(9/14/97)
If we want to attain greatness, we must not forget this virtue of humility. Perhaps many of those who feel so self-righteous will find that to cultivate humility is a hard task; still it is necessary. We look forward to exaltation, but to obtain this we must go through the valley of humility. We must go down into it, and then ascend, and before us is a destiny so bright that we cannot conceive it.—Elder Anthon H. Lund, General Conference, April 1901

(9/15/97)
Choose to be humble. God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble. Alma said, "Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble" (Alma 32:16).—President Ezra Taft Benson, General Conference, April 1989

(9/16/97)
Why is it so difficult to accept things on faith? I think I can suggest an answer. It is because we are so conceited. Men of the world are in the world only because they adopt the philosophy of the world which is the philosophy of self sufficiency. It is not a humble philosophy--it is highly egotistical. It makes men themselves the arbiters of all things. They look to no higher source than themselves for the solution of all questions. Such a philosophy is diametrically opposed to the philosophy of Christ which is that of faith. When men adopt his philosophy they are humble--they acknowledge an intelligence far superior to their own and they seek guidance and wisdom from that source. When they adopt the philosophy of faith, they come out of the world, for the world, as a term in theology is not a place but a condition or state of mind and feeling. It requires courage to come out of the world and adopt the philosophy of faith. Sometimes it subjects one to ridicule and the contempt of friends which are harder for most men to endure than physical pain; but because a thing is hard to do or hard to believe is no assurance that it is not right.—Stephen L Richards, Conference Report, April 1935

(9/17/97)
The Lord called Joseph Smith and others from among the weak things of the world, because he and his associates were contrite and humble. The great and mighty ones in the nations the Lord could not use because of their pride and self-righteousness. The Prophet discoursing on this question once said: "There are a great many wise men and women, too, in our midst who are too wise to be taught; therefore they must die in their ignorance, and in the resurrection they will find their mistake. Many seal up the door of heaven by saying, So far God may reveal and I will believe." (Teachings, p. 309.) The Lord's ways are not man's ways, and he cannot choose those who in their own judgment are too wise to be taught. Therefore he chooses those who are willing to be taught and he makes them mighty even to the breaking down of the great and mighty. In his mercy and justice he gives all men the means of escape from the dominion of Satan and the bondage of sin. Therefore he sent the Gospel and his Priesthood before the great and dreadful day should come. "Surely," said Amos, "the Lord God will do nothing until he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." This restoration came that faith might increase, that the everlasting covenant, which had been broken might be established. When we think of our missionary system, we can see how the weak have gone forth among the strong ones and have prevailed. The mighty and strong ones have been broken down by the humble elders of the Church.—Pres. Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, Vol 2, p.26

(9/18/97)
Among the cardinal virtues of the gospel is the praiseworthy virtue of humility. To a certain king of Israel, whose power was waning before the "pride that goeth before a fall," the prophet Samuel said: "When thou wert little in thine own sight, the Lord blessed thee." I interpret humility as being strength. Humility expresses itself in lowly service, in volunteering for any service which will ameliorate the conditions, particularly the spiritual conditions of mankind. Humility does not mean to grovel, to be a sycophant. Humility is inward strength outwardly expressed in good works. Great souls attain to humility.—Charles A. Callis, General Conference, April 1942

(9/19/97)
Humility does not mean weakness. It does not mean timidity. It does not mean fear. A man can be humble and courageous.—Pres. Ezra Taft Benson, Mission President's Seminar, June 1979

(9/20/97)
How does one get humble? To me, one must constantly be reminded of his dependence. On whom dependent? On the Lord. How remind one's self? By real, constant, worshipful, grateful prayer.—Spencer W. Kimball, BYU Speeches, January 16, 1963

Special Edition
Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call 'humble' nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all. If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.—C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

