STIMULATOR message for the week of September 19, 1972
Message from President Merlin W. Sant, September 19, 1972
“Be thou humble and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answer to thy prayers.” (Doctrine and Covenants 112:10)
Dear Missionaries —
This very wise admonition originally was given to Thomas B. Marsh in July 1837, who was then president of the Quorum of the Twelve. We might wonder why a brother holding such a high office in the church would need counsel of that kind from the Lord. But when we study the earlier instruction he had been given, the reason becomes evident. In verse 2, we read: “Verily I say unto you, there have been some few things in thine heart and with thee with which I, the Lord, was not well pleased.” And in verse 5, we find: “Contend thou, therefore, morning by morning, and day after day let thy warning voice go forth, and when the night cometh let not the inhabitants of the earth slumber, because of thy speech.” The Lord knew Brother Marsh for what he was — an ordinary man with a high calling, but with human weaknesses, and a potentially great minister of the gospel who lacked humility.
Nearly 50 years ago, President Joseph F. Smith said — “We cannot preach the gospel of Christ without the spirit of humility, meekness, faith in God and reliance upon his promises and word to us.” Let’s examine our hearts and our lives. Have there been “some few things” with us with which the Lord has not been well pleased? Are we contending morning by morning and is our warning voice going forth day after day? When the night comes are the inhabitants of the earth kept from their slumber because of our speech? Because many of our missionaries are humble, the Lord is leading them by the hands and is giving them answers to their prayers.
Humility is its own reward. It makes us teachable, lovable, grateful and dedicated in our service to God and His children. May we all enjoy the blessings of humility.
Faithfully yours,
President and Sister Sant
“The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.”
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