~Farewell Talk~

Good morning brothers and sisters. I am really grateful to be here with you, this is my last Sunday with you all before I leave on my mission. For those of you that don’t know I will be serving in the Utah, Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission. And I will be reporting to the MTC in 16 days, but I'm not counting :-) I am really grateful be here to share with you what I have learned while preparing this talk. When I was setting this up with Brother Keys I asked him so what do I talk about… and he told me that I should talk about Humility. So, the first thought that came to mind was what does humility really mean?  In Preach My Gospel, this is what is says about humility: 

Humility is willingness to submit to the will of the Lord and to give the Lord the honor for what is accomplished. It includes gratitude for His blessings and acknowledgement of your constant need for His divine help. Humility is not a sign of weakness it is a sign of spiritual strength. When you humbly trust Him and acknowledge His power and mercy, you can have the assurance that His commandments are for your good. You are confident that you can do whatever the Lord requires of you if you rely on Him. You are also willing to trust His chosen servants and follow their counsel. Humility will help you as you strive to be obedient, to work hard, and serve selflessly.

When I read this I thought of the Savior and how He did this perfectly! He completely submitted to the will of the Lord even when it cost Him His life. In all that the Savior did He gave credit to the Lord, never did he once take the credit for Himself. When we think of the Savior we don’t think of Him as a weak person, we think of Him as a very strong, courageous individual and yet He was completely humble.

There is a story that I would like to share with you it comes from a talk by Marlin K Jensen a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, the talk is titled “To Walk Humbly with Thy God”

The story goes:

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.

I would like to share another story of humility that is a very sweet that most of us would probably not think of as humility. It is titled Humility in a Hotel  Entrance By Frank L. Carven:

Humility is a word we hear a lot about, but do we really understand what it is? I don’t believe I did until one morning years ago when I saw humility in a hotel entrance. I was sitting in the entrance of the Hotel Utah in Salt Lake City. From my soft chair I observed with great interest the comings and goings of people through the front door of the hotel. The longer I sat there, the more crowded the entrance became. People were moving in and out, bumping into each other in their haste, then exchanging irritated glances as they hurried on. I couldn’t help thinking how unconcerned we are for others as we move about pursuing our individual goals.

The very next person who came to the door of the hotel provided a real contrast. Elder George Q. Morris of the Quorum of the Twelve, a man in his 80s, reached for the door and held it open for several minutes while others hurried through without so much as a nod of thanks. When there was no one else waiting, he walked into the entrance. He removed his hat and nearly had it knocked out of his hands by a young woman who was in too big a hurry to even notice whom she had bumped into. I watched Elder Morris for at least six or seven minutes as he made his way across the entrance, always stepping aside for others, at the same time expressing a “Pardon me” or “Excuse me, you go first.” Several times he stopped completely while others rushed by. If people were in his way, he would wait patiently until they stepped aside or moved on without ever realizing he was waiting to get by.

 

I am sure there was no one in that entrance with a busier schedule or more on his mind than Elder Morris. I have thought since that it would have been more appropriate (if less true to life) had everyone stepped aside for an Apostle of the Lord. Some of the true marks of humility—kindness, consideration for others, and an awareness of their aims and needs—are often forgotten in our involved pursuits. I have always appreciated more deeply those who manifest the little kindnesses since seeing humility in a hotel entrance.

 

I thought that story was so sweet and realized that simply holding a door open for someone is a really a sign of humility. It says that you are more concerned about the other person then yourself. And that what you are on your way to do is not as important as what they are on their way to do.

President Uchtdorf said this in His talk titled Humility and basic truths: 

Some people can’t get along with themselves. They criticize and belittle themselves all day long until they begin to hate themselves. May I suggest that you reduce the rush and take a little extra time to get to know yourself better. … Learn to see yourself as Heavenly Father sees you—as His precious daughter or son with divine potential.” “Some suppose that humility is about beating ourselves up. Humility does not mean convincing ourselves that we are worthless, meaningless, or of little value. Nor does it mean denying or withholding the talents God has given us. We don’t discover humility by thinking less of ourselves; we discover humility by thinking less about ourselves.”

