San Diego April 2011

I have to blog about our trip before I forget what we did!  We woke up Saturday at 5:30am and drove to SLC where Thurm ran a 1/2 marathon.  After, we drove to Payson to his sister's so he could shower.  So we finally got on our way about 11:30am and made it to our condo at 10:30pm.  It was a LONG day, but the boys did great! They slept in the car like little champs.  Thurm never got to stretch after his race and we VERY stiff and sore, poor guy.
We stopped in a town outside Las Vegas called Primm and there was a big roller coaster at one of the casinos.  We told Quinn we were going to a park to eat lunch, but they didn't have anything in the town but a couple casinos and a gas station. So we found a piece of grass about 5 ft  by 5ft where we could see the roller coaster.  Quinn called it "town park" and was completely happy. I wish I was so satisfied with small things.
The condo was really nice and had a beautiful courtyard with a pool, baby pool, and hot tub.  We all prefer the hot tub.  I couldn't get over all the beautiful flowers everywhere.  The plants and flowers in San Diego are so tropical.  Thurm couldn't get over the beaches. Every morning Jens woke up at 5am CA time, so Thurm would take him to the beach so Quinn & I could sleep a little longer.  Thurm went to every beach in a 15 mile radius.
Thurm took a few runs while we there. One run that sounded fun/painful.  He ran down to the beach and along it for a few miles. Then he went swimming and ran home in his wet swimsuit.  I'm glad those weren't my thighs chaffing!
Sea World was fun and if we ask Quinn what his favorite thing about our trip was he'll say the sharks.  Though, he didn't seem that impressed while we were actually looking at them.  I loved the penguins because they are just so cute. Thurm like the dolphin show.  And I think Jens liked Shamu, because he got a nice nap while I held him. Our favorite park of SeaWorld, however, was the children's play area. They could have spent the entire day there. It was alot of fun. Quinn rode the tea cups.
We spend a morning in Old Town San Diego and the best part of that was the Mormon Battalion visitors center.  It was really kid friendly and entertaining. You went from room to room that were designed to look like the pioneer-west. They had interactive movies in each room. Quinn got to be dressed up like a little Mormon solider.
We spent alot of time at Balboa Park and if I were to suggest one place to go, it would be there. We spend three half days there and didn't get to see hardly any of it. It has like 15 museums, 10 gardens, restaurants, etc.  I LOVED the gardens.  We ate at a little Japanese tea house that was Thurm's favorite.
Quinn woke up a few different nights and raided the treats. There were two different mornings I woke up to notice a bunch of cookies or treats eaten.  We also figured out that he gets car sick.
Thurm had his life-long search for Big Boggle realized at a toy store.  We looked at the copyright date on it and it turns out they have started manufacturing them again.  He was ecstatic.
My favorite part of the vacation was nap-time each day. Thurm would usually go running or to the beach and I would get a couple hours to have guilt-free relaxation time. I read a book on the patio in the warm sun.   It was a great time!

SLC 1/2 Marathon April 2011

 My endurance man ran the SLC 1/2 marathon last Saturday.  He did really great and finished below his goal He made it in 1 hour and 54 minutes!!!

This is the best pic I could get of my friend Amy and her sister as they ran by. 

Just a few updates on my boys for the records:

Quinn has been into dressing himself lately. Its hilarious the outfits he comes out in. Today he had on first a layer of very small cotton shorts, then underwear inside out, then lounge pants. On top he had two long sleeve shirts, both of which were inside out and backwards.

Quinn thinks he's a big boy. He gets out of the bathtub all by himself and gets dressed all by himself. Brushes his teeth all by himself.  Puts on movies all by himself.  Bittersweet.

Quinn had his first dentist appointment on Tuesday. He was SO good! The hygienist kept commenting on how good he was and helpful.  He did everything they told him and was very pleasant. The only tale-tale sign that he was nervous was how stiff his body was.  He was trying really hard to be a big boy. It was so sweet.  Thurm & I went too. It was the first time we had gone in about four years!  Thurm had two cavities and I had none. The dentist praised me and gave me a gold star because I take such good care of my teeth.  I think I blushed.

