Alma 13:28

"But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering;"
Alma 13:28

I like how this verse shows some of the things that happen to us in our lives if we are led by the spirit. We become "humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering." The next verse continues the list as well, but I stopped here to focus on some of these first things. If we humble ourselves enough to call upon God, and stick with it, then a lot of great blessings can come into our lives. We don't always consider them great things... it can be difficult to humble ourselves, to be submissive to other people, to maintain patience, to love everyone around us, and to put God's will before our own consistently. Sometimes we think that we're right and the other side is wrong, so why give in... why not fight back? When we think that we are great at something, it is hard to let someone else handle it. Sometimes I think that we have to take a step back, and even if we can't trust the person, we can trust God to know what he is doing. Other people aren't going to learn if we take control all the time. And sometimes we're wrong, even though we don't always like to admit it. :) A woman and I were talking this weekend about the difference between "an eye for an eye" and "turn the other cheek" and she said that there is only so much one person can take, and didn't I see some value in fighting back... and I don't think that God asks us to be humble or submissive as a means of keeping us down, or torturing us, or keeping us in an abusive situation. I think what it is really about is how we view others. When we have to control things or have the last word or get our way, on some level it really means that we don't trust them to do what we could do in the same circumstances... and maybe that we don't love them enough to let them learn that lesson. In the end, if we return evil for evil, we're not making the world a better place, but a worse one. Today, let's look to God in prayer, and let the spirit teach us humility and how to interact with others in a way that we are making the world better.