Since writing the Thoughts on Zion article entitled, “Pride to Destruction in 6 Easy Steps“, I came to see that the Book of Mormon is replete with examples and sermons regarding what I’m calling “The Pride Flu”.  Societies catch the Pride Flu and it leads to their eventual destruction.  My sense is that this is actually one of the main purposes Mormon had in mind when he pulled out stories and sermons from Nephite history and compiled the Book of Mormon itself.  He intended to warn us here in the latter-days not to let our societies catch the Pride Flu.

Just like different people have different symptoms when they get the flu, some of the examples and sermons mention more or less symptoms than do others. I identified at least 32 symptoms and 4 prognoses associated with pride and its consequences among the examples of various Book of Mormon societies.  No example or sermon there lists all 36 elements, but all 36 are mentioned among the 41 examples and sermons I found.

So, I’ve created a Pride Flu study guide chart you can use to scout out these symptoms and prognoses among the 41 instances yourself.  That way, you’ll absorb the material better.  A good place to start on the chart is with the sermon found in Mormon, chapter 8.  After watching his own society die of the Pride Flu, Moroni mentions more of the symptoms and prognoses than any other sermon.  The historical account with the most is found in Helaman, chapters six and seven.  If you start with those, you’ll see the pattern in the other examples more readily.

Once you’ve gone through the chart, feel free to come back and share any epiphanies you had while filling it out.