willingness to wait

Submissiveness... checks our tendency to demand advance explanations of the Lord as a perplexed yet trusting Nephi understood: “I know that [God] loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.” (1 Ne. 11:17.)

So did a wondering but submissive Mary: “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38.)

Just as the capacity to defer gratification is a sign of real maturity, likewise the willingness to wait for deferred explanation is a sign of real faith and of trust spread over time.

Neal A. Maxwell

“Willing to Submit”, General Conference April 1985

Required, in particular, is meekness of mind which recognizes God’s perfect love of us and His omniscience. By acknowledging these reassuring realities and accepting that God desires our full development and true happiness, we are readied even as the learning experiences come. Such meekness requires genuine intellectual honesty, owning up to the learning experiences of the past and listening to the Holy Ghost as he preaches to us from the pulpit of memory.

As the Lord communicates with the meek and submissive, fewer decibels are required, and more nuances are received. Even the most meek, like Moses (see Num. 12:3), learn overwhelming things they “never had supposed.” (Moses 1:10.) But it is only the meek mind which can be so shown and so stretched—not those, as Isaiah wrote, who “are wise in their own eyes.” (Isa. 5:21; see also 2 Ne. 9:29 and 15:21.)

God’s counsel aligns us and conjoins us with the great realities of the universe; whereas sin empties, isolates, and separates us, confining us to the solitary cell of selfishness. Hence the lonely crowd in hell.

Spiritual submissiveness means, instead, community and communion as the mind and the heart become settled. We then spend much less time deciding, and much more time serving; otherwise, the more hesitation, the less inspiration.

Yielding one’s heart to God signals the last stage in our spiritual development. Only then are we beginning to be fully useful to God! How can we sincerely pray to be an instrument in His hands if the instrument seeks to do the instructing?

Neal A. Maxwell

“Willing to Submit”, General Conference April 1985

hearing what we want to hear

When we ask for revelation about something for which God has already given clear direction, we open ourselves up to misinterpreting our feelings and hearing what we want to hear. A man once told me about his struggles to stabilize his family’s financial situation. He had the idea to embezzle funds as a solution, prayed about it, and felt he had received affirmative revelation to do so. I knew he had been deceived because he sought revelation contrary to a commandment of God. The Prophet Joseph Smith warned, “Nothing is a greater injury to the children of men than to be under the influence of a false spirit, when they think they have the Spirit of God.”

Some might point out that Nephi violated a commandment when he slew Laban. However, this exception does not negate the rule—the rule that personal revelation will be in harmony with God’s commandments. No simple explanation of this episode is completely satisfactory, but let me highlight some aspects. The episode did not begin with Nephi asking if he could slay Laban. It was not something he wanted to do. Killing Laban was not for Nephi’s personal benefit but to provide scriptures to a future nation and a covenant people. And Nephi was sure that it was revelation—in fact, in this case, it was a commandment from God.

Dale G. Renlund

"A Framework for Personal Revelation" General Conference October 2022

we could be afflicted with and by pride

May I suggest that if you or I believe we are sufficiently strong and stalwart to avoid the arrogance of pride, then perhaps we already are suffering from this deadly spiritual disease. Simply stated, if you or I do not believe we could be afflicted with and by pride, then we are vulnerable and in spiritual danger. In the space of not many days, weeks, months, or years, we might forfeit our spiritual birthright for far less than a mess of pottage.

If, however, you or I believe we could be afflicted with and by pride, then we consistently will do the small and simple things that will protect and help us become “as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us].” “Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble.”

David A. Bednar

"In the Space of Not Many Years" General Conference October 2024

the spiritual poison of pride

How could a once-righteous people [the Nephites] become hardened and wicked in such a short period of time? How could people so quickly forget the God who had blessed them so abundantly?

In a powerful and profound way, the negative example of the Nephites is instructive for us today.

“Pride … began to enter … into the hearts of the people who professed to belong to the church of God … because of their exceedingly great riches and their prosperity in the land.”

“[They] set [their] hearts upon the riches and the vain things of this world” “because of that pride which [they] … suffered to enter [into their] hearts, which … lifted [them] up beyond that which is good because of [their] exceedingly great riches!”

Ancient voices from the dust plead with us today to learn this everlasting lesson: prosperity, possessions, and ease constitute a potent mixture that can lead even the righteous to drink the spiritual poison of pride.

Allowing pride to enter into our hearts can cause us to mock that which is sacred; disbelieve in the spirit of prophecy and revelation; trample under our feet the commandments of God; deny the word of God; cast out, mock, and revile against the prophets; and forget the Lord our God and “not desire that the Lord [our] God, who hath created [us], should rule and reign over [us].”

Therefore, if we are not faithful and obedient, we can transform the God-given blessing of prosperity into a prideful curse that diverts and distracts us from eternal truths and vital spiritual priorities. We always must be on guard against a pride-induced and exaggerated sense of self-importance, a misguided evaluation of our own self-sufficiency, and seeking self instead of serving others.

As we pridefully focus upon ourselves, we also are afflicted with spiritual blindness and miss much, most, or perhaps all that is occurring within and around us. We cannot look to and focus upon Jesus Christ as the “mark” if we only see ourselves.

