Natural Impulses

There are some churches that believe in the "original sin," by which we are marked from birth for simply having been born human. In the LDS church, "We believe that men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression" (Articles of Faith 1:2), and yet, there's the concept of the "natural man" being "an enemy to God" (See Mosiah 3:19). I don't think we're born already having a bad mark on our permanent record. We're clean as a whistle until we're old enough to be accountable for ourselves. There is no "original sin," but I do believe that we are all, in some measure, under the influence of "the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein" (See 2 Nephi 2:29), which can end up meaning about the same thing as being born in sin.

I'm starting to think of the natural man as being some kind of anti-conscience. The spirit encourages us to do good and serve others, and the natural man compels us to be selfish and do evil. I think that just as everyone is born with the light of Christ to influence them for good, everyone is born with the natural man to tempt them for evil. Thus, there is a struggle in everyone - their spiritual nature battling against their carnal nature - starting as soon as they're old enough to be aware of it.

I can see why this is important. Resisting temptation and becoming strong enough to overcome it is such a large part of the reason we're experiencing life on earth, it's essential that we face temptation frequently, and what better way to make sure that happens than to make it a built-in part of our physical bodies? Satan and the spirits who follow him can be driven away before they can mount up enough resistance to put up a good fight, if we're on guard and react quickly to the first sign of temptation. In contrast, we're stuck with our bodies until we die, so we can count on them to provide the constant, compelling opposition we need to develop a strong will-power, even after we've learned how to repel our regular tempter.

Some people say that our natural impulses are natural, healthy, and even God-given, and that they should be enjoyed and even celebrated rather than bridled and brought into subjection. I certainly have to agree that they are natural and God-given, and that there's something good in all of them. Most of our natural impulses are designed to help us sustain life - survival instincts - and I certainly don't have anything against survival. But our natural impulses often take us beyond survival and into indulgence, which weakens our self-control and ultimately leads to misery. I agree that God would want us to enjoy some of the things that others call "the finer things in life," but I believe they should be enjoyed in moderation, with self-control, and according to God's wisdom. God will not withhold any good thing from those who are faithful to Him, but often we must prove that we will be faithful to Him by resisting temptations, including those presented to us by the natural man. We can have some cake, but not so much that it makes our stomaches hurt, and only so long as our nutritional needs are also met.

So, we have a natural tendency to certain sins and transgressions. Some say that it's perfectly fine because we're born that way, and we should enjoy those things, regardless of whether or not they're considered "sins." Others say that those impulses are totally evil and that human beings are evil for even having those thoughts. The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in between. Our natural impulses are natural and God-given, given to us to grant us opportunities to learn to control ourselves, and also to serve as rewards to those who have learned to enjoy those things within the bounds the Lord has set. They are not entirely good, to be freely enjoyed without restraint, but neither are the wholly evil, to be rejected and suppressed at all times and in all situations. Moderation and wisdom are the goals here. And that, I believe, is why we are all subjected to the influence of the natural man.