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President Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, titled his talk at the October 2017 general conference of the church with a penetrating question: “The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like without It?”

“My dear brothers and sisters, I promise that as you prayerfully study the Book of Mormon every day, you will make better decisions — every day,” said President Nelson, then-president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “I promise that as you ponder what you study, the windows of heaven will open, and you will receive answers to your own questions and direction for your own life. I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day, even the gripping plague of pornography and other mind-numbing addictions.”

One might ask, how is that possible? What is it about the Book of Mormon that provides such power?

As I ponder the answer to that question, I think of all the people and situations included in the Book of Mormon. I think of how righteousness led to blessings and how wickedness led to sorrow. How could one not be inspired to make better choices every day when one reads about the historical precedent God has set to bless those who keep his commandments? How could a loving God do anything but bless those who prioritize studying his word?

Lessons learned from the Book of Mormon was the topic addressed by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the church earlier this month.

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner

Quoting former church president Ezra Taft Benson and then adding his own commentary, Elder Bednar explained the relevance of the Book of Mormon and its teachings for us.

“A particular teaching by President Benson greatly impacted me and continues to influence my study of the Book of Mormon,” Elder Bednar said. “He said: ‘The Book of Mormon … was written for our day. The Nephites never had the book; neither did the Lamanites of ancient times. It was meant for us. Mormon wrote near the end of the Nephite civilization. Under the inspiration of God, who sees all things from the beginning, [Mormon] abridged centuries of records, choosing the stories, speeches and events that would be most helpful to us.’

“President Benson continued: ‘Each of the major writers of the Book of Mormon testified that he wrote for future generations. … If they saw our day, and chose those things which would be of greatest worth to us, is not that how we should study the Book of Mormon? We should constantly ask ourselves, ‘Why did the Lord inspire Mormon … to include [this account] in his record? What lesson can I learn from [this admonition] to help me live in this day and age?”

“President Benson’s statements help us to understand that the Book of Mormon is not primarily a historical record that looks to the past. Rather, this volume of scripture looks to the future and contains important principles, warnings and lessons intended for the circumstances and challenges of our day. Hence, the Book of Mormon is a book about our future and the times in which we do now and will yet live.”

When we read the Book of Mormon, we aren’t just reading an interesting book from thousands of years ago that tells some neat stories. We’re reading what God has decided is necessary for us to know in order for us to be closer to him.

Though there are relevant lessons for us throughout the entirety of the Book of Mormon, Elder Bednar focused his remarks on lessons from within the Book of Helaman inside the Book of Mormon.

Said Elder Bednar:

“The record of Helaman and his sons describes a people who were anticipating the birth of Jesus Christ. The half century recounted in the scriptural record highlights the conversion and righteousness of the Lamanites and the wickedness, apostasy and abominations of the Nephites.

“A series of comparisons and contrasts between the Nephites and Lamanites from this ancient record are most instructive for us today.

“‘The Lamanites had become, the more part of them, a righteous people, insomuch that their righteousness did exceed that of the Nephites, because of their firmness and their steadiness in the faith.

“‘[And] there were many of the Nephites who had become hardened and impenitent and grossly wicked, insomuch that they did reject the word of God and all the preaching and prophesying which did come among them.’ (Helaman 6:1-2)

“‘And thus we see that the Nephites did begin to dwindle in unbelief, and grow in wickedness and abominations, while the Lamanites began to grow exceedingly in the knowledge of their God; yea, they did begin to keep his statutes and commandments, and to walk in truth and uprightness before him.

“‘And thus we see that the Spirit of the Lord began to withdraw from the Nephites, because of the wickedness and the hardness of their hearts.

“‘And thus we see that the Lord began to pour out his Spirit upon the Lamanites, because of their easiness and willingness to believe in his words.’ (Helaman 6:34-36)

“Perhaps the most stunning and sobering aspect of this decline into apostasy by the Nephites is the fact that ‘all these iniquities did come unto them in the space of not many years.'” (Helaman 6:32)

Simply put, the Lamanites embraced God and his commandments, while the Nephites rejected God and his commandments. The result was that the Lord poured out his spirit unto the Lamanites and withdrew his spirit from the Nephites.

