Pride's Many Faces

Pride is a tricky thing, something that most of us have in some form or another and gets in the way of so many important parts of the gospel. A prideful person will resist correction, be offended easily, and lack the guidance of the Holy Ghost, among many more consequences. What makes pride worse is that it can sneak up on us, seeming to be something harmless or even good. I know that I've had problems with pride more than any other thing, and that as I look closer at the things I'm doing wrong I recognize an element of pride in every single one.

A pride of lions. Clever, eh?

So, what is pride, and how is it so invasive? Pride is the placing of your will above that of another, or it is the thinking that you are more something than somebody else, or it is the thought that you can do something and get away with it. Pride is potentially many more things, but because I'm an imperfect philosopher I'm limiting myself to something I can handle. If we were perfectly humble, we'd obey God perfectly because we would realize that we are next to nothing without help. If we weren't prideful, we'd not be depressed at our shortcomings because we'd know ours are not the worst and we can all receive help as we need it. If we humbled ourselves, we would not be trapped by sins because we would realize that we are not entitled to stray from the righteous path.

I'm the sort of person that likes to categorize things and say more with less (not that I'm all that great at it). I've thought about pride a little bit recently, and I've recognized pride in my foibles that I need to overcome. It is because of pride that we are asked to "become as a little child" (3 Nephi 11:37), who is humble enough to obey the Father's corrections. As we correct our prideful tendencies, seek ways to humbly follow Christ, and seek His help through prayer we will become better people, of this I am confident.

One thing to be cautious with this topic is being too submissive to too many things. A certain amount of "pride" in righteous things, or happiness to do something in front of others, can help us make good choices, and resist the influence of people we do not want to follow. I've known people that through righteous pride have struggled through difficult times in order to accomplish important goals, and having pride in family members can brighten their day. Humble yourself to the Lord, and be stubborn to those that oppose him.

One request that I have for you is to humbly consider several things: the Book of Mormon, our message about the Restoration, and then meeting with missionaries. I cannot say this enough, because even sharing it constantly isn't enough, but I know that this is the truth and that you can know too.