The Pride Cycle

Teachings from the Book of Mormon Study Guide

3 Nephi 6:12. Prosperity and Peace Can Lead to Pride

During the years immediately prior to the Savior’s personal ministry among the Nephites, the people enjoyed a period of brief prosperity. Unfortunately, this temporal success led to “pride and boastings because of their exceedingly great riches” (3 Nephi 6:10).

President Henry B. Eyring warned about such challenges in our day: “A little prosperity and peace, or even a turn slightly for the better, can bring us feelings of self-sufficiency. We can feel quickly that we are in control of our lives, that the change for the better is our own doing, not that of a God who communicates to us through the still, small voice of the Spirit. Pride creates a noise within us which makes the quiet voice of the Spirit hard to hear. And soon, in our vanity, we no longer even listen for it. We can come quickly to think we don’t need it” (in Conference Report, Oct. 2001, 16; or Ensign, Nov. 2001, 16).

Several times in Book of Mormon history the people passed through a cycle of righteousness, prosperity, riches, pride, wickedness, destruction, humility, and righteousness again. For more information and a diagram depicting the pride cycle, refer to “The Cycle of Righteousness and Wickedness” in the appendix (page 414).

My Companion and I Right Now

My companion Elder Rivera and I....right now. Haha

On Mon, Feb 16, 2015 at 9:58 AM, Amy wrote:

Dear Elder,

Ok, so now you can tell me, what is your new companion like? Where is he from etc?

We had a good week. Nathan had his first show choir competition on Saturday. He did a great job. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of him. I was videoing the entire production but didn't take a picture. Don't worry, I will get one next week. He performs again on Saturday. He wore a blue tux with a green tie and the girls wore green dresses.

They sounded and looked awesome.

Church yesterday was great. We were sitting on the front row during sacrament meeting and I had my head bowed. I saw out of the corner of my eyes the deacons walking past and I noticed one of them was wearing pants that were way too short. I thought, boy who is that, so I looked up and to my utter amazement it was Grant. It appeared he had grown a couple of inches in a week, either that or he has been wearing high waters for a while and I just haven't noticed. I guess we are going shopping this week for some new church pants for the poor guy.

Grant played great during the church basketball game. He actually played center for a while. He has never played that position before so he didn't really know where to stand but he is one of the tallest players on the team when Nathan isn't there. It worked out perfectly, because Nathan performed first thing in the morning so I was able to hurry over to the church after Nathan's performance and still catch most of Grant's basketball game. Anyway I was looking at Grant out on the court and thought to myself, he seems taller than last week, but then I shrugged it off almost as fast as I thought it. Obviously I should have considered it further. I hate to say it, but he might be taller than Seth already.

Well, we are getting ready to head out for Nathan to get his wisdom teeth removed. His appointment is at 11:00. It's nice because the boys don't have school today because it is President's Day so Grant gets to go with me.

The big thing happening this week is I am the lead teacher at Pathways. I never usually get nervous teaching, but I have been having anxiety about being the lead student since it is math and it's not my favorite subject. Luckily we are discussing spreadsheets and I am not too bad at that. We'll see how it goes. One good thing is I have learned a formula for calculating Celsius into Fahrenheit so I can figure out the temperature for you if you ever need me to. I am supposed to be able to transform pesos into dollars as well, but I'm not as good at that. Sorry. If you ever wanted to know the formula for temperature conversion is: C=5/9(F-32). 

Temperature Conversion Formula

I sure love you. Have a wonderful week!

Love, Mom

Mom, I love you so much. I hate to be a jerk, but I have known that formula since I was but a wee one.....=) I am so proud of you though. Next time I need the temperature converted I will definitely consult you before taking the time to do it myself. I can’t believe grant is so tall. He hasn't past me has he?

My companion is awesome! He is one of my favorite companions. His name is Elder Rivera. He is from Guayaquil Ecuador. We were best friends from the get go. We teach and contact so well together. I would love to have 2 or more transfers with him instead of just one. =( Mom. My mission is going by so fast! They are buying my plane ticket already. AHHH!!! I can’t wait to see you guys though. I love you!

