Pride

Sometimes there are problems in our marriage but we can't seem to find the root to them. This week was really good for me to read and see this thing called pride in a different perspective because it was talked about in a marriage point of view.

We did an activity together where we each made a survival list as if we were to be stranded on an island. We made our lists separate and then we talked together and tried to create a list together. We were able to let each other influence on another and that was really good to do. 

Pride is something that can get in the way of a lot of things, like letting your spouse influence you or you listening to your spouse. This activity helped us see how sometimes we can be harsh and prideful even in silly scenario situations.

President Benson shared a talk that was titled "Beware of Pride" that we read this week. His definition of pride helped me understand that sometimes it is not just what we think it is. 

"The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us."

Pride really does come from Satan. He has a lot of hatred and hostility all around his life that he lives and he doesn't want us to be happy. 

President Benson also talked about something that hits hard when talking about marriage. He said " The proud make every man their adversary by pitting their intellects, opinions, works, wealth, talents, or any other worldly measuring device against others. In the words of C. S. Lewis: “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. … It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.”

In a marriage sometimes we let the worldly things become more important than Godly things. We need to remember that we married our spouse in the temple and made covenants with God and them to be faithful. We need to continue to turn towards our spouse, and know that their opinion counts and that the power in the relationship is shared. We need to be willing to be unselfish and share our thoughts, and decisions with our spouse. 

Take time this week to do the activity with your spouse and create a list of survival needs/wants with them and see how well you share power in the decisions.