The Pride Cycle

What Does the Book of Mormon Say About Inequality? Series

The Book of Mormon contains some surprising insights concerning economic inequality.  This series explores several topics addressed by the LDS scripture and its insights for today.

The Classic Pride Cycle

Anyone who has studied the Book of Mormon can attest to the oft repeated cycle of God's people, the 'Nephites', who are righteous for a time, become prideful and wicked, and then are punished by God until they become righteous again.  As pride is an oft repeated theme in every circumstance, the pattern is often referred to as the "Pride Cycle", and is frequently used to warn against the dangers of pride in church talks and lessons.

In those lessons this kind of graphic is often used:

This graphic is organized in such a way as to make it easy to apply to one's personal life.  It warns that prosperity - or having things easy in life - can lead one to forget God, and feelings of entitlement to the actually unnatural flow of blessings.  The antidote is humility which allows oneself to reconnect with God, and root out damaging pride from one's heart.

As applicable as this graphic and lesson are to modern life, it is not an accurate portrayal of events in the Book of Mormon narrative.  So let's look at what the narrative really describes.

Inequality, not Prosperity, initiates 'Pride Cycles'

Pride and entitlement can certainly form with an easy life, but what triggers the Nephites' problems is not prosperity, but inequality.  In every reported instance of 'pride', and its consequences among the Nephites what first occurs is a sharp divide between the rich and poor.  Some people may indeed be prospering, but the prosperity is not equally distributed.

Once inequality begins it is then that "pride" is identified as the sin of the Nephites.  But is this the same "pride" that we use today?  Is it hubris, a feeling of self-importance, comparing oneself to others in order to illustrate superiority?  Yes it is referring to these things, but in a very specific context.

Pride in the Book of Mormon refers to  the feeling among the rich during times of economic inequality that they should be richer than those around them.  It is living in an unequal world, not acting to correct it, and then swelling with emotional justification for the iniquity that you commit.

Pride is happily living in inequality, and it is among the most hated iniquities by God mentioned in the Book of Mormon.

Pride is Manifested through the Persecution of the Poor

Pride becomes significant in the Book of Mormon narrative when there are outward and social manifestations of that pride.  Most often this happens with the rich no longer giving resources to the poor, and also developing a disdain and harassing the poor - all of which are described as 'persecuting' the the poor.

In future articles you will see that the persecution of the poor expands beyond simple disdain and withholding resources, to individuals who twist the religion, cultural beliefs, and laws of the land to ensure that the poor receive less and less, while a minority receives more and more.  This process is called priestcraft, and it is organized by secret combinations.

All these persecutions happen in part because of the hubris of personal pride, but also because the rich are no longer emotionally and spiritually connected to those around them, and can no longer empathize with the poor.  Deep down they know that their religion requires them to assist the poor, but they do not want to part with their resources because they have "set their hearts upon them", and so they come to hate the poor.

2 Nephi 9:30 - But wo unto the rich, who are rich as to the things of the world.  For because they are rich they despise the poor, and they persecute the meek, and their hearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their treasure is their god.  And behold, their treasure shall perish with them also.

Examples of Inequality and Persecution

In short, pride is not really the central feature or central sin of the 'Pride Cycle', its simply a consequence - the important features are the inequality an its concomitant persecution of the poor.  Furthermore, as you will see it is 'iniquity' and 'abomination' to the Nephites that there be wealth inequality among them without any action to correct the inequality; and it is an even greater iniquity to persecute the poor.

Alma 4

In this chapter, the society has been wealthy and unequal for six years, but have managed to be so without persecuting the poor - a feat that we will touch on further in a future article.  Unfortunately, the conditions leading to the magnanimity of the people do not last beyond the six years:

6 And it came to pass in the eight year... that the people of the church began to wax proud, because of their exceeding riches...

The High Priest Alma and his teachers see the wickedness of the people.

8 For they saw and beheld with great sorrow that the people of the church began to be lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and to set their hearts upon riches and upon the vain things of the world, that they began to be scornful, one towards another, and they began to persecute those that did not believe according to their own will and pleasure.  
...
12 Yea, he saw great inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride, despising others, turning their backs upon the needy and the naked and those who were hungry, and those who were athirst. ...

15 .... and [Alma] seeing all their inequality, began to be very sorrowful; nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him.

The next twelve chapters include Alma's work among the Nephite people from city to city by preaching the gospel.  He preaches that they should humble themselves, and remove pride from their hearts - but more importantly he works to correct inequalities by preaching that the wealthy should share their resources.

Jacob 2

In this chapter Jacob is lecturing the first generation of Nephites concerning their wickedness:

13 And the hand of providence hath smiled upon you most pleasingly, that you have obtained many riches; and because some of you have obtained more abundantly than that of your  brethren ye are lifted up in the pride of your hearts, and wear stiff necks and high heads... because ye suppose that ye are better than they.

14 And now, my brethren, do ye suppose that God justifieth you in this thing?  Behold, I say unto you, Nay.  But he condemeth you, and if ye persist in these things his judgments must speedily come unto you.   ...

17 Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you.   ...

20 And now, my brethren, I have spoken unto you concerning pride; and those of you which have afflicted your neighbor, and persecuted him because ye were proud in your hearts, of the things which God hath given you, what say ye of it?

21 Do ye not suppose that such things are abominable unto him who created all flesh?  And the one being is as precious in his sight as the other...

Helaman 4

At the end of Helaman 3, the commentator Mormon notes that the Nephites become very wealthy and prideful.  Then, at the beginning of chapter 4 this wealth leads to contentions among the people, so much that dissenters leave the Nephites and join their sworn enemies the Lamanites and cause a war and terrible bloodshed:

11 Now this great loss of the Nephites, and the great slaughter which was among them, would not have happened had it not been for their wickedness and their abomination which was among them; yea, and it was among those also who professed to belong to the church of God.

12 And it was because of the pride of their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, yea, it was because of their oppression to the poor, withholding their food from the hungry, withholding their clothing from the naked, and smiting their humble brethren upon the cheek...   

Mormon then lists a wave of additional wickedness that came as a result of inequality and oppression of the poor, including lying, stealing, murdering, adultery, etc.  But their main 'wickedness and abomination' was their pride, manifested in their oppression of the poor.

Conclusions

Alma 4, Jacob 2, and Helaman 4 are three of many chapters which include some iteration of this pride cycle.  A full study reveals that, as a society, the Nephites' primary wickedness is economic inequality, and the pride, persecutions, and other wickedness accompanying with it.  Inequality is a central theme in every instance of pride and destruction, and there is never a time when inequality exists for any significant period of time which does not also lead to other wickedness and destruction.

In the end, the Nephite people fall because they are unequal, they do not act to correct it, and eventually in their inequality they persecute the poor and humble.  This is their pride.

As you will see, as the Nephite version of pride is so entwined with inequality that humility alone is insufficient as a remedy.  The Nephites learn that in order to resolve their problems they need to address more than just the pride - they learn to address the inequality.

In the next article we will continue to discuss the details of the pride cycles, including its consequences.  I will also include a list of all the chapters containing some iteration of the pride cycle.

Chapters Containing the Some Iteration of the Pride Cycle

Jacob 2
Mosiah 11 
Mosiah 24
Alma 1
Alma 4
Alma 45
Alma 62 
Helaman 3-4
Helaman 6-7
Helaman 13
3 Nephi 6
4 Nephi
Ether 10


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