Understanding the Natural Man | 1 Nephi 20:8-17

Why am I like this? Why do I tend towards the things of the world? Why do I keep falling short? If Isaiah brings so much hope, why is he bringing up such a sore subject? The Lord helps me answer these questions by helping me understand the purpose of this mortal life and the role that the natural man plays. He does this by rehearsing to me the plan of salvation.

"[Thou] wast called a transgressor from the womb. Nevertheless, for my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain from thee, that I cut thee not off."

I was born into a mortal world of transgression and the Lord has given me a period of time, a probationary time, a time to prepare to meet God.

"For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, yea, for mine own sake will I do this, for I will not suffer my name to be polluted."

Mortality is not a holiday. It is a time of refinement through affliction. A test to see if I will turn to God no matter what and become the man he knows I can become. And, it is to see if I will accept the salvation and healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

"I will not give my glory unto another."

A reference to the great council in heaven where Satan's plan was rejected. However, he was allowed, within limits, to test and try God's children and provide the opposition to God's will necessary to bring about free agency.

"I am the first, and I am also the last. Mine hand hath also laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens."

Christ's plan is accepted because of His submission to the will of the Father, and He promises to bring glory to the Father by creating a place that is carefully planned and prepared for the children of God. He plays the central role in this plan by bridging the gap between heaven and earth.

"I call unto them and they stand up together. All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; who among them hath declared these things unto them? The Lord hath loved him."

He carefully taught and prepared His noble and great ones. Those who would stand up and teach and prophesy to His people. I am not alone. He has placed noble and great men and women in my path to help me on my quest to overcome the natural man.

“Yea, and he will fulfil his word which he hath declared by them; and he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall come upon the Chaldeans.”

This is critical for me to understand that this is not a permanent situation. The natural man will not triumphant. The Lord is always in control. If I but follow the Savior, His word will be fulfil for me down to the last jot and tittle.

"And thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I have sent him, the Lord thy God who teacheth thee to profit, who leadeth thee by the way thou shouldst go, hath done it."

This is the most important part of the plan of salvation. Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world, was sent to show me the way and to make it possible for me to overcome the natural man.

From this rehearsal, I learned that the natural man helps facilitate the opposition that allows me to use my free will to choose. It also drives a lot of the affliction and pain that I go through. However, it is not about the natural man, it is about how I react to it. This life is not like an earthly test where it tests the skill and ingenuity of the person performing the test; instead, the answers are already given, I must only turn my heart towards the source of all knowledge and He will provide the answers that I seek and the help that I need. Christ has the central role in Heavenly Father's plan, not me, so the test is not whether I through some superhuman strength can overcome the natural man, but whether I through the grace and mercy of a loving Savior will overcome the natural man.

Recognizing the Natural Man | 1 Nephi 20:1-8

Isaiah points out several worldly behaviors and attributes of the natural man that the Lord specifically wants me to recognize and overcome. I have tried to come up with a general one or two word description for each attribute to simplify the concepts, but each reader will want to tailor these attribute descriptions specifically to themselves.

Insincerity / Deceit:
This attribute is about what is written deep in the heart. The natural man tends to lock away the lusts of the flesh behind a carefully crafted facade of deceit, so the outer man may have an aura of faith and righteousness but the inner soul is cankered with darkness and filthiness.

“Swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, yet they swear not in truth nor in righteousness.”

	SWEAR, verb
	1.	To affirm or utter a solemn declaration, with an appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed.
	2.	To promise upon oath.
	3.	To give evidence an oath; as, to swear to the truth of a statement. He swore that the prisoner was not present at the riot.

Hypocrisy:
This attribute is very similar to the last attribute and may find its beginnings in the heart of the natural man, but it always blossoms into flowers that are readily apparent to all those around by their vivid colors of rebellion and their acrid smells of corruption. For example, Judah of the time who professed to be righteous, did not follow after the true and living God but instead, had turned their hearts to idolatry which lead to all out rebellion towards God, corruption of all of their sacred places of worship, and ultimately brought destruction and captivity upon the people.

“Call themselves of the holy city, but they do not stay themselves upon the God of Israel.”

