Every year, twice a year, we as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gather together (either physically in Salt Lake City, Utah, or through television or digitally) and hear the words of the living prophets. One of the most profound talks ever given was by Ezra Taft Benson, prophet, seer, revelator, and then president of the Church. In April 1989 he gave a talk entitled “Beware of Pride” (which was then printed the next month in the magazine the Ensign). I have been influenced by this talk my whole life.
I remember as a child my Dad taught us about pride through this talk. He taught us that we shouldn’t allow pride to influence us, and to rise above it. Obviously this is a life-long lesson, and I am still working on it today.
A few years ago I was able to serve as a missionary and I remember how strongly this talk influenced me then, as well. I can’t even remember why I had it, but I had a printed copy, and I carefully pasted it into my journal so that I would always be able to re-read it and remember what it says. I added pictures to make it appealing and read it often. Pride is a huge stumbling block, and when we allow pride to control us, we lose out on so much.
“Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing.
“The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen… Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s” (Benson).
When we are in a relationship, whether as a spouse, a sibling, a parent, or a child, we often allow pride to control our actions. It is easy to think that what I say is right, and what they say is wrong. We “pit our will against” them. When we are able to pull away from the prideful tendencies we have such better lives. Our marriages thrive, our relationships deepen, and we love more fully.
I find that pride infects a relationship, and that when I allow it into my marriage I am pushing my husband away. I start to feel justified that I am doing all I can, and he is doing nothing. That is not true. We both strive for a happy marriage, and we both fail at times. My pride tells me that I am always right, but the Spirit tells me that that isn’t the case. When we are willing to allow that sting of guilt to change us, we can overcome pride. We just have to be willing to try.
I would love to just post the whole talk for my blog this week, but instead I am going to just add a link so you can read it for yourself! Enjoy!
Benson, E. (1989, May 1). Beware of Pride. Ensign. Found on lds.org, https://www.lds.org/ensign/1989/05/beware-of-pride?lang=eng
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