Quinn's favorite foods are pasta, bananas, toast, eggs, ABC soup, chicken noodle soup, crackers, pretzels, and most cooked vegetables.

Jens has been pulling himself up and standing for a little over a week.  He's loving the freedom! He puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. Everything. He has two teeth on the bottom and 3 1/2 on top. One of his front teeth wants to come in, but just can't cut through.  Its been straining against his gums for about a month and is driving him crazy. Poor kid.  He's a little angel that LOVES to be kissed by me. Not by Quinn because Quinn is too rough. And not by daddy because daddy's beard is too rough. But he'll let me kiss and nuzzle him all day if I wanted to.

Jens does a cute thing where he tucks his top lip under and whispers "babababa."  He also things its fun to shake his head back and forth. He's eating chunks of soft foods like peaches, green beans, cheerios, bananas, bread.  He goes to sleep at 6pm and only wakes once to eat and is up for the morning at 7am. Its great! And he takes two naps during the day.  He still thinks Quinn is hilarious.

We took them swimming on Friday and they both LOVE the water, as I'm sure most kids do.  Jens waved his legs and arms in excitement the whole 45 minutes. His enthusiasm was actually tiring trying to hold him above the water so he didn't drown himself.  Quinn made his daddy take him down the slide non-stop.

Thurm ran a 25 K (little over a half-marathon) around Antelope Island last weekend with his brother. He is running the SLC 1/2 marathon in 2 weeks.

We are installing carpet in our attic on Thursday! YAY! A year in the half in the making and I'm ready to be DONE! Turns out we suck at home improvement and not only that, we hate it.

Such a handsome boy : )

Thurm's dad passed away Feb.13th.  These are Thurm's brothers and brother in-laws that were the pallbearers. Handsome men : )

Cuteness Update

Jens has been getting ADORABLE and smiley. He loves when I kiss his checks. He will hold still, smiling and just let me nuzzle and kiss him. He has even been laying his head down on my shoulder occasionally. Neither one of my boys were cuddly until they were 7 or 8 months old. Is it a learned thing? Jens has been teething. He has his bottom two teeth and his top two (next to the front two teeth) have cut through. I'm guessing his front two teeth are trying to get out and are having problems. On top of teething he has been sick with diarrhea, a runny nose and cough. So he's been pretty needy.  Jens has been sleeping upstairs all by himself for a few months now. What a big boy! He LOVES his mobile. He stares at it until I wind it up and the second I start he gets so excited waving his arms and legs.

Quinn has been a mixture of sweet and naughty lately.  He says the funniest, cutest things. And then he turns around and hits Jens just to get a reaction out of me! Its pretty frustrating. We are taking a Love and Logic class and the big thing they teach is to not get angry. Wow is that hard! Nothing flips my switch like Quinn hitting Jens. I lose it! It takes all my will power not to get angry.

But back to how cute Quinn is... the other day in the car a song came on and he said "mom, my feet singing." I looked back and he was swinging his legs in time with the music.  Its so fun to watch him start to understand more and more. He loves to "exercise and run" with daddy. He will touch his toes and say "mom I exercising." He still amazes me with his musical abilities. He learns songs so quickly. One time when he was interrupting and being obnoxious to get attention, I said "Quinn just sing, "Gotta have some of your attention, give it to me" (Brass in Pocket, by the Pretenders). And the other day when he wanted my attention he sang it and remembered the tune and lyrics! He's got mad skillz yo!

We are so close to finishing our attic bedroom. I just need to clean up the exposed chimney and then we can lay carpet. We are waiting for our tax returns to get the carpet. Its going to be so great to have some more room!!!

Thurm's been really into running. He has run a 5k, 10k, 15k, in March a 25 k and in April a half marathon. His stamina and endurance amaze me.

Polygamy

So today I had some thoughts on polygamy. Why all the hate?  I think it would awesome to have another woman around the house. Another person to keep me company, clean, cook, change diapers, discuss the minutiae of our day.  She just couldn't get jiggy with my husband.

