Discussion about the natural man.

[Sablespartan23]

This is the product of a thought I had about cognitive dissonance or "Divine Discontent" as Sister Craig put it. For me, this answers the question of why I know I should behave one way, but still end up doing the wrong thing so often. That failure to live up so to speak, affected my worth, led to my inactivity for a period of two years, and caused me to stumble in my repentance. 

 

https://us.docs.wps.com/l/sIL_D39vfAd7I3qcG?v=v2

[Calm]

1 hour ago, Sablespartan23 said:

This is the product of a thought I had about cognitive dissonance or "Divine Discontent" as Sister Craig put it. For me, this answers the question of why I know I should behave one way, but still end up doing the wrong thing so often. That failure to live up so to speak, affected my worth, led to my inactivity for a period of two years, and caused me to stumble in my repentance. 

 

https://us.docs.wps.com/l/sIL_D39vfAd7I3qcG?v=v2

You need to put up your ideas here, at least brief enough it can be discussed. The board rules do not allow for advertising for sites, the board is for discussion after all. 
 

Just letting you know you risk the thread being locked and lost off the front page pretty quickly if you just post a link. 
 

I have been burned enough by troublesome sites that I never click on anything unless I know the person recommending it or I know what is is before clicking. 

[Sablespartan23]

The Duality of Man

 

This discourse is the result of a thought I had that was given to me by the spirit. The thought I had was that my identity is my spirit and that my spirit desired things of light and not sin. I pondered on it, I prayed about it, I studied it, and I received confirmation that this was a true principle. However, I am not in a position to receive revelation for anyone other than myself and my family. That being said, you will need to find out for yourself if these things are true.

 DO NOT TAKE MY WORD FOR IT!

I have put my own thoughts in italics to better clarify what is my opinion vs. what has been declared by the church through scripture or modern revelation. I have done my best to back up everything I have stated here with approved doctrine. I have made a few inferences as guided by the spirit. My purpose in writing this was to explore and better understand the nature of the spirit and our relationship with God and the natural man. When I read the words of President McKay, I felt chills run through my frame. The spirit confirmed to me then yet again that I had been taught a correct principle. There are three articles at the end of this document. They are from the church’s website. I discovered these after writing my initial thoughts. I have included them here to give further evidence to this principle. At the end of this discourse, I have given my thoughts on Satan and the pre-existence. I have included it there as an aside to this discourse. There is very little doctrine on the pre-mortal life so that is pure speculation based on my own reasoning and logic.

 

 

I am a spirit son of God. I did not sin in the preexistence. In the preexistence, I was given agency. I used that agency to sustain Heavenly Father’s Plan of Salvation. When I came to Earth, I inherited a few things. The first was my body. That body continued my spirit’s agency. Agency brought The Fall. The Fall brought with it the natural man. The natural man brought spiritual death and physical death. This was the beginning of a new creature. The spirit and the body were now called the soul. So, we as spirit children of God, took upon us something additional that changed that relationship. Essentially, there are two halves wrestling for control of the soul, of this union of body and spirit. Our spirit, and the natural man. The natural man is an enemy to God and has been from the Fall. The spirit is not an enemy to God, we are his spirit children. The spirit desires things of light. The spirit desires to return. It is the natural man that desires sin. It is when we entered into a union with the natural man that we became susceptible to sin. The natural man is carnal in nature. That is why whenever the natural man sins, our spirit feels guilt. Guilt is the evidence of the separation from God through sin. Our purpose here in mortality, is to return to live with God, as a soul. Thus the need for baptism. This is literally a rebirth into this union of the soul.

Spirit children of the Father

Ps. 82:6. I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are ^achildren of the most High.

We are the offspring of God, Acts 17:29.

Be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, Heb. 12:9.

I am a son of God, Moses 1:13.

 

Children born again through the Atonement

As many as received him gave he power to become the sons of God, John 1:12 (Rom. 8:14; 3 Ne. 9:17; D&C 11:30).

Now are we the sons of God, 1 Jn. 3:1–2.

You shall be called the children of Christ, his sons and his daughters, Mosiah 5:7.

All people must be born again, becoming his sons and daughters, Mosiah 27:25.

They shall become my sons and my daughters, Ether 3:14.

Ye certainly will become a child of Christ, Moro. 7:19.

All those who receive my gospel are sons and daughters, D&C 25:1.

They are gods, even the sons of God, D&C 76:58.

Thus may all become my sons, Moses 6:68.

Many have believed and become the sons of God, Moses 7:1.

