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. 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.
Another major portion of this
very prevalent sin of pride is enmity toward our fellowmen. We are tempted
daily to elevate ourselves above others and diminish them. (See Hel. 6:17;
D&C 58:41.)
The proud make every man their
adversary by pitting their intellects, opinions, works, wealth, talents, or any
other worldly measuring device against others. In the words of C. S. Lewis:
“Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it
than the next man. … It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of
being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has
gone.” (Mere Christianity, New York: Macmillan, 1952, pp. 109–10.)
President Uchtdorf described pride as follows, including
some important insights into envy and pride:
When our hearts are filled with pride, we commit a grave sin, for we
violate the two great commandments. Instead of worshipping God and loving
our neighbor, we reveal the real object of our worship and love—the image we
see in the mirror.
Pride is the great sin of
self-elevation. It is for so many a personal Rameumptom, a holy stand that
justifies envy, greed, and vanity. In
a sense, pride is the original sin, for before the foundations of this earth,
pride felled Lucifer, a son of the morning “who was in authority in the
presence of God.” If pride can corrupt one as capable and promising as this,
should we not examine our own souls as well?
Pride is a deadly cancer. It is
a gateway sin that leads to a host of other human weaknesses. In fact, it could
be said that every other sin is, in essence, a manifestation of pride.
This sin has many faces. It leads some to revel in their own
perceived self-worth, accomplishments, talents, wealth, or position. They
count these blessings as evidence of being “chosen,” “superior,” or “more
righteous” than others. This is the sin of “Thank God I am more special than
you.” At its core is the desire to be admired or envied. It is the sin of
self-glorification.
For others, pride turns to
envy: they look bitterly at those who have better positions, more talents, or
greater possessions than they do. They seek to hurt, diminish, and tear down
others in a misguided and unworthy attempt at self-elevation. When those they
envy stumble or suffer, they secretly cheer. (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/pride-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng)
According to Elder Bruce Porter of the Seventy, the sacrifice
of a broken heart and a contrite spirit “is a sacrifice of pride in all its
forms.” Here is what he said in context:
The Savior’s perfect submission
to the Eternal Father is the very essence of a broken heart and a contrite
spirit. Christ’s example teaches us that a broken heart is an eternal attribute
of godliness. When our hearts are
broken, we are completely open to the Spirit of God and recognize our
dependence on Him for all that we have and all that we are. The sacrifice so
entailed is a sacrifice of pride in all its forms. Like malleable clay in
the hands of a skilled potter, the brokenhearted can be molded and shaped in
the hands of the Master. (A Broken Heart
and a Contrite Spirit, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2007/11/a-broken-heart-and-a-contrite-spirit?lang=eng)
In addition, Elder Porter equated having a broken heart
and contrite spirit to being meek and lowly in heart:
As in all things, the Savior’s
life offers us the perfect example: though Jesus of Nazareth was utterly
without sin, He walked through life with a broken heart and a contrite spirit,
as manifested by His submission to the will of the Father. “For I came down
from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John
6:38). To His disciples He said, “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart” (Matthew 11:29). And when the time came to pay the ultimate sacrifice
entailed in the Atonement, Christ shrank not to partake of the bitter cup but
submitted completely to His Father’s will.
Elder Porter also described the close relationship
between the phrases repentance, humility, penitent, submissive, and having a
broken heart and a contrite spirit:
A broken heart and a contrite spirit are also preconditions to
repentance. Lehi taught:
“Wherefore, redemption cometh in
and through the Holy Messiah. …
“Behold, he offereth himself a
sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a
broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law
be answered” (2 Nephi 2:6–7).
Those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit are willing to do
anything and everything that God asks of them, without resistance or
resentment. We cease doing things our way and learn to do them God’s way
instead. In such a condition of submissiveness, the Atonement can take effect
and true repentance can occur. The penitent will then experience the
sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost, which will fill them with peace of
conscience and the joy of reconciliation with God. In a wondrous union of
divine attributes, the same God who teaches us to walk with a broken heart
invites us to rejoice and to be of good cheer.
When we have received a forgiveness of sins, a broken heart serves as a
divine shield against temptation. Nephi prayed, “May the gates of hell be
shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is
contrite!” (2 Nephi 4:32). King Benjamin taught his people that if they would
walk in the depths of humility, they might ever rejoice, “be filled with the
love of God, and always retain a remission of … sins” (Mosiah 4:12). When we
yield our hearts to the Lord, the attractions of the world simply lose their
luster.
There is yet another dimension
of a broken heart—namely, our deep gratitude for Christ’s suffering on our
behalf. In Gethsemane, the Savior “descended below all things” (D&C 88:6)
as He bore the burden of sin for every human being. At Golgotha, He “poured out
his soul unto death” (Isaiah 53:12), and His great heart literally broke with
an all-encompassing love for the children of God. When we remember the Savior
and His suffering, our hearts too will break in gratitude for the Anointed One.
As we make the sacrifice to Him
of all that we have and all that we are, the Lord will fill our hearts with
peace. He will “bind up the brokenhearted” (Isaiah 61:1) and grace our lives
with the love of God, “sweet above all that is sweet, … and pure above all that
is pure” (Alma 32:42).
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