Our bodies have needs. We all know that. We are constantly reminded that we require food, water, and sleep. If we are deprived of other necessities, like air or safe temperatures, our bodies send even more urgent signals. We ignore those signals at our peril.
But those signals are not always a useful guide for our moral choices. Our bodies sometimes crave things which are not good. It is our responsibility to monitor and manage these signals, not to be governed by them.
Prophets have used the word “carnal” to describe a mindset that is unduly dominated by our physical appetites at the expense of our eternal goals. Both Paul and Jacob declared, “To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life” (Romans 8:6, 2 Nephi 9:39).
Without some effort on our part, our bodily appetites win. Abinadi taught that the Fall of Adam and Eve made us “carnal, sensual, devilish” (Mosiah 16:3). King Benjamin’s people turned to the Savior when they “viewed themselves in their own carnal state” (Mosiah 4:2). And Alma, after his transformative experience with an angel, testified to his friends and family that everyone “must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters” (Mosiah 27:25).
President M. Russell Ballard pointed out, though, that our carnal nature is not our true identity:
You are—first, foremost, and always—a spiritual being. And so when we choose to put our carnal nature ahead of our spiritual nature, we are choosing something that is contrary to our real, true, authentic spiritual selves.
Still, there’s no question that flesh and earthly impulses complicate the decision-making. With a veil of forgetfulness drawn between the premortal spirit world and this mortal world, we can lose sight of our relationship to God and our spiritual nature, and our carnal nature can give priority to what we want right now. Learning to choose the things of the Spirit over the things of the flesh is one of the primary reasons why this earthly experience is part of Heavenly Father’s plan. It’s also why the plan is built upon the solid, sure foundation of the Atonement of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so that our sins, including the errors we make when we yield to the flesh, can be overcome through constant repentance and we can live spiritually focused….
Brothers and sisters, I encourage you to slow down a bit and think about where you are now in subjugating your carnal nature and empowering your divine, spiritual nature.
“Giving Our Spirits Control over Our Bodies,” General Conference, October 2019
Today, I will strive to subjugate my carnal nature and empower my spiritual nature. I will recognize that many of my thoughts and emotions are influenced by my physical body, but I will strive to make decisions with an awareness of my relationship with God and my eternal identity.
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