Humility in sharing and accepting the gospel

Does admitting that we believe in God, or in religion generally, make us feel vulnerable? Such a confession shows that we are dependent upon something other than ourselves for protection or help, even if it is just spiritual protection. As people, we do not like appearing vulnerable. Society praises self-sufficiency and independence. So when we share the gospel, do we think it makes us appear weak or vulnerable? Do we think it will make others appear vulnerable? In most settings we have norms against making other people look weak and vulnerable, so sometimes we refrain from opening up because we don't want others to have to show us their weaknesses, and thus resent us for having to do so.

That is why humility in so important in sharing, and accepting the gospel. Our humble and sincere attitude, whether that be manifest through our body language or other communication, will implicitly send the message to the person we are trying to share the gospel with that we have no intention of plastering their vulnerabilities on the wall for all to see. They will know that we are not duping them into opening up for our own gain or to make them appear foolish. Rather they will see that we are motivated by something else entirely -- love. They will see our genuine concern and love because we too share that same dependence on something higher ans stronger than ourselves. We too, in our vulnerability, need God and his Son Jesus Christ to strengthen us.

That is the way it had to be. We had to leave God for a time in order to become more like him. We all naturally feel the need for some closer spiritual connection because we felt it before. This is the way it was designed. Without this feeling, without our weaknesses, why would we ever need to humble ourselves by recognizing our need for faith? Humility is the gateway through which all blessings and acts of obedience flow. I used to think that obedience was the nexus by which all other Christlike virtues and attributes were connected. But now I see that even obedience need to be built upon a foundation of humility. Take Christ's ultimate experience in the Garden of Gethsemane for example. Before he obeyed his Father's command to atone for the world, he first humbled himself by saying, "Not as will, but as thou wilt." (Matt. 26:39) Even faith and hope, the beginning of our spiritual experiment, stem from an inherent recognition that we, by nature of our fallen state and separation with God, need something to have faith in. We cannot begin to exercise faith to experiment on the word of God if we do not first humble ourselves and recognize that there is something to experiment on in the first place (see Alma 32).

When we humbly recognize, seek, and submit to the will of the Father, he will trust us with people to share the gospel with. When we humbly recognize, seek, and submit to the will of God, our faith in Christ and desire to keep his commandments will blossom.