Church Talks
HUMILITY
[Talk prepared by elder John E. Enslen in case he was called upon by the mission president to speak at a multi-zone conference. The topic of “Humility” was assigned to all missionaries prior to the conference, but no one knew who would be assigned to speak until they were seated at the conference and the mission president called upon one of them. The conference took place in Kompong Thom, Cambodia, at the residence of Elder and Sister Gartz, a senior missionary couple serving in that town, on Tuesday, October 23, 2007.]
[Elder Enslen was not called upon to speak, so you are reading a talk that was never given.]
Based on what my friends have told me for years, I should probably be an expert on the subject of humility. My friends have consistently reminded me that I have a great deal about which to be humble.
Humility is the character attribute we possess when we correctly comprehend and appropriately appreciate our true relationship to God. That relationship is one of total and complete dependence upon Him, extending to every breath we inhale, every element incorporated into our body, every bite of food or sip of drink we consume, every temporal item we possess, every animated movement we make, every talent and ability we exercise, and every thought and belief we mentally process—even our faith and testimony are gifts from God.
After personally experiencing the greatness of God and His creations, Moses could not restrain himself from admitting to his own surprise, “I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.” (Moses 1:10)
Humility and gratitude are inseparable companions. Humility and gratitude are the two main ingredients in the recipe for creating a “broken heart and contrite spirit.” (2 Ne. 2:7; 3 Ne. 9:20) The importance of having a broken heart and contrite spirit is revealed by Nephi’s declaration that “Unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.” (2 Ne. 2:7) Such humility is a scripturally mandated requirement to qualify oneself for baptism, and thus to partake of the sacrament (D & C 20:37), not to mention entrance into the celestial kingdom.
A correct attitude of humility, submissiveness, and teachability was reflected in the words of King Lamoni’s father when he expressed in prayer this proper priority: “I will give away all of my sins to know thee.” (Alma 22:18)
Humility is uniquely different from all other Christian character traits. The following quote from Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the Seventy explains: “Consciously trying to acquire humility is…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.” (“To Walk Humbly with Thy God,” Marlin K. Jensen, Ensign, May 2001, 9–11)
In letter XIV of the Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis, the devil was seeking to seduce a good man, but having little success because the good man was increasing in his humility. The devil’s only available antidote for destroying humility was to entice the good man to develop some pride in the fact that he possessed humility. [The Screwtape Letters (1982), 62–63]
Humility does not require recognition. Humility does not seek the limelight. Humility does not require even a little notice. Humility does not maneuver for social or economic status. Humility is never immodest. Humility is never irreverent. Humility does not pretend to prominent positions in the Church (see D & C 5:4), or reject so-called non-prominent callings in the Church. Humility does not forget or lose sight of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice.
Sometimes it is easier to understand what something is by understanding what it is not. Humility is the opposite, or close to the opposite, of pride, rebellion, defiance, contentiousness, arrogance, vanity, haughtiness, condescension, hypocrisy, rationalization, unteachability, self-righteousness, egotism, antagonism, pretentiousness, and self-justification.
C. S. Lewis had this to say about the closest opposite of humility which is pride: “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 everyone 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.” (Mere Christianity (1960), 95.)
It is interesting to me how pride and lack of humility can be so universal. It infects those of us who have every reason to be humble because of our poverty or other dire circumstances. As a missionary in Cambodia, I noticed that even among the poorest, there can be overwhelming pride in having a better used bicycle than one’s neighbor. Among all of us, there can be a reluctance of praising others for fear they might appear better than us.
Undesirable, natural man-like character traits such as pride, arrogance, and haughtiness are the very character traits that a satanic world fosters, praises, and rewards. In my chosen profession of 35 years, I was required as a courtroom attorney to face, withstand, and endure, on a regular basis, aggressive assertiveness, contentious competitors, and intimidating influences. Dealing with people of that mindset was by far the most unpleasant part of my business life. In other words, the worse part about being a lawyer is having to deal with some other lawyers.
I bear personal witness that we can be successful in any righteous endeavor without ever resorting to such coercive worldly philosophies in our intra-human relationships.
I am not saying that we should have a milk toast or melted ice cream personality. To the contrary, I am saying that there is, in fact, a secure feeling of confident courage which inherently attaches itself to genuine humility. Humility actually empowers us. But the power flows to us only because we do not seek power by compulsory means.
Paul said it well: “For my strength is made perfect in weakess….For when I am weak, then am I strong.” (2 Cor. 12:9-10)
Although it is impossible to acquire humility for the intended purpose of acquiring power; yet ironically, humility is attendant to perhaps the greatest power that exists—charity, which is that pure love of the same type that Christ has for us. (See Moroni 7:47)
The Savior is our perfect example of one who possesses humility. He had it all, yet sought not his own glory, but the glory of the Father that sent him. (John 7:18) His unselfish submissiveness was reflected in the words “Not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42) His infinite atoning sacrifice was the greatest act of humility and submissiveness that the world has ever known or will ever know. And what does God require of us? According to Micah: Only that we “do justly,…love mercy, and…walk humbly with [Him].” (See Micah 6:8)
There is another outstanding characteristic possessed by our perfectly humble Savior. Despite his magnificent and incomparable powers, He not only remains approachable by each of us personally, He actually invites us repeatedly to approach Him. For that approachability, I am indeed grateful.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.