Pride:
The natural man is particularly prone to pride, he does what he can to increase his ego and to lift himself above those around him. Pride contains a vast group of characteristics which are the main motivators behind all of the attributes of the natural man. The Lord mentions several characteristics such as stubbornness, being opinionated, stiffnecked, haughty, and contemptuous.

“Thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass.”

	OBSTINATE, adjective
	1.	Stubborn; pertinaciously adhering to an opinion or purpose; fixed firmly in resolution; not yielding to reason, arguments or other means.
	2.	Not yielding or not easily subdued or removed; as an obstinate fever; obstinate obstructions; an obstinate cough.

Ingratitude:
The carnal man is drawn to the worship of self and the creations of his own hands taking credit for the acts and will of a loving Heavenly Father. This is a very dangerous sin to be involved with as Brigham Young stated, “I do not know of any, excepting the unpardonable sin, that is greater than the sin of ingratitude.”

“I have even from the beginning declared to thee; before it came to pass I showed them thee; and I showed them for fear lest thou shouldst say—Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image hath commanded them.”

Unrighteous Dominion:
The mortal man can be obsessed with seeking after power and authority over others. He does this by coercion, subjection, or simply by holding back the truth.

“Thou hast seen and heard all this; and will ye not declare them?”

Know-it-all:
The worldly man trusts in the arm of flesh more than in God. He thinks that all knowledge is created from within the mind through observation of the physical world around him. He cannot comprehend that real knowledge and wisdom is gained by looking upward towards heaven.

“They were declared unto thee, lest thou shouldst say—Behold I knew them.”

Deaf / Blind:
The natural man does not want to be told what to do. He wants to turn to his own desires rather than listen to the desires of a perfect, all-knowing God. He stubbornly refuses to look and listen with his spiritual eyes and ears.

“Thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time thine ear was not opened.”

Faithless / Untrustworthy:
The earthbound man is naturally neglectful and cannot be trusted because he only looks out for himself and his own desires.

“I knew that thou wouldst deal very treacherously.”

	TREACHEROUSLY, adverb
	By violating allegiance or faith pledged; by betraying a trust; faithlessly; perfidiously; as, to surrender a fort to an enemy treacherously; to disclose a secret treacherously.

	FAITHLESS, adjective
	1.	Without belief in the revealed truths of religion; unbelieving.
	2.	Not believing; not giving credit to.
	3.	Not adhering to allegiance or duty; disloyal; perfidious; treacherous; as a faithless subject.
	4.	Not true to a master or employer; neglectful; as a faithless servant.
	5.	Not true to the marriage covenant; false; as a faithless husband or wife.
	6.	Not observant of promises.
	7.	Deceptive.

Sinful:
The natural born man is susceptible to all manner of sin. He follows not after the laws of God but seeks after pleasure for himself. This attribute is the catch all or the et cetera.

“[Thou] wast called a transgressor from the womb.”

The Natural Man | 1 Nephi 20

It has taken me quite some time to break this chapter down so that I can really learn what Isaiah is trying to teach me and then to put it into a nice organized logical concept. There is so much packed into this chapter, so I only want to focus on what impressed me the most and the overall principle that I learned from it. This will most likely be different for each reader because every one comes with different needs and experiences.

Looking at the chapter from a historical point of view, the Lord is talking to Judah who had turned away from Him and had become carnally minded and corrupted as predicted by Zenos in the allegory of the tame and wild olive trees. However, if I take this same concept and symbolically overlay it over my own life then I can see that the Lord is also talking about the natural man in me just as in the next chapter He is talking about the spiritual-minded man in me.

The title that I have chosen for this principle is overcoming the natural man. However, I have decided to split this concept into three blog posts in order to stick with one of my primary objectives of keeping my blog posts readable in a few minutes. Fortunately, the chapter naturally flows into three sections:

1. Recognizing the natural man (verses 1-8).
2. Understanding the purpose of the natural man (verses 8-17).
3. Overcoming the natural man, the principle with a promise (verses 17-22).

Navigating Isaiah

It may seem from a high-level view that Nephi is throwing the reader into the deep end. However, with careful study, I have found that Nephi is rigorously preparing me to handle and understand Isaiah by helping me navigate through the language of symbolism. And, through this preparation, I have gained a newfound respect for symbolic imagery and its incredible power upon the mind.