 

 

 

Bruce R. McConkie

We are well aware that all men are the children of God, the offspring of the Father, his sons and his daughters. . . What is not so well known is that nearly all the passages of scripture, both ancient and modern, which speak of God as our Father and of men on earth being the sons of God, have no reference to our birth in preexistence as the children of Elohim, but teach rather that Jehovah is our Father and we are his children.  
In setting forth that all men must be born again to gain salvation, we have seen that this means they must be "born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters." (Mosiah 27:25.) Whose sons and whose daughters do we become when we are born again? Who is our new Father? The answer is, Christ is our Father; we become his children by adoption; he makes us members of his family....
But there is more than this to the doctrine of becoming sons of God. Those who so obtain are adopted also into the family of Elohim. They become his adopted sons so that they can receive, inherit, and possess along with his natural Son.
To envision what is meant by being sons of God, meaning the Father, let us follow Paul's reasoning in two passages of superlative insight and inspiration. To the Romans our apostolic friend of old wrote: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Standing alone, this could be taken to mean that by faith the saints become the sons of the Lord Jesus. But the perspective begins to change when our apostolic colleague says: "Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." That is, we call upon our Eternal Father in a familiar and friendly way, as children here call to their fathers with whom they maintain a familiar intimacy. Having attained this state of friendship with the Eternal One, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit," Paul continues, "that we are the children of God." He has now laid the groundwork. A pronouncement of deep and wondrous import is immediately forthcoming. "And if children"–note it well–"then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." (Rom. 8:14-17.) ...
The reasoning is perfect. The Father had a Son, a natural Son, his own literal Seed, the Offspring of his body. This Son is his heir. As an heir he inherits all things from his Father–all power, all might, all dominion, the world, the universe, kingship, eternal exaltation, all things. But our revelations speak of men being exalted also and of their ascending the throne of eternal power. How is it done? Paul has explained it perfectly. They are adopted into the family of the Father. They become joint-heirs with his natural Son ...
They constitute the sole and only way the eternal increase of an Eternal Father can become like their great Progenitor. As pertaining to this earth, they were revealed first to father Adam. He was baptized, born again, received the priesthood, and kept the commandments. As a result thereof, "a voice out of heaven" proclaimed: "Thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons." (Moses 6:65-68.) "Our father Adam taught these things," the scripture says, "and many have believed and become the sons of God, and many have believed not, and have perished in their sins." (Moses 7:1.)  (The Promised Messiah [1981], pp. 351-357; emphasis added)

 

When we are baptized we are adopted and become the children of God once more, as a soul. But, we still have an issue. That is, the natural man. We know that the Atonement is the vehicle that allows us to return to God's presence. The natural man is like a parasite that is trying to latch itself onto us and go for a ride. What we need to do is to cast off the natural man. That is done through the Atonement, through Christ's grace. Grace enables us to cast off the natural man and become a saint. The Bible Dictionary defines a saint as:

 

"The word saint is a translation of a Greek word also rendered “holy,” the fundamental idea being that of consecration or separation for a sacred purpose; but since what was set apart for God must be without blemish, the word came to mean “free from blemish,” whether physical or moral. In the New Testament the saints are all those who by baptism have entered into the Christian covenant."

 

That blemish is the natural man. Thus, when we accept grace, we are allowing ourselves to be set apart, for the soul to be consecrated as holy. That is what allows us to return to God. This mental shift in separating ourselves from the natural man and considering us to have two entities dwelling in our vessel of clay has a purpose. It allows us to cognitively retain our worth which is based on our identity as children of God. Our worth is often falsely tied to our works which is what Satan would have us think. If our sin comes from the natural man and our worth comes from our identity as God, our focus then becomes one of casting off the natural man. We don't discourage when we sin and consequently pull back from the Atonement. The Atonement is what allows us to be rid of the sin. "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." This denotes two separate entities. The spirit must master the flesh. That is done by casting off the natural man. Now, the consequence of the natural man's sin is still the same. It is still attached to our soul because we have not separated ourselves from the natural man yet. Thus, we incur the spiritual and physical death that accompanies that sin. That is reason to despair. Our spirit cannot return to its maker because it has entered into a union with the body and is now attached to the consequences of that union. That is why we needed a Savior. Because of Christ we have a way back, we have a way to return as a soul. His mercy forgives sin, and his grace allows us to cast off the natural man, unify the soul, and become like God. In that state, we are holy and worthy to return to God's presence. Because of the Lamb. 

 

Temptation and the natural man

 

1 Cor 10: 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

 

What does this verse mean?

Reading that verse one can infer that we should never

have an excuse to sin right? We should have been able

to bear the temptation right?

Why don’t we?

Reading this verse I can now interpret two meanings.

The first is that in theory it is possible for us to

never sin. Christ proved that theory to be true. An escape method will be given to us to allow

us to flee. However, in our experience that

doesn’t always happen. Why?

 

l lLet’s look at what needs to exist for temptation to exist.

l l Let’s look at why we need temptation.

l l Let’s look at what happens when we get tempted.

l l And finally, let’s look at how we can escape temptation.

