None Save the Meek and Lowly in Heart

Elder Timothy Dyches of the Seventy told a memorable story about his grandfather Milo in the most recent general conference. He was a forest ranger and would often be alone in the mountains. Elder Dyches recounted what happened one night to his grandfather and his horse Prince: “At dusk, he finished his work and climbed back into the saddle. By then, the temperature had plummeted, and a fierce winter snowstorm was engulfing the mountain. With neither light nor path to guide him, he turned Prince in a direction he thought would lead them back to the ranger station. After traveling miles in the dark, Prince slowed, then stopped. Grandpa repeatedly urged Prince forward, but the horse refused. With blinding snow swirling around them, Grandpa realized he needed God’s help. As he had done throughout his life, he humbly ‘ask[ed] in faith, nothing wavering.’ A still, small voice answered, ‘Milo, give Prince his head.’ Grandpa obeyed, and as he lightened his hold on the reins, Prince swung around and plodded off in a different direction. Hours later, Prince again halted and lowered his head. Through the driving snow, Grandpa saw that they had safely arrived at the gate of the ranger station.” He later discovered, when he found the spot where the horse had refused to move forward, that they had been on the edge of a high cliff. Because he had trusted in the Lord’s impression to let the horse lead him, instead of trying to force the horse forward in the direction he thought they should go, his life had been spared.

                Elder Dyches summed up this experience with one of my favorite scriptures: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” At the heart of that counsel is the invitation to humble ourselves before the Lord, to recognize that He knows more than us. We often speak of faith as the first principle of the gospel; but humility is really a prerequisite even to that—it is the 0^th principle that must always come first. In my mind it is an indispensable foundation that we must have in order to come unto the Savior. We must recognize our weakness and need for His divine aid or all our spiritual efforts will be in vain. This is what Mormon taught: “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, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart” (Moroni 7:43-44). Without humility we will always be spiritually dead. The Lord similarly placed humility as a prerequisite to faith in these words in a modern revelation: “And no one can assist in this work except he shall be humble and full of love, having faith, hope, and charity, being temperate in all things, whatsoever shall be entrusted to his care” (Doctrine and Covenants 12:8). We cannot assist in His work if we are not humble.

                We will all have moments like that of Milo where our own pride wants to keep pushing us in one direction, but if we will listen to the voice of the Lord He will lead us in a much better way. And if we never muster up the humility to accept that we do not always know best, we will never have the faith necessary to hear and heed Him. Milo “humbly asked” the Lord for help, and we must likewise “humbly approach [our] Heavenly Father with a broken heart and a contrite spirit and repent,” as Elder Dyches encouraged us. The Lord’s invitation to Thomas B. Mash is surely just as valid today: “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers” (Doctrine and Covenants 112:10).