The Great and Spacious Building!

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, why is it that the great and spacious building represents pride?  Why not just iniquity, or some other general sin?  I figured there must be some interesting point that the Lord wants to make by specifically focusing on pride.  So, I delved into the scriptures to find out some characteristics of the great and spacious building and the people who entered.  First, they gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lord.  Second, a great gulf divided them from the Tree of Life, or love of God.  Third, they mocked those who partook of the fruit of the Tree of Life.  Fourth, many people risked becoming lost in forbidden paths just to enter the building and partake of worldly pleasures. 

Characteristics of Pride:

Does not receive correction (a great gulf divides them from the Lord)

Has to be better than others  (mock the believers)

Does not follow the commandments of the Lord (fight against the apostles)

Loves the world more than God (seeks to partake of worldly pleasures in building)

We can learn from these characteristics, that pride inhibits our success and our spiritual progress.  Pride destroys love.  Pride weakens our trust and confidence in the Lord, and pride follows after the desires of the natural man.  It is for this reason that pride is epitomized in the great and spacious building.  How can we ever become all that our Heavenly Father wants us to be if we are prideful?  How can we serve and love others as Christ did, if we are prideful?  How can we keep the commandments and trust in the Lord if we are prideful?  How can we seek after all that is righteous and virtuous if we are prideful?  Pride will never give us success.  Just as the great and spacious building suffered a great and terrible fall, pride will destroy each one of us.

The opposite of pride is humility.  In James 4:10 it says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up!”  When we are humble; when we willing receive correction from others; when we love freely without competing to be better; when we follow all the commandments of the Lord, trusting that His will is best; and when we seek after the things of God first; we will be strengthened and lifted up. Christ promises us, “blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  When we seek after humility and develop it in our lives, we will receive a much grander prize than anything this world can offer.  We will receive eternal life in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father!