 

1. What needs to exist for temptation to exist?

 

The first thing is agency. In order for agency to be used, there have to be choices and the

choices have to be enticing. Consider what it means to

exercise our agency. To exercise something implies that

muscles are being used and strengthened. Agency is a spiritual muscle. When good choices are made, our agency muscles are strengthened.

When bad choices are made, our muscles atrophy and it

becomes more difficult next time to make a good choice.

 

The second thing that is needed for temptation to exist

is weakness. This is what the temptation appeals

to. We all have weaknesses. It is those weaknesses that

our temptations are calling us to give into. For instance,

if I were an alcoholic, that would be my weakness. If

someone were to offer me a beer, that temptation

would entice my weakness. Whereas, if I don’t struggle

with that particular weakness and someone offers me a

beer, there is no temptation because there is no

weakness.

 

2. Why do we need temptation?

 

Again, this involves agency. If there is no resistance to our weaknesses, no opposition in our choices, there will be no growth. What is a temptation but a trial? It is a trial, or test, of our agency. And we know that trials

are accelerants of God-like attributes. Thus, temptations

are accelerants of agency. They allow us to develop and

grow our spiritual muscles.

 

3. What is the process that occurs when we receive

temptations?

 

Picture if you will, your mind. Imagine an

opening in your mind. This is where temptation enters.

When temptation enters the mind, it is given an

audience of two. That audience consists of the spirit

which appeals to and desires righteousness and light,

and the second is the natural man which appeals to and

desires sin and carnality. When this audience receives

the temptation, a battle ensues. This is a battle of

will. The temptation is appealing to the natural man.

That is where the choice to sin will originate. The

natural man will always desire to give into that

temptation. It is that desire that the spirit is warring

against. That duality is the inherent fallen nature of the

soul. For the temptation to be carried out and

the sin to occur, the natural man must win that battle.

That happens when the spirit relinquishes control

of the soul to the natural man. The spirit takes a step

back and the natural man takes over control of the soul.

We succumb to the temptation and incur the sin. Now,

it is possible in theory for us to never give in to

the natural man and to win that battle every time. But,

Heavenly Father knew that in practice that

would not happen. It doesn’t matter how many times

we win that battle, the first time we lose we are

doomed. We have given in to the natural man and

incurred sin. That sin brings upon us spiritual and

physical death. This audience is true in the reverse. When a prompting or other light is received, the natural man seeks to reject while the spirit seeks to accept. This is why we tend to rationalize ourselves out of following promptings.

 

4. How then, do we escape temptation? Because He

knew that we would lose that battle, not just once but

many times, God gave us a reset button. That reset button is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That allows us to have that battle over and over again. It allows us to lose that battle over and over again and keep trying to win. The Atonement allows us to develop our agency. That reset is the mercy of Christ.

 

Ether 12:27 tells us:

And if men come unto me I will show unto them

their  a weakness . I give  unto men weakness that they

may be humble; and my grace  is sufficient for all men

that humble  themselves before me; for if they humble

themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I

make  weak  things become strong unto them.

 

We are given weakness that will one day

be made a strength. It tells us that this is done through

grace. Let’s couple that verse with

 

Mosiah 3:19

For the natural man  is an enemy  to God, and has been from the   fall  of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he   yields  to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and   putteth  off the   natural  man and becometh

a  saint  through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and

becometh as a   child ,   submissive , meek, humble,

patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which

the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child

doth submit to his father.

 

That tells us that the natural man is an enemy to God

and that we need to become saints through the

Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

 

So, to summarize, what we are working towards here,

what our agency is driving us towards, is to become

a saint. A saint is one who has through the Atonement of Christ cast off the natural man and is allowing the spirit to control the soul. That casting off is done through the grace of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That grace, takes that initial weakness that the temptation was appealing to, and removes the natural man, leaving only the spirit to decide. Thus, when the temptation enters the mind, the spirit is able to immediately reject it and send it back out. The weakness has become a strength. This grace, doesn’t just decide that one battle, it ends all future battles by removing the weakness. The Atonement converts us from the natural man to saints. Thus we become the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day people free from blemish. This is a process and not a one time occurrence.

 

Romans 8:16 says “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.”

 

Natural Man-Guide to the Scriptures

 

A person who chooses to be influenced by the passions, desires, appetites, and senses of the flesh rather than by the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Such a person can comprehend physical things but not spiritual things. All people are carnal, or mortal, because of the Fall of Adam and Eve. Each person must be born again through the Atonement of Jesus Christ to cease being a natural man.

 

The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit, 1 Cor. 2:14.

 

 

The natural man is an enemy to God and should be put off, Mosiah 3:19.

 

He that persists in his own carnal nature remaineth in his fallen state, Mosiah 16:5 (Alma 42:7–24; D&C 20:20).

 

What natural man is there that knoweth these things, Alma 26:19–22.

 

Natural or carnal men are without God in the world, Alma 41:11.

 

Because of his transgression, man became spiritually dead, D&C 29:41.

