Prophecies
In discussing the "perilous times" of the "last days", Paul the Apostle wrote to Timothy that, "Men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud...heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; having a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof...ever learning, and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim 3:1-7, italics added).
In Lehi's great dream found in the beginning of the Book of Mormon he saw a group of people who were "clinging" to the iron rod (side note - this is a very interesting word choice here if you compare it to another group of people who pressed forward "continually holding fast" to the rod in 1 Ne. 8:30) and pressing forward to partake of the fruit of the tree of life. They made it to the tree and began to partake of the fruit but became "ashamed" after the exceedingly fine dressed men and women in a great and spacious building started mocking them. After they had partaken of the glorious, sweet, and precious fruit they "fell away into forbidden paths and were lost" because they were embarrassed (1 Ne. 8:24-30). Later when Nephi receives the same dream with additional interpretation we are informed as to what the great and spacious building represents, "Behold the world and the wisdom thereof...the pride of the world (1 Ne. 11:35-36).
In the great prophetic chapters at the conclusion of 2 Nephi, Nephi teaches us again about the latter days, "...and they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance. And they deny the power of God...Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord..." (2 Ne. 28:4-9, italics added).
Mormon and Moroni saw our day. Moroni wrote, "I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts...unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions...O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ?" (Mormon 8:35-38, italics added).
Finally, from the Savior himself we discover that in the last days some of the "very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant" shall be deceived (JS-Matt 1:22).
Indeed, it is clear that it has long been prophesied that in the latter days intellectual narcissism would be prevalent and prominent. It also appears that, among other issues, it has been and will increasingly be a source of self-deceit and apostasy - including among the elect, even those that have tasted of the precious fruit of the tree of life.
Warnings
The scriptures and words of prophets are also abundant with warnings regarding intellectual pride.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks gave a wonderful talk years ago entitled, Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall (see speeches.byu.edu). In the discourse he states, "Satan uses every possible device to accomplish his purpose to degrade and enslave every soul...We generally think of Satan attacking us at our weakest spot...But our weakness are not the only areas where we are vulnerable. Satan can also attack us where we think we are strong - in the very areas where we are proud of our strengths. He will approach us through the greatest talents and spiritual gifts we possess. If we are not wary, Satan can cause our spiritual downfall by corrupting us through our strengths as well as by exploiting our weaknesses...Other illustrations of how our strengths can become our downfall concern the activity of learning. A desire to know is surely a great strength. A hunger to learn is laudable, but the fruits of learning make a person particularly susceptible to the sin of pride...It is easy for the learned and the accomplished to forget their own limitations and their total dependence upon God. Accomplishments in higher education bring persons much recognition and real feelings of self-sufficiency. But we should remember the Book of Mormon's frequent cautions not to boast in our own strength or wisdom lest we be left to our own strength or wisdom."
From Lehi's dream we see the tragic ending for the wisdom of the world as found in that great and spacious building. "And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building...fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great...Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (1 Ne. 11:36, italics added).
From the great prophecies of Nephi we hear, "O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrines...wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell!...Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost!...And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock receiveth it with gladness...Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of man..." (2 Ne. 28:15, 26, 28, 31).
From Isaiah we are warned, "Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Wo unto the wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight!" (2 Ne. 15:20-21, italics added).
Finally, the most direct words come from Jacob, the brother of Nephi. "O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish." (2 Ne. 9:28).
Needless to say, there are a lot of "woes" directed toward the intellectual narcissist! May we remember that "to be learned is good, IF [we] hearken unto the counsels of God" (2 Ne. 9:29). Humility and charity are the great antidotes to the spiritual poison of narcissism.
6 comments:
Well said. I think this is a good, as well as a pretty-much comprehensive treatment of the issue, hence the lack of comments. Either that, or you offended everyone. (Smiley emoticon) Also... Though it's more rare in my current level of development, I have frequently daydreamed of saving people from in front of a bus, or from the point of a gun, or from other various life-threatening situations. All this time I didn't even know that that is a symptom of the narcissickness. (repeat the smiley emoticon)
Driving today I was behind a car that had a bumper sticker that said,"don't pray at my school and I won't think at your church"
My thoughts automatically went to your last three posts. Too bad this guy will never read them because he needs a good dose of it.
Thanks!
I wish this CJ would come back to blog. Where did he go?
"Having said that I have come to realize that the social science view and the scriptural view are not necessarily diametrically opposed, but I do think that our emphasis in the world is in the wrong place. In my view what the scriptures and the social sciences are trying to mutually underline is the truth that the value of every individual is the same, no matter their skin color, language, or faith! However, as long as we keep focusing on whether we are this “ite” or that “ite” we will always remain separate “ites”. So long as we continue stressing what is diverse, we will always be segregated. Not until we focus on what we have in common as children of God will we be united as one human race. In my opinion the answer to ending the evils surrounding discrimination, hate, and prejudice is not shouting “diversity”, it is shouting “unity”. United under the banner of our alikeness we can then marvel at the wonderful tapestry made up of our uniqueness."
emphasis mine.
