"Mormon, the true prophet-historian that he is, herein gives one of the most important keys to understanding the history of the covenant people. When they are faithful and obedient, even the mightiest empires of the world cannot succeed in overthrowing them. The chariots of Pharaoh were caught in the returning waters of the Red Sea, and the seemingly weak and defenseless Israelites journeyed into the Sinai without further molestation. (See Exodus 14) Several hundred years later, the mighty armies of Assyria encamped around Jerusalem. To that point, no city or nation had successfully resisted the power of Assyria. But in response to the pleadings of Isaiah, the king and the people turned to the Lord. The next morning 185,000 Assyrian soldiers lay dead, smitten during the night by some mysterious plague sent by the Lord. Sennacherib, the mighty king of Assyria, retreated without shooting an arrow against the city. (See 2 Kings 19:32-37)
“But let the people turn from the Lord, let them fall into apostasy and wickedness, and the source of their strength and power withdraws. Often we say that the Lord punishes his people for their wickedness. In a way this is true, but often the Lord does not have to intervene directly and send punishments upon his people. The enemies of Israel are ever ready and eager to move against the people of the Lord when they lose their real source of power, and they are ’left in their own strength.’ (Hel 4:13) Whenever ‘the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and matchless power’ (v. 25), they became easy prey to those who were their enemies.” (Book of Mormon Student Manual, 1981, p. 356)
Dallin H. Oaks
’The pride of self-satisfaction is the pride Alma meant when he told his son Shiblon: ’See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; yea, see that ye do not boast in your own wisdom, nor of your much strength’ (Alma 38:11). The consequences of the pride of self-satisfaction in Helaman’s time are described in these words:
’And because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten, and driven before the Lamanites, until they had lost possession of almost all their lands’ (Helaman 4:13).
"The pride of self-satisfaction is probably the kind of pride that prominent members were warned against in the early revelations of this dispensation (D&C 23:1 [Oliver Cowdery]; 25:14 [Emma Smith]; 56:8 [Ezra Thayre] ). In a sermon delivered in Nauvoo, Illinois, the Prophet Joseph Smith said: ’There are a great many wise men and women too in our midst who are too wise to be taught; therefore they must die in their ignorance, and in the resurrection they will find their mistake’ (History of the Church 5:424).
“We still have a great many ’wise men and women too in our midst who are too wise to be taught.’ And no one suffers more from their condition than they themselves.” (Pure in Heart, p. 92)