 

Neither can any natural man abide the presence of God, D&C 67:12.

 

And man began to be carnal, sensual, and devilish, Moses 5:13 (Moses 6:49).

 

Elder Carl B. Cook of the Seventy said in his 2018 address “The natural man is the mortal part of us that allows our temporal desires to overrule our inherent spiritual goodness and our desires to become like our Heavenly Parents.¹ Of course, we won’t win the fight immediately. It is a daily battle for each of us, and we depend upon God and Jesus Christ to help us change our nature.” He said later in that same talk “The path of repentance is the path that leads to becoming a Saint.”

 

Let’s talk for a moment about self-control? What is self-control? Why do we say that someone who acts recklessly or impulsively has no self-control? It’s just that. It isn’t self-control. Our “self” has relinquished control to the natural man. Self-control means that our self has control of the soul.

 

Helaman 3:35 says 35 Nevertheless they did ^afast and ^bpray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their ^chumility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the ^dpurifying and the ^esanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their ^fyielding their hearts unto God. 

 

Notice these elements are the same things that we need to access God’s grace as told to us in Ether 12:27. Namely, will, humility, and faith.

 

D&C 84 44 For you shall ^alive by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.

45 For the ^aword of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is ^blight, and whatsoever is light is ^cSpirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

46 And the ^aSpirit giveth ^blight to ^cevery man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.

47 And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit ^acometh unto God, even the Father.

 

Whatsoever is light is spirit. Our spirits are light and truth. That is what our spirits desire that who we are. That is how we commune with the spirit and gain additional light. Spirit to spirit, light to light. The natural man is darkness. It desires darkness and sin. The natural man is from Satan. God allowed it to be attached to our souls when mankind fell. Its purpose is to allow us to develop our agency. It does that by providing our spirits with opposition. The Atonement of Jesus Christ allows us to exercise our agency and overcome that opposition. Without bodies, we could not fully develop our agency. Without the natural man, we could not fully develop our agency. Without the Atonement, we could not fully develop our agency. Our agency must be pretty important to God.

 

Alma 26 21 And now behold, my brethren, what ^anatural man is there that knoweth these things? I say unto you, there is ^bnone that ^cknoweth these things, save it be the penitent.

22 Yea, he that ^arepenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good ^bworks, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the ^cmysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be ^dgiven to ^ereveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.

 

The natural man cannot know the things of the spirit. Clearly that must mean a separateness from our spirit. If exercising our agency and following the spirit converts us to saints, what happens if we choose to follow the natural man? I believe that we will become the natural man, or rather, subject and enslaved to him. The natural man will rule the soul and the will of the spirit will have no desire to change, it’s muscles being atrophied. It is this creature that will be cast off at the last day. Because the natural man will have consumed them. The devil will have cheated their souls down to hell. We can choose to put off the natural man here in mortality, or we will be cast off as the natural man in eternity.

 

Notice the change in one who listed to the enticings of the natural man as told in this story by President Mckay.

 

David O. Mckay “The Dual Nature of Man”

 

“There is an old story … which told of the experience of a great artist who was engaged to paint a mural for the cathedral in a Sicilian town. The subject was the life of Christ. For many years the artist labored diligently, and finally the painting was finished except for the two most important figures, the Christ Child and Judas Iscariot. He searched far and wide for models for those two figures.

“‘One day while walking in an old part of the city he came upon some children playing in the street. Among them was a twelve-year-old boy whose face stirred the painter’s heart. It was the face of an angel—a very dirty one, perhaps, but the face he needed.

“‘The artist took the child home with him, and day after day the boy sat patiently until the face of the Christ Child was finished.

“‘But the painter failed to find a model for Judas. For years, haunted by the fear that his masterpiece would remain unfinished, he continued his search.

“‘One afternoon, in a tavern, the painter saw a gaunt and tattered figure stagger across the threshold and fall to the floor, begging for a glass of wine. The painter lifted him up and looked into a face that startled him. It seemed to bear the marks of every sin of mankind.

“‘“Come with me,” the painter said, “I will give you wine, food, and clothing.”

“‘Here at last was his model for Judas. For many days and parts of many nights the painter worked feverishly to complete his masterpiece.

“‘As the work went on, a change came over the model. A

strange tension replaced the stuporous languor, and his bloodshot eyes were fixed with horror on the painted likeness of himself. One day, perceiving his subject’s agitation, the painter paused in his work, saying, “My son, I’d like to help you. What troubles you so?”

“‘The model sobbed and buried his face in his hands. After a long moment he lifted pleading eyes to the old painter’s face.

“‘“Do you not then remember me? Years ago I was your model for the Christ Child!”’”

 After relating the story, President McKay said, “Well, the story may be fact or fiction, but the lesson it teaches is true to life. The dissipated man made a wrong choice in his youth, and in seeking gratification in indulgence sank ever lower and lower until he wallowed in the gutter.”²

 

Teachings of David O. McKay

Each of us has two contrasting natures: the physical and the spiritual.

