Overcoming the Natural Man

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The key ingredient in our holding on to the natural man or woman in us is selfishness.

Read the following comment made by Elder Neal A. Maxwell in his October 1990 conference talk, Put Off the Natural Man and Come Off Conqueror:

"Stubborn selfishness leads otherwise good people to fight over herds, patches of sand, and strippings of milk. All this results from what the Lord calls coveting “the drop,” while neglecting the “more weighty matters.” (D&C 117:8.) Myopic selfishness magnifies a mess of pottage and makes thirty pieces of silver look like a treasure trove. In our intense acquisitiveness, we forget Him who once said, “What is property unto me?” (D&C 117:4.)

"Such is the scope of putting off the burdensome natural man who is naturally selfish. (See Mosiah 3:19.) So much of our fatigue, brothers and sisters, in fact, comes from carrying that needless load. This heaviness of the natural man prevents us from doing our Christian calisthenics; so we end up too swollen with selfishness to pass through the narrow needle’s eye.

"Unchecked selfishness thus stubbornly blocks the way for developing all of the divine qualities: love, mercy, patience, long-suffering, kindness, graciousness, goodness, and gentleness.

"Restoration scriptures tell us much more about how we can really be forgiven through the atonement of Christ by means of which, finally, “mercy … overpowereth justice.” (Alma 34:15.) We can have real and justified hope for the future—enough hope to develop the faith necessary to both put off the natural man and to strive to become more saintly.

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Personal Touch

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In our Personal Touch with Rebecca Cressman segment, she interviews Pamela Goodfellow. In Arizona, a small group of women writers discovered that they had a lot more in common than the dream to publish. Each woman’s life had been touched by cancer. So, the group led by publisher Dr. Pam Goodfellow banded together to form: Writers Unite to Fight Cancer. Pamela R. Goodfellow PhD, producer, editor,and mentor to the authors, lost her mother and the love of her life to cancer. Dr. Goodfellow has served as mentor for youth at risk, and a rape crisis counselor. Her deep faith and spirituality guide her in both her professional and personal life. Margaret Turley, a 55 year old retired registered nurse, has cared for many cancer patients. Her novel Save the Child is a contemporary tale about parental rights with regard to medical care for terminally ill children.The nine authors will launch their new books by donating 100% of their proceeds to the American Association for Cancer Research. The event has been rescheduled for Thursday, November 4th in Gilbert, Arizona. Monetary gifts are also accepted online at: http://goodfellowpublishing.com/

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We have been counseled by plenty of church Presidents to engage in missionary work. Writing on the subject, we have Lu Ann Brobst Staheli, who blogs at ‘Lu Ann’s Library.’ She wrote her article “Called to Serve in Your Own Back Yard.” Her comment is as follows: “President McKay said, “Every member a missionary,” President Kimball told us to “Lengthen our stride,” and President Hinckley said, “as members we can assist the missionaries in finding investigators.” But what if you don’t know how to teach the gospel?” We can at least try, right? Lu Ann Brobst Staheli is an award-winning educator and author. Lu Ann is the author of Psychic Madman and When Hearts Conjoin.

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A lot of people here in Utah came from member families. There are more outside of Utah who are converts. It has been said that it seems easier for a new convert to bring his friends to visit with the missionaries than someone who’s been a member a long time. From Paul at ‘A Latter-day Voice,’ we get his article entitled “I’m a Missionary, Too?” His comments resonate with most of us, because I’ve heard –and read- many comments where people say they feel uncomfortable talking to people about the gospel. Paul says: “I really like the concept of member missionary work. After all, those missionaries who taught us when I was a kid came after my friend invited me to Primary, and his family invited our family to FHE. So you'd think that I'd be out there spreading the gospel like a sprinkler spreads water, right?” He then goes on to tell us why he feels reluctant, and then makes a list of ways that he’s found how to share the gospel.

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From the February 2005 Ensign, we get Elder Clayton M. Christensen, and his talk “Seven Lessons on Sharing the Gospel.” He gives us a few tips, and he starts by saying: “The ability to share the gospel isn’t a “gift” that has been given to only a few Latter-day Saints and denied to the rest. We have concluded from our own experiences and from watching others that finding people for the missionaries to teach can be easy and natural for all of us—if we go about it the Lord’s way. Here are seven of the lessons we’ve learned about what His way is.”

 
To view a copy of the Neighborhood News for Monday, 6 September, please click here.