 

How true is this? I know that I tend to be my own worse enemy, and by doing that we end up thinking more of ourselves and less of others. When we see ourselves the way Heavenly Father sees us then we have the strength and confidence to help those around us. Of course we are not always going to be perfect that is why we have been sent here to earth. But as long as we are continually striving to do our best and using the atonement for those times that we slip up thenwe will be doing what the Lord has asked. He knows the intentions of our hearts, He knows who we truly are.

So when I got to this point in my research for this talk I was still struggling with what humility really meant because I heard all of this before but still felt lost. Then I came across the talk  Beware of Pride By Ezra Taft Benson and was prompted by the spirit to read it. I would like to share part of that with you:

Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing. The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us. Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.” As Paul said, they “seek their own, not t he things which are Jesus Christ’s.” The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives. (See Hel. 12:6.) They pit their perceptions of truth against God’s great knowledge, their abilities versus God’s priesthood power, their accomplishments against His mighty works. Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s.

Another major portion of this very prevalent sin of pride is enmity toward our fellowmen. We are tempted daily to elevate ourselves above others and diminish them. (See Hel. 6:17; D&C 58:41.) If we love God, do His will, and fear His judgment more than men’s, we will have self-esteem. Pride is a damning sin in the true sense of that word. It limits or stops progression. (See Alma 12:10–11.) The proud are not easily taught. (See 1 Ne. 15:3, 7–11.) They won’t change their minds to accept truths, because to do so implies they have been wrong.

 

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.)

Let us choose to be humble. We can choose to humble ourselves by conquering enmity toward our brothers and sisters, esteeming them as ourselves, and lifting them as high or higher than we are. (See D&C 38:24; D&C 81:5; D&C 84:106.) We can choose to humble ourselves by receiving counsel and chastisement. (See Jacob 4:10; Hel. 15:3; D&C 63:55; D&C 101:4–5; D&C 108:1; D&C 124:61, 84; D&C 136:31; Prov. 9:8.) We can choose to humble ourselves by forgiving those who have offended us. (See 3 Ne. 13:11, 14; D&C 64:10.) We can choose to humble ourselves by rendering selfless service. (See Mosiah 2:16–17.) We can choose to humble ourselves by going on missions and preaching the word that can humble others. (See Alma 4:19; Alma 31:5; Alma 48:20.) We can choose to humble ourselves by getting to the temple more frequently. We can choose to humble ourselves by confessing and forsaking our sins and being born of God. (See D&C 58:43; Mosiah 27:25–26; Alma 5:7–14, 49.) We can choose to humble ourselves by loving God, submitting our will to His, and putting Him first in our lives. (See 3 Ne. 11:11; 3 Ne. 13:33; Moro. 10:32.) Let us choose to be humble. We can do it. I know we can

 

How amazing was that? It literally blew me away!! I think that sometimes it is best to study and research what something is not in order to truly understand what it is. I think that President Benson did that beautifully.

I hope you see that they were telling us that to be humble we are be become as a child. As I pondered what that meant the thought finally hit me. That children really are a great example of what it means to humble.  The children that I worked with this summer were full of humility. Now before I finish I have to say that the job I had this summer was the hardest job I have ever had in my life. The groups of kids were the hardest to work with and I think that was what was keeping me from truly understanding me because I kept thinking how are these children humble,  and right there is where the Lord humbled me and showed me that I was taught by these children what humility means.  Children are so very forgiving and so very accepting of all. Young children don’t see differences and they don’t try and be better then each other. They care and love and are quick to forgive and apologize. My sweet Daniela never complained and never said no when I would ask for her help. Addie and Pandora were always the first to include the little girl that always got picked on. My precious Bailey was the first to be friend the new boy that came in the middle of the summer. Jayden was always the first to volunteer to help when it wasn’t even his turn and David was always standing up for others when he thought they may be getting hurt, and my six year old Benjamin came in one day and came right up to me with the saddest look on his face and apologized for hitting me the day before. These are just a few examples of the humility I saw this summer. It is true; we are to become childlike, meek, submissive, and humble.

 

I would like to bear my testimony to you…….