"Notwithstanding their Strength"

I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss today my thoughts on the great and universal sin of pride. It is so pervasive in our world today, that we often don't see it as such; however, pride is still a sin, and as we increase in self-awareness we are made more accountable for it.

With that said, I admit that pride rules my life on a daily basis. It shows itself in a desire to be recognized above another, to vaunt myself to a position of worldly praise. But I know that as I strive to humble myself, I gain experiences that remind me of the source of from which my talents come, and the reason why I have received them; it is to serve others, and build the Kingdom of God here on earth. But how often do we take the gifts we've been given, explicitly for this purpose, and use them to push ourselves away from the human race? In my observation, this is all too common.

Luckily, we have been given hosts of examples to follow that, when heeded faithfully, put our hearts back in tune with the Spirit who entices us to "do good continually"(see Moroni 7: 13). One such example is of the Nephites living under the direction of the prophet Helaman:

And the people of Nephi began to prosper again in the land, and began to multiply and to wax exceedingly strong again in the land. And they began to grow exceedingly rich.

But notwithstanding their riches, or their strength, or their prosperity, they were not lifted up in the pride of their eyes; neither were they slow to remember the Lord their God; but they did humble themselves exceedingly before him.

Yea, they did remember how great things the Lord had done for them, that he had delivered them from death, and from bonds, and from prisons, and from all manner of afflictions, and he had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies.

And they did pray unto the Lord their God continually, insomuch that the Lord did bless them, according to his word, so that they did wax strong and prosper in the land. (Alma 62:48-51)

One thing I notice from this passage is that the Lord wants to bless and prosper us, but the pretext upon which blessings flow is humility. Humility comes from remembering the Lord in all that we do, praying and giving thanks continually. Humility is not unnecessarily abasing ourselves, and it is not desiring to not succeed for fear of how it might cause our pride to increase. Rather it is the balance of power and success with the motivation to serve others with that success and the conviction that anything good that happens is "bought with a price" (see 1 Corinthians 6:20). In the Priesthood Session of the October 2010 General Conference, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said the following:

When I was called as a General Authority, I was blessed to be tutored by many of the senior Brethren in the Church. One day I had the opportunity to drive President James E. Faust to a stake conference. During the hours we spent in the car, President Faust took the time to teach me some important principles about my assignment. He explained also how gracious the members of the Church are, especially to General Authorities. He said, “They will treat you very kindly. They will say nice things about you.” He laughed a little and then said, “Dieter, be thankful for this. But don’t you ever inhale it.”

That is a good lesson for us all, brethren, in any calling or life situation. We can be grateful for our health, wealth, possessions, or positions, but when we begin to inhale it—when we become obsessed with our status; when we focus on our own importance, power, or reputation; when we dwell upon our public image and believe our own press clippings—that’s when the trouble begins; that’s when pride begins to corrupt...

In this, as in all things, Jesus Christ is our perfect example. Whereas Lucifer tried to change the Father’s plan of salvation and obtain honor for himself, the Savior said, “Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.”¹⁷ Despite His magnificent abilities and accomplishments, the Savior was always meek and humble...

Pride is a switch that turns off priesthood power.²¹ Humility is a switch that turns it on.

So how do we conquer this sin of pride that is so prevalent and so damaging? How do we become more humble?

It is almost impossible to be lifted up in pride when our hearts are filled with charity. “No one can assist in this work except he shall be humble and full of love.”²² When we see the world around us through the lens of the pure love of Christ, we begin to understand humility.

It is my prayer that we may follow the example of the Savior, and have love for all those around us, for that is when we begin to conquer the universal sin of pride. I know that as we strive to see others for the good that is in them, that we will come to love them and their talents with they may so graciously help us, just as we serve them. At this point we will have our cake and be able to eat it too, having Christlike love for others, and being blessed and prospered by the Lord for it.

Have a Great Week!