< Jacob 2 >
v. 13 ... 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 of the costliness of your apparel, and persecute your brethren because ye suppose that ye are better than they.
President Benson on Pride
Occasion: April 1989 General Conference
Setting: Delivered by President Gordon B. Hinckley on President Benson’s behalf
1. Pride = Enmity (Opposition)
2. Pride has two faces
President Benson warned that pride isn’t only arrogance:
3. Pride separates us from God
4. The cure for pride is humility
“We must choose to be humble before God, or we will be compelled to be humble.”
President Benson listed ways to choose humility:
Humility is not weakness; it is spiritual strength.
President Benson on Pride
Occasion: April 1989 General Conference
Setting: Delivered by President Gordon B. Hinckley on President Benson’s behalf
1. Pride = Enmity (Opposition)
- Pride is essentially enmity toward God — resisting His will, counsel, and commandments.
- It is also enmity toward others — viewing people as rivals, comparing, competing, and seeking superiority.
- The proud depend on “the praise of men” rather than the approval of God.
2. Pride has two faces
President Benson warned that pride isn’t only arrogance:
- The pride of superiority → looking down on others, self-exaltation.
- The pride of inferiority → self-pity, envy, resentment, or feeling offended easily.Both are rooted in self-focus and comparison.
3. Pride separates us from God
- Pride caused the fall of Lucifer, the downfall of nations, and the destruction of the Nephites.
- It alienates us from the Spirit and blinds us to truth.
- Pride is the “great stumbling block to Zion.”
4. The cure for pride is humility
“We must choose to be humble before God, or we will be compelled to be humble.”
President Benson listed ways to choose humility:
- Conquering enmity toward brothers and sisters
- Receiving counsel and correction
- Forgiving others
- Serving God and others selflessly
- Submitting our will to God’s will
- Loving as the Savior loves
Humility is not weakness; it is spiritual strength.
v. 16 ... O that ye would listen unto the word of his commands, and let not this pride of your hearts destroy your souls!
Pride, at its heart, pride is the elevation of self over God and others.
It says, “I will do it my way,” instead of “Thy will be done.”
Pride isolates us from grace. When we refuse to yield, we close ourselves off from the very influence that could heal us. God can fill only what is empty; pride insists it is already full.
Pride blinds us to truth because it makes the self the standard of judgment. We begin to measure everything — including God — by our own opinions and desires. That blindness is why the proud are often sincerely certain but deeply wrong.
Pride thrives on comparison — “I am better,” or sometimes “I am worse, therefore I deserve attention.”
Either way, it replaces love (which gives) with competition (which grasps).
C. S. Lewis put it perfectly:
“Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.”
When love turns to comparison, joy disappears, and the soul shrinks inward.
Pride destroys peace long before it destroys salvation:
Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.
It means living in truth: recognizing dependence on God and equality with others.
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” (James 4:10)
When we let go of self-centered control, God doesn’t crush us — He enlarges us.
The humble are teachable, and therefore transformable.
Pride destroys the soul by disconnecting it from love — the very life of God.
It blinds us to truth, isolates us from grace, and turns our hearts inward until they harden.
But humility restores that connection: when we bow, we finally rise.
Pride, at its heart, pride is the elevation of self over God and others.
It says, “I will do it my way,” instead of “Thy will be done.”
- It is the original rebellion — Lucifer’s fall (Isaiah 14:13–15):“I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.”
- It is also the root of Adam’s temptation — “ye shall be as gods.”
Pride isolates us from grace. When we refuse to yield, we close ourselves off from the very influence that could heal us. God can fill only what is empty; pride insists it is already full.
Pride blinds us to truth because it makes the self the standard of judgment. We begin to measure everything — including God — by our own opinions and desires. That blindness is why the proud are often sincerely certain but deeply wrong.
Pride thrives on comparison — “I am better,” or sometimes “I am worse, therefore I deserve attention.”
Either way, it replaces love (which gives) with competition (which grasps).
C. S. Lewis put it perfectly:
“Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.”
When love turns to comparison, joy disappears, and the soul shrinks inward.
Pride destroys peace long before it destroys salvation:
- It breeds offense (always feeling slighted).
- It breeds resentment (refusing to forgive).
- It breeds loneliness (others become rivals, not companions).
- It breeds self-deception (we justify rather than repent).
Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.
It means living in truth: recognizing dependence on God and equality with others.
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” (James 4:10)
When we let go of self-centered control, God doesn’t crush us — He enlarges us.
The humble are teachable, and therefore transformable.
Pride destroys the soul by disconnecting it from love — the very life of God.
It blinds us to truth, isolates us from grace, and turns our hearts inward until they harden.
But humility restores that connection: when we bow, we finally rise.
v. 30 .. For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.
Rules of PolygamySo the rule is monogamy, but the Lord reserves the right to make exceptions for specific divine purposes — in Jacob’s time, there was no such command, so plural marriage was sinful.
Doctrine and Covenants 132 — A commanded exception
In contrast, D&C 132 (received by Joseph Smith in the 1830s, written 1843) explicitly states that plural marriage was at that time commanded by God for certain individuals:
“I have commanded my servant Joseph to enter into this law, for I am the Lord thy God…” (D&C 132:35–37, 52–54)
The revelation connects plural marriage to:
Thus, D&C 132 represents an instance of Jacob 2:30 being invoked — the Lord commanding plural marriage to “raise up seed” and fulfill covenant purposes.
