I detest Pride – for unusual reasons

[Anonymous]

Heard a talk on pride recently. The person giving the talk went into a long laundry list of what constitutes pride. I don’t remember the entire list, but here is one that typifies one of the dijointed and seemingly unrelated list of pride items.

“Pride is when you are annoyed when someone inconveniences you”.

The list went on and on.

As an educator, I have to be very PRECISE in my language and carefully define terms before I use them. It seems that in our religion, and perhaps Christianity in general, pride has become a “catch all” category so broad it has no meaning.

For me, pride has a couple meanings, one lacking character, and another enobling it:

a) lacking character: a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.

b) part of healthy character:

pleasure or satisfaction taken in something done by or belonging to oneself or believed to reflect credit upon oneself:

Simply being annoyed because you are inconvenience by someone, perhaps because of the implications on your schedule, impact on others, or ability to acheive something doesn’t fit into these definitions.

I’d much rather we focused on more clearly defined, narrow definitions of personal characteristics in our talks. That way, it can be meaningful.

Have I captured the meaning of pride here? Or is wise to have such a broad definition that seems to encompass almost all sin?

[Anonymous]

I think that’s why so many talks start off with “Webster’s dictionary states that…”

SilentDawning wrote:

Simple being annoyed because you are inconvenience by someone, perhaps because of the implications on your schedule, impact on others, or ability to acheive something doesn’t fit into these definitions.

Maybe that falls under the umbrella of being selfish. I’m selfish, I’ve learned that sometimes it’s ok to be annoyed when people inconvenience us. Besides, how are they inconveniencing us unless it’s by being annoying?

lds.org defines pride as (great, now I’m giving a SM talk ):

1) A lack or absence of humility or teachableness.

2) A proud person sets himself above those around him.

3) Follows his own will rather than god’s will. (This is probably where the definition of pride can become a catchall for all sin)

I’d probably say that the churchy definition of pride is that it is the root cause of all sin. E.g. pride causes someone to be selfish vs. selfishness is pride.

[Anonymous]

Based on the capitalization of Pride in your subject line, I thought you were going to say you don’t like the Pride Parade.

[Anonymous]

Quote:

3) Follows his own will rather than god’s will. (This is probably where the definition of pride can become a catchall for all sin)

This one bugs me because leaders throughout history have been famous for trying to motivate people to action through references to God’s will

The problem, it’s rarely ever verifiable, and often crafted to serve someone’s own interests.

I do hope that God honors the heart of the person who makes sacrifices for what he BELIEVES to be God’s will. Whether it is truly his will or not. I have made many life decisions on that model, and many sacrifices, as I’m sure many people here have.

[Anonymous]

What you’re talking of is arrogance versus self-respect. A deficiency of the English language .

[Anonymous]

I am not generally a fan of ETB, and I am not a fan of his great pride sermon. Pres. Uchtdorf referenced that talk when he spoke about pride:

Quote:

Other Meanings of Pride

I also remember one interesting side effect of President Benson’s influential talk. For a while it almost became taboo among Church members to say that they were “proud” of their children or their country or that they took “pride” in their work. The very word pride seemed to become an outcast in our vocabulary.

In the scriptures we find plenty of examples of good and righteous people who rejoice in righteousness and at the same time glory in the goodness of God. Our Heavenly Father Himself introduced His Beloved Son with the words “in whom I am well pleased.”

Alma gloried in the thought that he might “be an instrument in the hands of God.” The Apostle Paul gloried in the faithfulness of members of the Church. 4 The great missionary Ammon gloried in the success he and his brothers had experienced as missionaries.

I believe there is a difference between being proud of certain things and being prideful. I am proud of many things. I am proud of my wife. I am proud of our children and grandchildren.

I am proud of the youth of the Church, and I rejoice in their goodness. I am proud of you, my dear and faithful brethren. I am proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with you as a bearer of the holy priesthood of God.

Pride Is the Sin of Self-Elevation

So what is the difference between this kind of feeling and the pride that President Benson called “the universal sin”? Pride is sinful, as President Benson so memorably taught, because it breeds hatred or hostility and places us in opposition to God and our fellowmen. At its core, pride is a sin of comparison, for though it usually begins with “Look how wonderful I am and what great things I have done,” it always seems to end with “Therefore, I am better than you.”

(Whole talk here: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/pride-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng” class=”bbcode_url”>https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/pride-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng)

The first part of that quote is definitely true, I actually know people who wouldn’t say they were proud of their children after that talk.

[Author]

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