Pride in its many forms destroys the soul. It is Satan’s greatest victory over the hearts of the whole human race. It is universal; there isn’t a man or woman on earth that is free of it. It is the sin that leads to all other sin and the means by which all mankind stumble and fall.

Without it there would be no war, hunger or crime. All men, regardless of creed, race or blood would live in harmony and peace one with another. There would be one fold, and one shepherd. There would be no poor, but all rich in both substance and spirit.

My mind is constantly on the subject of pride. It is a never ending cycle of self-evaluation. There is no limit to my potential and the good that I could accomplish if I could just be but stripped of it. Yet, I am bound by it; it stands in my way like a replenishing brick wall. Each time I remove a brick, another one surfaces.

The problem that I face is that pride cannot conquer pride. You see, pride says “I’ll fix myself and then I will show the Lord what I have accomplished, and He will be pleased with me.” This fallacy is the stumbling block to millions of those who are seeking to follow Christ.

If I could just master the solution to this crisis I would have it all. No, I wouldn’t be perfect, there are still many other forms of pride yet to conquer, but I would have as my companion someone who is perfect to help me overcome them.

The thing that has to be first comprehended is; I cannot fix myself anymore than I can make myself taller. I need someone who can fix me, and the only one that I know if that can is Jesus Christ. He already paid the price, but somehow I have to access the healing powers of His Atonement.

So that means that I have to come to grips with the fact, and it is a fact, that I cannot do it myself. For someone like me, that takes a great deal of humility. If flies in the face of everything my pride stands for; “I’m strong, I can do it, I don’t need anyone else.” Those are the thoughts of the “natural man.”

It also means that if I am going to accept His help, I then have to accept His conditions. Conditions that take me out of my comfort of doing what I want, when I want, and how I want. It requires patience and faith, two things that my natural man isn’t very good at.

But the trick is, when I can find enough humility buried beneath the mountain of pride bricks, then and only then can I invite Christ in and let Him do for me, what I cannot do for myself. I have to let Him fight my battles for me. That takes more humility than seems bearable at times.

But the proud are vain, and love to believe that they already have it all. It is that pride that keeps a person from confessing their sins and seeking help. It is that pride that will not yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit. So again, it is that same pride in every case that keeps people from accepting the Gospel and for those who already have accepted it, from following it.

Pride is being comfortable with the way things are now, and so, to save discomfort, the proud try to hide their sins from others, themselves, and from God. It is uncomfortable and sometimes painful to change. Change (or repentance) means we have to give up certain things that bring temporary happiness or pleasure. Change means walking a different path than that of the one we are used to and comfortable traveling. That path will be less traveled, and therefore more difficult to traverse, and may take longer to get us to our destination.

But humility submits to the will of his Father and follows His Son down the path less traveled. The humble seek not the vain things of the world, their only care is for what God has to say about them and their choices. The humble seek strength beyond their own and can remove great mountains regardless of discomfort and weakness. The humble view the discomfort of change as an opportunity to grow rather than an inconvenience.

There will come a time in everyone’s life when we have to stand before the judgment seat of God. And at that time we cannot hide our sins any longer, not with all the crafty speech, misdirection or puppy dog faces in the world. We will stand completely exposed to the all searching eye of the merciful and just God who created us. And at that time “we would feign be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon is to hide us from His presence” (Alma 12:14).

“For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meat God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors” (Alma 34:32).

The labor here is repentance, and the great hindrance to that mighty change is that awful pride. Pride stops our progress, and therefore is a damning sin. The solution is humility. The solution is Christ. The mercy of God has been personified through Him; we must be humble to let Christ in, and humble to keep Him in.

This is no easy task. It is uncomfortable. But there is joy in saying I am prepared to meet God, a joy that is transcendent beyond all other joys.