The entry in the Topical Guide.

See also Contrite Heart ; Humility; Poor in Spirit; Teachable

My Favorite Scriptures

• Matthew 11:29
  • “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.”
• Galations 5:22-23
  • “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
• Mosiah 3:19
  • “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and 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.”
• Doctrine and Covenants 19:23
  • “Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.”
• Doctrine and Covenants 121:41
  • “No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;”

Teachings of the Prophets

• Howard w. Hunter
  • “Come unto Me,” October 1990 General Conference
    • “Surely the lessons of history ought to teach us that pride, haughtiness, self-adulation, conceit, and vanity contain all of the seeds of self-destruction for individuals, cities, or nations. The ashes and rubble of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum are the silent witnesses of the Savior’s unheeded warnings to that generation. Once majestic and powerful cities, they no longer exist. Would we add our names or the names of our families to such a list? No, of course not; but if we would not, we must be truly meek and lowly. By taking the yoke of Jesus upon us and feeling what he felt for the sins of the world, we learn most deeply of him, and we especially learn how to be like him.”
• Joseph Fielding Smith
  • The Necessity of Working on Our Own Lineage, April 1942 General Conference
    • “When the Lord said the meek shall inherit the earth, He had reference to those who are willing to keep the commandments of the Lord in righteousness and thus receive exaltation.”

Teachings of the Apostles

• Stephen L Richards
  • Keep The Commandments, April 1949 General Conference
    • “We all prize wisdom. It is said to be the greatest of gifts. It is really the power to apply beneficent knowledge in all the decisions and vicissitudes of life. How we need wisdom in the composition of the troubles and difficulties of the world. How we need wisdom in our own affairs, with our families, our business, and our associations. Almost every day is a day of decision. What to do. What choice to make. I don’t know of a better way to secure the wisdom that we need than by keeping the commandments. We are enjoined by the commandments to study, to pray, to work and to serve, and be humble and contrite of spirit. The great promises are to the meek who shall inherit the earth. Wisdom is not to be found among the arrogant, the haughty and self-sufficient, nor among the sinful and the anti-Christs of the world. Wisdom is a gift to the prayerful student, to the faithful and the obedient, to those who repose their trust in the counsels of the spirit and the priesthood of God.”
• Moses Thatcher
  • The Speaker’s Dependence Upon the Holy Ghost, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Logan, Utah, Aug. 28, 1885
    • “True religion refreshes the heart as gentle rains the parched and thirsting soil. The law and prophets hang upon perfection-the doing unto others as we would that others should do to us, under the practice of which the grinding monopolies, cruel wrongs and awful sacrifices known throughout the Christian world would melt away as snow before the rays of the sun. Millions may profess to follow the meek and lowly Jesus, but if the misery and sorrow of Christians is the fruit they produce, their religion is lifeless, untrue, or has failed to act upon their hearts. Strait is the gate and narrow is the way, and few there be that find it. Simple, unmistakable, yet how few, how few indeed, seem to understand that unchangeable declaration of Christ.”

Other Leaders in the Church

• Ulisses Soares
  • Be Meek and Lowly of Heart, October 2013 General Conference
    • “As we take Christ’s name upon us, it is expected that we strive to emulate His attributes and change our character to become more like Him each day.”
    • “Meekness is vital for us to become more Christlike. Without it we won’t be able to develop other important virtues. Being meek does not mean weakness, but it does mean behaving with goodness and kindness, showing strength, serenity, healthy self-worth, and self-control.”
    • “Another important step to becoming meek is learning how to control our temper. Because the natural man dwells within each one of us and because we live in a world full of pressure, controlling our temper may become one of the challenges in our lives. Think for a few seconds how you react when someone does not comply with your desires the moment you want them to. What about when people disagree with your ideas, even though you are absolutely sure that they represent the proper solution to a problem? What is your response when someone offends you, critiques your efforts, or is simply unkind because he or she is in a bad mood? At these moments and in other difficult situations, we must learn to control our temper and convey our feelings with patience and gentle persuasion. This is most important within our homes and within our relationships with our eternal companions. During the 31 years I’ve been married to my sweetheart, she has often given me gentle reminders of this as we have faced life’s unsettling challenges.”
    • “I believe, brothers and sisters, that only those who are humble are able to acknowledge and understand the Lord’s answers to their prayers. The humble are teachable, recognizing how dependent they are on God and desiring to be subject to His will. The humble are meek and have the ability to influence others to be the same. God’s promise to the humble is that He will lead them by the hand. I truly believe that we will avoid detours and sadness in our lives as long as we walk hand in hand with the Lord.”