Pride: 6/5/2016

Thank you Katie S for leading a wonderful discussion on Pride. The following information was provided by Katie and is a great resource.  

Characteristics of Pride

Taken from “Beware of Pride” by Ezra Taft Benson

Enmity toward God

• “Our will in competition with God’s will”
• “The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives.”
• “The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s.”
• Rebellion
• Hard-heartedness
• Stiff-neckedness
• Unrepentant
• Puffed up
• Easily offended
• Sign seekers
• Disobedience

Enmity toward fellow man

• “The proud make every man their adversary by pitting their intellects, opinions, works, wealth, talents, or any other worldly measuring device against others.”
• The proud stand more in fear of men’s judgment than of God’s judgment.
• “What will men think of me?” weighs heavier than “What will God think of me?”
• Faultfinding
• Gossiping
• Backbiting
• Murmuring
• Living beyond our means
• Envying
• Coveting
• Withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another
• Being unforgiving
• Jealousy
• Selfishness
• Contention
• Easily offended
• Holds grudges
• “Do not receive counsel or correction easily”
• “The proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not.  Their self esteem is determined by where they are judged to be on the ladders of worldly success.”

Thoughts on Humility

“Humbly submitting our will to the Father brings us the empowerment of God—the power of humility. It is the power to meet life’s adversities, the power of peace, the power of hope, the power of a heart throbbing with a love for and testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ, even the power of redemption. To this end, the Savior is our supreme example of the power of humility and submissiveness. After all, His submitting His will to the Father brought about the greatest, and even the most powerful, event in all of history. Perhaps some of the most sacred words in all the scriptures are simply, ‘Not my will, but thine, be done’” (Luke 22:42). (Edgley, “The Empowerment of Humility”)

“Some suppose that humility is about beating ourselves up. Humility does not mean convincing ourselves that we are worthless, meaningless, or of little value. Nor does it mean denying or withholding the talents God has given us. We don’t discover humility by thinking less of ourselves; we discover humility by thinking less about ourselves. It comes as we go about our work with an attitude of serving God and our fellowman.” (Uchtdorf, “Pride and the Priesthood”)

“ ‘And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit’ (D&C 11:12).

You may have received that blessing tonight. For instance, a name or a face of someone in need may have come to your mind during this meeting. It could have been only a fleeting thought, but because of what you heard tonight, you will pray about it, trusting that God will lead you to do the good He wants for them. As such prayers become a pattern in your life, you and others will be changed for the better. (Eyring, “Trust in That Spirit Which Leadeth to Do Good”)

“Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ … even to the … yielding their hearts unto God.” (Helaman 3:35)

“For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child,submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.”  (Mosiah 3:19)

“How does one get humble? To me, one must constantly be reminded of his dependence. On whom dependent? On the Lord. How remind one’s self? By real, constant, worshipful, grateful prayer.” (Spencer W. Kimball)