Man is a dual being, and his life a plan of God. That is the first fundamental fact to keep in mind. Man has a natural body and a spiritual body. In declaring this fact the scriptures are very explicit:

“And the Gods formed man from the dust of the ground, and took his spirit (that is, the man’s spirit), and put it into him; and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” [Abraham 5:7.]

Man’s body, therefore, is but the tabernacle in which his spirit dwells. Too many, far too many, are prone to regard the body as the man, and consequently to direct their efforts to the gratifying of the body’s pleasures, its appetites, its desires, its passions. Too few recognize that the real man is an immortal spirit, which [is] “intelligence or the light of truth,” [see D&C 93:29] animated as an individual entity before the body was begotten, and that this spiritual entity with all its distinguishing traits will continue after the body ceases to respond to its earthly environment. Said the Savior:

“I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.” (John 16:28.)

As Christ’s pre-existent Spirit animated a body of flesh and bones, so does the pre-existent spirit of every human being born into this world. Will you keep that in mind as the first basic truth of life?

The question, then, is: Which will give the more abundant life—pampering our physical nature or developing our spiritual selves? Is not that the real problem?³

Indulgence in appetites and desires of the physical man satisfy but for the moment and may lead to unhappiness, misery, and possible degradation; spiritual achievements give “joy not to be repented of.”

In his epistle to the Galatians, Paul specifically enumerates the “works of the flesh,” as he calls them, and the “fruits of the Spirit.” Note this classification: The works of the flesh are manifest as these:

“… Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

“Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

“Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

“Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Gal. 5:19–25.)⁴

There is something higher than the animal life; namely, the spiritual realm where there is love, the divinest attribute of the human soul. There are also sympathy, kindness and other attributes.⁵

There is something within [man] which urges him to rise above himself, to control his environment, to master the body and all things physical and live in a higher and more beautiful world.⁶

Man has a greater destiny than just a mere animal life. That is a touch of the spirit! Every man who has sensed that has a testimony himself and every woman also has a testimony herself, that man is a dual being. He has a body, just as all other animals have. But he has something that comes only from his Father in heaven, and he is entitled, is susceptible to whisperings, susceptible to influences from his Divine Parent, through the Holy Ghost, the medium between us and God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ.⁷

Life is a test to see which of our two natures we will follow and develop.

Man’s earthly existence is but a test as to whether he will concentrate his efforts, his mind, his soul, upon things which contribute to the comfort and gratification of his physical nature, or whether he will make as his life’s pursuit the acquisition of spiritual qualities.

“Every noble impulse, every unselfish expression of love; every brave suffering for the right; every surrender of self to something higher than self; every loyalty to an ideal; every unselfish devotion to principle; every helpfulness to humanity; every act of self-control; every fine courage of the soul, undefeated by pretense or policy, but by being, doing, and living of good for the very good’s sake—that is spirituality.”⁸

Generally there is in man a divinity which strives to push him onward and upward. We believe that this power within him is the spirit that comes from God. Man lived before he came to this earth, and he is here now to strive to perfect the spirit within. At sometime in his life, every man is conscious of a desire to come in touch with the Infinite. His spirit reaches out for God. This sense of feeling is universal, and all men ought to be, in deepest truth, engaged in the same great work—the search for and the development of spiritual peace and freedom.⁹

The choice is given, whether we live in the physical world as animals, or whether we use what earth offers us as a means of living in the spiritual world that will lead us back into the presence of God.

This means specifically:

Whether we choose selfishness or whether we will deny ourselves for the good of others;

Whether we will cherish indulgence of appetite [and] passion, or whether we will develop restraint and self-control.

Whether we choose licentiousness or chastity;

Whether we will encourage hate or develop love;

Whether [we] practice cruelty or kindness;

Whether [we] be cynical or sanguine—hopeful;

Whether we be traitorous—disloyal to those who love us, to our country, to the Church or to God—or whether we will be loyal;

Whether we be deceitful, or honest, our word our bond;

Whether [we have] a slanderous or a controlled tongue.¹⁰

Whether a man remains satisfied within what we designate the animal world, satisfied with what the animal world will give him, yielding without effort to the whim of his appetites and passions and slipping farther and farther into the realm of indulgence, or whether, through self-mastery, he rises toward intellectual, moral, and spiritual enjoyments depends upon the kind of choice he makes every day, nay, every hour of his life.¹¹

What a travesty on human nature when a person or a group of persons, though endowed with a consciousness of being able to rise in human dignity to realms indiscernible by lower creatures, yet will still be content to obey animal instincts, without putting forth efforts to experience the joy of goodness, purity, self-mastery, and faith that spring from compliance to moral rules! How tragic it is when man, made a “little lower than the angels and crowned with glory and honour” (Psalm 8:5), will content himself to grovel on the animal plane.¹²

Earth in all its majesty and wonder is not the end and purpose of creation. “… [My] glory,” says the Lord himself, “(is) to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39.) And man in exercising the divine gift of free agency should feel in duty bound, should sense the obligation to assist the Creator in the accomplishment of this divine purpose.

