The Nephites are returning to their lands after destroying the Gadianton Robbers, building up their cities, their roads, and their wealth. Yep! Bring on the pride cycle. Who needs the GR's to destroy their civilization when Nephites are always so much better at doing it themselves.
It seems there was a lot of pride and boasting from those who had cashed in on the rebuilding--it mentions lawyers, merchants and officers (vs. 11). They had begun to distinguish themselves one from another by rank (vs. 12). Some were educated and rich and some were poor and ignorant and there was much inequality in the land (vs. 14).
In vs. 15 it says that they were puffed up with pride,
tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches and the vain things of this world.
In verse 18 it points out that they did not sin ignorantly, for they knew the will of God concerning them, for it had been taught unto them, therefore they did willfully rebel against God.
God sent men "inspired from heaven and sent forth" but this just made them angry-- angry enough to kill them, but killing was against the law and it wouldn't do for a judge or a lawyer to do that, at least not when anyone was watching, so they just murdered the prophets in secret.
When a complaint came before the govenver in Zarahemla, the unrighteous decided it was time to make an evil covenant to destroy the people of God, set at defiance the laws
and the rights of their country, and establish a king over the land that there should be no more liberty.
Notice that it wasn't getting rich that destroyed the peace of the Nephites. It was the pride that divided them into ranks--educated, not educated, rich, poor, and who knows what else.
The Gadianton Robbers couldn't destroy them, but the constructs inside their own minds of who was better and who was worse stole their peace.
President Benson gave a powerful talk about how pride can destroy us, and he basically outlined how pride caused us to have enmity towards god and enmity towards our fellow men.
"The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.
Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.” As Paul said, they “seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.” (Philip. 2:21.)
Our will in competition to God’s will allows desires, appetites, and passions to go unbridled. (See Alma 38:12; 3 Ne. 12:30.)
The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives. (See Hel. 12:6.) They pit their perceptions of truth against God’s great knowledge, their abilities versus God’s priesthood power, their accomplishments against His mighty works.
Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s.
Another major portion of this very prevalent sin of pride is enmity toward our fellowmen. We are tempted daily to elevate ourselves above others and diminish them. " (See Hel. 6:17; D&C 58:41.)
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