We are in Alma 5 of our family scripture study. I think it's so cool how the word of God through Alma had the power to humble the people. Alma’s faith and testimony encouraged the people to experience a mighty change of heart and brought their focus back to the Savior, Jesus Christ, and His Divine mission.
A nice follow up to our scripture study was a quick listen to some general conference talks from 2001. Among them, I found this little gem from Marlin K. Jensen entitled, To Walk Humbly with Thy God.
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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...
...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...
...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.'" - Elder Marlin K. Jensen
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