Elder Hackleman

I got a few pictures of Nathan before and after his wisdom teeth surgery. Crazy kid wanted to show me he wasn't in pain so he ran around the car the second after the nurse put him in the car after his surgery. I was so mad at him. The bleeding had clotted and stopped before we left the Dr. office but due to his run around the town, it started bleeding profusely. Dang it all. He thought he was so funny. Ya, he won't be laughing when he gets dry sockets. I thought of letting the pain meds wear completely off to teach him a lesson, but then after thinking about it for a while I realized he was still under the influence of the meds so I need to give him a break. He claims he counted down to 94 before he fell asleep. I forgot to ask the nurse so I can't confirm that number. I will double check on our follow-up appointment.

Love Mom

He was goofy before they even gave him any Meds.

Ice Packs!

On Mon, Feb 16, 2015 at 8:55 AM, Tim wrote:

Dear Elder,

How were transfers?!?!?!? Tell us all about your new companion! You have the opportunity to show him what going out in style really means!! I know you have a lot of Zone work to do, but were you able to teach anyone this week? Something that came to me at church yesterday. I was sitting in PEC and we were talking about home teaching and the struggles that we have doing it and reporting it. Then we started talking about the people who request no contact with the Church. How do we deal with them? The church strongly discourages and dissuades names being removed from the records. My thoughts turned to the parable of the lost sheep of course. But then it occurred to me that, much of what we need to learn is the "process of seeking." So much of the time we go to an address and find that they've moved. So we diligently try ways that seek them out to have their records follow them? Anyway, I just thought it was interesting that sometimes it's not just the act of doing, but learning from the act of doing.

On the home front, Nathan is getting his wisdom teeth out for real today. We'll let you know how that went next week. I attached a couple pictures of your silly brother. One is while he was at the kitchen table over the weekend. He was working on one of his many "experiments". The other is of him at the UNO hockey game with me on Friday. And by the way... I gave him a haircut on Saturday after I saw these.

I can't wait to hear all about your week!!

¡Te amo tanto!

Papá

Grant at the UNO Hockey Game

Hey dad! I got my new companion this week. His name is Elder Rivera. He is from Ecuador and is one of my favorite companions of my entire mission. From the second we were put together we just clicked. He is so awesome. We love to work hard but have fun doing it. We have been in meetings almost all week but we are going hard this week because the people we find this week will potentially be my last baptisms. =( I will send a pic of him in a sec....p.s. I am living in a peruvian oven right now but I still love life. How can that be......Haha Love you dad!

On Mon, Feb 16, 2015 at 4:04 PM, Tim wrote:

It's only 80 degrees there!! :) Plus, there's no way it's worse than two-a-days in Buenavista, VA!!

Dad

That thermometer is lying. It’s gotta be 110. Haha and air conditioning doesn't exist here. I have two of my buddies writing me from SVU right now saying they walked on at Weber state. One of them is in Jake Kitchen`s Spanish class! Haha

Happy President's Day

Peru might not be celebrating the US national holiday of President's Day, but President Monson is the Church President for the entire world, so happy President's Day!

See that ye serve with all your HEART

Note from mom: The letters home are getting shorter and shorter each week as Elder Hackleman's time in the mission field is drawing to a close. He told me not to worry, he is just working harder than ever and he promises he will tell us all about it when he gets home.

Dear Mom,

I hope the snow stays!!! We just got transfer notices today. I am staying here! It will officially be my last area. I don´t get my companion until tomorrow though. Elder Quezada is currently on the plane home right now. Crazy. I am six weeks away! I can’t believe it.

Gotta go momma. I am really pushing myself to the limits these last few months. Love you! You worry about the planning stuff for when I get home and I will worry about baptizing a ton of people and getting home as soon as I can!

Love Elder Hackleman

On Mon, Feb 9, 2015 at 9:57 AM wrote:

Dear Elder J Hackleman,

Tell me all about your new companion. Where is he from etc. How has this week been going for you?

Nathan didn't end up getting his wisdom teeth taken out on Friday. He went to seminary and while there he forgot and ate a cookie. Because of this they had to postpone the surgery. No food after midnight, not even a little cookie. He was so bummed. He ended up having to go to school. Everyone was wondering why he was there. He finally told a teacher he was there because a cookie just jumped in his mouth and before he knew what was happening it was going down his throat. They all had a good laugh. He is scheduled for wisdom teeth surgery a week from today. Now he is probably going to have to miss two days of school since he won't have the weekend to recover but we couldn't do it on a Friday because he has show choir performances every weekend from here on out for the next couple of months.

