Pride of a Lion

After my introductory post I began to think about a word I used multiple times...proud.

The Book of Mormon associates pride with words such as puffed-up, lofty, and boastings. All words that...aren't good.

But I am proud. I am proud of being LDS. I am proud of my accomplishments. I am proud of who I am.
--and what's wrong with that?

"Pride can take many forms, all of them ugly"Ezra Taft Benson
                    Is my form of pride ugly?

NO! I found an awesome lady that asked the same question in September 1977 in the Ensign. Luckily her question got answered by someone who knows more about the gospel than me, and has the authority to write in the ensign.

"Because we tend to use words loosely, meanings get confused, and this is particularly troublesome when we talk of pride. In the positive sense, pride means self-respect. Used negatively, it becomes self-centeredness. Self-respect is sustained by an inner reservoir (the beginnings of which are developed by favorable interaction with parents and others), while pride seeks only external gratifications."

So that explanation is awesome, and helpful to my self esteem, but then of course they go on to talk about how easily "good pride" can turn into the awful dreaded "bad pride." and then they ended it with this quote about the "bad pride"...

Pride cannot exist where there is true self-respect. It cannot exist when there is a closeness to the Lord. Pride is evidence of a deep spiritual hunger that can be satisfied only by loving as Jesus loved, unconditionally, and by discovering the truth of his promise that “he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

and i basically love that.

Also..

 Happy Birthday to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Summary: Being proud of yourself is different than having pride, due to difference in the meaning of the words. If we have faith and believe in Christ we will be ok. I love the gospel, it's true, and it's awesome.

So, the end. I learned something about being proud, thanks to LDS.org for keeping all the Ensigns on record so I don't have to go to my grandmother's basment (yep, she's got them.)

Thanks for listening,
Mickaylaona