Humility and Happiness

Jacob taught his people about the connection between humility and joy: “Behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever.” Those who have endured hardship and humbly received the shame of the world for their faithfulness to the Lord are the same who will find true joy through the Lord: their joy shall be full. Jacob continued, “And whoso knocketh, to him will he open; and the wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches—yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them. But the things of the wise and the prudent shall be hid from them forever—yea, that happiness which is prepared for the saints” (2 Nephi 9:18, 42-43). The happiness which the Lord has prepared for His Saints can only be found through humility; it is only as we consider ourselves fools before Him and are not puffed up by our own learning that we can find true joy.

                Many other scriptures affirm the prerequisite of humility to find true happiness. King Benjamin taught this to his people: “I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel. And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God” (Mosiah 4:11-12). If we want to “always rejoice” then we must remember the greatness of God and our own nothingness before Him, humbly calling upon Him each day. Mormon described the missionary efforts of Ammon, who in humility gave up the opportunity to be a king so he could be a servant instead, in these words: “Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth. Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness” (Alma 27:17-18). None can find “exceeding joy” without being penitent and humble. Mormon also described the righteous Nephites at another time this way: “Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God” (Helaman 3:35). As they grew stronger in humility, their souls were filled with joy. The Savior taught this to the Nephites: “And blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake; For ye shall have great joy and be exceedingly glad, for great shall be your reward in heaven” (3 Nephi 12:11-12). When we humbly suffer for the gospel’s sake, we find “great joy” in our souls. Isaiah also wrote about our day and said this: “The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 29:19). In our time where pride and rebellion against God are found everywhere, we must turn to meekness if we want to increase in joy and rejoice.

The Savior gave us the perfect example when He washed the feet of the apostles shortly before His death. John recorded, “He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.” After He finished, He taught them in these words: “Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:12-17). Happiness in found in humble service—He who was the greatest ever to come to the earth bowed down in humility to wash the dirty feet of His apostles and testified that this was how happiness would come to them. All these passages of the scriptures witness that if we want to find true joy in this life then we must be humble.