Walking with the Savior
Strength Through Humility
BYU Women’s Conference
Good afternoon, sisters. I’m so grateful to be here with each of you. There’s nothing more wonderful than gathering with a group of consecrated women. I pray that each of you will receive the inspiration and strength and blessings you need.
It’s been a humbling experience to serve in the Primary General Presidency for the past four years, seeking inspiration from our Heavenly Father to guide us in our efforts for His precious children. We have been stretched in spiritually defining ways, and we’ve had unexpected, joyful moments. For example, our presidency has received countless gifts from children, including tender letters and colorful portraits they have drawn of us—that’s a revelation! Have any of you watched a Friend to Friend broadcast with your favorite children? A child recently eyed me very shyly and said to her mother, “There’s the Friend to Friend lady!” Now that’s a title I really like! Then she ran over and gave me a big hug. Children are joy!
I love the theme of Women’s Conference this year based on the scripture that all of you have probably heard many times this week in Women’s Conference talks, these life-altering words of the Lord to the prophet Enoch, when he was consumed with feelings of inadequacy.
“Behold,” said the Lord to Enoch, “my Spirit is upon you, … [and] thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me.”
Sisters, the Lord is also calling to each of us: “Walk with me.” What an awe-inspiring opportunity to be able to walk with the Savior, the Son of God, our Redeemer, through the ups and downs and twists and turns of life. As I have pondered about what is needed to accept His invitation to come unto Him, follow Him, and walk with Him, my thoughts have been drawn to humility—the humility to choose to follow our Savior, now and forever.
Humility is not weakness. Humility “is an indication that we know where our true strength lies.” “To be humble is to recognize gratefully our dependence on the Lord—to understand that we have constant need for His support. … We can be both humble and fearless. We can be both humble and courageous.”
As we grow in humility, we are less critical and more compassionate. We are less demanding and more helpful.
Humility frees us from the fear of what others may think of us because our worth comes from God.
We know we are becoming more humble when we are willing to walk forward without knowing all things, when we are willing to say, “I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things.”
The Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, is the perfect example of humility. Throughout His life, He consistently looked to His Father as His source of strength and power and as the example for all He did. “I can of mine own self do nothing,” He taught. “I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” And then, perhaps in the most well-known example, in the Garden of Gethsemane, “being in an agony,” He prayed, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
As the Savior humbled Himself before His Father, He received His Father’s strength. Likewise, when we humble ourselves before God, our hearts open to receive strength from Him, bringing the power of God into our lives to help us become as He is.
The Book of Mormon recounts a battle fought between Zeniff’s people and the Lamanites, who held them in bondage. Zeniff and his people prayed mightily and received strength through their humility as they went forth to battle. “And it came to pass that we did go up in the strength of the Lord.”
What examples of humility will help each of us understand the strength we might receive as we choose to walk with Him?
I’m assuming you can all guess who my first examples of humility are! I feel I’m in good company, as President Jeffrey R. Holland encouraged each of us in the first talk of April general conference to become “as a little child.”
Will you ever forget the story that President Holland told of the young deacon with muscular dystrophy striving with all his heart and might to make his way up to the stand so he could pass the sacrament to his father?
In introducing Easton to the worldwide Church, President Holland said this: “Come with me to view the humility before God demonstrated by one young, very dear friend of mine.” Easton’s laborious work to summit the three steps to the stand was indeed his answer to the Savior’s call, “Walk with me.”
That story, and President Holland’s message, was centered on the invitation the Savior has given to all of us: “Whosoever … shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Easton’s journey to the stand was a profound lesson to all of us of many Christlike attributes, including humility. Easton put his hands in the hands of the Lord and, without concern for what anyone thought or how long it took, offered every ounce of energy he had to be able to offer the emblems of the Lord’s sacrifice to his father. Easton received the blessing promised: “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”
How many of you felt the Spirit fill your heart as you listened to the children’s choir from last October general conference sing “Gethsemane”? What was it that touched you so deeply? The profound and simple words? The power of their testimony? Their humility? As we listened to their pure voices, the Spirit helped us understand in a deeper way that Jesus offered Himself as a ransom for sin and fought the hardest fight that ever was won because of His love for us. “Jesus loves me!” continues to ring in my heart.
Listen as one child who participated in singing “Gethsemane” for a video with the Tabernacle Choir testified of how that experience brought him closer to the Savior.
[video]
“Behold your little ones.” Behold their humility. Humility touches hearts. Humility changes hearts. Humility opens our hearts to receive the Spirit of God. Being humble fills us with the desire to leave behind old habits and choose to walk with the Savior. We can receive His strength and His power to persevere and stay with Him through our hard battles of life.
Our answers to these questions posed by President Russell M. Nelson help us understand how we might grow in our humility:
Are you willing to let God prevail in your life? Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life? Will you allow His words, His commandments, and His covenants to influence what you do each day?
