Humility is the Awareness of Potential Future Failure
So many things only make sense when you consider the time factor.
Elder Bednar’s talk on Saturday is an example. He illuminated what humility truly is for us mortals.
He said that humility is awareness that you can fail. Which is different from demeaning yourself.
(All thoughts after this are my own, Elder Bednar bears no fault for them.)
First of all, lets clarify what awareness of failure is. It is not that you are currently judged a failure or can be in the future. That’s failure from an outside perspective, but not from the inside. A very proud man could be aware that he is considered a failure and even call himself that–but he doesn’t think it. From the inside, awareness of failure is awareness that something you are striving for, something you want, something you want to be–that you might fail. And that is what is called humility.
Childishly we often think that humility is rating yourself low and pride is rating yourself high. When we become more mature, we distinguish between false humility and real humility. Real humility, we say, is really rating yourself low and pride is really rating yourself high, no matter what you say out loud. While this rubric has some relation to reality, it still has its flaws. Because someone can recognize that they are low on some scale but still pigheadedly and obdurately refuse to change and resist anything that would improve their lot–this is pride. Whereas another could be high on that scale but still be aware of how much better they could be and be patiently seeking heaven’s guidance for betterment–that is humility.
When you are pushing yourself to the limit, grasping for the stars, playing for the world with a die’s cast, all your hopes poised on the knife’s edge — then you are humble.
Humility is the precursor to hope.
Sute
October 8, 2024
Can you help me out with some quotes. I didn’t get that humility is awareness of ability to fail like you have suggested from his talk.
I get the inference that pride is the dangerous sin in the Book of Mormon and that the antidote to pride is humility. And further that we have to be worried that we can all become prideful too easily so we need to humble ourselves.
But I’m not seeing this awareness of the failure as humility. The reason I’m taking small exception, is I view the Savior as being the supreme example of humility.
I don’t see “supremely aware of potential to fail” as one of his attributes.
Conversely, I see the best definition of humility as seeing the value in others. And I see in the Savior a the ultimate supreme act of knowing how valuable others are which is how and why he could perform the atonement.
And I see if the BoM people looked at their neighbors and saw how valuable they were, they wouldn’t have been so focused on their own achievements and wealth seeking, etc.
And I see the problems that plague the world now and if we recognized how valuable everyone else is, like the savior does, we would not insist on elevating ourselves above others either rhetorically or physically.
Am I reading something wrong?
G.
October 9, 2024
All valuable points. As far as the quote goes I’ll look when the Church puts up the text version but I have noticed in the past that my notes’ relationship to the talks they come from isn’t always 1:1
As far as the Savior goes, a better way of rephrasing the point might be something like “not taking anything for granted”
Zen
October 9, 2024
Conference talks are up, as text as well as audio.
I listened to two on the way to work.
Rozy
October 9, 2024
We have to remember that the Spirit helps us hear what we need individually from each talk, which can be quite different for each person. It can be a bit frustrating to compare notes on what was heard.
G
October 9, 2024
Here is what I was probably hearing from Elder Bednar–
We always must be on guard against a pride-induced and exaggerated sense of self-importance, *a misguided evaluation of our own self-sufficiency*, and seeking self instead of serving others. As we pridefully focus upon ourselves, we also are afflicted with spiritual blindness and miss much, most, or perhaps all that is occurring within and around us. We cannot look to and focus upon Jesus Christ as the “mark” if we only see ourselves. Such spiritual blindness also can cause us to turn out of the way of righteousness. . . . As we blindly “turn unto [our] own ways” and follow destructive detours, we are inclined to lean upon our own understanding, boast in our own strength, and depend upon our own wisdom.
—
Elder Bednar’s teaching here is deep and multifaceted. I’m focusing on one facet here. Sute is describing another facet.
Baine
October 13, 2024
I believe it was CS Lewis who said,
“Humility is not about thinking less of ourselves, but of thinking of ourselves less.”