Saturday night he had a little party with some friends over. They watched "The Maze Runner."

Grant is sure getting taller. Everyone keeps telling me he is looking like you now. That sure makes Grant happy.

We ended up having two snow days last week because we got so much snow, but Saturday and Sunday it warmed up to the 40's so it is melting. It is about half way gone and most likely won't make it to the end of the week, melting a little here and there each day. It's not exactly a heat wave, but it warms up just enough to melt a little here and there.

What is happening in your neck of the woods?

I sure love you!

Love Mom

Two Missionaries that Served With Both Elder Hackleman's

What are the changes that two missionaries would have the chance to serve with Elder J. Hackleman who is serving in Peru and Elder S. Hackleman who is serving in Mexico? Well the odds are against it, but it happened. Pictured above: Elder S. Hackleman, Elder Charlton and Elder Jones.

These two missionaries served with Elder J Hackleman at the Provo Missionary Training Center. 

They love Elder J Hackleman.

They both wanted to say hello to Elder J. Hackleman!!! 

Younger Brother's Lament

Grant Has Regrets

Things I should have done with my brothers before they left on their missions.

Now that Grant is getting ready to turn 14 years old he has been able to recognize regrets that he has. Yesterday he was talking about two major regrets he should have done with his brothers before they left on their missions.

1. Teach them how to do laundry.

Grant has been doing laundry since he was 5 years old and his mother had neck surgery. His older brothers had a certain leadership quality that enabled them to pull a Tom Sawyer on everyone in their circle which makes for an un-canning ability to talk other people into doing their laundry for them. Even when Elder Hackleman was at college for a year he didn't do his laundry. He had a very nice lady who cleaned the laundry room and bathrooms at the dorms, who would do his laundry for him, and the football teams equipment was all laundered for the football team.

Grant decided he is going to once and for all teach his brothers when they get home from their missions.

 

2. Teach them how to Sew.

Grant happens to be very good at sewing. He now wishes he would have taught a little bit more to his brothers so they wouldn't have to go through life with bad sewing skills.  Take for example exhibit A.

Exhibit A

This is Elder S. Hackleman's laundry bag. 

It ripped so he decided to teach himself how to sew. He thinks it looks pretty amazing.  Maybe a little more practice and he can have the skill level of his little brother.

Not that the Hackleman brothers are competitive or anything, but which sewing do you think is better?

Yes, Grant has skills.

How to Gain God's Approval

Letters from Peru This Week

Hey dad, I forgot to tell you last week, but I sure hope you recorded the Super Bowl.
I want to watch it when I get home.
(Oops, we recorded it all right, but deleted it this morning before we got this message.)

Hey dad! 

That is awesome that you got your classes all underway. I don´t know anything more about when I get home other than the day. That it will be sometime the 23rd of March. Whatever that Tuesday is. My companion goes home this week so next Tuesday I will get my next, and last companion. 

We had a baptism Saturday! 

Elder Hackleman

On Sun, Feb 1, 2015 at 10:57 PM, Tim wrote:

Dear Elder,

How was your week? We got snowed out of Church yesterday. A huge blizzard rolled in and laid 8 inches of snow all over. Then there was the wind and more snow. It was a good day to stay in, but we went and helped four families in the ward shovel their driveways. 

Have you received any details about your travel? Everyone is sure getting excited!! I am so proud of you for putting your shoulder to the wheel and pushing along. Every one here is doing well. Nathan has to have his Wisdom teeth pulled on Friday. He can't get his braces off until he does. Well, at least he will already have them done before he leaves for his mission.

Patriots won the Super Bowl. It was probably one of the best Super Bowls that I have seen. Football season is officially over. 

I taught my first Advertising class at Midland University. It was really fun. It will be a fun class to teach. Now that I got the first one under my belt, the rest should be a lot less stressful.

Well tell us what has been happening. What are you guys going to do for p-day today? When do you get a new companion? I know you are busy, so make the most of the little time you have left in that wonderful country.

I love you son!

