From Deseret News archives:
There is no shame in humility
Imagine two sacrament meeting talks, each beginning with one of the following sentences:
\"I feel very humble to be called upon to speak to you today.\"
\"I feel very proud to be called upon to speak to you today.\"
Have you ever noticed that they are almost identical in meaning? The first one suggests that the speaker feels unworthy to speak to this group; the second one suggests that the speaker felt unworthy to speak, but having been given the assignment, is now proud.
In both cases, the speaker is saying that by speaking to this audience, he has been raised above his ordinary level.
However, the core meaning of both is: Wow, look at me! I'm giving a talk!
Wouldn't a truly humble person begin by talking about the gospel, and not by talking about himself?
That's a game we can all play: You're Not As Humble As You Think! It's a game in which everyone loses. And then there's the dumbest version of the game: You're Not As Humble As Me! Imagine how proud you'd be to come in first.
These are words that have almost lost their meaning, because in America, where the church originated, and therefore in the church as a whole, we don't have a rigid class system.
When the Bible was translated into English, everyone knew what it meant to be \"humble\" and \"proud.\" The lower class was, by definition, humble. They were poor; they were in bondage or near bondage to someone else, required to obey the commands of others and to live their life in dependence.
The upper class was, by definition, proud — lifted up above others. So the scriptural admonition to be humble meant for us to treat others with courtesy and not put on airs as if we thought ourselves better than others.
A poor man was proud if he attempted to lift himself up above his station or failed to show proper respect for his betters.
A rich man was proud if he lorded it over others and did not deign to treat those beneath him with courtesy and respect.
We've been watching the audition rounds of \"So You Think You Can Dance.\" If you haven't seen the show, the format is for an auditioner to perform and then face a panel of three or four judges to hear their critique of his or her work. Then they are either dropped from the competition, sent on to a second round of auditions or advanced directly to the eliminations in Las Vegas.
A couple of times this season, a contestant began to listen to the first judge's critique, caught the negative drift and interrupted the judge with a kind of arrogant disdain. \"I thought I did fine,\" is the drift of it, or \"you just don't understand the kind of thing I do.\"
Both times, the judges reacted with shock. \"I think you're being very rude,\"
