Choose To Be Humble

Silly Grandkids saying Happy Valentine's Day

The "Girls"

In President Ezra Taft Benson’s message, Beware of Pride, he warned, “God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble...Let us choose to be humble.”1

Nineteen years ago I experienced a situation where I was compelled to be humble. I was working then at my part-time job at the JC Penney shoe department on a Monday afternoon when I received a phone call from my husband telling me he had been laid-off and was on his way home. The previous two weeks he had used up all of his vacation hours to help me at our girl’s camp and attend scout camp with our son. I felt this was a harsh thing to happen after he sacrificed so much for my calling and his calling with the young men.

The next few months I struggled emotionally because I am a person that does not share difficulties with others very easily. Also I tried to keep up a brave face for our five kids and the YW that I served as their YW President. I suffered in silence and started to feel discouraged and angry because we had to take our kids out of lessons, change drastically our household budget and Christmas was right around the corner. It became hard to go to Church or interact with our neighbors because I did not want to let them know our financial situation. My marriage was also struggling because we were turning away from each other instead of counseling together. President Benson said, “Pride adversely affects all our relationships—our relationship with God and His servants, between husband and wife, parent and child, employer and employee, teacher and student, and all mankind.”1

In Alma 32:6 Alma saw a certain group of the Zoramites were despised by the other Zoramites because they were poor and were ready to hear the word of God. “For he beheld that their afflictions had truly humbled them, and they were in a preparation to hear the word.”2 Our family received many tender mercies during this time as our neighbors and our ward family showed great kindness to us. My prideful attitude crumbled as I started praying more sincerely and giving thanks for all of the blessings and tender mercies received day by day. Dale and I were able to discuss our situation and our options with a humbler and submissive attitude. I love this encouragement from President Benson, “We can choose to humble ourselves by loving God, submitting our will to His, and putting Him first in our lives. Let us choose to be humble. We can do it. I know we can.”1

Dale was able to change careers and get a job which was much better then the one he had. What is a great lesson we leaned from this experience? As I have faced much harder difficulties, I have tried to be one who is humble instead of having to be compelled to be humble. President Benson said, “Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion. We must cleanse the inner vessel by conquering pride.”1