Why Humility Is the Key to Self-Improvement

The best way to become like Christ is to humble ourselves and rely on the Lord’s promptings. 

The commandment to become like Christ is a daunting task. As I prepare to graduate from college and attempt to find my place in the world, I have struggled to understand which Christlike attributes I’m lacking. However, in his general conference address titled “What Lack I Yet?,” Elder Larry R. Lawrence teaches us that if we are humble, we will be prompted by the Spirit and will be able to recognize how we can improve. Though it takes work, we can grow spiritually through humility and a willingness to accept the Lord’s help. 

Elder Lawrence explains that God will help us with our weaknesses, but we have to be willing to ask for his help first. He says, “We need to ask the Lord for directions along the way. We have to ask some difficult questions, like ‘What do I need to change?’ ‘How can I improve?’ ‘What weakness needs strengthening?’” Being humble enough to ask these difficult questions will help us become more receptive to the promptings of the Spirit that will help us to improve aspects of our lives.

By humbling myself and asking the Lord for help with my weaknesses, I have found a lot of comfort through personal revelation. I’ve discovered that it’s much easier to work on improvement with God’s help. As Elder Lawrence says, “The Spirit works with us at our own speed, one step at a time.” Improvement doesn’t come all at once—it takes constant work, willingness, and humility. Step by step the Lord will help us become more like Christ and help us understand how we can improve our lives.

Discover more information about how humility helps us become like Christ by reading Elder Larry R. Lawrence’s general conference talk “What Lack I Yet?”

Source: ChurchofJesusChrist.org

—Amanda Buxton, Latter-day Saint Insights

FEATURE IMAGE BY JACK SHARP

Find more insights 

For more information on how to gain power in humility, read Richard C. Edgley’s talk “The Empowerment of Humility.”

Read Elder Steven E. Snow’s general conference address “Be Thou Humble” for reasons why we should be humble.