Beware of Pride

In 1989 President Benson wrote a timeless message warning us of the dangers of pride. (If you have never read it, you can read it here. It is excellent!) He said, "Pride is a very misunderstood sin, and many are sinning in ignorance." When I read this, I thought, "Yes, there is so much pride in the world today." And I thought of all the prideful people that I know. Myself not included, of course.

Then I came across this paragraph. “Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves...It is manifest in so many ways, such as faultfinding, gossiping, backbiting, murmuring, living beyond our means, envying, coveting, withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, and being unforgiving and jealous.” As I read this list of prideful behaviors, I realized that I have not escaped the bondage of pride and that I am guilty of many of these.

This is so true! It’s so easy for us to overlook the pride in our own hearts, but see so clearly the pride in others, especially in our spouses. For my marriage class this week we had to complete a learning activity that helped me to see that I have a good bit more pride than I would really like to admit. As I read through the list of “pride games” that many couples play, I realized that I have played many of these games before and unfortunately I am still guilty of playing some of these games.

The "pride games" that I play most often are the silent treatment, fault finding, and getting caught up in who is right and who is wrong. I had never really thought of all of these games as pride, but after reading President Benson’s talk I can see that they most definitely are all about pride. I can see now that when playing all of these games I am focused on myself and my feelings and not considering my husband’s thoughts and feelings at all. If that isn’t selfish and prideful then I don’t know what is.

President Benson further taught that "Pride adversely affects all our relationships—our relationship with God and His servants, between husband and wife, parent and child, employer and employee, teacher and student, and all mankind. Our degree of pride determines how we treat our God and our brothers and sisters...Pride is a damning sin in the true sense of that word. It limits or stops progression. Proverbs teaches us that “Pride goeth before destruction."


Reading this talk was a wake up call for me. Destruction is not what I am seeking in my marriage. I know that I need to change and remove pride from my heart. But how? President Benson taught us how. He said, "The antidote for pride is humility—meekness, submissiveness."

We must humble ourselves before the Savior and seek His mercy and forgiveness in order to overcome pride. It is only in and through Him that we can put off the natural man and overcome the sin of pride in our lives. As we seek to rid ourselves of pride, our relationships with our spouses will be stronger and happier.