Adam sacrificed sheep to commemorate the death, vicarious suffering, and resurrection of the Savior. This event was not meant to be a then-over-there abstraction; the blood and the smoke were vivid reminders, and the invitation to take the name of Christ upon us that we find in the sacrament was a part of Adam’s emblems and worship, too:
An angel appears to Adam, and asks, “Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.
“And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
“Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore” (Moses 5:6-8).
It is easy to forget as we attend Church and partake of the sacrament and administer and receive ordinances that these things did not originate on the earth—they were committed to men by heavenly messengers, angels.
King Benjamin also had an angel appear to him. The theme of the message was sacrifice and the Atonement, only it was more detailed than what we have about the angelic appearing to Adam:
“And he shall be called Jesus Christ…
“…he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men through faith on his name…they shall…scourge him, and shall crucify him.
“And he shall rise the third day from the dead…
“For…his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam…
“…salvation cometh to none…except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
“…as in Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood of Christ atoneth for their sins
“…there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord…
“…men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent” (Mosiah 3:8-12, 16-18). This entire chapter is a direct quotation from an angel, delivered by King Benjamin to an audience gathered at the Temple.
Does this revelation from an angel address anything that worries us? If it does not, perhaps we are worried about the wrong things. People who have never experienced a car accident might not take their seatbelts seriously; do we feel indifferent about this message? This stuff must be more important than anything else, because the Lord’s servants repeat it so often. (We murmur because they always talk about the “same things.” Might we be in need of review on these subjects?)
According to King Benjamin’s recitation, ignorance means innocence, and little children get a break, but the rest of us must be repenting continuously to be saved by Jesus Christ.
There is a temptation to look for finish lines in the race of salvation where there are none. There is no brief “repentance process,” any more than there is a one-time “breathing process.” We must breathe continuously to stay alive; we must repent all the time, the remainder of our lives to be saved. Humility is not a temporary state we achieve in order to be forgiven, something we discard when we are done feeling sorrow for our sins; it is a virtue we need to have stamped onto our souls in a permanent fashion if we want to belong in heaven.
The Natural Boogey-Man
King Benjamin spoke at the Temple; the themes of sacrifice, taking the name of Christ upon ourselves, the Fall of Adam, and Atonement or reunion, being healed of the Fall, are all pertinent to that sacred place.
Part of his speech, Mosiah 3:19, has become an oft-quoted passage from the Book of Mormon:
“For the natural man is an enemy to God…” What is the “natural man?” Natural has the same etymology as native, nativity, navel…it just refers to the way we are predisposed to be. We try to make it sound like the natural man is some They or Them, those evil monsters out there. The natural man becomes a scapegoat, a boogey-man who haunts us. No, it IS us; we are all born and so inherit Adam’s nature. The natural man has some good traits; he instinctively takes care of children and loves his friends. Some of our natural proclivities are also horrendous; prisons are full of people who stepped outside of society’s codified laws.
But there are socially accepted thoughts, feelings, and actions that are repugnant to the laws of God. Just because our neighbors wink at them and give us a pass does not mean we can fool God. His stamp of approval is not the world’s, and vice versa.
It is not enough to look righteous, to put on a show. To be motivated to do good by social pressure can be as detrimental as sinning outright, because it conflates our desire for social approval with our love for God which should be our main motivation. Nephi classes popularity along with the lusts of the flesh, power, and wealth as temptations. We will be destroyed when we pursue them. Keeping the commandments to get social approval is really just another play for popularity, and it is a subtle trap that can keep us from experiencing true conversion. Perhaps the Prodigal Son had an advantage over his grouchy yet obedient brother—at least he had come to himself, seen himself and his father in the light of truth. The other son only thought he was being righteous, but we get a hint that he also wanted to be out partying. Neither, at first, was content to be home with Dad, laboring on the farm.
Natural Man, Supernatural Solution
Vilifying the natural man is not the solution to having a fallen nature. We do not wait until a broken leg is set and healed before we go to the doctor; why do we tend to hide from the Lord when we are sick with sin? Social pressure would promote hiding sins; the Lord wants us to open up to Him, to come as the messes we truly are, so that healing can commence.
“For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless…” Unless what? What comes next? A checklist of duties? An admonition to comb our hair and sit up straight? Encouragement to run ourselves ragged, shotgunning goodness everywhere at random until we collapse with fatigue? These things are NOT what the angel tells King Benjamin, but unfortunately that is the essence of what many Latter-day Saints perceive, the message they take away, when they read this verse—try harder, keep using your mortal wisdom, strength, and resources, exhaust yourself, whip and prod yourself with guilt and shame, etc. No wonder we get fatigued and grouchy. Is that peace, love, joy, or salvation?
