May I now discuss a subject of grave concern that deserves deeper development than we have time. It is the subject of pride.
In the scriptures there is no such thing as righteous pride. It is always considered as a sin. We are not speaking of a wholesome view of self-worth, which is best established by a close relationship with God. But we are speaking of pride as the universal sin, as someone has described it.
Mormon writes that “the pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction.” (Moro. 8:27.) The Lord says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “Beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.” (D&C 38:39.)
Essentially, pride is a “my will” rather than “thy will” approach to life. The opposite of pride is humbleness, meekness, submissiveness (see Alma 13:28), or teachableness.
In the early days of the restored church, the Lord warned two of its prominent members about pride. To Oliver Cowdery, He said, “Beware of pride, lest thou shouldst enter into temptation.” (D&C 23:1.) To Emma Smith, He said, “Continue in the spirit of meekness, and beware of pride.” (D&C 25:14.)
“Thou shalt not be proud in thy heart,” the Lord warns us. (D&C 42:40.) “Humble yourselves before God,” says the Book of Mormon. (Mosiah 4:10.)
When the earth is cleansed by burning in the last days, the proud shall be as stubble. (See 3 Ne. 25:1; D&C 29:9; D&C 64:24.)
The great and spacious building which Lehi saw was the pride of the world where the multitude of the earth was gathered. (See 1 Ne. 11:35–36.) Those who walked the straight and narrow path and held onto the word of God and partook of the love of God were mocked and scorned by those in the building. (See 1 Ne. 8:20, 27, 33; 1 Ne. 11:25.)
“The humble followers of Christ” are few. (2 Ne. 28:14.)
Pride does not look up to God and care about what is right. It looks sideways to man and argues who is right. Pride is manifest in the spirit of contention.
Was it not through pride that the devil became the devil? Christ wanted to serve. The devil wanted to rule. Christ wanted to bring men to where He was. The devil wanted to be above men.
Christ removed self as the force in His perfect life. It was not my will, but thine be done.
Pride is characterized by “What do I want out of life?” rather than by “What would God have me do with my life?” It is self-will as opposed to God’s will. It is the fear of man over the fear of God.
Humility responds to God’s will—to the fear of His judgments and the needs of those around us. To the proud, the applause of the world rings in their ears; to the humble, the applause of heaven warms their hearts.
Someone has said, “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.” Of one brother, the Lord said, “I, the Lord, am not well pleased with him, for he seeketh to excel, and he is not sufficiently meek before me.” (D&C 58:41.)
The two groups in the Book of Mormon that seemed to have the greatest difficulty with pride are the “learned, and the rich.” (2 Ne. 28:15.) But the word of God can pull down pride. (See Alma 4:19.)
With pride, there are many curses. With humility, there come many blessings. For example, “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.” (D&C 112:10.) The humble will “be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge.” (D&C 1:28.) The Lord is “merciful unto those who confess their sins with humble hearts.” (D&C 61:2.) Humility can turn away God’s anger. (See Hel. 11:11.)
My beloved brethren and sisters, as we cleanse the inner vessel, there will have to be changes made in our own personal lives, in our families, and in the Church. The proud do not change to improve, but defend their position by rationalizing. Repentance means change, and it takes a humble person to change. But we can do it.
We have made some wonderful strides in the past. We will be lengthening our stride in the future. To do so, we must first cleanse the inner vessel by awaking and arising, being morally clean, using the Book of Mormon in a manner so that God will lift the condemnation, and finally conquering pride by humbling ourselves.
As a parent it is very important to me that my children have a strong sense of self worth.... that they are PROUD of who they are. BUT... I never want that to translate into them thinking they are BETTER than anyone else. If they win an award after a competition, I want them to be proud of their hard work.... but NOT to be prideful in thinking how they were BETTER than everyone else in the competition.
There is nothing wrong with winning.... but what kind of winner will you be?
As an example... It is important to me that my kids try as hard as they can to get straight A's... but certainly not because I want them to have higher grades than anyone else. I want them to believe in themselves... to believe in their abilities enough to KNOW that they can achieve that goal.
What an important value to have.... what an important knowledge to have as they grow up!
I have told my kids time and time again.... worry about yourself... not "the other guy". Do things to make yourself better.... don't worry about being "the best". There will always be someone smarter, faster, prettier, etc. etc. Just be happy and proud of who you are!
