Mosiah 3:19 - How to Overcome the Natural Man

One of my favorite scriptures is from King Benjamin's address in Mosiah 3:19 where he teaches:

"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."

This is a powerful lesson in how to overcome the desires of the flesh and work towards perfection. He breaks it down into three things we must do:

(1) Yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit

After baptism, we are confirmed and given the Gift of the Holy Ghost. This gift entitles us to the constant companionship of the Spirit as long as we remain worthy, for the Spirit cannot dwell in an unholy tabernacle. The Spirit warns us of danger and is influential in showing us a way to escape temptation because the Lord always prepares a way for our escape (see 1 Cor 10:13) so that we are able to use our agency in overcoming the temptation. We must listen to the still small voice.

(2) Put off the natural man, becoming a saint through the Atonement

To me "putting off" the natural man is about commitment. We must commit to ourselves and to God that we are going to do better, think better, speak better and be better. But it is not usually possible to just "put off" the natural man with one firm commitment because we're human and we slip up from time to time. This is why the Atonement of Jesus Christ is an essential element in overcoming the flesh. As often as we sincerely repent, the Lord will forgive us. This step is really a continuous cycle of commitment, effort, falling short, repenting and being forgiven through the Atonement. The goal should be to do a little better each time - we must constantly be improving and progressing, but perfection is not expected of us the first time.

(3) Become as a child

We must develop childlike attributes such as those listed by King Benjamin: "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." These attributes lead to us being able to see the big picture of God's will and accept his will. They also lead us to become more like our Savior, full of charity - a pure love - for everyone around us. As we are filled with charity, we cannot help but want to serve our fellowman, and in this service there is no place for selfishness and the natural man, for they have been pushed out of our lives and replaced with an attitude of service.