From Elder Richard G. Scott, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (deceased). . . two previous posts, (To Obtain Spiritual Guidance and To Obtain Spiritual Guidance II), continuing Elder Scott wrote:
President J. Ruben Clark observed: “There is a spiritual learning just as there is a material learning, and the one without the other is not complete; yet, speaking for myself, if I could have only one sort of learning, that which I would take would be the learning of the spirit, because in the hereafter I shall have opportunity in the eternities which are to come to get the other, and without spiritual learning here my handicaps in the hereafter would be all but overwhelming.”21 (see below)
Why must one, in humility, earnestly seek divine light? Does it really require that much effort? Elder Henry B. Eyring {currently in the First Presidency of the Church} learned a treasured lesson from his father, Henry Eyring, that served him well. That father is honored as a world-renowned scientist and educator whose brilliance left a heritage of fundamental scientific principles that remain prized today. At the time Elder Eyring was at a pinnacle of formal education, having received his master’s and doctors degrees from Harvard. He was serving as a professor in the Stanford Graduate School of Business and as a Visiting Sloan Faculty Fellow at MIT. His perceptive father said:
“Hal, you have a problem. You are confused. You think education is where you have been. It is not. It is what you do, not where you go to do it. You can get an education anywhere if you work hard enough at it. You can go into the desert with a good book and blackboard and with diligent work, you can become educated. “22 (from private communication)
This wisdom is abundantly documented in the holy scriptures and in the declarations of the Lord’s anointed. For example, speaking of His servants, the Lord said:
And inasmuch as they were humble they might be made strong
and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time.(23 verse 28)
Why is humility essential to the acquiring of spiritual knowledge? To be humble is to be teachable. Humility permits you to be tutored by the Holy Spirit and to be taught from sources inspired by the Lord, such as the scriptures, the voice of His servants, or inspired parents. The seeds of personal understanding and growth germinate and flourish in the fertile soil of humility. When cultivated through the exercise of faith, pruned by repentance, and fortified by obedience and good works, such seeds produce the cherished fruit of spirituality. (24 see verse 22) Divine guidance and power then result—guidance to know the will of the Lord, and power to provide the capability to accomplish that inspired will. (25 see verse 16) Such power comes from God after we have done “all we can do.” (26 see verse 23)
A proud individual cannot know the things of the Spirit. Paul taught this truth, saying: “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. . . But the natural man receiveth not t he things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (27 see verses 11&14)
Therefore, spiritual guidance must be cultivated in the environment of humility. Pride, overconfidence, selfishness, seeking for position or the honors of men stifle spiritual direction.
We also learn from the Book of Mormon that humility produces strength of character, as attested by the Lord’s declaration: “If men come unto me I will show them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. (28 see verse 27) ~Richard G. Scott, Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy (Deseret Book, 2007), 64-66
References:
21. J. Ruben Clark Jr., in Conference Report, April 1934, 94.