Rules of PolygamySo the rule is monogamy, but the Lord reserves the right to make exceptions for specific divine purposes — in Jacob’s time, there was no such command, so plural marriage was sinful.
Doctrine and Covenants 132 — A commanded exception
In contrast, D&C 132 (received by Joseph Smith in the 1830s, written 1843) explicitly states that plural marriage was at that time commanded by God for certain individuals:
“I have commanded my servant Joseph to enter into this law, for I am the Lord thy God…” (D&C 132:35–37, 52–54)
The revelation connects plural marriage to:
- The “new and everlasting covenant of marriage” (eternal marriage and exaltation, vv. 4–24).
- The Abrahamic covenant (raising up a righteous posterity, vv. 30–32).
- And it reiterates that plural marriage is only justified when commanded by God, never as a human indulgence.
Thus, D&C 132 represents an instance of Jacob 2:30 being invoked — the Lord commanding plural marriage to “raise up seed” and fulfill covenant purposes.
v. 35 ... Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them; and the sobbing of their hearts ascend up to God against you.
Be a man, not a toolJacob’s anguishshows just how deeply the Lord values the hearts of women and the sanctity of fidelity — and how utterly incompatible pride and domination are with the gospel of Christ.
Jacob’s lament
“Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them…”
— Jacob 2:35
Jacob isn’t merely scolding; he’s weeping(see v. 7). He’s speaking for the Lord, who says He delights “in the chastity of women” (v. 28) and that the sorrow of the betrayed wives had reached heaven.
This is one of the few places where a prophet describes God Himself as grieved by emotional and relational cruelty.
Why it’s such a grievous sin
- Jacob calls their behavior “greater iniquity than the Lamanites” (v. 35) — strong language! Why?
- Because betrayal and abuse of love destroy trust, family, and the image of God in human relationships.
The gospel is built on covenant fidelity, tenderness, and equality — when a man exploits, neglects, or dominates a woman, he violates the very heart of God’s covenant pattern.
The gospel leaves no room for masogynistic (misos = hatred, gyne = woman)
The Lord’s model of discipleship is meekness, empathy, and service — not ego, hierarchy, or control.
Misogyny (male pride, emotional hardness, or domination) has no place in Zion. The Lord calls for meekness and equal partnership — not cultural masculinity based on control or superiority.
The deeper message
Jacob’s sermon isn’t only about plural marriage; it’s about spiritual sensitivity— not wounding those we’re meant to cherish.
To “break the hearts of our tender wives” is to break covenant, to break trust, and to break the image of God’s love that marriage was meant to reflect.
In the Lord’s kingdom: Love is tender, power is shared, and hearts are protected.
The gospel of Christ leaves no room for toxic masculinity, cruelty, or emotional neglect.
God’s ideal for men is gentle strength — protecting, listening, serving, and lifting others with love that mirrors the Savior’s. When Jacob wept, heaven wept too — because breaking the heart of a tender spouse is not just sin against them, but against God’s own image of love.
Be a man, not a toolJacob’s anguishshows just how deeply the Lord values the hearts of women and the sanctity of fidelity — and how utterly incompatible pride and domination are with the gospel of Christ.
Jacob’s lament
“Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them…”
— Jacob 2:35
Jacob isn’t merely scolding; he’s weeping(see v. 7). He’s speaking for the Lord, who says He delights “in the chastity of women” (v. 28) and that the sorrow of the betrayed wives had reached heaven.
This is one of the few places where a prophet describes God Himself as grieved by emotional and relational cruelty.
Why it’s such a grievous sin
- Jacob calls their behavior “greater iniquity than the Lamanites” (v. 35) — strong language! Why?
- Because betrayal and abuse of love destroy trust, family, and the image of God in human relationships.
The gospel is built on covenant fidelity, tenderness, and equality — when a man exploits, neglects, or dominates a woman, he violates the very heart of God’s covenant pattern.
The gospel leaves no room for masogynistic (misos = hatred, gyne = woman)
The Lord’s model of discipleship is meekness, empathy, and service — not ego, hierarchy, or control.
- Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.”→ Christ’s example is self-sacrifice, not self-assertion.
- Mosiah 2:17: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”→ True priesthood or leadership is servant-leadership — gentle, compassionate, and humble.
Misogyny (male pride, emotional hardness, or domination) has no place in Zion. The Lord calls for meekness and equal partnership — not cultural masculinity based on control or superiority.
The deeper message
Jacob’s sermon isn’t only about plural marriage; it’s about spiritual sensitivity— not wounding those we’re meant to cherish.
To “break the hearts of our tender wives” is to break covenant, to break trust, and to break the image of God’s love that marriage was meant to reflect.
In the Lord’s kingdom: Love is tender, power is shared, and hearts are protected.
The gospel of Christ leaves no room for toxic masculinity, cruelty, or emotional neglect.
God’s ideal for men is gentle strength — protecting, listening, serving, and lifting others with love that mirrors the Savior’s. When Jacob wept, heaven wept too — because breaking the heart of a tender spouse is not just sin against them, but against God’s own image of love.