Defining meekness

This isn't going to be a traditional blog post. It will end up being more of a list. I was fascinated last night as I read Elder Ulisses Soares's talk from this past General Conference, "Be Meek and Lowly of Heart." The caption pulled from the talk to introduce it is "Being meek does not mean weakness, but it does mean behaving with goodness and kindness." But what fascinated me was the way that meekness was described throughout the talk--not just as goodness and kindness. It's different seeing it in print. So, here's my list... and be aware that it is a mixture of nouns, adjectives, phrases, and possibly some verbs, as well. (Some of the brackets are in the text, others are my own interjections or explanations.)

What is meekness? What does it mean to be meek?

lowly in heart
Godfearing
righteous
humble
teachable
patient under suffering
calm
docile
tolerant
submissive
fruit of the Spirit
live in the Spirit
reflect righteousness
emulate His [Christ's] attributes
change our character to become more like Him each day

perfect

deny [ourselves] of all ungodliness

love God

Christlike attributes

use [our] agency wisely

desire to please God

recognize [our] weaknesses

be willing and anxious to improve

goodness

kindness

strength (yes, strength!)

serenity

healthy self-worth

self control

born with the seed of meekness

process of time

“take up [our] cross daily”

constant focus and desire

improve day by day

overcome them [our weaknesses] as fast as possible

[instill] this feeling in the hearts of our children

[behave] properly before Him [Christ] under all circumstances

dedication

perseverance

control our temper

convey our feelings with patience and gentle persuasion

gentle reminders

gentle

apt to teach

patient

calm

temperate

avoiding contention

subdue our pride

humble

teachable

ability to influence others to be the same

walk hand in hand with the Lord

conversion

kindly

humility

without resentment

strong desire to learn

listen

determination

courage

faithfulness

heart full of goodness and deep gratitude

influenced many lives for good

forgive

change our spiritual character

love

Do you see what I mean? Some of these may be repetitive or at least closely related to others. However, there were words in there that I don't think most of us usually associate with meekness: strength, courage, determination. A quotation from President Lorenzo Snow (use in Elder Soares's talk) is a good illustration of many of these qualities, including determination: "It is our duty to try to be perfect, … to improve each day, and look upon our course last week and do things better this week; do things better today than we did them yesterday.... If the husband can live with his wife [or the wife with the husband] one day without quarrelling or without treating anyone unkindly or without grieving the Spirit of God … he is so far perfect. Then let him try to be the same the next day. But supposing he should fail in this his next day’s attempt, that is no reason why he should not succeed in doing so the third day."

This is a good, solid list to help each of us develop meekness. It gave me the desire to work harder... to show determination and courage in working toward these qualities. I hope my list, or perhaps the original talk itself, can help others, as well. These Christlike qualities should be the aim of every Christian. I know Christ was the perfect example, and I know He will help us as we strive to become like Him.