Selfishness

"By focusing on himself, a selfish person finds it easier to bear false witness, to steal, and covet, since nothing should be denied him. No wonder it is so easy for governments to pander to the appetites of the natural man, especially if the trains continue to run on time, reassuring him all the while that his permissiveness is somehow permissible."

—Neal A. Maxwell, "Repent of [Our] Selfishness' D&C 56:8", Ensign, May 1999

After reading the above quote I was intrigued and decided to read the entire conference talk by Elder Neal A. Maxwell from whence the quote came.  In doing so I found some quotes that I really liked.  I decided to just take an entire section from the talk and post it on my blog.

Elder Maxwell always had a unique style of speaking and was a master orator.  This talk is no exception.  It is so rich you might have to read it several times before you absorb it all.

Taken from an April 1999 conference talk given by Elder Neal A. Maxwell entitled "Repent of [Our] Selfishness' D&C 56:8":

"Selfishness is actually the detonator of all the cardinal sins. It is the hammer for the breaking of the Ten Commandments, whether by neglecting parents, the Sabbath, or by inducing false witness, murder, and envy. No wonder the selfish individual is often willing to break a covenant in order to fix an appetite. No wonder those who will later comprise the telestial kingdom, after they have paid a price, were once unrepentant adulterers, whoremongers, and those who both loved and made lies. 

"Some of the selfish wrongly believe that there is no divine law anyway, so there is no sin (see 2 Ne. 2:13). Situational ethics are thus made to order for the selfish. So in the management of self, one can conquer by his genius and strength, because there really is no crime whatsoever (see Alma 30:17). 

"Unsurprisingly therefore, selfishness leads to terrible perceptual and behavioral blunders. For instance, Cain, corrupted by his seeking of power, said after slaying Abel, “I am free” (Moses 5:33; see also Moses 6:15). 

"One of the worst consequences of severe selfishness, therefore, is this profound loss of proportionality, like straining at gnats while swallowing camels (see Matt. 23:24; see also JST in footnote 24a). Today there are, for example, those who strain over various gnats but swallow the practice of partial-birth abortions. Small wonder, therefore, that selfishness magnifies a mess of pottage into a banquet and makes 30 pieces of silver look like a treasure trove. 

"Developmentally, what transpires is like what happened to an ancient group of children “who did grow up … , that they became for themselves”—hardened and errant (3 Ne. 1:29; see also 3 Ne. 1:30). Devastating cultural change can and does happen “in the space of not many years,” including replacing the much-needed spirit of community with a diversified alliance of dalliance (see Hel. 4:26). 

"Determined to walk in his own way, the natural man often persists to the point where he is “past feeling,” having been sedated by pleasing the carnal mind (see 1 Ne. 17:45; see also Eph. 4:19). Sadly, like the drug addict, he is always in need of a fresh fix. 

"The severely selfish use others but do not love them. Let the Uriahs of the world beware! (see 2 Sam. 11:3–17). Centuries before Christ, the prophet Jacob warned unchaste men, “Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them” (Jacob 2:35). When love waxes cold, let the poor and the needy beware too, for they will be neglected, as happened in ancient Sodom (see Matt. 24:12; see also Ezek. 16:49). Strange as it seems, when severely selfish people are no longer little in their own sight, everybody else shrinks! (see 1 Sam. 15:17). 

"Even the early droplets of selfish decisions suggest a direction. Then the little inflecting rivulets come, merging into small brooks and soon into larger streams; finally one is swept along by a vast river which flows into the “gulf of misery and endless wo” (Hel. 5:12)"

Selfishness really is "the detonator of all the cardinal sins".  I love Elder Maxwell's use of language.  If it weren't for selfishness the telestial kingdom would probably be pretty sparse.  Unfortunately, selfishness is rampant and seems to be getting worse and worse as time goes on.  People are dropping like flies and it all stems from selfishness.  Like Elder Maxwell said, Satan makes a mess of pottage look like a banquet and 30 pieces of silver look like a treasure trove.

As Elder Maxwell intimates, severe selfishness evolves into narcissism.  Selfishness leads to terrible changes in perception and behavior.  In which people "strain at gnats while swallowing camels".  Reality is distorted. Left unchecked, it is a slippery slope which eventually snowballs into "the gulf of misery and endless wo".  Unfortunately, I've witnessed it.  It is extremely sad.

That's my two cents.