Sunday Lesson: Sept 13th

In Pres. Benson's first general conference talk as the President of the Church, he talked about the differences between pride and humility: "Pride does not look up to God and care about what is right. It looks sideways to man and argues who is right." Pres. Benson also said, "Humility responds to God's will - to the fear of His judgments and to the needs of those around us. To the proud, the applause of the world rings in their ears; to the humble, the applause of heaven warms their hearts."

In class we were separated into small groups and had a good amount of time reading and answering questions within our group. Most of the things we discussed are exactly what Pres. Benson teaches. We learn from the manual that the central feature of pride is enmity toward God and our fellowman. "Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness...but the heart, or core, is still missing. Enmity means 'hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.' It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us....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."

We also learn from Pres. Benson that, "Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves." There are many faces of pride, and some of them we may not realize are present in ourselves. "Disobedience is essentially a prideful power struggle against someone in authority over us. It can be a parent, a priesthood leader, a teacher, or ultimately God....Selfishness is one of the more common faces of pride...Another face of pride is contention. Arguments, fights, unrighteous dominion, generation gaps, divorces, spouse abuse, riots, and disturbances all fall into this category of pride." In the scriptures (1 Nephi 16:1-3) we learn that the proud are easily offended and hold grudges. They withhold forgiveness to keep another in their debt and to justify their injured feelings."

The antidote for pride is humility - meekness, submissiveness. It is the broken heart and contrite spirit. Pres. Benson says, "Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble." There are many ways we can choose to be humble. Here are a few: 1) Conquering enmity toward our brothers and sisters. 2) Receive counsel and chastisement. 3) Forgive others who have offended us. 4) Be humble by rendering selfless service. 5) Go on missions and preach the word that can humble others. 6) Go to the temple more frequently. 7) We can be more humble as we confess and forsake our sins and be born of God. 8) Love God, submit to His will and put Him first in our lives.

 

Pres. Benson concludes, "We must cleanse the inner vessel by conquering pride. We must yield 'to the enticing of the Holy Spirit,' pout off the prideful 'natural man,' and become 'as a child, submissive, meek, humble.'"