33 And in the fifty and first year of the reign of the judges there was peace also, save it were the pride which began to enter into the church—not into the church of God, but into the hearts of the people who professed to belong to the church of God—
34 And they were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many of their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much affliction….
36 And it came to pass that the fifty and second year ended in peace also, save it were the exceedingly great pride which had gotten into the hearts of the people; and it was because of their exceedingly great riches and their prosperity in the land; and it did grow upon them from day to day.
- It’s not really accurate to speak of pride among a group of people. Even where pride is prevalent, it is important to remember that it exists in the hearts of individual people, and it can only be overcome one person at a time.
- Pride not only grows quickly and without effort, but it also grows quietly, almost undetectably. Mormon’s statement that pride “did grow upon” these Nephites “from day to day” implies that they didn’t realize it was happening. As Ezra Taft Benson taught, “Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves” (“Beware of Pride,” General Conference, April 1989).
- Pride leads to contention. The visible symptom of pride among these Nephites was the fact that they persecuted “the more humble part of the people.” Ezra Taft Benson explained that the heart of pride is a feeling of enmity toward God and toward other people (which is the opposite of the two great commandments – Matthew 22:35-40). Therefore, a useful way to detect pride in ourselves is to look for areas of conflict with other people.