Pride

Reading: Helaman 1-5

Before I sight a few scriptures regarding pride, I will just say that what I have to say pales in comparison to President Ezra Taft Benson's discourse of the subject of pride.  I read "Beware of Pride" at least once a year and highly recommend it to anyone.

The first chapters in the book of Helaman are full of contentions and dissentions and wickedness.  There are, of course, prophets who testify against all of this, but the people are so hard hearted that they do not listen to the prophets.  We get Mormon's summary perspective in chapter 4 of all the proceedings of the people.  This summary is important because as he says in chapter 3 (v14)

14 But behold, a ahundredth part of the proceedings of this people, yea, the account of the Lamanites and of the Nephites, and their wars, and contentions, and dissensions, and their preaching, and their prophecies, and their shipping and their building of ships, and their building of btemples, and of synagogues and their csanctuaries, and their righteousness, and their wickedness, and their murders, and their robbings, and their plundering, and all manner of abominations and whoredoms, cannot be contained in this work.

So, when Mormon gives his summary that one of the main causes of trouble for the Nephites and Lamanites was pride, we need to understand that pride really is the cause of a downfall of a nation and is therefore a warning. In fact, President Benson said,

The Doctrine and Covenants tells us that the Book of Mormon is the “record of a fallen people.” (D&C 20:9.) Why did they fall? This is one of the major messages of the Book of Mormon. Mormon gives the answer in the closing chapters of the book in these words: “Behold, the pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction.” 

The word pride is mentioned three times in chapter 3 and a good explanation of pride is offered in chapter 4:12-13 describing what actions, attributes lead to the Nephites downfall:

12 And it was because of the pride of their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, yea, it was because of their oppression to the poor, withholding their food from the hungry, withholding their clothing from the naked, and smiting their humble brethren upon the cheek, making a mock of that which was sacred, denying the spirit of prophecy and of revelation, murdering, plundering, lying, stealing, committing adultery, rising up in great contentions, and deserting away into the land of Nephi, among the Lamanites—
 13 And because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten, and driven before the Lamanites, until they had lost possession of almost all their lands.

This describes what President Benson says is the core issue with pride:

The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.
Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.” As Paul said, they “seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.” (Philip. 2:21.)
Our will in competition to God’s will allows desires, appetites, and passions to go unbridled. (See Alma 38:12; 3 Ne. 12:30.)
The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives. (See Hel. 12:6.) They pit their perceptions of truth against God’s great knowledge, their abilities versus God’s priesthood power, their accomplishments against His mighty works. Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s. 

Haven't we heard the phrases: "you can't tell me what to do," or how my kids like to put it: "you're not the boss of me." This stretches ugly tentacles to equality issues, authority issues, political issues down to family issues, sibling rivalries and really almost any part of our lives.

But it really comes down to our relationship with God. If our relationship with God is a good working relationship (I say working because it has ups and downs too, but at least we're trying), he gives us the Holy Spirit to help us self-check - to help us understand our place: that God is our Father, and Jesus Christ is our Savior and they have the authority to be those things.  When we remember these things, we are actually given more freedom.  It is the working of Satan to convince us that obeying someone else is restricting - you can't tell me what to do - and pride begins a destructive cycle and eventually spiritual and physical fall.

In opposition to this, Helaman tells his sons how they can avoid spiritual and physical fall (Helaman 5:12):

 12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.