Have Known,” p. 220
6/13/15
Another helpful perspective on humility can be obtained by examining
its antithesis—pride. Just as humility leads to other virtues such as
modesty, teachableness, and unpretentiousness, pride leads to many
other vices. In Latter-day Saint theology, it was through pride that
Satan became the adversary of all truth. It was the growth of this
arrogance, termed hubris, that the wise men of ancient Greece
portrayed as the sure road to destruction. - Marlin
K. Jensen, "To
Walk Humbly with Thy God," Ensign (CR), May 2001, p. 9
11/17/15
In the work of
salvation, there is no room for comparison, criticism, or
condemnation. It is not about age, experience, or public acclaim.
This sacred work is about developing a broken heart, a contrite
spirit, and a willingness to use our divine gifts and unique talents
to do the Lord’s work in His way. It is having the humility to fall
on our knees and say, “O my Father, … not as I will, but as thou
wilt.” - Carol F. McConkie, “Here
to Serve a Righteous Cause,” Ensign (CR) November 2015
11/19/15
To
begin, 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. - Marlin
K. Jensen, "To
Walk Humbly with Thy God", Ensign (CR), May 2001, p.9
3/15/16
In the days of my youth the Lord saw fit to bless me with an
inferiority complex. I say "blessed" because in wrestling with this
problem I learned the meaning of humility. I learned what it meant
to get close to my Father in heaven through prayer on an almost
continuous basis. I learned that in problems we find our challenges.
In those challenges lie opportunities. If we can just identify those
opportunities and capitalize on them, growth, progress, and success
will result. I learned that strength comes from facing up to
problems squarely and realistically, not from disregarding them or
avoiding them. - William H. Bennett, "Conference Report,"
October 1970, Afternoon Meeting, p.147
4/12/16
Like
all of the Church’s hymns, “Be
Thou Humble” teaches pure and simple truths. It teaches us
that if we humble ourselves, our prayers are answered; we enjoy
peace of mind; we serve more effectively in our callings; and, if we
continue to be faithful, we will ultimately return to the presence
of our Heavenly Father. - Steven
E. Snow, “Be
Thou Humble,” Ensign (CR) May 2016
4/19/16
If we will humbly present
ourselves before the Lord and ask Him to teach us, He will show us
how to increase our access to His power. - Russell
M. Nelson, “The
Price of Priesthood Power,” Ensign (CR) May 2016