Beams and Stumbling Blocks

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

Matthew 7:3-5

Jesus was highly critical of the hypocrisy of the scribes, Pharisees, priests, and Levites. He declared that these leaders within the community were quick to point out the faults and weaknesses of others, but were slow to repent themselves.

By using the “beam in the eye” analogy, Jesus was saying metaphorically that hypocrites are blind. They are so focused on the sins of others, they cannot see their own need to repent. Indeed, hypocrites deliberately point their fingers at others to divert attention away from their own behavior.

Jesus’ charge to “cast out the beam out of thine own eye” indicates that hypocrites are responsible for their own blindness and have the power, within themselves, to clear their own vision. The process requires humility, honest self-examination, and sincere repentance.

Another scriptural metaphor for blindness is the phrase “stumbling block.” It is a form of blindness because we don’t tend to trip over obstacles we can see.

Pride is the great stumbling block that people put in front of themselves. It causes us to look inward and selfishly celebrate our own greatness. Self-centeredness causes the prideful to ignore God and mistreat the poor.

And the Gentiles are lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and have stumbled, because of the greatness of their stumbling block, that they have built up many churches; nevertheless, they put down the power and miracles of God, and preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain and grind upon the face of the poor.

2 Nephi 26:20

But the gentiles are not the only ones subject to pride. It is actually possible for members of the Church of Jesus Christ to become so prideful in their riches and “the vain things of the world” (Alma 4:8) that their wickedness becomes a stumbling block to those outside of the church.

And thus, in this eighth year of the reign of the judges, there began to be great contentions among the people of the church; yea, there were envyings, and strife, and malice, and persecutions, and pride, even to exceed the pride of those who did not belong to the church of God.
And thus ended the eighth year of the reign of the judges; and the wickedness of the church was a great stumbling-block to those who did not belong to the church; and thus the church began to fail in its progress.

Alma 4:9-10

According to the Book of Mormon, it is even possible for wickedness within the Church to serve as a model to lead unbelievers into iniquity and destruction.

And it came to pass in the commencement of the ninth year, Alma saw the wickedness of the church, and he saw also that the example of the church began to lead those who were unbelievers on from one piece of iniquity to another, thus bringing on the destruction of the people.

Alma 4:11

The Latter-day Saints should not be pridefully boasting about having the “One True Church” and behaving in a smug, tribal manner. We, more than any people, should be humble, repentant, generous to the poor, welcoming to all, wary of pride and hypocrisy within ourselves, and alert to our potential for blind spots.

Author's Note: This post should serve as a caution to those Mormons (it's hard to call them "Saints") who, after years of plainly visible facts, still blind themselves to the truth about DJT. 

Reference: “Helping the Politically Blind to See,” Insight.