I have had the topic of the importance of marriage and family coming at me all month. I haven't been seeking it out, I just keep stumbling across the same message. I know that its REALLY important for me to be making all these connections and realizations. Below is an article that I just read last night that really effected me.  I know that its true and its so important that we are realizing, learning, and teaching the importance of family and marriage.

This isn't the whole article, I selected out the paragraphs that I felt strongly about. I am feeling more and more that living my religion can't be casual. It needs to be precise and proactive.



Teaching the Doctrine of the Family  By Julie B. Beck

This generation will be called upon to defend the doctrine of the family as never before. If they don’t know the doctrine, they can’t defend it.

"In addition to understanding the theology of the family, we all need to understand the threats to the family. If we don’t, we can’t prepare for the battle. Evidence is all around us that the family is becoming less important. Marriage rates are declining, the age of marriage is rising, and divorce rates are rising. Out-of-wedlock births are growing. Abortion is rising and becoming increasingly legal. We see lower birth rates. We see unequal relationships between men and women, and we see cultures that still practice abuse within family relationships. Many times a career gains importance over the family.

Many of our youth are losing confidence in the institution of families. They’re placing more and more value on education and less and less importance on forming an eternal family. Many don’t see forming families as a faith-based work. For them, it’s a selection process much like shopping. Many also distrust their own moral strength and the moral strength of their peers. Because temptations are so fierce, many are not sure they can be successful in keeping covenants.

Many youth also have insufficient and underdeveloped social skills, which are an impediment to forming eternal families. They are increasingly adept at talking to someone 50 miles (80 km) away and less able to carry on conversations with people in the same room. That makes it difficult for them to socialize with each other.

We also face the problem that we read about in Ephesians 6:12: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Public policies are being made every day that are antifamily, and the definition of family is changing legally around the world. Pornography is rampant. For those who create pornography, their new target audience is young women. Parents are being portrayed as inept and out of touch. Antifamily media messages are everywhere. Youth are being desensitized about the need to form eternal families.

We see how this can happen when we read the words of Korihor, an anti-Christ: “Thus he did preach unto them, leading away the hearts of many, causing them to lift up their heads in their wickedness, yea, leading away many women, and also men, to commit whoredoms” (Alma 30:18). Satan knows that he will never have a body; he will never have a family. So he targets young women, who will create the bodies for the future generations.

Korihor was an anti-Christ. Anti-Christ is antifamily. Any doctrine or principle our youth hear from the world that is antifamily is also anti-Christ. It’s that clear. If our youth cease to believe in the righteous traditions of their fathers as did the people described in Mosiah 26, if our youth don’t understand their part in the plan, they could be led away."

"Bearing children is a faith-based work. President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) said, “It is an act of extreme selfishness for a married couple to refuse to have children when they are able to do so.” ⁴ Motherhood and fatherhood are eternal roles. Each carries the responsibility for either the male or the female half of the plan. Youth is the time to prepare for those eternal roles and responsibilities."

"Parents, teachers, and leaders: live in your homes, in your families, in your marriages so that youth will develop hope for eternal life from watching you. Live and teach with so much clarity that what you teach will cut through all the noise youth are hearing and so that it will pierce their hearts and touch them.

Live in your home so that you’re brilliant in the basics, so that you’re intentional about your roles and responsibilities in the family. Think in terms of precision not perfection. If you have your goals and you are precise in how you go about them in your homes, youth will learn from you. They will learn that you pray, study the scriptures together, have family home evening, make a priority of mealtimes, and speak respectfully of your marriage partner. Then from your example the rising generation will gain great hope."

"This generation will be called upon to defend the doctrine of the family as never before. If they don’t know it, they can’t defend it. They need to understand temples and priesthood.

