Putting Off The Natural Man Mosiah 3

What makes a man a ‘man’?

Who was the manliest man ever?

I F C HRIST WAS ONE OF THE MANLIEST MEN EVER, THEN WHY DID HE POSSESS SO MANY FEMININE ATTRIBUTES ? M OSIAH 3:19

UNDERSTAND Memorize 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. Share something you know is true about this verse…

UNDERSTAND Memorize 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.

A natural man is “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. (Guide to the Scriptures, “Natural Man,” scriptures.lds.org) A natural man is “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. (Guide to the Scriptures, “Natural Man,” scriptures.lds.org) UNDERSTAND

Galatians 5:17 “The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other” Spent time with Heavenly Father. Wants to get back to His presence. Has not been with Heavenly Father. Naturally desires fleshy things.

UNDERSTAND Memorize 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.

Mosiah 3:19 Spiritual Man I believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; I believe all things, I hope all things, I have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, I seek after these things. Natural Man I believe in being dishonest, immoral, and being an enemy to God; I deny all things, I ridicule all things, I have ruined many things, and hope to be able to ruin all things. If there is anything carnal, sensual, devilish, or wicked, I seek after these things.

Natural Woman? You young ladies have a profound influence on young, masculine behavior. Young men wear clothes they think you like. Their hair will be cut to please you. You can control how fast they drive their cars if you want. They will dress as grubby as you like. Your influence will be as though flowing from the stars to affect the actions of men. Elder David B. Haight, “Young Women—Real Guardians,” Ensign, Nov 1977

Teenage Affluenza

President David O. McKay : “The purpose of the gospel is to make bad men good and good men better and to change human nature” (from the film Every Member a Missionary, as acknowledged by Franklin D. Richards, CR, October 1965, pp ; see also Brigham Young, JD 8:130 [22 July 1860]).

“Now I do not believe the word bad in this statement connotes only wicked, awful, horrible, or inherently evil. I think he was suggesting that the journey from bad to good is the process of putting off the natural man or the natural woman in each of us…through the redeeming and cleansing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” David A. Bednar, In the Strength of the Lord, BYU Devotional, October 2001

“The putting off of the natural man makes possible the putting on of the whole armor of God, which would not fully fit before!” Elder Maxwell, “Plow in Hope”, CR, April 2001

UNDERSTAND Memorize 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.

UNDERSTAND Memorize 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.

“Adam [said] Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God" (Moses 5:10). Adam was thinking about his responsibilities. He was trying to align his performance with the desires of the Lord. “Eve said, ‘Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient." Eve's response was characteristic of a woman. She embraced all, wanted to make sure that everyone was considered. “The two perspectives resulted from the traits inherent in men and women. The Lord intends that we use those differences to fulfill His plan for happiness, personal growth, and development.” Elder Richard G. Scott (October 1996) In what ways did Adam/Eve emulate the Natural Man?

UNDERSTAND Memorize 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.

UNDERSTAND Memorize 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.

The Atonement “Christ’s agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind. He struggled and groaned under a burden such as no other being who has lived on earth might even conceive as possible. It was not physical pain nor mental anguish alone that caused Him to suffer such torture as to produce an extrusion of blood from every pore, but a spiritual agony of such as only God was capable of experiencing. … In that hour of anguish Christ, met and overcame all the horrors that Satan could inflict.” (Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. [1916], 613).

You are a highway patrol man you come upon a car wreck. Both cars straddling the center line of a deserted highway. It was a head-on collision and everyone involved was killed. To which Kingdom will each go? The Atonement

Victims: The driver is a returned missionary who got mad at his bishop. He stopped going to church and stopped believing in the church. He was seen recently handing out anti-Mormon literature at a local university. He married a cute young girl who was raised without religion. He was very impressive to her at first but in recent years he has been very cruel to her. She cries a lot. They married a year after she became pregnant. He is angry and defiant to any religious leader. Says he can't wait to see God so he tell him what a terrible world he created. Sadly, their little baby died in the car seat in the back seat. The Atonement

Where does each go? HimHerBaby 2:333:113:16 2:37-393:21

UNDERSTAND Memorize 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.

UNDERSTAND Memorize 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.

Why is a baby dependent on parents? How dependent are little children on the Savior? Mosiah 3:16

How dependent are we supposed to be on the Savior? Mosiah 3:17

Mormon Message: Little Children Little Children

UNDERSTAND Memorize 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.

UNDERSTAND Memorize 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.

“I suspect that you and I are much more familiar with the nature of the redeeming power of the Atonement than we are with the enabling power of the Atonement. Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints—for good men and women who are obedient and worthy and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully. ” David A. Bednar, In the Strength of the Lord, BYU Devotional, October 2001

How does the Atonement cover these individuals? O A young man is sitting in front of the computer, he has not seen or clicked on anything inappropriate, but the thought comes in his head… O A young woman feels inadequate and not worth much and has a thought to do something damaging to herself… O A young man/woman is with somebody they like. They have not done anything they shouldn’t yet, but have the temptation to take a next step…

“[Do] we mistakenly believe we must make the journey from good to better and become a saint all by ourselves through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline? David A. Bednar, In the Strength of the Lord, BYU Devotional, October 2001

“Sometimes I wonder if in our latter-day world of ease—in our world of microwave ovens and cell phones and air- conditioned cars and comfortable homes—I wonder if we ever learn to acknowledge our daily dependence upon the enabling power of the Atonement.” David A. Bednar, In the Strength of the Lord, BYU Devotional, October 2001

Mosiah 3:19 TAKE NAME + CHANGE BEHAVIOR = CHRISTLIKE by covenants and through atonement become like Christ

Starve and torture the Natural Man! It’s late at night. You haven’t read your scriptures yet. What do you do? Its Fast Sunday … and you pour a bowl of cereal… and then… you remember….it’s Fast Sunday. Friends are gossiping – and you know some dirt… It’s Mutual Night and you don’t want to go…

UNDERSTAND Memorize 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.

The Natural Student is an enemy to God

The Natural Basketball player is an enemy to God

The Natural Cheerleader is an enemy to God

The Natural Brother is an enemy to God

The Natural Parent is an enemy to God

The Natural Teenager is an enemy to God

Mosiah 3:19 What can you do today to more fully “yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit”?

Mosiah 3:19 Suppose you have a midterm test coming up in geometry in two weeks. One of your goals is to get an A in geometry. How do you go about reaching that goal? Do you wait until the last minute and cram the night before the test?

Mosiah 3:19 Now let’s take another student who realizes that he doesn’t want to count on the intangibles of luck and hope. So, instead of cramming, he sets aside a little time every day to calmly study the subject. What’s the result from this second technique?

Mosiah 3:19 Is it possible to go into a classroom knowing beforehand that you will get an ‘A’ because of your preparation? If you want to get an ‘A’ in your celestial goals, the same daily technique needs to be applied. Young friends, it is very difficult to cram for a mission or for a temple marriage. Prepare yourselves daily.

Mosiah 3:19 How can you protect yourself against the pressures and evils of the world? Three hours of church on Sunday? Not likely. If you stay close to Him on a daily basis, He will stay close to you. “When the day comes to enter the classroom door of the temple, you will be at peace and your self-confidence high and you will know in your heart that you will receive an ‘A’ in the most important of all your subjects: your celestial future. (A Celestial Connection to Your Teenage Years, Elder Richard J. Maynes, New Era, November 1997)

Putting Off The Natural Man Mosiah 3