Dad

On Mon, Feb 2, 2015 at 10:55 AM, Grant wrote:

Yo Yo what's up dog how's life in the big city dog didly I can't wait till March cause it's my birthday oh and your coming home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah i'm pretty excited can you tell? most of the stuff that happened in my life can wait for when you come home. But what about yours bro? Have you been keeping a recipe book? I bet you have.  Oh did I tell you your coming home in like two months yeah it's pretty dang spantaculisous just sound it out if you don't know my vocabulary it upped like two words when you were gone... I'm pretty proud of myself for that. Nathan and I are going to go shopping with you so you can get a new wardrobe when you get home. But we're only going to get you like I don't know like maybe $100 stuff not that much these days but you know that. But anyways I'm going to have to shovel the snow out side so I'll talk to you in a little.

Lov ya bro hawk
From Grant Hucklbarrie

Dear Grant,

Hey buddy!!!! I am pretty stoked to get home too. It will be a little bit after your birthday but still pretty close! I haven´t kept a recipe book but I remember all the names of the peruvian foods I like so we can google them and make them when I get home. I cant wait to get new clothes. I love being a missionary but its time to add a little color to my life. Haha Love you big guy!

Elder Hackleman

On Mon, Feb 2, 2015 at 8:54 AM, Amy wrote:

Dear Elder,

How in the world are you? What is new? Did you have a baptism this week? I thought you said you might be having one.

The Laws came this weekend to clean their house. Now they are officially gone for good:(

We had a major storm hit yesterday so they cancelled church and school today. It is beautiful though.

To answer your question about whether or not the couches stick to your back, the answer is no. They feel just like they did before, they just look nicer. I just re-dyed the color, which is how they were tan to begin with, it's not like that is a natural color of leather. I'm sure they didn't use wood stain to dye the original leather, but the result is the same.

I went to the temple with Albany on Friday. We sure had a good time. Her kids are counting down the days until you get back.

We ended up watching the super bowl with just our family. We didn't do quite as big of a spread as we have in years passed since Tim, Nathan and Grant spent the better part of the day shoveling people's driveways ha ha, but it was still good.

I sure love you.

Love mom


Hello Mother Dear!!!!

I had a great week. And yea! I had my baptism! I am going out of this mission baptizing if its the last thing I do. =) Wow, It looks so pretty outside. I sure hope their is snow like that when I get home. I am trying not to drown in my own sweat here right now. But whatever, I just think about how they are unwanted pounds so Its all good. =) I sure miss everybody! I love you! I can´t wait to get home!

Elder Hackleman

Burger and Fries Peruvian Style

This is a hamburger filled with French fries and soda in a bag. It is very common here. It was my dinner while we were making phone calls with the zone the other night.

Peruvians do not have their drinks cold.  They believe you will get sick if you eat or drink cold things.  I have told them I drink ice cold drinks in the middle of the winter and I've never gotten sick from it.  They tell me it's because Americans are immune.

Hey mom!!!! I´m sorry but I hope it is blisteringly cold at home when I get there. I hope I have to step off the plane in 3 feet of snow. I have not passed five minutes without sweating in like 3 months. Haha Sounds like you are having fun at school. What a turn of events, I leave home and quit school and while I’m gone, my mom starts school again and my dad starts teaching it!!!!!! Crazy... haha

Elder Hackleman

We were having warm weather for Omaha until Elder Hackleman requested cold in his email.   Look what we woke up to this morning.  This is looking out the back window of the Hackleman home in Nebraska.  Thanks a lot Elder Hackleman:)  We have so much snow today that church was cancelled.  2-1-2015

On Mon, Jan 26, 2015 at 10:11 AM, Amy wrote:

Dear Elder,

How has this week been? I hope it is better than last week. Did you get a new companion and if so, what is he like?

The weather is nice today. It is supposed to get up to 60 degrees. Crazy for January, but I'll take it!

Nathan has a couple more weeks of practice and then his show choir is going to start their rounds. They perform almost every week for the next couple of months. I can't wait to see him. He won't show me anything right now. He wants the first time for us to see him to be the real deal. We have seen him sing, but never sing and dance yet. I can't wait.

Grant rode his bike all day on Saturday with his friend. This warm weather is giving us spring fever ha ha. They like to ride to Shadow Lake shopping center and walk around. They usually stop in at Freddy's and get a French fry or milkshake. I love to see him get out. November and December were so cold we tend to stay in a lot.

