So far, Alma’s advice to his son Shiblon has been similar to his advice to Helaman. He told both of the promise that those who keep the commandments will prosper in the land. He told both of his conversion story. He encouraged both to learn wisdom. But Shiblon was different than Helaman. Of all Alma’s sons, Shiblon was apparently the most faithful. Yet, Alma is concerned about one thing—pride.
According to the theme of the Book of Mormon, it is among the most righteous that pride becomes a snare. When Shiblon was righteous, his father warned him of pride. When Oliver Cowdery was righteous, the Lord warned him of pride (DC 23:1). Whenever the saints have been righteous, the prophets have warned them of pride. Unfortunately, there is something about righteousness which inevitably draws us toward self-righteousness.
Ezra Taft Benson
"In the scriptures there is no such thing as righteous pride. It is always considered as a sin. We are not speaking of a wholesome view of self-worth, which is best established by a close relationship with God. But we are speaking of pride as the universal sin, as someone has described it. Mormon writes that ’the pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction’ (Moroni 8:27). The Lord says in the Doctrine and Covenants, ’Beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old’ (D&C 38:39). Essentially, pride is a ‘my will’ rather than ‘thy will’ approach to life. The opposite of pride is humbleness, meekness, submissiveness, or teachableness (see Alma 13:28). (Conference Report, Apr. 1986, p. 6)
Dallin H. Oaks
"…what I call the pride of self-satisfaction goes deeper than mere self-justification. Self-satisfaction is the opposite of humility. A person who has the pride of self-satisfaction cannot repent, because he recognizes no shortcomings. He cannot be taught, because he recognizes no master. He cannot be helped, because he recognizes no resource greater than his own. This kind of pride has a self-image that has inflated from wholesome positive to excessive pre occupied. In contrast to the spiritual wholeness of the self-forgetful, this kind of pride bespeaks the spiritual extremity of the self-centered.
“Preoccupied with self, the pride of self-satisfaction is always accompanied by an aloofness and a withdrawal from concern for others.” (Pure in Heart, p. 92)