The Two Truths That Help Me Understand Humility

By David Adriano

Humility can help with both pride and feelings of inadequacy.

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young adult men in a classroom at church

Photograph of members in Paraguay by Leslie Nilsson

A fact: I am a child of God. And that is an amazing and divine truth.

An equally important fact: Since everyone else on this earth is also a child of God, they are also amazing and divine beings.

Both of these truths probably seem obvious, but it took me a while to truly internalize them and understand what they mean in my life. Sometimes I’m guilty of approaching a situation pridefully, assuming that my way is the right way or that I’m more capable than other people. Other times I do the opposite, feeling that I’m less worthy or valuable than others around me.

The answer to both struggles is the same:

Humility.

Was I Not Enough?

One experience that truly humbled me happened on my mission. I think most missionaries grapple with feelings of inadequacy while trying to bring people to Jesus Christ. On my mission, I spent hours a day just trying to find someone to teach and was rejected over and over. I didn’t feel successful. I didn’t feel that my efforts were enough. Eventually, I began to feel that I was not enough.

While it might not seem like humility was what I needed, when I explained my feelings to my mission president, he helped me see that part of my problem was thinking I was exempt from the problems that missionaries all over the world face. But I am not the first missionary to feel rejected, and I certainly won’t be the last.

Somehow I had convinced myself that my difficulties were entirely my own fault, despite the fact that some of the best missionaries in history—like the original Twelve Apostles, the sons of Mosiah, and Alma the Younger—have faced far worse rejection and persecution than I ever have.

Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I began to be able to feel that I was standing shoulder to shoulder with Jesus Christ in my struggles. And when I felt ashamed of my imperfect efforts, I remembered what President Jeffrey R. Holland, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, taught: “The Atonement [of Christ] will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly than it will carry the investigators. When you struggle, when you are rejected, … you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived.”

I still look back on this experience when I need to remember to be humble and trust in the Lord.

A Lesson in Humility

I learned a lot about my identity as a child of God while I was on my mission. But after I came home, I realized I still had a lot to learn about the importance of remembering that other people are also children of God.

Soon after I returned home, I was thrown into a difficult calling and put in charge of an important event. I was overwhelmed, and I couldn’t get ahold of the people who were supposed to be helping me. I sent an email that was, truthfully, pretty strongly worded.

I was right that the calling was important and that I needed more support, but I quickly realized that maybe this wasn’t the best way to motivate people. I needed humility; I needed to remember that other people probably had their own things they were stressed about.

As Elder Steven E. Snow taught when he was a member of the Seventy, “If we humble ourselves, our prayers are answered; we enjoy peace of mind; we serve more effectively in our callings; and, if we continue to be faithful, we will ultimately return to the presence of our Heavenly Father.”

Truly, I have felt more joy in my calling and in my life as I’ve learned to be more humble.

Balancing Two Truths

For me, learning true humility has been about balancing these two truths:

I am a child of God. And I am surrounded by other children of God.

As I’ve learned more about humility, I’ve realized that what Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught is true: “Humility isn’t some grand identifiable achievement or even overcoming some major challenge. … 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.” I’ve learned that I really can achieve the Lord’s purposes—but only when I turn my will over to Him and trust that He knows what’s best.

I know that as we strive to become more humble and Christlike, Heavenly Father will bless us in our efforts.

The author lives in Frankfurt, Germany.