Beware of Pride!

In 1989 Pres. Benson gave a talk in April General Conference. He said the topic of pride had been “weighing heavily” on his soul for some time, and that the Lord wanted him to speak of it. He tells us of pride that has torn marriages apart, of church members that are offended and they can’t be humble enough to forgive, of those with hearts that keep them from serving a mission, of those who are not attending the temple for time wasted on prideful pursuits, and of those unable to confess sins: adding to the greatest sin of pride. He calls it "The Universal sin".

Am I guilty of Pride?   

Often we hear we should have pride in our work, meaning to do a good job. Yet do some get carried away and it becomes a completion of who can do better? A few years ago the Brethren had to ask that no visual aids be used when giving talks for Sacrament meetings. It was becoming a side show of who could present the most amazing production, taking away from the message of words. As President Benson put it: “To elevate ourselves above others and diminish them”. President Utchdorf gave an example in the past conference of a sister who stayed up all night to finish a quilt which would be used in her lesson. Pride would not allow her not to finish the visual aid. He said the word in the middle of this magnificent work said “Simplify”.  Am  I guilty of putting too much time into my visual aids and handouts for my Relief Society lesson? Part of sharing items or pictures is to get the sisters to remember the message, but I see that much of it might only be for praise for a good lesson”. Hummm, can I still have a great lesson and simplify? (I still have to include chocolate!)

Be humble.

In this talk President points out that pride has the core of opposition, or hatred.  It is a fact that it is difficult for someone to accept what God wants them to do if they aren’t humble. Wanting God to do it our way actually shows him that we don’t love him. He also tells us that “looking up” from the bottom is being prideful. If we criticize those who have more than us and covet what others have we are using enmity towards our brothers and sisters.

The antidote for pride is humility- a broken heart and contrite spirit for any relationship (See Alma 7:23).

Pride has gotten beyond what President Benson saw in the 80”s. The “me” factor has become even more so today. As far as marriage is concerned, sacrifice for others is no longer the norm. If the relationship isn’t bringing satisfaction and totally exciting fulfillment for the self, then some feel that it is time to move on to find what they think is missing from their marriage. How sad, for this prevents the best part of marriage; years of creating a forever friendship with your mate. 

As Robert Browning said in his poem: “Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be…