Humility: The desire to put God's will first

In his classic address to the LDS Church, President Ezra Taft Benson stated, "Pride is essentially competitive in nature. ... When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of 'my will and not thine be done'" (April 1989 general conference; Ensign, May 1989, p. 4). He also taught, "The antidote for pride is humility — meekness, submissiveness." One of the ways President Benson taught that we could choose humility was "by loving God, submitting our will to His, and putting Him first in our lives" (Ensign, May 1989, p. 7).

The importance of humility is demonstrated not only in the choice to resist temptation, but also in the courage to enlist in the Lord's service and face new challenges that may be beyond our current abilities. President James E. Faust taught, "A person who is humble is teachable" (April 2003 general conference; Ensign, May 2003, p. 109).

Two aspects of humility, the desire to put God's will first, and a willingness to be taught were demonstrated by my parents after they had submitted their applications to become full-time missionaries.

In 1990, my parents, Reed and Marie Zemp, requested a 12-month mission in the United States or Canada. Mother was concerned about Grandmother and didn't want to be gone too long or too far. Soon after the papers arrived in Salt Lake City, they received a phone call from the Missionary Department asking if they would serve for a year and a half, and they quickly agreed. Next they were asked if they would go to Africa.See the rest of this story on ldschurchnews.com.

This story is provided by the LDS Church News, an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is produced weekly by the Deseret News.