Helaman 4
Helaman 4
Pride is the root of wickedness. It's amazing to me the sins that can spring from it, as laid out in verse 12.
Verse 13- "...because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strengths, they were left in their own strength.....(25)...therefore the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous power...(26)..thus they had become weak; because of their transgression."
What protection can you expect when you take off your armor? Especially the armor of God?
One of my greatest fears (right behind becoming lactose intolerant and unable to eat ice cream) is living a life without the influence and power of God in it; to be not be guided by the Holy Ghost, to received the added strength and peace that comes from God, to not have the transforming power of the Atonement.
I guess that's more than one fear- but you get the picture.
Perhaps it really shouldn't be a fear, because, truly, access to these is in my power. I make the choices that qualify myself for these gifts. I choose to be obedient. I choose to follow Him.
The Nephites chose not to. First, they chose to not be humble. Pride enters in, and tells them they don't need God- that they are sufficient strong in and of themselves. It is a dangerous slope.
I was talking to a friend the other day about a church policy/program. He felt the churches stance was not well-thought out. In his mind, it was exclusionary and antiquated. He was quick to criticize the prophet, saying he hadn't given enough consideration to this issue (like he know what is on President Monson's agenda or mind), that he doesn't fully understand. He was eager to criticize, yet when asked to provide a solution, he was unable to. He said that in all the people he spoke with, he was the only one that had this opinion- he was a higher thinker. He knew better than all those that he had spoken to- and even better than the prophet- on this matter.
It was shocking.
As I read this this morning, I realized it was pride and arrogance on his part. It is one thing to have our own opinions. We were given minds to think, analyze and come to our own conclusions. But, when we take our opinions and put them in a position above the one man on the entire planted that has been called as God's spokesman, when you think that you are the only one who is smart enough to see things 'as they really are', that you are intellectually superior to everyone around you- including the prophet. That is pride at its finest (is pride ever fine?)
Humility does not mean that we should not think for ourselves. Humility means that we trust in God. God has a prophet that is not allowed to lead us astray.
The Nephites were filled with pride, placing their own strengths, judgments and desires above God's. It's a dangerous place to be.
Sorry for the tangent.
What did you think/learn today?
Pride is the root of wickedness. It's amazing to me the sins that can spring from it, as laid out in verse 12.
Verse 13- "...because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strengths, they were left in their own strength.....(25)...therefore the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous power...(26)..thus they had become weak; because of their transgression."
What protection can you expect when you take off your armor? Especially the armor of God?
One of my greatest fears (right behind becoming lactose intolerant and unable to eat ice cream) is living a life without the influence and power of God in it; to be not be guided by the Holy Ghost, to received the added strength and peace that comes from God, to not have the transforming power of the Atonement.
I guess that's more than one fear- but you get the picture.
Perhaps it really shouldn't be a fear, because, truly, access to these is in my power. I make the choices that qualify myself for these gifts. I choose to be obedient. I choose to follow Him.
The Nephites chose not to. First, they chose to not be humble. Pride enters in, and tells them they don't need God- that they are sufficient strong in and of themselves. It is a dangerous slope.
I was talking to a friend the other day about a church policy/program. He felt the churches stance was not well-thought out. In his mind, it was exclusionary and antiquated. He was quick to criticize the prophet, saying he hadn't given enough consideration to this issue (like he know what is on President Monson's agenda or mind), that he doesn't fully understand. He was eager to criticize, yet when asked to provide a solution, he was unable to. He said that in all the people he spoke with, he was the only one that had this opinion- he was a higher thinker. He knew better than all those that he had spoken to- and even better than the prophet- on this matter.
It was shocking.
As I read this this morning, I realized it was pride and arrogance on his part. It is one thing to have our own opinions. We were given minds to think, analyze and come to our own conclusions. But, when we take our opinions and put them in a position above the one man on the entire planted that has been called as God's spokesman, when you think that you are the only one who is smart enough to see things 'as they really are', that you are intellectually superior to everyone around you- including the prophet. That is pride at its finest (is pride ever fine?)
Humility does not mean that we should not think for ourselves. Humility means that we trust in God. God has a prophet that is not allowed to lead us astray.
The Nephites were filled with pride, placing their own strengths, judgments and desires above God's. It's a dangerous place to be.
Sorry for the tangent.
What did you think/learn today?
Actually the first verse that caught my eye was the first verse and coupled with your comment, something to pay attention to. There were many contentions in the church... those contentions didn't suddenly appear. They were added upon little by little, because of pride and/or indifference.
ReplyDeleteAt our last stake conference, the stake president mentioned this comment several times... "all is not well in Zion." It really struck me as a warning. Then this chapter confirms that warning on a different level.
We have to be mindful of things that happen around us, even in (or especially in) the church. We have to be willing to stand tall, even if it isn't the politically correct thing to do.
I often ask myself as a personal "check-in"... am I intune enough to the spirit to recognize a false doctrine when it is taught in a class? Am I strong enough in my convictions to say something? Do I follow the sheep or follow the shepherd?
I marked verse 12 and the words "making a mock of that which was sacred" really struck me at the moment. The Lord refers to our physical bodies as sacred Temples, and I have noticed lately on TV that the advertisements are getting more and more suggestive and immoral and sleazy. It just drives me crazy to see how low the worlds morals are going. Satan surely is working hard out there. That means we have to work harder. Teach our children that much of what they see and hear around them now is not right. For as it said in verse 24 - the spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples.
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