President Kimball said:

“Many of the social restraints which in the past have helped to reinforce and to shore up the family are dissolving and disappearing. The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around us. …

“… There are those who would define the family in such a nontraditional way that they would define it out of existence. …

I have been on a spiritual high this last month. Thurm & I decided we needed to read our scriptures with real intent. So we've been asking ourselves "why does the Lord want us to know this."  Reading the scriptures this way has really helped me. Then I read this article and it really hit home for me.  I realized that there is hardly a person out there that isn't prideful in some way. I know that I am prideful about alot of things, but my eyes were opened about some other things about myself that are prideful.  I highlighted the parts of the talk that really rang true for me. 
"withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, and being unforgiving and jealous.They withhold forgiveness to keep another in their debt and to justify their injured feelings."
"The proud do not receive counsel or correction easily. (See Prov. 15:10; Amos 5:10.) Defensiveness is used by them to justify and rationalize their frailties and failures. "

Conference / April 1989

Beware of Pride

Ezra Taft Benson

"Beware of Pride," , (April 1, 1989)

My beloved brethren and sisters, I rejoice to be with you in another glorious general conference of the Church. How grateful I am for the love, prayers, and service of the devoted members of the Church throughout the world.

May I commend you faithful Saints who are striving to flood the earth and your lives with the Book of Mormon. Not only must we move forward in a monumental manner more copies of the Book of Mormon, but we must move boldly forward into our own lives and throughout the earth more of its marvelous messages.

This sacred volume was written for us—for our day. Its scriptures are to be likened unto ourselves. (See 1 Ne. 19:23.)

The Doctrine and Covenants tells us that the Book of Mormon is the “record of a fallen people.” (D&C 20:9.) Why did they fall? This is one of the major messages of the Book of Mormon. Mormon gives the answer in the closing chapters of the book in these words: “Behold, the pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction.” (Moro. 8:27.) And then, lest we miss that momentous Book of Mormon message from that fallen people, the Lord warns us in the Doctrine and Covenants, “Beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.” (D&C 38:39.)

I earnestly seek an interest in your faith and prayers as I strive to bring forth light on this Book of Mormon message—the sin of pride. This message has been weighing heavily on my soul for some time. I know the Lord wants this message delivered now.

In the premortal council, it was pride that felled Lucifer, “a son of the morning.” (2 Ne. 24:12–15; see also D&C 76:25–27;Moses 4:3.) At the end of this world, when God cleanses the earth by fire, the proud will be burned as stubble and the meek shall inherit the earth. (See 3 Ne. 12:5, 3 Ne. 25:1; D&C 29:9; JS—H 1:37; Mal. 4:1.)

Three times in the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord uses the phrase “beware of pride,” including a warning to the second elder of the Church, Oliver Cowdery, and to Emma Smith, the wife of the Prophet. (D&C 23:1; see also D&C 25:14; D&C 38:39.)

Pride is a very misunderstood sin, and many are sinning in ignorance. (See Mosiah 3:11; 3 Ne. 6:18.) In the scriptures there is no such thing as righteous pride—it is always considered a sin. Therefore, no matter how the world uses the term, we must understand how God uses the term so we can understand the language of holy writ and profit thereby. (See 2 Ne. 4:15; Mosiah 1:3–7; Alma 5:61.)

Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing.

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 is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.” As Paul said, they “seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.” (Philip. 2:21.)

Our will in competition to God’s will allows desires, appetites, and passions to go unbridled. (See Alma 38:12; 3 Ne. 12:30.)

The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives. (See Hel. 12:6.) They pit their perceptions of truth against God’s great knowledge, their abilities versus God’s priesthood power, their accomplishments against His mighty works.

Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s.

Another major portion of this very prevalent sin of pride is enmity toward our fellowmen. We are tempted daily to elevate ourselves above others and diminish them. (See Hel. 6:17; D&C 58:41.)

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.” (Mere Christianity, New York: Macmillan, 1952, pp. 109–10.)

In the pre-earthly council, Lucifer placed his proposal in competition with the Father’s plan as advocated by Jesus Christ. (See Moses 4:1–3.) He wished to be honored above all others. (See 2 Ne. 24:13.) In short, his prideful desire was to dethrone God. (See D&C 29:36; D&C 76:28.)

The scriptures abound with evidences of the severe consequences of the sin of pride to individuals, groups, cities, and nations. “Pride goeth before destruction.” (Prov. 16:18.) It destroyed the Nephite nation and the city of Sodom. (See Moro. 8:27; Ezek. 16:49–50.)

It was through pride that Christ was crucified. The Pharisees were wroth because Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, which was a threat to their position, and so they plotted His death. (See John 11:53.)