Nathan had a birthday party he went to on Friday evening and it was warm enough to have a bon fire outside. I know this weather won't last, but it is nice for a change.

The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy for your dad. It is the only time that the two classes he is teaching actually over-lap. He keeps joking around about holding down 3 jobs, but that is exactly what he is doing right now. He's a trooper. He is so funny because he gets so sad when he has to give someone a bad grade. He wants to call them up and mentor them, but there is only so much he can do.

I am chugging along with my math class. It's not so bad. Each week at the beginning of the week I am always over-whelmed because I don't remember the rules, but then after a little refresher, it all comes back to me and by the end of the week I am sailing along. I can certainly see how this is good for me even though I complain a little bit. I keep thinking I just need to get through this quarter. It's funny because we are supposed to read a finance book by the end of the quarter to go along with one of our requirements. They give us a list of approved books to choose from. I have already blown through two different books and I think I might read another one. I love the reading part of it so I guess I am an over achiever when it comes to that part but give me a page with fractions and decimals that I need to do and I will put it off until the last minute because I find no pleasure in that part of the homework.

I sure love you!

Love Mom

Hey Dad. That is so sad to hear about that poor girl. What an awful experience. Well, this week was good. We have a baptism this Saturday!

I can´t believe how good Utah is in basketball right now. They are hangin in there with Arizona. Impressive.....

You are gonna do awesome in your class. Just remember that they are college kids. They´re more mature than people think. Let them know that you are there to help them and that what you have to teach them is something really awesome and can be enjoyable to do. Students will naturally put more interest and effort into something that appears enjoyable. The interesting thing is even the most boring class about nothing can be cool if the teacher makes it that way. You are gonna do awesome. I am not even frettin. Haha I sure love you dad! You´re the best.

Elder Hackleman

On Mon, Jan 26, 2015 at 11:43 Tim Hackleman wrote:

Dear Elder,

How was your week? We are doing great up here, everyone is healthy. It was a busy weekend! There was an accident a little over a week ago out in Plattesmouth. Just south of Offutt. A 17 year old member of the Church turned in front of on-coming traffic on Hwy 75 and was struck broadside (I think). Apparently it's a dangerous turn to make every time. She had her 7 year old sister as a passenger. The 7 year old was killed, but the 17 year old survived. It was all over the news here. Anyway, they ended up having the funeral at our Stake Center on Saturday. There were over 700 people at it.

The Utes are #12 in Men's Basketball. They should move up a little this week. It's going to come down to Utah and Arizona for the Pac-12 Championship. The Super Bowl is coming up this weekend.

I'm getting a little nervous. Thursday is my first day teaching at Midland University. Introduction to Advertising Design. I have 21 students enrolled so far...gulp. I am just past halfway with my Fundamentals of Print Design class at Bellevue University. It's actually been pretty fun, even though it's an online class. The Ad class will be fun too, I just have to get past the first class jitters. The only thing that kinda stresses me out is the time commitment.

I know you are super busy, but send some pics or stories about what's going on. :)

¡Te amo hijo!

Papá

Deflated Football - Funny Story

Deflated Football Went to Peru and Back

The funniest thing happened on Saturday, but to understand the significance of it you need to know the back story. Elder Hackleman played college football for Southern Virginia University before he went on his 2 year LDS mission to Peru. After he got to Peru he realized a lot of Peruvian people wanted to know more about "American Football." He would try to explain it and play a little with them but he found it impossible to describe without a football.  He couldn't find one anywhere so he requested we send him one in the mail. His grandmother sent a package with some treats, clothing and a deflated football in the box. This package was mailed over a year and a a half ago. Elder Hackleman received the package after about 2 months, but it had been opened and the football had been taken out.  The rest of the package was delivered to Elder Hackleman. Here is where the amazing part happens, last week, grandma got a package all the way from Peru. It was the deflated football mailed back to her with a message saying the package could not be delivered. Who knows where all this football had been or why it couldn't be delivered, but the most ironic thing is that it came back to the United States after all this time. Now Elder Hackleman has less than two years left on his mission and the football will be a sort of a souvenir for him when he gets home.