The Pride Cycle

The Path between Pride and Prosperity

"And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him." - Helaman 12:1

If you've ever had any class about the Book of Mormon, you have surely learned about the pride cycle. This pattern can be seen frequently among the Nephites and the Lamanites throughout the Book of Mormon, and is especially prevalent in the years leading up to Christ's birth. The pride cycle is usually divided into eight main steps, but can be expanded into eight as follows:

1. Prosperity
2. Pride
3. Sin
4. Destruction
5. Sorrow
6. Humility
7. Repentance
8. Blessings

This cycle represents the actions of an average person, as they progress from prosperity to pride and through the rest of the steps, then repeat. In Helaman 11, the Nephites progress from destruction down to blessings in about four years. Then within three more years, they have returned to pride and begin to repeat the cycle again. From our perspective, the Nephites may look foolish for continuing to fall under the same mistakes when they see the great blessings they can have. However, this is not some archaic principle applicable only to their time. We can see this in aspects of our own lives, and we can strive to correct it.

Pretty much all of us surely know what is right and what is wrong. We know basically that doing the right thing makes us happy in the long run, while doing the wrong thing brings guilt to our consciences eventually. Despite this, we often decide to do the wrong thing and repeat the same mistakes over and over. Having pride- or committing many other sins- makes us feel pleasure at the time as we puff ourselves up. We must realize that this sinful pleasure is fleeting, and eventually leads us to sorrow. The higher was is to bypass pride, sin, destruction, and sorrow to let our prosperity bring us to humility. We must recognize the blessings from God and other people in our lives, and continue to try to perfect ourselves. The true test of a man's character is if he can remain humble when he life is good and prosperous. Acknowledge God's hand in your life and always turn to Him, avoiding pride and ensuring prosperity.