Theodore M. Burton

“Now this wickedness of pride and haughtiness does not refer to wealth or to money, for Paul said that not money itself, but “the love of money is the root of all evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10) Whenever we love money, status, possessions, or position more than righteousness, this is that false pride which must be avoided as the plague. That is why the Lord told us that riches, per se, are not wicked and that we could even seek for riches if we do so with proper intent.”

Theodore M. Burton  |  “A Disease Called Pride,” BYU Speeches of the Year, October 13, 1971, p. 2

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“Thus does Mormon, the prophet, accurately describe our own society [see Mormon 8:36-37) of elegantly dressed, competitive, fashion-infatuated, status-conscious people. Note that the Lord does not stress the ordinary iniquities of crime and immorality, of atheism and lawlessness. Instead he stresses the intolerance, the uncharitable state of mind, and the vanity that exist in our present world. He warns us of the pride, the envy, the arrogance, and the malice that exist in our day. We do not persecute the poor; we simply tend to ignore them and forget them as the prophet predicted. (See Mormon 8:39.)”

Theodore M. Burton  |  “A Disease Called Pride,” BYU Speeches of the Year, October 13, 1971, p. 4

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“A person’s attitude is perhaps the hardest of all personal attributes to change. If your attitude is right, then your life is made right. If your heart is touched, your mind and way of thinking will change and your life will change for the better accordingly. I believe we must become so immersed in the gospel of Jesus Christ that we become physically as well as mentally more and more like the Lord himself. We must yield our whole hearts to him. What we then do is done not because we are asked to, nor because we are forced to, but because we want to. Neither pressure nor force can be exerted upon us from outside, when what we do is done because it is our own choice and desire. It then makes no difference to us what other men may think, or say, or do. Our hearts being committed wholly to God, what we do is done out of our love for and our trust in him. We then serve God in every way we can because we have been converted, our attitude has been changed and we now desire to become like him both spiritually and physically.”

Theodore M. Burton  |  “The Need for Total Commitment,” Ensign, Jan. 1974, p. 115

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