I have prepared a few examples to illustrate these early victories over this language barrier.

"Yea, even the very God of Israel do men trample under their feet; I say, trample under their feet but I would speak in other words—they set him at naught, and hearken not to the voice of his counsels." (1 Nephi 19:7)

Nephi uses symbolic language while he is explaining the importance of scriptures, and it is not too difficult for those of western civilization to understand. However, he still gives the direct interpretation of what he is talking about. He is teaching me that A = B and I can hear him say, "you can do this!"

"And are come forth out of the waters of Judah, or out of the waters of baptism." (1 Nephi 20:1)

This is another example where the interpretation is expressly given. Again, I think of Nephi's preparation for me as I found that the equivalent Isaiah verse in the Old Testament did not have the qualifier “or out of the waters of baptism.” It was no accident that this phrase was contained in the first verse of the first quoted chapter of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon. Although, this was originally addressed to the Jews, the Lord is teaching me that it applies to all baptized members of His church and has direct application to the everyday saint. Furthermore, it makes a great introduction for Isaiah's main audience for all of his writings. He is not speaking to the world but to the house of Israel or the members of Christ's church.

"I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass." (1 Nephi 20:4)

Here is a great example of symbolism where I have to step it up a level because there is no express interpretation given. However, Isaiah gives me a one word hint—obstinate. Between this hint and basic logic, it is not too difficult for me to see that the Lord is not talking to someone that literally has an iron sinew in his neck or a brow made of physical brass. Instinctively, I was able to begin to see what the Lord was telling me and with a little more word study, I was able to refine these concepts.  The phrase "thy neck is an iron sinew" brought to mind a stiff neck and the image of a horse trying be led on a halter. The neck representing my will and the halter representing God leading me. The phrase "thy brow brass" brings an image of sternness or arrogance. Brass brings to mind flashy as in haughty or prideful. Why not just say, "you are stubbornly holding to your own faulty will and opinions in the pride and haughtiness of your heart." Besides the beauty of Isaiah's language, the imagery used has a far more lasting effect than just the written word. These images become seared into my mind and I can begin to see the power of Isaiah's words.

"I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." (1 Nephi 20:10)
"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands." (1 Nephi 21:16)

No explanation is given for these two phrases. However, they are intuitive. Besides learning them in Sunday school, they just make sense to me because I live with affliction every day of my life and I get that He will never forget me that I am always before Him even though I may not fully understand the Atonement.

"Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea. Thy seed also had been as the sand; the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof." (1 Nephi 20:18-19)

These phrases may not come by intellectual enlightenment, but they can come through physical experience. Anyone who has sat or rested beside a slow moving river can feel the peace and calmness that it brings from its continuous flow. Anyone who has been on a beach can feel the strength of the waves and the constant movement and progression. Being on a single beach gives one an idea of the overwhelming number of grains of sand associated with the promise of offspring even though the mind cannot fully comprehend it.

"And they thirsted not; he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them; he clave the rock also and the waters gushed out."
 (1 Nephi 20:21)

This is an example where Nephi knew I would have the necessary tools in my day to unlock the scriptural interpretation on my own. I have to step it up even more, but I can unlock the meaning of this phrase by turning to the Old Testament or the exodus of God's people from Egypt.

“And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a marvelous work among the Gentiles, which shall be of great worth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the Gentiles and being carried in their arms and upon their shoulders.

“And it shall also be of worth unto the Gentiles; and not only unto the Gentiles but unto all the house of Israel, unto the making known of the covenants of the Father of heaven unto Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.” (1 Nephi 22:8-9)

In this last example, Nephi is giving me the much needed help through personal commentary on the words of Isaiah. He gives some of his temporal and spiritual interpretations by focusing mostly on his people and the Gentiles in the last days. Nephi's commentary is a real blessing to me as I practice finding symbolism in the scriptures and as I look to the future to see God's word being fulfilled.

All of these hints that Nephi is giving me will help me on my journey to unlocking the personal revelation contained in Isaiah that I will need for everyday survival in this mortal life. I am so grateful to Nephi for his help in preparing me to navigate through the words of Isaiah.