I had a friend at work bring up the question (paraphrasing), Dont Mormons believe that men are inherently evil? Thats a main doctrine of mainstream Christianity. My first reaction was a vehement, No! I thought of his question in terms of our divine nature, and our limitless potential. I thought of the LDS doctrine on the subject in opposition to the prevailing religious ideas which put boundaries on the ability of the atonement to save, and of us to literally reach perfection if we stay true to what we actually are. However, I think I may have left the subject without sufficient explanation of the whole question. It is true, after all, that men are fallen, and carnal, sensual, and devilish (Mosiah 16:3-5). But we have learned to be so. Look at Moses 5, speaking about the children of Adam and Eve: 13 And Satan came among them, saying: I am also a son of God; and he commanded them, saying: Believe it not; and they believed it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish. And God is even good enough to teach us why he made it possible for all men to fall - that he might give them a chance to rise up based on what they chose to make of their natures. To say that men are inherently evil would therefore be like saying that butterflies are inherently caterpillars. See Moses 6: 55 And the Lord spake unto Adam, saying: Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good. 56 And it is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves, and I have given unto you another law and commandment. 57 Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time. 58 Therefore I give unto you a commandment, to teach these things freely unto your children, saying: 59 That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory; It therefore really all comes down to a choice. Our natures in this sense are not static, while as a result of the Fall combined with our imperfection they are soon tainted, wounded. Their final state results from our choices and willingness to allow Christ to purify, sanctify, perfect, glorify, cleanse, transform, regenerate, and all the other verbs used to describe the process of being born again unto a new life in Christ, having our natures so perfected and matured that we no longer have the disposition to do evil, but to do good continually (Mosiah 5:2). See also: Alma 41: 5 (on the subject of men reaping according to what they sowed in mortality) - The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh. Alma 5: 14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? And now here is the full text of the verses I quoted at the beginning, which helps us see that while man may begin fallen, his life determines his nature. Mosiah 16: 3 For they are carnal and devilish, and the devil has power over them; yea, even that old serpent that did beguile our first parents, which was the cause of their fall; which was the cause of all mankind becoming carnal, sensual, devilish, knowing evil from good, subjecting themselves to the devil. 4 Thus all mankind were lost; and behold, they would have been endlessly lost were it not that God redeemed his people from their lost and fallen state. 5 But remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature, and goes on in the ways of sin and rebellion against God, remaineth in his fallen state and the devil hath all power over him. Therefore he is as though there was no redemption made, being an enemy to God; and also is the devil an enemy to God. So if I were to answer my co-workers question again, I would say, I think, Well, thats all up to you. How would all of you explain this principle/doctrine?
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 05:29:49 +0000
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