Saul became an enemy to David through pride. He was jealous because the crowds of Israelite women were singing that “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” (1 Sam. 18:6–8.)

The proud stand more in fear of men’s judgment than of God’s judgment. (See D&C 3:6–7; D&C 30:1–2; D&C 60:2.) “What will men think of me?” weighs heavier than “What will God think of me?”

King Noah was about to free the prophet Abinadi, but an appeal to his pride by his wicked priests sent Abinadi to the flames. (See Mosiah 17:11–12.) Herod sorrowed at the request of his wife to behead John the Baptist. But his prideful desire to look good to “them which sat with him at meat” caused him to kill John. (Matt. 14:9; see also Mark 6:26.)

Fear of men’s judgment manifests itself in competition for men’s approval. The proud love “the praise of men more than the praise of God.” (John 12:42–43.) Our motives for the things we do are where the sin is manifest. Jesus said He did “always those things” that pleased God. (John 8:29.) Would we not do well to have the pleasing of God as our motive rather than to try to elevate ourselves above our brother and outdo another?

Some prideful people are not so concerned as to whether their wages meet their needs as they are that their wages are more than someone else’s. Their reward is being a cut above the rest. This is the enmity of pride.

When pride has a hold on our hearts, we lose our independence of the world and deliver our freedoms to the bondage of men’s judgment. The world shouts louder than the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. The reasoning of men overrides the revelations of God, and the proud let go of the iron rod. (See 1 Ne. 8:19–28; 1 Ne. 11:25; 1 Ne. 15:23–24.)

Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves. Most of us consider pride to be a sin of those on the top, such as the rich and the learned, looking down at the rest of us. (See 2 Ne. 9:42.) There is, however, a far more common ailment among us—and that is pride from the bottom looking up. It is manifest in so many ways, such as faultfinding, gossiping, backbiting, murmuring, living beyond our means, envying, coveting, withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, and being unforgiving and jealous.

Disobedience is essentially a prideful power struggle against someone in authority over us. It can be a parent, a priesthood leader, a teacher, or ultimately God. A proud person hates the fact that someone is above him. He thinks this lowers his position.

Selfishness is one of the more common faces of pride. “How everything affects me” is the center of all that matters—self-conceit, self-pity, worldly self-fulfillment, self-gratification, and self-seeking.

Pride results in secret combinations which are built up to get power, gain, and glory of the world. (See Hel. 7:5; Ether 8:9, 16, 22–23; Moses 5:31.) This fruit of the sin of pride, namely secret combinations, brought down both the Jaredite and the Nephite civilizations and has been and will yet be the cause of the fall of many nations. (See Ether 8:18–25.)

Another face of pride is contention. Arguments, fights, unrighteous dominion, generation gaps, divorces, spouse abuse, riots, and disturbances all fall into this category of pride.

Contention in our families drives the Spirit of the Lord away. It also drives many of our family members away. Contention ranges from a hostile spoken word to worldwide conflicts. The scriptures tell us that “only by pride cometh contention.” (Prov. 13:10; see also Prov. 28:25.)

The scriptures testify that the proud are easily offended and hold grudges. (See 1 Ne. 16:1–3.) They withhold forgiveness to keep another in their debt and to justify their injured feelings.

The proud do not receive counsel or correction easily. (See Prov. 15:10; Amos 5:10.) Defensiveness is used by them to justify and rationalize their frailties and failures. (See Matt. 3:9; John 6:30–59.)

The proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not. Their self-esteem is determined by where they are judged to be on the ladders of worldly success. They feel worthwhile as individuals if the numbers beneath them in achievement, talent, beauty, or intellect are large enough. Pride is ugly. It says, “If you succeed, I am a failure.”

If we love God, do His will, and fear His judgment more than men’s, we will have self-esteem.

Pride is a damning sin in the true sense of that word. It limits or stops progression. (See Alma 12:10–11.) The proud are not easily taught. (See 1 Ne. 15:3, 7–11.) They won’t change their minds to accept truths, because to do so implies they have been wrong.