David A. Bednar

"In the Space of Not Many Years" General Conference October 2024

a mark of rebellion

I believe it pleases our Creator when we do our best to care for His wonderful gift of a physical body. It would be a mark of rebellion to deface or defile one’s body, or abuse it, or fail to do what one can to pursue a healthy lifestyle. At the same time, vanity and becoming consumed with one’s physique, appearance, or dress can be a form of rebellion at the other extreme, leading one to worship God’s gift instead of God.

D. Todd Christofferson

"Burying Our Weapons of Rebellion", General Conference October 2024

ignoring His will in our lives

Perhaps the more insidious form of rebellion against God, however, is the passive version—ignoring His will in our lives. Many who would never consider active rebellion may still oppose the will and word of God by pursuing their own path without regard to divine direction. I am reminded of the song made famous years ago by singer Frank Sinatra with the climactic line “I did it my way.” Certainly in life there is plenty of room for personal preference and individual choice, but when it comes to matters of salvation and eternal life, our theme song ought to be “I did it God’s way,” because truly there is no other way.

Take, for instance, the Savior’s example regarding baptism. He submitted to baptism as a demonstration of loyalty to the Father and as an example to us:

“He showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments. …

“And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?”

There is no “my way” if we are to follow Christ’s example. Trying to find a different course to heaven is like the futility of working on the Tower of Babel rather than looking to Christ and His salvation.

D. Todd Christofferson

"Burying Our Weapons of Rebellion", General Conference October 2024

the choice to submit our will to God’s

The choice to submit our will to God’s is an act of faith that lies at the heart of our discipleship. In making that choice, we discover that our agency is not diminished; rather, it is magnified and rewarded by the presence of the Holy Ghost, who brings purpose, joy, peace, and hope we can find nowhere else.

David P. Homer

"Trusting Our Father", General Conference October 2024

trusting their own judgment

In Capernaum, the Savior taught about His identity and mission. Many found His words difficult to hear, leading them to turn their backs and “[walk] no more with him.”

Why did they walk away?

Because they did not like what He said. So, trusting their own judgment, they walked away, denying themselves blessings that would have come had they stayed.

It is easy for our pride to come between us and eternal truth. When we don’t understand, we can pause, let our feelings settle, and then choose how to respond. The Savior urged us to “look unto [Him] in every thought; doubt not, fear not.” When we focus on the Savior, our faith can start to overcome our concerns.

As President Dieter F. Uchtdorf encouraged us to do: “Please, first doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. We must never allow doubt to hold us prisoner and keep us from the divine love, peace, and gifts that come through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

David P. Homer

"Trusting Our Father", General Conference October 2024

the submission of one’s will

[T]he submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we “give,” brothers and sisters, are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!

Consecration thus constitutes the only unconditional surrender which is also a total victory!

Neal A. Maxwell

“Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father”, General Conference October 1995

we feel God’s love

While the love of God is accessible to all, many search earnestly for it, while others desire to feel God’s love but do not believe that they deserve it. Some others are desperately trying to hang on to it. The scriptures and the Lord’s prophet teach us that we can consistently experience God’s love when, through the grace of Jesus Christ, we repeatedly repent, frankly forgive, strive to keep His commandments, and selflessly serve others. We feel God’s love when we do things that draw us closer to Him, such as conversing with Him daily through prayer and scripture study, and stop doing things that distance us from Him, such as being prideful, contentious, and rebellious.

Benjamin M. Z. Tai

"The Love of God", General Conference April 2025

their hearts were softened

My wife, Sue, and I have known a wonderful couple for the last four years. When we initially met them, the husband was a new member of the Church, and his wife was meeting with the missionaries to study the gospel. Many missionaries met with her to help her come unto Christ. We felt that she had a vibrant testimony of the gospel and knew that the Church was true. She felt the Spirit often during our visits and actively participated in all the meetings. She loved to interact with the wonderful members of the ward. However, she found it difficult to commit herself to enter the waters of baptism. One day she was reading Moroni 7:43–44, which reads:

“And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart.

“If so, [your] faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart.”

After reading these verses, she realized what she needed to do. She thought that she had understood the meaning of being meek and humble. However, her understanding was not sufficient enough to have faith and hope to obey the commandments of God. She had to let go of her stubbornness and her own wisdom. She started to humble herself through sincere repentance. She began to understand humility in the perspective of God’s eyes. She relied on Heavenly Father and prayed to soften her own heart. Through these prayers, she felt the Spirit witness to her that Heavenly Father wanted her to be baptized.

Both husband and wife shared that the more they became humble, the more they could understand the words of God, and their hearts were softened to follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christopher H. Kim

"Harden Not Your Heart," General Conference April 2025

magnify Christ and not ourselves

If Christ were physically here, He would visit the sick, teach the Sunday School class, sit with the heartbroken young woman, and bless the children. He can do His own work. But He lives this principle of letting us act and learn, so He sends us in His place.