As Elder Bednar highlighted, it’s astonishing that this happened so quickly. If you asked the Nephites before this all happened if they ever thought they would become more wicked than the Lamanites, I think we can all imagine how they would respond. Yet, it happened.

How did this happen? Elder Bednar addressed this question next. He said:

“‘Pride … began to enter … into the hearts of the people who professed to belong to the church of God … because of their exceedingly great riches and their prosperity in the land.’ (Helaman 3:33, 36)

“‘[They] set [their] hearts upon the riches and the vain things of this world’ (Helaman 7:21) ‘because of that pride which [they] … suffered to enter [into their] hearts, which … lifted [them] up beyond that which is good because of [their] exceedingly great riches!’ (Helaman 7:26)

“Ancient voices from the dust plead with us today to learn this everlasting lesson: Prosperity, possessions and ease (Helaman 12:2) constitute a potent mixture that can lead even the righteous to drink the spiritual poison of pride.”

What a line! Sometimes (OK, maybe frequently) I lament all that I don’t have. Yes, I’m grateful for what I do have, but I, like I’m sure many others, wish things were better, more comfortable, not so stressful. My wife’s grandfather had a phrase he would always say when I would go see him. “Sit down and enjoy life.” Sometimes I think if I just had a little bit more, maybe I could actually do that. I could actually sit down and enjoy life. Perhaps a mindset change is in order for me and people like me. Perhaps I should be grateful that things aren’t so easy. Maybe if things were easier, I would be more susceptible to pride than I imagine I would be.

Elder Bednar continued:

“Allowing pride to enter into our hearts can cause us to mock that which is sacred; (Helaman 4:12) disbelieve in the spirit of prophecy and revelation; (Helaman 4:23) trample under our feet the commandments of God; (Helaman 6:31) deny the word of God; (Helaman 8:13) cast out, mock (Helaman 13:24) and revile against the prophets; (Helaman 10:15) and forget the Lord our God (Helaman 12:2) and ‘not desire that the Lord [our] God, who hath created [us], should rule and reign over [us].’ (Helaman 12:6)

“Therefore, if we are not faithful and obedient, we can transform the God-given blessing of prosperity into a prideful curse that diverts and distracts us from eternal truths and vital spiritual priorities. We always must be on guard against a pride-induced and exaggerated sense of self-importance, a misguided evaluation of our own self-sufficiency and seeking self instead of serving others.

“As we pridefully focus upon ourselves, we also are afflicted with spiritual blindness and miss much, most, or perhaps all that is occurring within and around us. We cannot look to and focus upon Jesus Christ as the ‘mark’ (Jacob 4:14) if we only see ourselves.

“Such spiritual blindness also can cause us to turn out of the way of righteousness, (Helaman 6:31) fall away into forbidden paths and become lost. (1 Nephi 8:28) As we blindly ‘turn unto [our] own ways’ (Helaman 6:31) and follow destructive detours, we are inclined to lean upon our own understanding, (Proverbs 3:5) boast in our own strength (Helaman 4:13) and depend upon our own wisdom. (Helaman 16:15)

“Samuel the Lamanite succinctly summarized the turning away from God by the Nephites: ‘Ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head.’ (Helaman 13:38)

“The prophet Mormon observed, ‘The more part of the people [remained] in their pride and wickedness, and the lesser part [walked] more circumspectly before God.'” (Helaman 16:10)

Sometimes I wonder how seriously we take pride. Do we truly recognize how destructive it is, or do we just casually dismiss it because it’s not like it’s a sin that everyone universally accepts as terrible? Is it just something we accept within ourselves and say, “Well, I’m not perfect, so I’ll try to be better, but I’m not going to worry too much about it?”

Imagine all this from Satan’s perspective. His goal is to tear down faith in Jesus Christ. He must know that he is not going to be able to accomplish this overnight in many cases, yet he continues to try. Why? Because he knows there are many he can get to be prideful, and he knows what pride leads to. So why give up completely? I’m sure he’s thinking, “I’ll just play the long game. I’ll get them to be prideful, and over time, they’ll turn away from God. And it probably won’t even take all that long anyway.”

The warnings are clear. We should do all that we can to avoid pride. We should condition ourselves to detect it, and the minute we notice it, whether it be in our thoughts, our words or our actions, we should stamp it out immediately. I know I personally have much to work on in this regard.