Letting God prevail is the essence of humility. It is a sacred choice to place our trust in God, not in man. We choose to honor sacred covenants that connect us to Heavenly Father and His Son. Letting God prevail in our lives enables us to walk with Him and learn from Him.
Humility is at the core of choosing obedience.
Consider Elder Quentin L. Cook’s teaching on humility:
Humility isn’t some grand identifiable achievement or even overcoming some major challenge. It is a sign of spiritual strength. It is having the quiet confidence that day by day and hour by hour we can rely on the Lord, serve Him, and achieve His purposes.
One of the many blessings of serving as a General Officer in the Church is the opportunity to visit members throughout the world and close to home. I would like to share a few experiences from the lives of those who, like you, are trying day by day and hour by hour to rely on the Lord and walk in humility with Him. It is my hope that through these examples, we will feel an increased desire to humble ourselves and receive the strength we need to walk with the Savior.
1. Easy to be entreated.
You remember that Alma the Younger gave up the judgment seat, an act of deep humility, and went from city to city teaching the word of God. After prophesying to the people of Gideon of the birth of the Redeemer, he invited them to “be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated.” Being humble enables us to be “easy to be entreated” by the Lord and His Spirit.
Last year when I was on a Church assignment in the Caribbean, I met with a group of a few mothers of young children. One sister told me about an experience she had with her 10-year-old son. She and her children live in a rural area, as it is too expensive to live in the city. Every day she leaves the house at 5:00 a.m. for a two-hour bus ride to work, works a full day, and returns on another two-hour ride, arriving home after 6:00 p.m. Their climate is hot and humid, and the buses are stifling hot. One day she arrived home especially exhausted, hot, and covered in sweat. After dinner, she lay down on the bed to rest when her 10-year-old son came to her. He was holding a copy of the Book of Mormon in his hand and asked her if they could read together. As she lay there exhausted, she considered telling him how tired she was, and they could surely read tomorrow. But then she looked at her son and felt something. She told me, “I got up.” Those three words were powerful. This humble mother told me how proud she was of her son for having a desire to read the scriptures. That was remarkable. But equally remarkable was this mother. She humbled herself, enabling her to be “easy to be entreated,” receiving the strength she needed to nourish her son’s testimony and her own as they read together the words of God.
2. Be thou humble in thy weakness.
The beautiful hymn, “Be Thou Humble,” based on Doctrine and Covenants section 112, encourages each of us to “Be… humble in [our] weakness, and the Lord [our] God shall lead [us] … by the hand and give [us] answer to [our] prayers.”
My granddaughter Madi has been humble in facing her weakness as she walks with the Savior, serving as a missionary for Him.
[video]
Can you feel the strength that Heavenly Father is giving to my precious granddaughter as she humbly continues forward walking with the Savior, serving as a missionary for Him?
My sister-in-law Pam has been a pure and humble daughter of God and faithful member of the Lord’s Church throughout her entire life. For many years she has suffered from depression and anxiety. In recent years she has also been afflicted with severe migraines. She and her husband, Randy, have fasted and prayed and sought the help of the best medical professionals they can find. But healing has not come. There are many days when she cannot get out of bed. She shared that they have wondered why healing has not come. However, they continue to walk with the Lord, praying and seeking for understanding. They have been humbled in their physical weakness, and the Lord has guided them with understanding. Recently, Pam felt new understanding of Lehi’s experience in his dream of the tree of life.
Lehi spoke of being in a dark and dreary wilderness:
And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he was dressed in a white robe; and he came and stood before me.
And it came to pass that he spake unto me, and bade me follow him.
And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste.
And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies.
And it came to pass after I had prayed unto the Lord I beheld a large and spacious field.
Pam said that when she is trying to walk with the Savior but feels she is in a dark and dreary waste, she remembers, like Lehi, to pray that the Lord will have mercy on her, according to the multitude of His tender mercies. She has seen His tender mercies in her life, one of which is that her husband, Randy’s life has been extended through his 12-year battle with cancer. She also refers often to a spiritual journal she has kept for years, reminding her of times when she has felt God’s love.
Recently Pam and Randy moved across the country, and in their new ward Pam has received strength to minister to sisters who also carry heavy burdens. They reach out to her, knowing that she can understand. They are helping each other walk with the Savior.
3. Offer your whole souls to Him.
Near the end of the book of Omni in the Book of Mormon, Amaleki gives us this invitation: “Yea, come unto [Christ], and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, … and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.”
Several years ago, I was invited to speak at a single adult conference. The conference was held in a Church-owned camp high up in the mountains. After the first day, I drove back down the mountain and met with a group of single adults who were not able to make the journey to the camp because of age or physical challenges. We met in the Relief Society room and arranged the chairs in a circle. We had a discussion about how much the Lord needed them in His Church. Very few of them had callings, but I encouraged them to prayerfully consider what they could do and contact their Relief Society president, elders quorum president, or bishop and offer to help. I assured them that they were needed.