The true end of life is not mere existence, not pleasure, not fame, not wealth. The true purpose of life is the perfection of humanity through individual effort, under the guidance of God’s inspiration.

Real life is response to the best within us. To be alive only to appetite, pleasure, pride, money-making, and not to goodness and kindness, purity and love, poetry, music, flowers, stars, God and eternal hopes, is to deprive one’s self of the real joy of living.¹³

Spirituality requires self-mastery and communion with God.

Spirituality, our true aim, is the consciousness of victory over self and of communion with the Infinite.¹⁴

Spirituality impels one to conquer difficulties and acquire more and more strength. To feel one’s faculties unfolding and truth expanding the soul is one of life’s sublimest experiences. Being true to self and being loyal to high ideals develops spirituality. The real test of any religion is the kind of man it makes. Being “honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men” [see Articles of Faith 1:13] are virtues which contribute to the highest acquisition of the soul. It is the “divine in man, the supreme, crowning gift that makes him king of all created things.”¹⁵

The man who … [has] in mind making better the world in which he lives, desiring to contribute to the happiness of his family and his fellows, and who does all things for the glory of God, will, to the extent that he denies himself for these ideals, develop his spirituality. Indeed, only to the extent that he does this will he rise above the plane of the animal world.¹⁶

Spirituality and morality as taught by the Latter-day Saints are firmly anchored in fundamental principles, principles from which the world can never escape even if it would, and the first fundamental is a belief—with Latter-day Saints a knowledge—in the existence of a personal God. Latter-day Saint children have been taught to recognize him, and to pray to him as one who can listen and hear and feel just as an earthly father can listen, hear and feel, and they have absorbed into their very beings, from their mothers and their fathers, the real testimony that this personal God has spoken in this dispensation. There is a reality about it.¹⁷

I bear testimony that the channel of communication is open, and the Lord is ready to guide and does guide his people. Isn’t that worth resisting a temptation, to seek an opportunity to gratify your appetite or your vanity as some others do, and when they do, merit excommunication from the church, just for the gratification of a whim or a passion? It’s open to you—two ways are open. One leading to the spirit, the testimony of the spirit that is in harmony with the spirit of creation, the Holy Ghost. The spirit of the Lord animates and enlivens every spirit, in the church or out of it. By Him we live and move and have our being, but the testimony of the Holy Ghost is a special privilege. It’s like tuning in your radio and hearing a voice on the other side of the world. Men who are not within that radiation can’t hear it, but you hear it, you hear that voice and you are entitled to that voice and the guidance of it and it will come to you if you do your part. But if you yield to your own instincts, your own desires, your own passions, and pride yourself into thinking and planning and scheming, and think you are getting away with it, things will become dark. You have accomplished your gratification and passion and appetite, but you deny the spirit; you cut off the communication between your spirit and the spirit of the Holy Ghost.¹⁸

I cannot think of any higher and more blessed ideal than so to live in the Spirit that we might commune with the Eternal.¹⁹

When God becomes the center of our being, we become conscious of a new aim in life—spiritual attainment. Physical possessions are no longer the chief goal in life. To indulge, nourish, and delight the body as any animal may do is no longer the chief end of mortal existence. God is not viewed from the standpoint of what we may get from him, but rather from what we may give him.

Only in the complete surrender of our inner life may we rise above the selfish, sordid pull of nature. What the spirit is to the body, God is to the spirit. When the spirit leaves the body, it is lifeless, and when we eliminate God from our lives, spirituality languishes. …

… Let us resolve that from now on we are going to be men and women of higher and more sterling character, more conscious of our weaknesses, more kind and charitable toward the failings of others. Let us resolve that we shall practice more self-control in our homes; that we shall control our tempers, our feelings, and our tongues that they may not wander beyond the bounds of right and purity; that we shall do more seeking to develop the spiritual side of our lives, and realize how dependent we are upon God for success in this life.²⁰

The reality of God the Father, the reality of Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, is a truth which should possess every human soul. God is the center of the human mind as surely as the sun is the center of this universe, and once we feel his Fatherhood, once we feel his nearness, sense the divinity of the deity of the Savior, the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ follow as naturally as the day the night, and as night the day.²¹

 

The Fulness of the Gospel:

Putting Off the Natural Man

 

A continuing series examining doctrines unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

For centuries philosophers and theologians have debated the question of human nature. Over the years three general philosophies have taken center stage: that people are basically good, that they are fundamentally evil, and that they are neutral (a blank slate to be written upon). We can be thankful that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ reveals the true nature of man and gives purpose, meaning, and direction to life’s challenge of putting off “the natural man” (Mosiah 3:19).

