The full wording of Mosiah 3:19 is:
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.
Here is the parsed version, phrase by phrase:
“For the natural”
(“natural” is not defined here, but the term “natural man” is found
in other passages in our canon [ironically, once and only once in each
book of scripture in addition to Mosiah 3:19]. In each case [
1 Corin. 2:14,
Alma 2:21,
D&C 67:12 and
Moses 1:14], the term is used to reference those who are not in tune with the Spirit.
In that light, the best definitions from the dictionary are: “
in a state
of nature; uncultivated” and “
having undergone little or no
processing”. It appears that “natural” in this usage applies to those
who have not been cultivated by the Spirit –
who have not been involved
in the repentance process. The other Book of Mormon verse is the most
relevant, having been included by the same abridger, Mormon – and that
verse clearly defines the “natural man” as that man who is unrepentant.)
“man”
Due to the subsequent discussion of becoming like a child, it is clear that this “natural
man” does
not
refer to children when they are born. Rather, it applies to those who
have have reached adulthood without previously having been “cultivated”
and “processed” by the Spirit – who are unrepentant once they are
accountable and no longer exempted from condemnation as children are.
Also, this obviously is a generic use of “man” to include all “mankind”
or “humanity” – including women.
“is an enemy to God,”
“Enemies” are those who fight or oppose someone. God’s work and
glory is to change us [cultivate and process/refine us], so the
unrepentant stand in direct opposition to that work and glory. Thus,
they are “enemies to God”.
“and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever”
ALL unrepentant adults – no exceptions
“unless”
leads into examples of how not to be “natural”
“he yields”
“gives up or surrenders” – This is the
perfect word to describe what an enemy does to cease being an enemy.
“to the enticings of the Holy Spirit,”
Again, the Holy Spirit is the key, since it is the Spirit that
drives repentance. “Enticings” is an interesting choice of words, since
it means “
things that attract by arousing hope or desire”. So, putting
off the natural man means surrendering to the cultivation of the
Spirit, because of an attraction to something that causes hope or
desire -
not as the result of a threat. Alma’s statement that a simple desire to know is enough of a
catalyst to exercise faith is reflective of accepting the enticings of
the Holy Spirit. Read
Alma 32:27-28 in this light; the similarity is striking, especially since there is
NO shared vocabulary of consequence in the two verses.
“and putteth off the natural man”
“Putteth off” is a description of action, similar to the concept of laying one’s burden at the Lord’s feet (
Psalms 55:22) or taking his yoke upon you (
Matt. 11:28-30).
Interestingly,
“putting off” a garment can be termed “changing
clothes” – and repentance at its most basic level simply means “to
change”. Therefore, putting off the natural man is the direct result of
yielding to the enticings of the Holy Spirit and repenting.
and becometh a saint”
“saint” means, at its most basic and common level, “
a person of
great holiness, virtue, or benevolence” – which all are listed in
various places as manifestations of the Spirit and characteristics of
godliness. Again, the qualifying factor is one’s willingness to quit
fighting God and follow the Spirit.
“through the atonement of Christ the Lord,”
This occurs through the atonement of Christ, the Lord – and is
reflective of Jesus’ statement that if He had not gone from the
disciples, the Holy Ghost would not have come to dwell with them. [
John 16:7]
“and becometh as a child,”
Given the focus thus far on a connection to the Spirit being the
cure for the natural man, this could be a bit confusing if not followed
by an explicit explanation.
“submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love,”
Each of these characteristics is central to the Beatitudes, the
Sermon on the Mount as a whole, and about every other description of
godliness. More importantly,
they all are characteristics associated
with listening for and following instructions – of a malleability that
children possess but that is lacking in many adults who have been
“hardened” by mortality.
“willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him,
“submit” means “
give over or yield to the power or authority of another” – another
perfect
choice of words, given the use of “enemy” and “yield” earlier in the
verse; “inflict” means “
to impose as something that must be borne or
suffered; to impose anything unwelcome”. This
is fascinating, as it refers back to “the natural man” as not
“welcoming” of anything that might be considered to be unfair or forced
or demanding adherence simply due to another’s authority. It also is
fascinating that the majority of definitions for “impose” are negative –
showing how “natural” it is to not accept anything that is “inflicted”
upon us
“even as a child doth submit to his father.”
What an amazing way to come full circle
and highlight what happens when the Spirit changes the perception of a
“natural [unrepentant and combative] (wo)man” who is an “enemy to God” into
that of a “child” who submits to the authority of his “father”. The
uncultivated, unprocessed man fights the cultivation and processing; the
trusting child submits to that cultivation and processing.
Summary:
This verse does
NOT describe children being born in a
sinful state – or a blank slate. Rather, it describes children as
being willing to obey the parents they see as authority figures – to
allow those parents to shape and cultivate them through a process of
alteration. The challenge, it seems, is for adults to transfer that
childlike willingness to submit to an authority figure they can see into
FAITH in somewhat hidden heavenly parents through
feelings and promptings of the Spirit that can be dismissed as nothing
more than emotions.
In other words:
Children act in full view of their earthly parents. The challenge is
for adults to let go of their “hardness” and “intelligence” and
“certainty in their own understanding” and become “pliable” and
“teachable” and more “uncertain of their own expertise” once more (like
little children) – turning to the Holy Ghost to help them “see” their
Heavenly Parents and submit to that authority as they once submitted to
the authority of their earthly parents.
