How does one reconcile President Brigham Young’s statement that “it is natural for the child to be influenced by the Spirit of God” with King Benjamin’s assertion that “the natural man is an enemy to God”?

Spencer J. Condie, chairman, Sociology Department, Brigham Young University To dispute the proper meaning of the word “natural” would miss the message which Brigham Young, King Benjamin, and the apostle Paul sought to convey by their references to the natural man. President Young’s statement, placed in the context of his speech, included the following points:

“I wish to inform you that it is nature for the child to be influenced by the Spirit of God. It is nature for all people to be influenced by a good spirit; and the evil that is spoken of is the power the Devil has gained upon this earth through the fall. He gained power to tempt the children of men, and wickedness is produced through their yielding to his temptations; but it is not nature in them. They are not ‘conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity,’ pertaining to their spirits. It is the flesh that is alluded to in that passage. Then why not follow the dictates of the good Spirit?” (Journal of Discourses, 6:330.)

President Young’s statement seems to be entirely congruent with the thought expressed in Doctrine and Covenants 93:38: “Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state innocent before God.” [D&C 93:38] Thus, the natural man is a child of God, a child of light, at least until he reaches the age of accountability. Doctrine and Covenants 29:46–47 proclaims: “Little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten; Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me.” [D&C 29:46–47] In other words, children, prior to the age of accountability, despite the occasional acting out of undesirable influences in unapproved ways, are nevertheless naturally good.

After reaching the age of accountability, children become susceptible to the temptings of Satan alluded to in section 29. [D&C 29] However, through baptism for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, they also become susceptible to the enticings of the Holy Spirit as proclaimed by King Benjamin in his benedictory address: “For the natural man is an enemy to God, … 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. …” (Mosiah 3:19.)

When one yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, he will then put off the natural man and become “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.” (Mosiah 3:19.) It then becomes more natural for him to do good than to do evil, and he is in a position to follow the admonition of the late President Joseph Fielding Smith, who asserted that it is just as easy (or natural) to keep the commandments of God as it is to break them. (New Era, July 1972, p. 23.)

The word “natural” in the context in which Brigham Young uses it (similar to the word “normal”) refers to the nature of the young child, who is naturally devoid of evil. In the context of the words of Paul and King Benjamin the word “natural” may be construed to mean that type of behavior which is most prevalent, most common, or most easily engaged in by most of those who have reached the age of accountability.

The statement of President Brigham Young obviously concurs with the words which the angel put into the heart of King Benjamin, for Brigham Young speaks of following the “dictates of the good Spirit” while King Benjamin advocates “yielding to the enticings of the Holy Spirit.”

One of the most significant lessons that Latter-day Saints can learn is that the Holy Ghost plays a very active role in our lives in enticing and persuading us to do good (Mosiah 3:19; Ether 4:11) and in striving with us (Moro. 8:28; 1 Ne. 7:14) in our attempts to achieve perfection and to be naturally attracted to that which is “virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy” (A of F 1:13).

According to King Benjamin, the natural man is an enemy to God unless he yields to the Holy Spirit. Upon yielding to the Spirit he is no longer an enemy to God but rather a friend of the Savior, who has said: “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” (John 15:14.) Perhaps President Joseph Fielding Smith best described this transition in our “natural” inclinations as we ascend our secret Sinais, subdue devilish drives on Damascus Roads, and seek sanctification in sacred groves:

“When a man confesses that it is hard to keep the commandments of the Lord, he is making a sad confession—that he is a violator of the Gospel law. Habits are easily formed. It is just as easy to form good habits as it is to form evil ones. Of course it is not easy to tell the truth, if you have been a confirmed liar. It is not easy to be honest, if you have formed habits of dishonesty. A man finds it very difficult to pray, if he has never prayed. On the other side, when a man has always been truthful, it is a hard thing for him to lie. If he has always been honest and he does some dishonest thing, his conscience protests very loudly. He will find no peace, except in repentance. If a man has the spirit of prayer, he delights in prayer. It is easy for him to approach the Lord with assurance that his petition will be answered. The paying of tithing is not hard for the man, fully converted to the Gospel, who pays his tenth on all that he receives. So we see the Lord has given us a great truth—his yoke is easy, his burden is light, if we love to do his will!” (New Era, July 1972, p. 23.)