One central doctrine of the church is that we are to achieve greatness. We are trying to become like our Heavenly Father, who is perfect. There is one catch... we have to become perfect without becoming prideful! This is especially difficult while getting an education at BYU. At BYU students are competitive. If you are able to master a field or become an expert in it, you would think that it follows that you would have soem degree of pride in your accomplishment.
According to Elder Eyring the key to avoiding pride is also the key to academic excellence. That key is remembering that you are a son of God. As a son of God, we are humble and rely on Him. We know that we cannot do anything great without His help and we therefore plead for his grace to help us. I truly believe that it is only through Him that we can achieve greatness.
I didn't get a chance to go to the devotional, but from what you've said, I really wish I had. It's interesting that he would specifically talk about getting an education and not being prideful. I'll have to keep this in mind as I go through college, thank you.
ReplyDeleteSo true. My BOM told me that we must focus on everyone around us rather than ourselves. The central message of not haveing pride or having little of it is so true.
ReplyDeleteAmen! Pride is the big-deal-road-block-to-progression! That is a cool perspective though; that we can be humble by remembering that we always need God's help.
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