(7/24/05)
"The more I see of life, brethren, the more I see why there is such a scriptural stress on submissiveness, meekness, and humility. The dangers flowing from an excess of ego are so constant and real. If we would but place an ego screen over all our thoughts, words, and actions before they hurt others or embarrass us! If we are steadily becoming more and more 'the man of Christ,' the mesh in that ego screen will become finer and finer, and fewer and fewer things will slip through to harm." - Neal A. Maxwell, "I Will Arise and Go to My Father," Ensign, Sept. 1993, 66

8/24/06
"I am often deeply moved by evidences of humility in the scriptures. Consider John the Baptist declaring of the Savior, 'He must increase, but I must decrease.' (John 3:30.) Think of Moroni pleading with us not to condemn him because of his imperfections, but to thank God that He made Moroni's imperfections manifest so that we can learn to be wiser than Moroni was. (See Morm. 9:31.) Nor should we forget the exclamation of Moses, who, after experiencing the greatness of God and His creations, acknowledged that 'for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.' (Moses 1:10.) Is not Moses' recognition of our complete dependence on God the beginning of true humility?

"I resonate to the English author John Ruskin's memorable statement that 'the first test of a truly great man is his humility.' He continued: 'I do not mean, by humility, doubt of his own power. ... [But really] great men ... have a curious ... feeling that ... greatness is not in them, but through them. ... And they see something Divine ... in every other man ... , and are endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful.' (The Works of John Ruskin, ed. E. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, 39 vols. (1903-12), 5:331.)" - Marlin K. Jensen, "To Walk Humbly with Thy God," Ensign (CR), May 2001, p.9

12/9/06
"People ask me frequently what is my favorite verse of scripture. I have many and this is one of them, 'Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers' (D&C 112:10). What a promise to those who walk without arrogance, to those who walk without conceit, to those who walk without egotism, to those who walk humbly. 'Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.' What a solid and wonderful promise that is. (Japan Tokyo North, Japan Tokyo South, and Japan Sendai Missionary Meeting, May 18, 1996.)" - Gordon B. Hinckley, "Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley," p.265

10/19/07
"What are a broken heart and a contrite spirit? And why are they considered a sacrifice?

"As in all things, the Savior’s life offers us the perfect example: though Jesus of Nazareth was utterly without sin, He walked through life with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, as manifested by His submission to the will of the Father. 'For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me' (John 6:38). To His disciples He said, 'Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart' (Matthew 11:29). And when the time came to pay the ultimate sacrifice entailed in the Atonement, Christ shrank not to partake of the bitter cup but submitted completely to His Father’s will.

"The Savior’s perfect submission to the Eternal Father is the very essence of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Christ’s example teaches us that a broken heart is an eternal attribute of godliness. When our hearts are broken, we are completely open to the Spirit of God and recognize our dependence on Him for all that we have and all that we are. The sacrifice so entailed is a sacrifice of pride in all its forms. Like malleable clay in the hands of a skilled potter, the brokenhearted can be molded and shaped in the hands of the Master." - Bruce D. Porter, "A Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit," General Conference, 6 October 2007

2/11/08
"Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught us that 'all progress in spiritual things is conditioned upon the prior attainment of humility.' (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. (1966), 370.) Humility has been described as having the 'desire to submit to the Lord,' the 'desire to seek the Lord's will and glory,' and the 'desire to remove pride.' (Gospel Principles (1997), 4.) King Benjamin told his people that they should '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' (Mosiah 4:11). The Lord counseled in the Doctrine and Covenants that 'inasmuch as they were humble they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time' (D&C 1:28)." - Keith Crockett, "Retaining a Remission of Sin," Ensign (CR), November 2000, p.77

9/1/08
"Humility is a virtue. One who possesses it is teachable and amenable to instruction. You should, therefore, be humble and 'hunger and thirst after righteousness' so that your abilities may be developed, your gifts cultivated, your skills polished, and your confidence increased. In the process, you will 'be filled with the Holy Ghost' and strengthened in your calling (3 Nephi 12:6)." - Carlos E. Asay, "In the Lord's Service: A Guide to Spiritual Development," p.1