A Dual Nature

Because of the Fall of Adam and Eve “all mankind became a lost and fallen people” (Alma 12:22). King Benjamin taught that fallen man or “the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord” (Mosiah 3:19).

President David O. McKay (1873–1970) taught that because of the Fall we have a dual nature: “One, related to the earthly or animal life; the other, akin to the Divine. Whether a man remains satisfied within what we designate the animal world, satisfied with what the animal world will give him, yielding without effort to the whims of his appetites and passions and slipping farther and farther into the realm of indulgence, or whether, through self-mastery, he rises toward intellectual, moral, and spiritual enjoyments depends upon the kind of choice he makes every day, nay, every hour of his life.”¹

Our spirits come from the presence of God, and “every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning” (D&C 93:38). Our physical bodies are also gifts from God. One reason we wanted to come to this earth was to become more like our Heavenly Father, who has a physical body. Consequently, one of our challenges in mortality is to learn how to manage, care for, and use our bodies properly. If we can govern the natural tendencies of the flesh, we will rise toward the kind of spiritual life President McKay described. But if we let “the natural man” govern, we will find ourselves at enmity with God and His purposes (see Mosiah 3:19).

The Battle

Elder Melvin J. Ballard (1873–1939) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that “all the assaults that the enemy of our souls will make to capture us will be through the flesh, because it is made up of the unredeemed earth, and he has power over the elements of the earth. The approach he makes to us will be through the lusts, the appetites, the ambitions of the flesh. All the help that comes to us from the Lord to aid us in this struggle will come to us through the spirit that dwells within this mortal body. So these two mighty forces are operating upon us through these two channels.

“… If you would have a strong spirit which has dominance over the body, you must see to it that your spirit receives spiritual food and spiritual exercise. …

“The man or woman who is taking neither spiritual food nor spiritual exercise will presently become a spiritual weakling, and the flesh will be master. Whoever therefore is obtaining both spiritual food and exercise will be in control over this body and will keep it subject unto the will of God.”²

Elder Ballard identified several forms of spiritual food and exercise: praying, partaking of the sacrament, and serving one another. The scriptures and the prophets remind us of others, such as attending Sabbath meetings, serving in the temple, and studying the scriptures.

Changing Our Nature

Spiritual food and exercise can strengthen us in our quest to govern the body, but this endeavor becomes much easier if the body can be sanctified from its corrupt, or “natural,” state (see Moro. 10:32–33). This sanctification comes through the grace of Christ and the ministering of the Holy Spirit. Elder Parley P. Pratt (1807–57) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that “the gift of the Holy Spirit … quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands and purifies all the natural passions and affections; and adapts them, by the gift of wisdom, to their lawful use.”³ Passions are not inherently evil. Passions in righteous people can be a vehicle to create great goodness.

The message of the gospel, then, is that we don’t have to surrender to our weaknesses and the yearnings of the flesh. The good news of the gospel is that through the Atonement of our Savior and the appropriate use of agency we can experience a fundamental change in our nature. President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) taught that the world attempts to “shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.”⁴ Indeed, as Peter declared, by the Lord’s power we can “be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (see 1 Pet. 1:3–4). Through the Atonement of Christ we can put off the natural man and become saints, “submissive, meek, humble, patient, [and] full of love” (Mosiah 3:19).

 

Line upon Line:

The Mortal Conflict

 

We have come to earth from our premortal home to fulfill several important purposes, one of which is to receive a physical body. Bodies, of course, come in all shapes and sizes, but our physical appearance is not particularly important. What we do with the body we have been given is very important. The question we need to ask ourselves is whether our spirits will govern our bodies or whether our bodies will control our spirits.

The world would have us believe our true identity is nothing more than some combination of the passions, instincts, and experiences that come with the body. But our bodies are inhabited by our spirits, and even though our spirits are not perfect, they come to earth innocent and yearn initially for things that are good and right and pure (see D&C 29:46–47; D&C 93:38). Our spirits come from the presence of God, but because of the veil placed on our minds as we enter mortality, we cannot remember our premortal life. Yet our spirit is attracted to spiritual things. This goodness places our spirits in conflict with our bodies, for our bodies are subject to the temptations of the world (see Moses 6:49).

We might liken our physical bodies to an automobile and our spirits to a driver. An automobile is a wonderful, powerful tool. If the driver is alert and sober and mature enough to drive carefully, he or she is in control and the automobile can take him or her to the desired destination. But if the driver is asleep or drunk, is not paying attention, or is perhaps too immature to drive safely, then the automobile is in control, and it can cause destruction and heartache to both the driver and anyone else who may be in the car’s path.

