How Can I Be More Humble?

It’s hard to feel that you are sufficiently humble. If you did, you might not be.
— Henry B. Eyring, “Come Unto Christ,” BYU Speeches, 29 Oct 1989

The word “humble” (or “humbled”) appears 68 times in the Book of Mormon. About 2/3 of the time (42 occurrences), the word functions as a reflexive verb: humble yourself. Nephi tells us that Jesus “humbled himself” before the Father by being baptized (2 Nephi 31:7). King Benjamin admonished his people to humble themselves before the Lord in order to receive a forgiveness of their sins (Mosiah 3:18-19, Mosiah 4:10-11). The Savior told Moroni, “my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me” (Ether 12:27).

The prophet Alma taught a group of people who had been humbled by their afflictions. He told them their hardships had done them good by humbling them. Sometimes, he said, when we are humbled, we choose to repent. And if we repent and endure to the end, we will be saved (Alma 32:12-14).

But then he added an important principle: “Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble” (Alma 32:16).

What can we do to humble ourselves?

1. We can humble ourselves by praying to God and pleading for His help (Mosiah 4:10-11).
2. We can humble ourselves by receiving correction without becoming defensive (1 Nephi 15:20, 1 Nephi 16:24, Alma 48:20).
3. We can humble ourselves by following the promptings of the Holy Ghost (Alma 34:38).
4. We can humble ourselves by repenting of our sins (Alma 13:13, Alma 32:15).
5. We can humble ourselves by resisting temptation (Alma 37:33).
6. We can humble ourselves by trusting God and moving forward with faith in Him (Mosiah 29:20, Alma 5:13).

Today, I will engage in activities which help me to humble myself, including prayer, repentance, and following the guidance of the Holy Ghost.