Beware of Pride Lesson 8

In President Benson's talk, "Beware of Pride" he warns us to avoid the sin of pride in our lives. In his talk he reminds us that the people in the Book of Mormon brought on their own destruction because of pride. Pride is looking inward and disregarding the feelings of others. It is not just thinking we are better than others but as President Benson says,
"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."
As I thought about this quote from the talk it made me think of my own relationships especially my marriage relationship. Two ways I have seen this in my own marriage is not being able to see opposing views and the lack of help for one another.Satan wants us to be miserable and make others feel miserable so badly that he will try the most destructive antics as his warfare. His favorite thing is to see pure independence especially in couples. I remember a few years ago that we had a rough time in our marriage and it felt like we were just two people living in the same house. When we work together we can derail Satan’s prideful efforts.

Be Still and Listen
When we submit to the sin of pride we give in to the natural man and are letting our will rather than our hearts rule our actions. When we put the needs of others before our own and strive to help and care for others as the Savior would then we can drown out the loud noises of the world and more closely listen to the whispering of the Spirit. I loved this quote from President Benson’s talk,
“When pride has a hold on our hearts, we lose our independence of the world and deliver our freedoms to the bondage of men’s judgment. The world shouts louder than the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. The reasoning of men overrides the revelations of God, and the proud let go of the iron rod.”
So in our quest to avoid pride in our lives what can we do? It is the little daily things that will keep pride at bay in our lives.
  • Pray
  • Study the scriptures
  • Serve others
  • Show love
  • Be kind
  • And so many more...
In the book of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon is the scripture of putting off the natural man. President Benson ends his talk by saying,
“We must yield “to the enticings of the Holy Spirit,” put off the prideful “natural man,” become “a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord,” and become “as a child, submissive, meek, humble.” (Mosiah 3:19 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.; see also Alma 13:28 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..)”
I have read this scripture many times but as I read it this time I thought more of applying it to how I can better my relationship with my husband. When we are able to let go of our prideful independence and help one another we will withstand Satan and his fiery darts aimed at shatter family relations. In "Drawing Heaven into Your Marriage" Goddard says, " when we have the "mind of Christ," we see our spouses in a new
way. We, like Jesus, look upon the injured, erring, and downtrodden-the
whole human race-with compassion. "

President Ezra Taft Benson, April 1989 General Conference "Beware of Pride"
Goddard, H.W. (2007). Drawing Heaven Into Your Marriage. Fairfax, VA: Meridian Publishing. 

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