Good or Evil?
Posted by Wade on February 12th, 2006
The question sometimes arises: Are we, by nature, good or evil?
King Benjamin taught: …I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility… (Mosiah ch. 4)
Moreover, the Brother of Jared said …our natures have become evil continually… (Ether 3:2)
Also, God himself taught Adam thusly: And the Lord spake unto Adam, saying: Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts… (Moses 6:55)
But, despite these referrences, we often hear about our divine nature. Therefore, the question I pose for this thread is how to reconcile these teachings. Is mankind’s essential nature good or evil?
Evil.
I think “divine nature” is a misnomer. I think a more accurate term would be somehting like “divine origin”. You may be interested in our evil post.
Comment # 1 left by Kim Siever on February 13th, 2006
“a more accurate term would be somehting like “divine origin”"
Not really.
John A. Widtsoe, in his work A Rational Theology. He explicitly states, “In short, man is a god in embryo. He comes of a race of gods, and as his eternal growth continues, he will approach more nearly the position which to us is Godhood, and is everlasting in its power over the elements of the universe.” He also said, “God and Man are of the same race . . . man is of the order of Gods. . . . ”
So divine origin would be appropriate in describing our history and, as Widtsoe calls it, our race. But the term “Gods in embryo” suggests that it is in our nature to be like god just as the nature of an embryo is to become like it’s parents
Comment # 2 left by Ryan on February 14th, 2006
I think that we are born neutral and we are innocent. As we grow and make decisions, we will inevitably choose Bad and Good. I beleive that Adam and Eve in the Garden were Neutral.
Comment # 3 left by Ian on February 14th, 2006
the term “Gods in embryo” suggests that it is in our nature to be like god…
But does this really answer the question? Indeed, one could argue that Lucifer was a son of the morning and possessed the capacity for divinity as a son. Yet he fell from heaven as Isaiah teaches us.
So, does our divine nature make us inherently good???
Comment # 4 left by Wade on February 14th, 2006
Ian said:
I think that we are born neutral and we are innocent.
This is an interesting thought, but one that I don’t fully accept for the time being.
I think there is a fundamental difference between neutrality and innocence. All innocent means is that one is blameless, i.e. one hasn’t violated the law. However, just because I didn’t violate any laws when I was a new-born baby doesn’t by necessity mean that my nature was not predisposed to violate law = evil.
While I do believe we are innocent from the beginning of our mortal probation, I don’t believe our natures were therefore neutral.
Comment # 5 left by Wade on February 14th, 2006
Kim Siever said:
Evil.
Can you support this proposition?
Comment # 6 left by Wade on February 14th, 2006