Pride turns people away from God
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"In the early days of the restored Church, the Lord warned two of its prominent members about pride," President Ezra Taft Benson said during the April 1986 general conference. "To Oliver Cowdery, He said, 'Beware of pride, lest thou shouldst enter into temptation.' (Doctrine and Covenants 23:1.) To Emma Smith, He said, 'Continue in the spirit of meekness, and beware of pride.' (Doctrine and Covenants 25:14.)
" 'Thou shalt not be proud in thy heart,' the Lord warns us. (Doctrine and Covenants 42:40.) 'Humble yourselves before God,' says the Book of Mormon. (Mosiah 4:10.) When the earth is cleansed by burning in the last days, the proud shall be as stubble. (See 3 Nephi 25:1; Doctrine and Covenants 29:9; 64:24.)
"The great and spacious building which Lehi saw was the pride of the world where the multitude of the earth was gathered. (See 1 Nephi 11:35-36.) Those who walked the straight and narrow path and held onto the word of God and partook of the love of God were mocked and scorned by those in the building. (See 1 Nephi 8:20, 27, 33; 11:25.) 'The humble followers of Christ' are few. (2 Nephi 28:14.)
"Pride does not look up to God and care about what is right. It looks sideways to man and argues who is right. Pride is manifest in the spirit of contention. Was it not through pride that the devil became the devil? Christ wanted to serve. The devil wanted to rule. Christ wanted to bring men to where He was. The devil wanted to be above men.
"Christ removed self as the force in His perfect life. It was not my will, but thine be done. Pride is characterized by 'What do I want out of life?' rather than by 'What would God have me do with my life?' It is self-will as opposed to God's will. It is the fear of man over the fear of God.
"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.
"My beloved brethren and sisters, as we cleanse the inner vessel, there will have to be changes made in our own personal lives, in our families and in the Church. The proud do not change to improve, but defend their position by rationalizing. Repentance means change, and it takes a humble person to change. But we can do it."