Pride adversely affects all our relationships—our relationship with God and His servants, between husband and wife, parent and child, employer and employee, teacher and student, and all mankind. Our degree of pride determines how we treat our God and our brothers and sisters. Christ wants to lift us to where He is. Do we desire to do the same for others?

Pride fades our feelings of sonship to God and brotherhood to man. It separates and divides us by “ranks,” according to our “riches” and our “chances for learning.” (3 Ne. 6:12.) Unity is impossible for a proud people, and unless we are one we are not the Lord’s. (See Mosiah 18:21; D&C 38:27; D&C 105:2–4; Moses 7:18.)

Think of what pride has cost us in the past and what it is now costing us in our own lives, our families, and the Church.

Think of the repentance that could take place with lives changed, marriages preserved, and homes strengthened, if pride did not keep us from confessing our sins and forsaking them. (See D&C 58:43.)

Think of the many who are less active members of the Church because they were offended and their pride will not allow them to forgive or fully sup at the Lord’s table.

Think of the tens of thousands of additional young men and couples who could be on missions except for the pride that keeps them from yielding their hearts unto God. (See Alma 10:6; Hel. 3:34–35.)

Think how temple work would increase if the time spent in this godly service were more important than the many prideful pursuits that compete for our time.

Pride affects all of us at various times and in various degrees. Now you can see why the building in Lehi’s dream that represents the pride of the world was large and spacious and great was the multitude that did enter into it. (See 1 Ne. 8:26, 33;1 Ne. 11:35–36.)

Pride is the universal sin, the great vice. Yes, pride is the universal sin, the great vice.

The antidote for pride is humility—meekness, submissiveness. (See Alma 7:23.) It is the broken heart and contrite spirit. (See3 Ne. 9:20; 3 Ne. 12:19; D&C 20:37; D&C 59:8; Ps. 34:18; Isa. 57:15; Isa. 66:2.) As Rudyard Kipling put it so well:

The tumult and the shouting dies;

The captains and the kings depart.

Still stands thine ancient sacrifice,

An humble and a contrite heart.

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

Lest we forget, lest we forget.

God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble or we can be compelled to be humble. Alma said, “Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble.” (Alma 32:16.)

Let us choose to be humble.

We can choose to humble ourselves by conquering enmity toward our brothers and sisters, esteeming them as ourselves, and lifting them as high or higher than we are. (See D&C 38:24; D&C 81:5; D&C 84:106.)

We can choose to humble ourselves by receiving counsel and chastisement. (See Jacob 4:10; Hel. 15:3; D&C 63:55; D&C 101:4–5; D&C 108:1; D&C 124:61, 84; D&C 136:31; Prov. 9:8.)

We can choose to humble ourselves by forgiving those who have offended us. (See 3 Ne. 13:11, 14; D&C 64:10.)

We can choose to humble ourselves by rendering selfless service. (See Mosiah 2:16–17.)

We can choose to humble ourselves by going on missions and preaching the word that can humble others. (See Alma 4:19;Alma 31:5; Alma 48:20.)

We can choose to humble ourselves by getting to the temple more frequently.

We can choose to humble ourselves by confessing and forsaking our sins and being born of God. (See D&C 58:43; Mosiah 27:25–26; Alma 5:7–14, 49.)

We can choose to humble ourselves by loving God, submitting our will to His, and putting Him first in our lives. (See 3 Ne. 11:11; 3 Ne. 13:33; Moro. 10:32.)

Let us choose to be humble. We can do it. I know we can.

My dear brethren and sisters, we must prepare to redeem Zion. It was essentially the sin of pride that kept us from establishing Zion in the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It was the same sin of pride that brought consecration to an end among the Nephites. (See 4 Ne. 1:24–25.)

Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion. I repeat: Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion.

We must cleanse the inner vessel by conquering pride. (See Alma 6:2–4; Matt. 23:25–26.)

We must yield “to the enticings of the Holy Spirit,” put off the prideful “natural man,” become “a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord,” and become “as a child, submissive, meek, humble.” (Mosiah 3:19; see also Alma 13:28.)

That we may do so and go on to fulfill our divine destiny is my fervent prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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