Though disheartening to see the effect pride can have, it’s encouraging to see what can happen if we turn to God.

Speaking of the Lamanites, who did exactly that, Elder Bednar said:

“The Lamanites turned to God and were brought to a knowledge of the truth by believing the teachings in the holy scriptures and of prophets, exercising faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repenting of their sins and experiencing a mighty change of heart. (Helaman 15:7)

“‘Therefore, as many as have come to this, ye know of yourselves are firm and steadfast in the faith, and in the thing wherewith they have been made free.’ (Helaman 15:8)

“‘Ye should behold that the more part of [the Lamanites] are in the path of their duty, and they do walk circumspectly before God, and they do observe to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments. …

“‘They are striving with unwearied diligence that they may bring the remainder of their brethren to the knowledge of the truth.’ (Helaman 15:5-6)

“As a consequence, the ‘righteousness [of the Lamanites] did exceed that of the Nephites, because of their firmness and their steadiness in the faith.'” (Helaman 6:1)

This should give hope to everyone. Anyone who is familiar with the Book of Mormon knows how far away from God the Lamanites had been. Yet, this is what they became at one point.

I’m reminded of the words of President Jeffrey R. Holland, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who said during an April 2012 general conference address:

“However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s atonement shines.

“Whether you are not yet of our faith or were with us once and have not remained, there is nothing in either case that you have done that cannot be undone. There is no problem which you cannot overcome. There is no dream that in the unfolding of time and eternity cannot yet be realized. Even if you feel you are the lost and last laborer of the eleventh hour, the Lord of the vineyard still stands beckoning. ‘Come boldly [to] the throne of grace,’ (Hebrews 4:16) and fall at the feet of the Holy One of Israel. Come and feast ‘without money and without price’ (Isaiah 55:1) at the table of the Lord.”

Elder Bednar concluded his talk with a warning and a promise.

“Moroni declared: ‘Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things concerning that which must shortly come, at that day when these things shall come forth among you.

“‘Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.’ (Mormon 8:34-35)

“Please remember that the Book of Mormon looks to the future and contains important principles, warnings and lessons intended for me and you in the circumstances and challenges of our present day.

“Apostasy can occur at two basic levels — institutional and individual. At the institutional level, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will not be lost through apostasy or taken from the earth.

“The Prophet Joseph Smith proclaimed: ‘The standard of truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing … ; the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.’

“At the individual level, each of us must ‘beware of pride, lest [we] become as the Nephites of old.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 38:39)

“May I suggest that if you or I believe we are sufficiently strong and stalwart to avoid the arrogance of pride, then perhaps we already are suffering from this deadly spiritual disease. Simply stated, if you or I do not believe we could be afflicted with and by pride, then we are vulnerable and in spiritual danger. In the space of not many days, weeks, months or years, we might forfeit our spiritual birthright for far less than a mess of pottage. (Genesis 25:29-34)

“If, however, you or I believe we could be afflicted with and by pride, then we consistently will do the small and simple things (1 Nephi 16:29; Alma 37:6-7; Doctrine and Covenants 64:32-33) that will protect and help us become ‘as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us].’ (Mosiah 3:19) ‘Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble.’ (Alma 32:16)

“As we follow President Benson’s counsel and ask ourselves why the Lord inspired Mormon to include in his abridgment of the book of Helaman the accounts, admonitions and warnings that he did, I promise we will discern the applicability of these teachings to the specific conditions of our individual lives and families today. As we study and ponder this inspired record, we will be blessed with eyes to see, ears to hear, minds to comprehend and hearts to understand (Mosiah 2:9) the lessons we should learn to ‘beware of pride, lest [we should] enter into temptation.'” (Doctrine and Covenants 23:1)

It feels like the ways pride can manifest itself in our lives are innumerable. If I’m being honest with myself, I have no trouble at all thinking of moments where I exhibited pride. Clearly, I have a lot to work on. Yet I know that I must work on it. If now is really the time to prepare for the second coming of Jesus Christ, as President Nelson said in his address this past conference, then now is the time to get as far away from the natural man as possible, and that means shunning all the attributes that are associated with the natural man. Pride would definitely qualify as one of those attributes.

Contact Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net. Follow him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rbcomer8388