(I fear that many who become disaffect from the Church are not apostatizing from the Church at all, but from what they perceive as the Church, an unfair list of demands bereft of joy, rather than an invitation to be saved from bad desires and filled with good desires, so that all these chores become a joy instead of a burden.)
What follows the “unless” is no invitation to apply man’s wisdom or powers to our predicament. Jesus Christ is our Savior, not a chef who provides stone soup while we bring the real carrots, potatoes, the actual food. We say He is our Rescuer, a Savior, but then we insist that the key to our salvation is OUR efforts and exertion. Is that faith?
Is gagging down unpleasant assignments from the Lord a sign of virtue, or should we be finding a way to be changed to enjoy our duties? At some point we have to begin to believe and apply all this stuff in the scriptures, if we want to see actual progress inside and outside ourselves.
What follows the “unless?”
“…unless he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord…” This is no call to increase our numbers, work harder, put on a show, be more frenetic or fanatical or judgmental in our observances, pretend that we enjoy stuff we hate, etc., because none of those things have the power to change our natures significantly. We are not invited to scuff our feet on the carpet to make electricity; we are invited to put up our lightning rods and access greater power.
Changed First, Then Greatness Follows
There is an inextricable connection between accessing this power, and our internal attitude, humility: “…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…” These words sicken our modern ears. Humility is not the American way, as Elder Holland noted. Yet this unpleasant virtue is a key that opens the door—that activates heaven’s power in us. Instead of increasing our output, the invitation is to be more and more humble. We can increase our exertion without any significant change in our natures; Laman and Lemuel did everything they were told to do.
Nephi experienced a change of nature by the Lord before he began his journey, and he cites that as the main difference between himself and Laman and Lemuel: “…I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.
“…Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart” (1Ne. 2:16, 19). His humility enabled him to be born again, changed from his carnal and fallen state to a state of righteousness, having no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. He offered his whole self to the Lord, and then the Lord changed him. Nephi experienced this mighty change of heart BEFORE his journey began.
Suited Up First
We are so caught up in the romance of upward struggles the Lord demands of us that we forget that we need to be suited up by Him, changed by Him, and prepared to tackle our duties successfully. (Adam and Eve received their clothes from the Lord before they left the Garden to face the difficult fallen world.)
The natural man believes in what his physical senses confirm and report to him after experimentation. We tend to hear only a call to work-work-work harder when we hear Church leaders or read the scriptures because miraculous intervention is outside of the boundaries of what the natural man will accept. We cannot bottle, buy, or sell a change of heart; we cannot prove that divine intervention enables us to resist temptations; and who wants to be humble enough to enjoy these things, anyway? We can just work harder and feign substitute versions without being humble.
Eventually, anything of this world that we rely on will break down, fail, malfunction, and leave us stranded. We cannot successfully perform the Lord’s work by relying on the arm of the flesh. Other sources cease to make us whole at some point, and this rock-bottom state is exactly where most of us discover the power of God, because it is the moment we let go of our own wisdom and strength, and decide to trust the Lord. When our humility increases, we qualify for spiritual rebirth: “And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost…” (3Ne. 9:20).
Again: “I give unto men weakness that they may be humble…for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27).
Does our obedience play a role? When it grows out of that humility, or increases it, yes, it will.
It is easy to forget that the point of all these commandments and assignments is salvation for us and others. They are not ends unto themselves; sanctified, resurrected souls united as eternal families are the final products of this life, not clean meeting houses, Temples, full pantries, or astonishing numbers that can be graphed on charts.
To work ourselves into exhaustion obeying the Lord’s commandments without experiencing spiritual rebirth first is like a child, eager to help Mom, taking something out of the oven without protective mitts and burning himself. He does not understand that his welfare is more important to Mom than preventing burnt cookies. He might even think He is brave or loyal because he burned himself for Mom, but is it really what she wants? Proper use of some protective gear will enable him to help Mom and prevent injury, and both ends are served.
Children are not called to put their hands into the oven unprotected; we are called to work for the Lord after some preparation, a change in our natures. Those who become tired of the Church are probably thinking that Father is mean because He seems to be asking us to burn ourselves regularly; really, we are to suit up first through a change of heart, and THEN do all our assignments. Then they will hold more joy, and less pain, and we will not look to the world as much for consolation.
Spiritual rebirth enables us to do our duties well, without getting grouchy or emotionally fatigued. The prerequisites are deep humility and faith. Then we can be suited up properly. Externals, even important ones, can distract from this important internal effort, to have faith and be more humble.
Spiritual rebirth enables us to do our duties well, without getting grouchy or emotionally fatigued. The prerequisites are deep humility and faith. Then we can be suited up properly. Externals, even important ones, can distract from this important internal effort, to have faith and be more humble.
