Mosiah’s son’s name was Benjamin. Benjamin became the king and so people called him King Benjamin. We don’t know too much about his life but we know he was humble because he had learned how to be humble from his father Mosiah. And so before he died, he decided he needed to teach all the people how to be humble.
So Benjamin stood on a tall tower so everyone could hear him. And everybody put up tents around the tower so they could hear him. And there were a lot of people, so there were a lot of tents. Rows and rows. It was like a big camping trip, except instead of roasting marshmallows, they listened to Benjamin talk. That might sound boring to you, but Benjamin said such beautiful and exciting things that the people thought it was even better than marshmallow and smores. This is what he taught.
He said, “the first step in being humble is being honest.” This seems simple, but it is very easy for us to be dishonest. We can be dishonest with others, that’s called lying. But more often we are dishonest with ourselves, and that’s called pride. And pride is the opposite of humility.
Have you ever given a doggie-toy to a dog and then tried to take it back? It can be very hard to get it back because dogs are very good at lying to themselves. They say, this is my toy. But if that dog was more honest it might realize that it did not make the toy and it did not buy the toy. It was a gift from you.
That is what we are like with God. God has given us all our toys and our homes and our cities and all the rocks and water and trees. And we are very good at lying to ourselves, like dogs. We say, this tree is mine. And we stack rocks and build walls and tell other people to stay away. Because this is ours.
But it is not ours. It is a gift. And if someone is kind enough to give us something as beautiful as a tree or as hard as a rock or as oozie as a worm, we should be humble. And we should say thank you. And we should share whatever we have because it is not ours. Because nothing is ours.
This is easy enough when we are talking about toys and clothes and rocks and animals. But it is much harder when we are talking about ourselves. We like to think that we are smart or funny or fast. And maybe you are. But that also is a gift. It is a gift God gave your grandfathers and grandmothers, which they gave to your parents, and your parents gave to you. So even our own minds and talents are gifts, and so we have to share those too!
“The second step to humility,” said King Benjamin, “is compassion.” You see, one problem with seeing everything as a gift is that it’s easy to think that people who have a lot of gifts are lucky. God must love them the most, we say. Because they are so righteous. But this is not true.
God loves everyone. And if he gives a gift to one person, he is giving a gift to everyone. Because he expects us to share. And to take care of each other. And if that is not happening, it is because we have not learned to be humble.
To be compassionate, all it takes is noticing. Look around. See someone who needs something. Maybe it’s a toy, maybe it’s a flower, maybe it’s a hug. Once you notice, you will know what to do. Because, guess what, God made you like him. And he is compassionate. God pays attention to all his children, and he notices what they need, and he is compassionate to them. And so are you. All you have to do is notice.
“The third and final step to humility,” said King Benjamin, “is Jesus.” Because just like everything else, just like honesty and compassion, humility is a gift from God. And God wants you to be humble. So he gave us Jesus. And Jesus shows us how to be humble. Because he died for us. Not just you and me, but everyone else. You will never come across another person who Christ did not die for, another person Jesus doesn’t care very deeply about. And once you realize that, it’s a lot easier to be honest, compassionate, and humble.