The Natural Man vs. The Spiritual Man

What is the Natural Man?

On lds.org it defines the natural man as, 

"A person who chooses to be influenced by the passions, desires, appetites, and senses of the flesh rather than by the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Such a person can comprehend physical things but not spiritual things. All people are carnal, or mortal, because of the fall of Adam and Eve. Each person must be born again through the atonement of Jesus Christ to cease being a natural man."

If we put off the natural man, then we will be born again...

What a powerful blessing! 

In the world we now live, it seems that the physical desires, appetites, passions, and senses of our flesh are taking over the promptings man receives on a spiritual level.  Thus the physical body is taking control over our spiritual body.

Why is this?

Why is it so easy to succumb to natural desires?  As we look at our marriage relationships it's easy to identify the "habits" or "shortcomings" or our spouse.  Those things are all temporal, and not eternal.  

We are promised that we will be made perfect through Christ's Atonement as we "put off" the natural man.

How do we apply this in our marital relationship?

John M. Gottman wrote a book titled,
"The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work".  

This book breaks down 4 Horseman in predicting marital imbalances, and how to stop them in their tracks from destroying marriages.

Have you ever felt critical, defensive, in a state of contempt, and find yourself stonewalling?

These are all natural tendencies that we must teach and train to change. 

In my own life, my marriage has near failed.  

My husband and I found ourselves involved with all four horsemen.  In fact, it looked like a horse race with both of us placing bets with each awful word that came out of our mouths.  It was a matter of time before the race was over, the horses were put back in their place, and our marriage got proper attention. 

My husband and I both learned that we must be taught, trained, and fed spiritually to allow our hearts to soften towards one another. It is not a race between us.

Only through the Lord can we truly heal wounded marriage.  

It is essential to our progression to put off the natural man and yield to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.  

He guides us to healing that the natural man cannot comprehend.  

We must submit ourselves to His will over our own.