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.

Finding Peace and Joy

What does the Book of Mormon teach us about how we can find peace and joy in our lives? I'm going to study some of the words of the prophet and king, Benjamin in Mosiah 2 and Mosiah 4.

King Benjamin taught his people "to keep the commandments of God, that they might rejoice and be filled with love towards God and all men" (Mosiah 2:4). This shows the connection between obedience to God's commandments and joy (rejoicing). Remember the greatest commandments, according to Jesus Christ, are to love God and to love our fellow-man. This creates an interesting cycle: we must love God and all men to keep the commandments, and keeping the commandments will fill us "with love towards God and all men." We here a lot about sin and pride cycles, so it's refreshing to see a righteousness and love cycle where the more obedient we are the more we'll love God and others, and the more our love increases, the more obedient we will become. That's a joyful cycle that will lead us to become more like our perfect exemplar, the Savior.

King Benjamin tells his people, "as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls" (Mosiah 4:11). So what caused the "exceedingly great joy" in their souls? Coming to know God, knowing His goodness, tasting of his love, receiving forgiveness (repenting) of our sins. That is an inspired recipe for "exceedingly great joy."

He then gives his people another formula for joy and peace in Mosiah 4:11-13. To summarize:
If

• We remember the greatness and goodness of God and his patience towards us
• We humble ourselves into the "depths of humility"
• Pray daily to God
• Stand steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come

Then

• We shall always rejoice,
• Be filled with the love of God
• Be forgiven of our sins
• Grow in the knowledge of the glory of God and that which is just and true
• We will not injure one another
• We will live peaceably
• We shall treat everyone fairly

In connection with this if/then promise, King Benjamin tells parents to provide for their children, teach them to keep the commandments, not quarrel, and not worship/follow Satan. Parents should "teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another" (Mosiah 4:14-15).

This verse is one of my favorite scriptures and powerful wisdom shared by Benjamin:

"And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." (Mosiah 2:41)  

Those who obey God's commandments are blessed and happy; in fact, they are "blessed in all things." If they endure to the end faithfully, then they receive a state of never-ending happiness. Who in this world does not desire happiness in this life and in the life to come? The way to achieve it is obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Find out more about God's plan of happiness here: http://mormon.org/plan-of-happiness/.