Pride and Wickedness

I have been pondering the meaning of wickedness lately. While I was studying Section 3, and also Section 10, I found the Lord refers to Martin Harris as a “wicked” man.

• D&C 3:12 And when thou deliveredst up that which God had given thee sight and power to translate, thou deliveredst up that which was sacred into the hands of a wicked man.
• D&C 10:1 Now, behold, I say unto you, that because you delivered up those writings which you had power given unto you to translate by the means of the Urim and Thummim, into the hands of a wicked man, you have lost them.

After having learned more about Martin Harris and the many sacrifices he made to move the work of the Lord forward, I had to wonder why the Lord decided to label Martin as wicked man at this point in his life.

What might have caused me to focus on “wicked” could be my recent study of the scripture in Malachi 4:1 which states, “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” The only two sins that are specifically mentioned are pride and wickedness.

First, let me explain my understanding of pride. Pride is putting your will ahead of the will of the Father. It is the supreme act of selfishness, and the unwillingness to sacrifice. It is in direct conflict with the first law of Heaven, obedience and sacrifice.

That got me thinking about wickedness, and what that actually means. In Section 3 the Lord explains some characteristics of wickedness in verse 13. He explains that one who is wicked “sets at naught the counsels of God”, “brakes sacred promises”, “depends on his own judgment”, and “boasts in his own strength.” Again, I feel that these can be a description of pride as well.

Could it be that pride and wickedness are synonymous?

It is interesting to me that wickedness and pride are the antithesis of obedience and sacrifice. It is also interesting to see that the protection we need from being found in the Telestial sphere, which will not abide the day of His coming and will be burned by His presence, is simply to live the first law that we covenant to live, that of obedience and sacrifice. The Law of Obedience and Sacrifice elevates us to a state that we can have claim on the promises made to the Fathers. We will be connected by the roots of our heritage, and the branches of our posterity as we instill righteous principles in the lives of those who follow after us.

After all, wickedness never was happiness. What do you think?