Being humble and having humility is defined in The Guide to the Scriptures as: ” To make meek and teachable, or the condition of being meek and teachable. Humility includes recognizing our dependence upon God and desiring to submit to his will.”

We know that we must be humble but I think many of us wonder if we have sufficient humility or exactly what it is. The scriptures give us many blessings from being humble such as ” Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:4)

Richard C. Edgley, in the October 2003 General conference said, ” Many of us live or work in an environment where humility is often misunderstood and considered a weakness….Yet as we learn about the workings of God, the power of a humble and submissive spirit becomes apparent. In the kingdom of God, greatness begins with humility and submissiveness. These companion virtues are the first critical steps to opening the doors to the blessings of God and the power of the priesthood..”

We must humbly submit to the will of the Father. Elder Edgley continues, “.. It is the power to meet life’s adversities, the power of peace, the power of hope, the power of a heart throbbing with a love for and testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ, even the power of redemption. To this end, the Savior is our supreme example of the power of humility and submissiveness.”

In the 1976 April issue of the New Era there is an interesting story about having humility between Joseph Smith and Brighman Young:

A story is told of an encounter between the Prophet Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. In the presence of a rather large group of brethren, the Prophet severely chastised Brother Brigham for some failing in his duty. Everyone, I suppose somewhat stunned, waited to see what Brigham’s response would be. After all, Brigham, who later became known as the Lion of the Lord, was no shrinking violet by any means. Brigham slowly rose to his feet, and in words that truly reflected his character and his humility, he simply bowed his head and said, “Joseph, what do you want me to do?” The story goes that sobbing, Joseph ran from the podium, threw his arms around Brigham, and said in effect, “You passed, Brother Brigham, you passed” (see Truman G. Madsen, “Hugh B. Brown—Youthful Veteran,” New Era, Apr. 1976, 16).

Everyday we should strive to humble ourselves before God and do His will. By doing so He has said, “Humble yourselves before me and you shall see me and know that I am.” (D&C 67:10)

