"And the people of Nephi began to prosper again in the land, and began to multiply and to wax exceedingly strong again in the land. And they began to grow exceedingly rich.
But notwithstanding their riches, or their strength, or their prosperity, they were not lifted up in the pride of their eyes; neither were they slow to remember the Lord their God; but they did humble themselves exceedingly before him.
Yea, they did remember how great things the Lord had done for them, that he had delivered them from death, and from bonds, and from prisons, and from all manner of afflictions, and he had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies.
And they did pray unto the Lord their God continually, insomuch that the Lord did bless them, according to his word, so that they did wax strong and prosper in the land."
Alma 62:48-51
The Book of Mormon is filled with warnings about the cycle of pride. When things are going well, we start forgetting God and glorying in our riches and thinking that we are better than each other, and then things go bad, until they are finally bad enough that we remember that we need God, and the cycle continues. It seems like an extremely regular, and sad, cycle that mortals seem trapped in. So, this is a nice hopeful message that it doesn't have to be that way. These people didn't get prideful. They remembered God and stayed humble, so they could prosper *AND* stay true to the Lord.
Today, let's remember how rare this is and watch ourselves closely. Let's turn to the Lord, whether our lives are going badly or going well. Let's not let our circumstances distract us from the core truth of God in our lives. Let's not assume we are beyond needing God and reminders of his gospel in our lives. Let's read, pray, attend church, and keep doing all of the things that God asks of us. Let's try to stop the cycle rather than rushing headlong into the next crash. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment