Humility ≠ Dishonesty

I saw this on Facebook and felt that it was important enough to share here.

There are some misconceptions about what humility means, and there is some confusion regarding self-esteem, particularly considering President Ezra Taft Benson's famous talk about pride. However, while we're not supposed to be proud or boastful, that doesn't mean we need to be dishonest. If a person is a good artist, it wouldn't necessarily be boastful for them to admit that. If a person is strong, it would be dishonest for them to say otherwise. If a person has a talent (and all people do), they would serve God better by using that talent than by bashfully covering it up.

Another quote that I found on Facebook argues that we should think more highly of ourselves:

Far from wanting us to hate ourselves for our faults and weaknesses, God wants us to love ourselves and develop our strengths. Yes, we should work on our weaknesses and to do that we have to acknowledge them, but we don't have to focus on them or let them negatively affect our opinions of ourselves. It is my firm belief that God wants us to have high self-esteem, and to even be proud of ourselves.

God doesn't want us to think we're worthless; Satan does. Besides, it's simply not true. We all have great value, regardless of our talents and abilities, or lack thereof. And we all have impressive talents and abilities, no matter what we think of ourselves. Satan uses lies and exaggerations to try to distract us from our true value and potential. Don't let him. Tell him (and yourself, if you need to) that you are a child of God whose value is greater than all the treasures of the earth and whose power and abilities far exceed his. That may sound boastful, but it's true, and it's important to remember that. Humility is an important trait to develop, but that doesn't mean we have to lie to ourselves or forget about who we are.