Meekness

All my life I have learned that we should be meek and humble. I always thought these two words were synonymous. While they are related, they are actually different in meaning. In the New Testiment, Matthew 11:28-29, we read, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

We know that when Jesus was on the earth, his disciples wanted to send the children away. But Jesus said, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:14) In Mosiah, we are admonished to: "Becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

Because Jesus is meek, and he admonishes us to become meek, as a child, it would be good to know exactly what that means. At Stake Conference when President Hanks gave his talk, he told us what he learned of meekness. He told us that we should be willing to submit to the Lord, to be MEEK. He quoted: "Meekness is the capacity to be injured without feeling resentment."  He spoke about Jesus' pure example of being meek. Though He was being persecuted, spat upon, and ultimately crucified, He was still meek and forgiving when He said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." It is difficult to imagine being like that, but we need to strive to be like Him.

President Hanks continued in his talk, saying, "The advisary wants us to be angry with each other. But being offended and angry with others will ultimately get in the way of everything you want to do good, and hamper our progression. We can find ourselves offended, even toward our Heavenly Father. If we are not daily seeking forgiveness, we will not be in the habit of forgiving others." He said many other good things, but these were the thoughts I jotted down as I listened. I wish I could express the things that he said in his talk, but I don't have the eloquence to do so.

This was the talk where he quoted all the words to the song I wrote, "That's Why He Was Sent." And then my song was performed, accompanied by our Stake Orchestra, which I played in. I can't begin to describe how I felt. It seemed surreal. I felt excited and fulfilled, yet very humbled. The Spirit was very strong that evening at the meeting, and many tears were shed. I am just thankful that I got to be a part of it. And, as I think back over that evening and President Hanks' talk, I want to resolve to become more meek, submissive, forgiving, more like our Savior.

I love you all. Please write a little something that you'd like to share, even if it is only a paragragh.
Love, Mom