The Dangers of Pride

In the world we live in there are thousands of opportunities to have success.  That is how God designed his plan.  He sent us here with the hope that we would have success here on earth.  As our father he created us with potential and gave us ways for us to reach it.  For us to reach this potential we must depend on him.  We cannot forget that everything we have is thanks to him and that we cannot succeed with out him.  When we forget about our Father in Heaven we fall into a dangerous cycle of pride.

President Ezra Taft Benson once said,

"Essentially, pride is a “my will” rather than “thy will” approach to life."

Pride is a high opinion of one's importance, dignity, or merit.  Pride is when we refuse to accept the will of others, especially Heavenly Father.  Our father in Heaven knows all things.  We must not allow ourselves to think that we know better.  It is easy for us to justify our actions or feelings when we have already planned out a "better way".  In Isaiah 55 it says,

 8 ¶For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Although we may not understand we can see that the Lord always knows better than we do.  That is why he requires a humble heart.  As we humble ourselves before the Lord he will more easily be able to take control of our lives.  He knows us and loves us and he knows what we go through, but he warns us that we must be humble and accept his will.  

One of the dangers of today is forgetting God.  He is there.  He always has been and will always be there.  He created us and has given us everything we need.  The danger is that we forget where we came from and why we are here.  The attitude of today is more is better, money is power, everything is about me, etc.  These attitudes present us with the trap of thinking that all of MY accomplishments are thanks to ME.  

Pride is a barrier that keeps us from receiving the blessings that God has for us.  It keeps us from heavenly feelings such as gratitude, love, and joy for others.  In place of these we often feel anger, jealousy, and entitlement.  In order to protect ourselves from these feelings we must remember God in all things.  He loves us and wants to help us through this hard life.  When we let go of pride and soften our hearts we allow God into our lives.  He will better be able to guide us.  I love him and I am thankful for him.  Pride is something that we all suffer with but I know that when we truly let go of pride we will find true happiness. 

The Light of Christ vs. The Holy Ghost

  When our Heavenly Father sent us to earth he didn't send us here blindly.  He wanted us to exercise our agency, but to be able to do so righteously he blessed us with the Light of Christ.

The Light of Christ is the divine energy, power, or influence that proceeds from God through Christ and gives life and light to all things. The Light of Christ influences people for good and prepares them to receive the Holy Ghost. One manifestation of the Light of Christ is what we call a conscience.

The light of Christ is what allows us to discern between good and evil.  It is what many call our conscience.  The Light of Christ is what gives us that gut feeling of whether or not we should do something.  All people born on this earth are blessed with the light of Christ.  It is a foundation for all of us to be able to make good decisions.
  As baptized members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we are blessed with an extra help and guide here in this life.  The Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead. He is a personage of spirit, without a body of flesh and bones. He is often referred to as the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, or the Comforter.

  This blessing is available to all who seek to know the truthfulness of the Gospel.  God wishes for all of his children to receive this blessing.  The Holy Ghost is a constant companion that the Lord blesses us with when we make the covenant (or promise) of baptism.  As long as we keep our baptismal covenant we will be blessed with the presence of the Holy Ghost.  The Spirit functions as a comforter, a guide and a friend for every worthy baptized member of the church.  We must do everything we can to stay pure and clean so that the spirit can dwell with us.
  So what must we do so that the Spirit stays with us?  We need to do the small and simple things to show our dedication to the Lord.  Reading the scriptures, saying daily prayer, fasting, and paying tithing, attending church each Sunday, visiting the temple, etc.  Essentially we must make a conscious effort everyday to follow the commandments of the Lord.  That is where we can find our safety.  We must endure and constantly strive to become more Christ-like.  The Spirit will dwell with us as we do these small things and eventually it will become easier for us to be obedient because the Holy Ghost will always be with us.  I am so very grateful to know that the Lord loves us enough to bless us not only with the foundation of the light of Christ, but to also bless us with the third member of the Godhead as an extra protection.  I know that God loves us and that he knows who we are.

In this video clip by Elder Bednar he explains to us about the light of Christ.
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-01-010-patterns-of-light-the-light-of-christ?lang=eng

The Holy Ghost communicates with each of us in different ways.  God knows each and everyone of us and he knows how to communicate with us.  We must be obedient so that we can recognize when the Spirit is communicating with us.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-01-001-feeling-the-holy-ghost?lang=eng

The gospel of Jesus Christ: Our spiritual protection

The Gospel of Jesus Christ can be our protection from temptation and trials when we truly live it.  As you all know we live in a difficult world.  There is poverty, death, drugs, wars, etc. I realize you don't need me to be listing off all the woes of the world but we all know that even watching the news can be disturbing.  

A pattern that we can see in our society as well as the times of the Book of Mormon is the idea that this life is it.  In the Book of Mormon (another testament of Jesus Christ) we read in 2 Nephi 28:7-8

 

 7 Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.

 8 And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

This motto of eat, drink, and be merry survives today.  I know that most of you (if not all) have heard the motto YOLO.  You only live once.. as members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we know this is not true.  This earth life is merely a step in the plan that our Heavenly Father has for us.  YOLO allows individuals to justify their actions because they are young and life is for living to the fullest.  I am happy to say that living life to the fullest does not have to include giving into temptations.  Those who live the fullest of lives are those who follow the principles that the Lord has set for us.  God has placed specific instructions for us here on earth.  He knows that we are weak and that we need him. He sent his son to teach us and show us by example all the things that we need to do so that we can have a successful happy life here on earth and eventually return to live with him again.

In the New Testament in John chapter 3 verse 16 it says,

 16 ¶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, was sent here not only to pay for our sins but also to give us an example to follow.  He led a perfect life and never gave into temptation.  He was always a friend, a teacher, and master to those who believed him.  For us to gain salvation we must not be distracted by what the world has to offer.  We need to learn to recognize the tender mercies of a loving Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ.  These tender mercies protect us from temptation, comfort us when we are weary, and help us reach our potential.  I know that when we strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ we will see a difference in our lives.  The spirit of the Lord will be with us, helping us get through our trials and temptations.  God has put it simply John 14:15, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."  The Lord shows his love for us through blessings received and we can show our love through our obedience to his commandments.  

So what can we do to protect ourselves from temptations?

Well, we need to know our Savior better.  Only with and through him can we become perfected.  When we know him we will understand better our purpose here on earth.  We will feel the desire to become more like him and to obey his commandments.  We must study the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon.  The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ.  It testifies that he lives and that he suffered and died for us.  He did all of that with the grand purpose that we would one day return to him.  If you feel far from God just know that he wants to be close to you.  He wants you to know that he loves you, we just need to give him the opportunity to do so by opening ourselves up to him.  Daily scriptures study, personal morning and evening prayer, and going to church every Sunday.  Make the Lord a priority in your life and you will see that the Lord will make you his priority.  He loves you and misses you. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S3TI4bYerU 

www.mormon.org