Elder Marlin K. Jensen
Of the Presidency of the Seventy
"True humility will inevitably lead us to say to God, 'Thy will be done.'"
One of the memorable themes of last October's general conference was that,
in addition to being concerned about what we do, we Latter-day Saints
ought also to pay attention to what we are and are striving to become.1
With that principle in mind, I listened attentively last November to President
Gordon B. Hinckley's address to the youth of the Church. I was touched by the
six priceless bits of wisdom he shared describing what youth ought to be.
One of the six—"be humble"—was of special interest to me.
When I suggested to my wife several weeks ago that because of President Hinckley's talk I was
considering humility as a possible topic for my remarks today, she paused and, with a twinkle in
her eye, teasingly replied, "That leaves you only a few days to gain some!" Being thus
encouraged, I have reflected on what might be involved in obeying President Hinckley's
injunction to "be humble."
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.
Consciously trying to acquire humility is also problematic. I remember once
hearing one of my colleagues in the Seventy say about humility that "if you
think you have it, you don't." He suggested we should try to develop humility
and be sure we didn't know when we got it, and then we would have it. But if
we ever thought we had it, we wouldn't.2
This is one of the lessons C. S. Lewis teaches in his well-known Screwtape
Letters. In letter XIV, a good man who is being recruited by a devil and
his apprentice to their side is growing humble, and the devil remarks that "this
is very bad." With great insight, Lewis has the devil say to his associate,
"Your patient has become humble; have you drawn his attention to the fact?"3
Fortunately, the Savior has given us a model for developing humility. When
His disciples approached Him and inquired, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven?" He responded by placing a little child in their midst and stating,
"Whosoever . . . shall humble himself as this little child,
the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."4
In this passage the Savior teaches us that to become humble is to become as a child. How does a
person become as a child, and what are the childlike qualities we ought to develop? King
Benjamin, in his profound Book of Mormon sermon, provides guidance:
"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam,
and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy
Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement
of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, 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."5
King Benjamin seems to teach that becoming like a child is a gradual process of spiritual
development in which we are aided by the Holy Ghost and our reliance on Christ's Atonement.
Through this process, we will eventually acquire the childlike attributes of meekness, humility,
patience, love, and spiritual submissiveness. True humility will inevitably lead us to say to God,
"Thy will be done." And because what we are does affect what we do, our submissiveness will
be reflected in our reverence, gratitude, and willingness to accept callings, counsel, and
correction.
A story contained in the family lore of Brigham Young's descendants illustrates
the submissive nature of humility. It recounts that in a public meeting the
Prophet Joseph, possibly as a test, sternly rebuked Brigham Young for something
he had done or something he was supposed to have done but hadn't—the detail
is unclear. When Joseph finished the rebuke, everyone in the room waited for
Brigham Young's response. This powerful man, later known as the Lion of the
Lord, in a voice everyone could tell was sincere, said simply and humbly, "Joseph,
what do you want me to do?"6
The power of that response itself brings a feeling of humility. It reminds us 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. Some may wonder if those seeking to become humble must
forever defer to the strongly held opinions and positions of others. Certainly the Savior's life
evidences that true humility is anything but subservience, weakness, or servility.
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.
Twelve years ago President Ezra Taft Benson delivered a powerful conference
address declaring that pride is "the universal sin, the great vice."7
He taught that pride is essentially competitive in nature and made reference
to this quote from C. S. Lewis: "Pride gets no pleasure out of having something,
only out of having more of it than the next man. We say that people are proud
of being rich, or clever, or good-looking, but they are not. They are proud
of being richer, cleverer, or better-looking than others. If every one else
became equally rich, or clever, or good-looking there would be nothing to be
proud about. It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being
above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone."8
What an interesting commentary on today's highly competitive and thus prideful
world. What an important reminder as well, for those of us who are blessed with
the fulness of the gospel, to avoid both the condition and appearance of haughtiness
or condescension in all of our human relationships.
I think sometimes of what life would be like if we all possessed greater humility.
Imagine a world in which we would replace I as the dominant pronoun.
Think of the impact on the pursuit of knowledge if being learned without being arrogant were the
norm.
Consider the climate that would exist within a marriage or family—or any organization, for that
matter—if through genuine humility mistakes were freely admitted and forgiven, if we were not
afraid to praise others for fear they might gain on us, and if all were able to listen as well as we
now verbalize.
Contemplate the advantages of life in a society in which considerations of status were only
secondary, where citizens were more concerned with their responsibilities than their rights, and
where those in authority might even occasionally step forward and humbly acknowledge, "I
could be wrong." Must our need to be "right" be so all-consuming? Surely this intolerance of
others and their viewpoints is nothing less than the hubris the Greeks viewed and warned against
as the suicidal sin. One wonders how differently even recent world history might be written if its
principal participants had yielded to the gentle nudgings of humility.
Even more importantly, think of the role of humility in the process of repentance. Is it not
humility, coupled with strong faith in Christ, that carries the transgressor to God in prayer, to the
offended party in apology, and, where necessary, to his priesthood leader in confession?
I am grateful for examples of humility I have encountered in my life.
Once my father, in the heat and frustration of a humid July afternoon, overreacted to my youthful
farming blunders and administered punishment which I felt was in excess of the crime. Later he
approached me with an apology and a much-appreciated expression of confidence in my abilities.
That humble expression has remained in my memory for more than 40 years.
I have seen a constant humility in my wonderful wife. Like Nephi turning to
Lehi for direction after Lehi had momentarily faltered, she has stayed at my
side for 34 years and consistently supported and loved me "notwithstanding my
weakness."9
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."10
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.11 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."12 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."13
The Old Testament prophet Micah, like our living prophet, President Hinckley,
was concerned about nurturing the development of humility. To his people he
said, "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require
of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"14
God bless us all to walk humbly with Him and with all men. I testify that President
Gordon B. Hinckley is a true prophet and that his counsel to "be humble" comes
from God. I testify that Jesus Christ, God's meek and lowly Son, personifies
humility. I know that it will be in humility that we one day kneel at the Savior's
feet to be judged of Him.15 May we live our lives
to prepare for that humble moment is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ,
amen.
NOTES
1. See Neal A. Maxwell, "The
Tugs and Pulls of the World," Ensign, Nov. 2000, 37; Dallin H.
Oaks, "The
Challenge to Become," Ensign, Nov. 2000, 32–33.
2. Albert Choules Jr., unpublished minutes of Seventy Quorum's
meeting, 15 Apr. 1993.
3. The Screwtape Letters (1982), 62–63.
4. Matt.
18:1, 4.
5. Mosiah
3:19.
6. See Truman G. Madsen, "Hugh B. Brown—Youthful Veteran,"
New Era, Apr. 1976, 16.
7. "Beware
of Pride," Ensign, May 1989, 6.
8. Mere Christianity (1960), 95.
9. 2 Ne.
33:11.
10. John
3:30.
11. See Morm.
9:31.
12. Moses
1:10.
13. The Works of John Ruskin, ed. E. T. Cook and
Alexander Wedderburn, 39 vols. (1903–12), 5:331.
14. Micah
6:8.
15. See Mosiah
27:31; D&C 88:104.
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