Anonymous,
I wish you would have indicated who you are. I appreciate your comments. As far as I know, I am the same C.J. I still believe strongly in my words that you quoted. It is not clear to me what you see as different between "that C.J." and the recent C.J., but the inference appears to be that those comments, or perhaps the spirit of those comments, are not in harmony with recent blog posts.
In recent posts I have been emphatic and admittedly more austere than in other posts. I believe that narcissism is destructive to faith and to unity. I believe it brings about unpleasant consequences for individuals, families, and groups. Nevertheless, I do not believe that the narcissist is undeserving of love or a seat at the table of conversation. To do so would be to omit myself, for there is narcissism in me too! I am not concerned about differences and disagreement, I am concerned about narcissistic attitudes behind them.
In the comments you quoted I was discussing how we study, talk about, and treat other racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. In my recent posts I was discussing individual, and to some extent, group attitudes and behaviors that have nothing to do with inherent traits (like race). There must be a place in our dialogue to express criticisms and concerns in a bold and honest way within an environment of love. I can acknowledge that my words themselves were not necessarily loving, but my motivation in writing what I did was love and concern for my fellow man. My intent was not to hurt or tear down, it was to express concern and warning. I stand by my views about narcissism - directed to myself and all others. For the flaws and weakness of my writing and my character, I express my deepest regret and my desire to be a loving, decent, peaceful son of God.
I love you anonymous, whoever you are!
Thank you for the explanation. I think I understand the need to help others by pointing out their perceived flaws and tendencies. Indeed, sometimes we need to call each other on aberrant behavior. And I think it admirable that you claim to be directing your posts toward yourself as well. Indeed, we all have a beam in our own eye.
My disagreement is twofold:
1. You have used a number of descriptors for someone with this tendency (which ultimately I think is a dysphemism for someone who ostensibly decides your prophet is wrong) without acknowledging that someone with real clinical narcissism is far more dysfunctional than someone who merely decides they don't agree with the leaders of your church. People who use big words, write journal papers, have PhDs, and otherwise rely on something other than prophetic authority to inform their worldview are not necessarily narcissistic. Indeed, many Muslims, Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Protestants might feel the same about you!!
2. These last three posts don't do anything to bridge divides, repair relationships, or go to any length to try to understand those who see things in a different way. Nowhere do you acknowledge that a person who decides they do not accept your brand of prophetic authority might do it with the purest intentions.
I think what you are really pushing against is pride (which you mention but, I think, are conflating with narcissism). But pride can take many forms, including self-righteous obedience to checklists and cultural doctrines under the guise of humility. This, to me, seems to be the ultimate sin that Jesus himself condemned! What is absent from Oaks' talk, and your posts is that while the desire to be righteous is a laudable goal the fruits of perceived righteousness make one particularly susceptible to pride! It is easy to decide that one particular man, having a claim to authority, speaks for God, and subsequently forget that one must depend on God himself and the Spirit to decide what is right despite what that authority figure says.
Besides that, it is easy to see (just look around at the thousands of churches) that the scriptures can be interpreted to support just about any point one wishes to show or any behavior one wishes to promote or condemn.
"I can acknowledge that my words themselves were not necessarily loving, but my motivation in writing what I did was love and concern for my fellow man."
Consider that those who engage in academia, write journal papers, use big words, write according to secular learning and disagree with your prophet might also have the same motivation! Also consider that those who leave your church but "won't leave it alone" might also have a similar motivation.
I understand the difference in your words I quoted and what you are describing in this series of posts. But I felt that these posts perpetuate the "us vs. them" mentality so prevalent in modern strict religions, and most certainly within parts of academia as well! How can we learn from and accept those with other opinions all while telling them they are wrong?
What we all need is a little more Deiter Uchtdorf.
I apologize for the long winded comment. I do not mean to disparage you, only to plead for understanding, compassion, and acceptance of those who see things differently.
Looking forward to more wonderful posts!
Ah, sorry, one last thing:
"There must be a place in our dialogue to express criticisms and concerns in a bold and honest way within an environment of love."
I completely agree. Oh I wish there was such a place in religious circles without the stereotypes, us vs. them mentality, and appeals to "worldy" and or "Satanic" influences!!
Oh, that we were more interested in real truth than in upholding our organization, religion, or political party!
It is of note that a place to discuss real concerns over truth claims is noticeably absent in the LDS church itself and in most LDS circles. And in many cases even condemned!! But I digress.
BTW, your writing is wonderful! This is why I felt to disagree. I can see you choose your words wisely so I try to read them carefully.
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