A week or so ago I was able to attend a fireside given by Merrill Osmond. In it, he said something that really stilled the room, for me, and sunk deeply into my heart: Where there is ego, you will never find the Lord.
Pride is one of the seven deadly sins and all of us have heard since we were old enough to understand: Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)
I am one of those people who craves the presence of God in my life. Everything I do and everything I am is toward that end, returning to my heavenly home. When Merrill said this: Where there is ego, you will never find the Lord, it shook my heart.
Certainly, all of us know that pride can kill love, hope, dreams . . . basically all that is good in life. Pride keeps us from:
- asking for help from another,
- truly loving another,
- truly worshiping our Savior and Heavenly Father as they deserve to be worshiped, or
- being humble enough to be taught
The Lord needs us to be confident and secure in our abilities. But, when we cease to rely on our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ that is when we cross the line from confidence to arrogance, from humility to pride and therein the guaranteed, eventual fall.
In the Book of Mormon, Alma 32, we find one of the greatest treatise on the Gospel and humility.
Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe.(Alma 32:19)
The entire chapter is a veritable treasure of plain Gospel principles, but in this instance, “blessed are they who humble themselves” is the key to what we are speaking about today.
Indeed humility is the state of being which allow us to be teachable while be guided by the Spirit of God. Humility produces the greatest of the human family. And so my friends, I ask that you
Believe me, I have no desire to traverse mortality without heavenly guidance. Humility, my friends, is the key to returning to our heavenly home. And so, to quote myself from another site:
Every day, morning and night at a minimum, I shall remember to thank my Father in Heaven for the countless blessings showered upon us. For the gifts and talents He granted me I will express my gratitude and ask for continual guidance. I will remember that I am here in this life at the behest and blessings of a loving and eternal God. I have one overriding job . . . to bring as many of the sons and daughters of God back with me as I possibly can.
To this end I stand as a witness of Jesus Christ in all things, in all places and in all times. When asked, if it is within my power, I speak at all firesides, youth conferences, womens conferences and more, sharing the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation which He came to fulfill. For where I am, I am determined to find the Lord. (Candace E. Salima, Where There is Ego, Dream a little dream . . .)
