Overcoming the Original Sin

Hello all! Today, I wanted to touch on something that I encounter every day, pride. Pride is a "comparison" sin. As President Uchtdorf put it in his talk in the October 2010 General Conference, "pride is the sin of self elevation." I know that to be true.Too often in the scriptures do we find those who are "lifted up in the pride of their hearts." They set their hearts upon riches and worldly material that they harden their hearts against the Spirit of the Lord and to the gospel. An entire nation was destroyed in the Book of Mormon because of their pride. Their focus was on riches and fame, and not the Kingdom of God.

We are all victim at some point or another to pride. How do we stay away from this "original sin" that we are so naturally filled with? Is it any surprise that the answer is Jesus Christ? He is the ultimate example of humility. There is "opposition in all things" (2 Nephi 2) so as we have pride, there is also humility. Jesus Christ submitted to the Father's will, and He was obedient in all that He was commanded.

So how do we become humble like the Savior? Charity. President Uchtdorf says in his talk, "it is almost impossible to be lifted up in pride when our hearts are full of charity" (Pride and the Priesthood). As an apostle once said, "humility is not thinking less of ourselves, it is thinking less about ourselves." As we fill our hearts with charity, the pure love of Christ, we will become humble. We will be able to avoid that all destroying sin of pride. Let us become humble as a little child for there's is the kingdom of heaven. Let us serve others and follow the example of the Savior, we will become humble, we will conquer pride, and we will be filled with the Spirit. I love you all and I hope that we can become filled with the pure love of Christ to overcome the pride of the world.

With love,
Elder Brennan Edwards