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