With participation in God’s work comes “the right, privilege, and responsibility to represent the Lord [Jesus Christ].” When we serve to magnify Christ and not ourselves, our service becomes joyful. When others leave our class, meeting, ministering visit, or activity remembering Christ more than they remember us, the work is energizing.

In earnestly seeking to represent the Savior, we become more like Him.

Steven D. Shumway

"Participate to Prepare for Christ’s Return", General Conference April 2025

yielding our will to Him

Feeling and expressing gratitude to God are, in fact, what infuses worship with a sense of joyful renewal as opposed to seeing it as just one more duty.

True worship means loving God and yielding our will to Him—the most precious gift we can offer. When asked which was the great commandment in all the law, Jesus replied, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” He also called this the first commandment.

This was the pattern of Jesus’s own worship of the Father. His life and His atoning sacrifice were dedicated to the glory of the Father. Poignantly we remember Jesus’s heartrending plea in the midst of unimaginable suffering and anguish: “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me,” but then His submissive “nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

D. Todd Christofferson

"Worship", General Conference April 2025

a child at prayer

Why are our days of despair labeled by one as “vanity of vanities”? How is it that “vain imaginations and the pride of the children of men” are the words that characterize the great and spacious building, so spiritually dead in Lehi’s vision? And the Zoramites, that group who prayed so self-servingly? Of them Alma said, “O God, they [pray] unto thee with their mouths, while they are puffed up … with the vain things of the world.”

By contrast, is there anything sweeter, more pure, or more humble than a child at prayer? It is as if heaven is in the room. God and Christ are so real, but for others later on, the experience can become more superficial.

Jeffrey R. Holland

"As A Little Child", General Conference April 2025

1. Ecclesiastes 1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
2. 1 Nephi 12:18 And the large and spacious building, which thy father saw, is vain imaginations and the pride of the children of men. And a great and a terrible gulf divideth them; yea, even the word of the justice of the Eternal God, and the Messiah who is the Lamb of God, of whom the Holy Ghost beareth record, from the beginning of the world until this time, and from this time henceforth and forever.

Don’t be ashamed to need help. Like a soldier storming a wall, you have a mission to accomplish. And if you’ve been wounded and you need a comrade to pull you up? So what? 

Marcus Aurelius

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Modern Library. 2003. P.86, Book 7, #7. Also see The Internet Classics Archive | The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (mit.edu)

see what they really are

Like seeing roasted meat and other dishes in front of you and suddenly realizing: This is a dead fish. A dead bird. A dead pig. Or that this noble vintage is grape juice, and the purple robes are sheep wool dyed with shellfish blood. Or making love – something rubbing against your penis, a brief seizure and a little cloudy liquid.

Perceptions like that – latching onto things and piercing through them, so we see what they really are. That’s what we need to do all the time – all through our lives when things lay claim to our trust – to lay them bare and see how pointless they are, to strip away the legend that encrusts them.

Pride is a master of deception: when you think you’re occupied in the weightiest business, that’s when he has you in his spell.

Marcus Aurelius

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Modern Library. 2003. P.70, Book 6, #13. Also see The Internet Classics Archive | The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (mit.edu)

woven into the purposes of God

Almost anything that happens to us may be woven into the purposes of God. It may lengthen our cords of sympathy. It may break our self-centered pride. The cross, which was willed by wicked men, was woven by God into the tapestry of world redemption. 

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr. Harper & Row. 1963. Fortress Press Gift Edition 2010. p. 92

he depersonalizes life

The hardhearted person never truly love. He engages in a crass utilitarianism that values other people mainly according to their usefulness to him. He never experiences the beauty of friendship, because he is too cold to feel affection for another and is too self-centered to share another's joy and sorrow. He is an isolated island. No outpouring of love links him with the mainland of humanity. 

The hardhearted person lacks the capacity for genuine compassion. He is unmoved by the pains and afflictions of his brothers. He passes unfortunate men every day, but he never really sees them. He gives dollars to a worthwhile charity, but he gives not of his spirit.

The hardhearted individual neve sees people as people, but rather as mere objects or as impersonal cogs in an ever-turning wheel. In the vast wheel of industry, he sees men as hands. In the massive wheel of big city life, he sees men as digits in a multitude. In the deadly wheel of army life, he sees men as numbers in a regiment. He depersonalizes life.  

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr. Harper & Row. 1963. Fortress Press Gift Edition 2010. p. 6

the need for human approval

What we all tend to do is walk through life amassing a sense of who we are as an aggregate of what we think everyone else things of us. We walk along, building a sense of self through all the feedback pinging back at us. We don't even realize we're doing it. And when others are critical, or snub us, or ignore us, or ridicule us, that builds our sense of who we are. It inevitably shapes us. And so we must constantly hold the gospel before our eyes. And as the gospel becomes real to us, the need for human approval loses its vice-like grip on our hearts, because we're no longer putting our heads down on our pillows at night medicating our sense of worth with human approval. The doctrine of justification frees us not only from the judgement of God in the future but also from the judgement of people in the present. 

Dane C. Ortlund

Deeper: Real Change for Real Sinners by Dane C. Ortlund. Crossway. 2021. p.98