Elder Melvin J. Ballard (1873–1939) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that the greatest conflict we will ever face will be with ourselves. He explained: “All the assaults that the enemy of our souls will make to capture us will be through the flesh, because it is made up of the unredeemed earth, and he has power over the elements of the earth. The approach he makes to us will be through the lusts, the appetites, the ambitions of the flesh. All the help that comes to us from the Lord to aid us in this struggle will come to us through the spirit that dwells within this mortal body. So these two mighty forces are operating upon us through these two channels.

“How is the battle going with you? … You never can tell how the battle is going to go unless you are taking good care of the spirit. We know that unless one takes proper food and exercise, speaking physically, there is no growth. If you would have a strong spirit which has dominance over the body, you must see to it that your spirit receives spiritual food and spiritual exercise.

“Where do you get spiritual food? … Once a week members of the Church are invited to go to the sacrament table where they eat and drink the emblems of the broken body and the spilt blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, blessed to their spirits—not to their physical bodies, for he who eats and drinks worthily, eats and drinks spiritual life. We are also charged to seek the Lord daily in prayer, secret prayer and family prayer. What happens then? We close our eyes and shut out the physical world, we open the windows of our souls and draw unto ourselves spiritual blessings, spiritual powers. And there flows into our spiritual life this strength. So these and other opportunities are offered for spiritual food, and spiritual exercise comes through service in behalf of our fellowmen.

“The man or woman who is taking neither spiritual food nor spiritual exercise will presently become a spiritual weakling, and the flesh will be master. Whoever therefore is obtaining both spiritual food and exercise will be in control over this body and will keep it subject unto the will of God.

“… You have all heard the adage that a chain is no stronger than its weakest link. It will break at its weak point. Generally we will observe that our weak link is in the flesh. The devil knows the weak link, and when he undertakes to capture a soul he will strike at the weak point. There may be strength elsewhere, but he never attacks us where we are strong. He attacks where we are weak. …

“It is not bodies, it is immortal spirits that the devil wants. And he tries to capture them through the body, for the body can enslave the spirit, but the spirit can keep the body a servant and be its master” (“Conflict Will Come between Forces of Good and Evil; Every Soul Must Choose to Uphold One Side or Other” [address delivered in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, 29 April 1928]; see Tambuli, September 1984, 30–41).

 

 

 

 

Lucifer and the Pre-existence

 

We had agency in the premortal existence. Lucifer and those who followed him chose to use their agency in rebellion against God. As a result of this, they became fallen. Because of this, they could no longer remain in God's presence and were cast out. I think that at that moment, Satan became the natural man. I think that this was mirrored in the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had their agency, they used that agency to choose disobedience and as a result they became fallen. The fall brought the natural man. I think that while agency existed, there was not really any opposition until Satan. They were susceptible to sin (disobedience), but there wasn't really any desire because they were innocent. Once they chose to follow Satan, that opposition, that desire to sin that wrestles with the spirit's desire for righteousness, came into play. Because we have been allowed to forget what we knew in the preexistence, we are sinning against a lesser light, which means that we can be forgiven. Satan had a perfect knowledge and still chose to rebel. That is why he will always be the natural man. He will always desire darkness and sin. It is in essence Satan that we are casting off. His pull on us anyway.  Let me further expound on why I think this is so. We know that in mortality, the natural man has been an enemy to God since the Fall. We know that we must cast off the natural man and become a saint to return to God. We know that rebellion by Adam and Eve caused them to be cast out of the Garden of Eden and God's presence. We know that the Garden of Eden represented Heaven as a place without sin. That is our framework to consider our premortal existence. If Heaven had no sin, then there was no temptation or natural man. When Satan rebelled, he was cast out and I believe it was at this point that the natural man existed. What we can therefore assume, is that the natural man is the absence of God. It is what we become without him. That is why the Atonement casts off the natural man. It brings us
back to God. Let me further illustrate this point. If temptation is opposition, and it calls us to sin, it cannot be from God. God cannot oppose himself. That which enticeth to do good is from God. The natural man does not entice us to do good. Just the opposite in fact, it entices us to abandon good for the lusts of the flesh. The natural man is an enemy to god. Satan is referred to as the enemy in scripture. Why? Because he opposes God. Opposition>Temptation>Natural Man>Satan. Agency is the power by which we become. There is no middle ground. We will either become a saint or we will become the natural man.

 

[Sablespartan23]

1 hour ago, Calm said:

You need to put up your ideas here, at least brief enough it can be discussed. The board rules do not allow for advertising for sites, the board is for discussion after all. 
 

Just letting you know you risk the thread being locked and lost off the front page pretty quickly if you just post a link. 
 

I have been burned enough by troublesome sites that I never click on anything unless I know the person recommending it or I know what is is before clicking. 

Thanks for letting me know. I didn't know if there was a word limit.

[Calm]

Definitely not.  I would be in deep trouble if so, lol

[rodheadlee]

I have worn out the reset button, I guess it's not possible to break it. 

Edited September 16, 2023 by rodheadlee