Pride vs Humility

We had a very good Relief Society lesson last week that got me wanting to find out more about the subject. I don’t know how the lessons for the fourth Sunday are chosen because they are not in the book, but it was certainly something I needed to spur me into a little bit of study. The lesson material is always from the most recent General Conference talks. This week it was President Uchtdorf’s talk during the Priesthood session about pride.

President Uchtdorf was quoting a lot from a talk given by President Benson back in 1989. After reading these two talks and doing some more studying on my own, I learned a lot about the affects of pride.

I think pride is a lot like humility, in fact, some people might think they are opposites. If we are proud we are not humble. If we are humble we will not be proud. But both have something in common: if you think you are (or are not), you probably are (or are not). You can’t think you are humble and have humility. You cannot think you are not proud without being proud. We should be striving to get rid of one and be more of the other.

President Uchtdorf said there are things that we should be proud of, such as our families. Even our Father in Heaven talked of how proud He is of his Son: “This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased.” There are many scriptures where church leaders talk of how pleased they are with what they see others doing. President Benson said there is no such thing as “righteous pride”, so what is the difference?
It is all a matter of how we center our attention. If we puff ourselves up because family member’s achievements, that is pride. We can be pleased and happy for them, because of their accomplishments, without taking any credit for ourselves without being prideful.

So, it appears to me that we can be proud without being full of pride. So, what is pride and how does it affect us? How can we identify it so we know how to rid it from our lives?

I have done a lot of thinking about President Benson’s talk. He really laid it out for me to think about. These quotes are straight from his talk.



**Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves. Most of us consider pride to be a sin of those on the top, such as the rich and the learned, looking down at the rest of us. There is, however, a far more common ailment among us—and that is pride from the bottom looking up. It is manifest in so many ways, such as faultfinding, gossiping, backbiting, murmuring, living beyond our means, envying, coveting, withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, and being unforgiving and jealous.

**Contention in our families drives the Spirit of the Lord away. It also drives many of our family members away. Contention ranges from a hostile spoken word to worldwide conflicts. The scriptures tell us that “only by pride cometh contention.”

**The scriptures testify that the proud are easily offended and hold grudges.
(1 Nep. 16:1-3) They withhold forgiveness to keep another in their debt and to justify their injured feelings.

**The proud do not receive counsel or correction easily. (Prov. 15:10; Amos 5:10)

**“If you succeed, I am a failure.”

**The proud are not easily taught. They won’t change their minds to accept truths, because to do so implies they have been wrong.

**Our degree of pride determines how we treat our God and our brothers and sisters.

**Think of the repentance that could take place with lives changed, marriages preserved, and homes strengthened, if pride did not keep us from confessing our sins and forsaking them.

**Alma said, “Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble.” (Alma 32: 16)

**We can choose to humble ourselves by receiving counsel and chastisement.

**We can choose to humble ourselves by forgiving those who have offended us.

I like how President Benson linked pride with being humble. Choosing to humble ourselves doesn’t mean we feel guilty of being too proud, but that we are teachable, and want to overcome any problem we may be having, that we want to become a better person.

I saw another quote on a blog that I usually read. I thought it went right along with my thoughts this past week: “Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars; you have to let go at some point, in order to go forward.” Sometimes you just have to let it go, agree to learn, and go on. Look, listen, learn, and leave it alone.

I admit there have been times lately that I have felt justified in my pride when thinking that I am right and others are wrong. I recognize that might not be the truth and that my pride has caused contention. I am striving to change that part of my thinking, and hope that others will help me let go of the monkey bars so I can move forward.

These are all things I will be working on from this point on. But please remember, I am a work in progress. Don't expect perfection for quite a while. :)