After lunch, others joined us in the chapel for a devotional. As I stood in the aisle greeting people, an elderly gentleman, who had been in our previous meeting, made his way slowly up the aisle. He handed me a piece of paper and asked me, “Is this what you meant?” On the paper was written in painstakingly crafted, shaky handwriting, “Dear Bishop, I can help. I can write letters.” I fought back tears as I assured him that his bishop would be so grateful for his willingness to serve. I will never forget the feeling that I was in the presence of a humble son of God who had chosen to offer his whole soul and walk with the Savior.
4. Lord, to whom shall we go?
After Jesus taught His disciples that He is the bread of life that the Father sent down from heaven, “many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?” Each of us wants to stand with Simon Peter when he replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Two years ago I visited a young family in South America with two young daughters. A third daughter had passed away a few months before. Their beautiful five-year-old had seemed weak and had a fever on a Friday. The parents, both of whom were medical professionals, took her immediately to the hospital. Despite all the doctors could do, she passed away just a few days later. They were heartbroken but were trying with all their hearts to stay faithful.
After they shared their feelings, I asked their older daughter, about eight years old, if she had a favorite Primary song. “Yes,” she said, “I love ‘Follow the Prophet.’” We were still a bit emotional, but we tried our best to sing the first verse or two. When we stopped, she was insistent. “No, we need to sing all of the verses!” Do you know how many verses there are? I found out there are nine, and I was trying to sing in Spanish! But we did. We sang all nine verses. By then, the spirit in the room had changed from mourning with those who mourn to a “brightness of hope” that God was providing prophets to show us the way to walk with Christ, the Son of the living God.
5. Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
Do you feel strength when you sing the hymn “How Firm a Foundation”? Verse three states:
Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
In the early 1980s, our young family lived in Munich, Germany. With three children ages three and under, I felt isolated and alone. Bruce was gone all day to the office and then spent a few nights a week and most of Sunday at the church, as he was serving as the branch president. To compound the problem, each of the homes in the neighborhood where we lived were surrounded by six-foot-high cinderblock walls. So, when I took the children out for a walk, there was no opportunity to see neighbors in their yards and perhaps form friendships. Additionally, most of the members of our branch lived on the military base about 30 minutes from our home.
In what was surely an effort to lighten my load, I was not given a calling at that time. I began to feel that I was not contributing in any way or accomplishing anything. Every day seemed like one eternal round as I tried to keep the children fed, changed, and happy. The days of setting goals and achieving them seemed very far away.
One day, a friend of mine in the branch called. “Could you please teach Relief Society for me next Sunday?” In my heart I asked myself, “What do I possibly have to offer?” However, I accepted.
I prepared the lesson the best I could and taught the class the next week. At the end of Relief Society, a few sisters came up to talk to me about the lesson. While I stood there listening to their thoughts, the following words came clearly into my mind: “The Lord loves a plodder.”
Those five words, delivered by the still, small voice, were like a healing balm to my soul. I was a plodder. I was walking slowly. But I knew in that moment that not only was the Savior perfectly aware of my situation, but He loved me. He was walking beside me. He recognized that I was not moving forward in great leaps and bounds, accomplishing amazing things, but that I was moving, and that, for Him, was enough.
Sisters, like you I have encountered other difficult walks since that time long ago. Perhaps you are walking a challenging path right now. Like the disciples walking on the road to Emmaus, there will be times when we don’t recognize the Savior’s presence. I testify as we continue humbly walking in His way and seeking His help, we will be given vision and understanding to see that He has been and is walking with us, upholding and strengthening us by His righteous, omnipotent hand.
I pray that we may focus on becoming “humble followers of Christ.” As we do so, we will receive His power to strengthen us in our weakness and enable us to walk forward with Him, becoming the women of God He knows we can be.
As Elder David A. Bednar has taught, “As we press forward in faith and walk in the meekness of the Lord’s Spirit, we are blessed with power, guidance, protection, and peace.”
I will end where I began—with children. A favorite Primary song that gives direction and comfort to children of God of all ages is “I Will Walk with Jesus.” The main message of this beautifully simple song is that when we open our hearts and minds to receive the Savior and walk in His way, He will walk with us.
After I close, I invite you to sing with the video. The words will appear at the bottom of the screen. In addition to beholding the little ones in the video, I invite you to behold yourself choosing to walk humbly with Jesus. I pray you will feel His love for you.
I testify that God, our Heavenly Father, lives and loves each one of us. As evidence of that love, He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be our Redeemer and our Savior. I love Him. In a coming day, He will come again.
I bear my witness that The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints is His Church on earth today, and that President Russell M. Nelson stands as the Lord’s prophet in our day. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.