Carnal, Sensual, and Devilish
Men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out from the presence of God (Genesis 4:7). Carnal, sensual, and devilish are words that sound like mankind is inherently bad. But the word carnal means that the body has appetites: men get hungry, sleepy, tired, sick, weak, and sore. Sensual means “indulging an appetite.” Mankind oversleeps, overeats, and does things that satisfy the appetite of the body (and does it in excess so that he becomes addicted/subordinate/a slave to the appetite). And devilish means one is at odds with God. When one looks at the words and realizes what they’re describing, it’s not that men and women are all really, really corrupt; they are all just vulnerable. Every one of them is weak and vulnerable and can be compromised if they don’t work to protect themselves against that compromise. “Everything that I have read from the Scriptures talking about being carnal, being sensual, being devilish, being at odds with God, being an enemy to God, all of that is a description of the condition of the weakness of the physical body.”1
“So, how do we tap into this principle of divinity and connection and awareness so that we can pull ourselves out of our natural state?… Understand this Scripture about… the natural man is an enemy to God (Mosiah 1:16 RE) — [ Men and women, in their natural state, are out of harmony with God and have been since the Fall of Adam (Mosiah 1:16 CE)] — because it’s not an enemy to God; it is just disconnected from God. We are at odds with God.”2
“Throughout your life, you’re going to encounter problems, dilemmas, challenges, and thoughts (some of which are going to be not just challenging but quite ugly). You still have within you something connected directly to God that can extract itself, that can call you back to repentance. Don’t think the thoughts that come to you, if they are offensive to God, originate in the mind of the spirit. Much of the fight that you’re going to undertake in this life is a fight that will be inside of you. Overcoming the weaknesses of the flesh and gaining experience [is] to understand the difference between ‘carnal, sensual, devilish, and an enemy to God (at odds with Him)’ and ‘love, joy, kindness, mercy, forbearance, [and] goodness.’”3
1 “Understanding Your Soul,” Part 1, January 6, 2021, Sandy, UT, transcript, 2-3.
2 Stephanie Snuffer, “Understanding Your Soul,” Part 2, March 6, 2021, Highland, UT, transcript, 13.
3 “Understanding Your Soul,” Part 1, January 6, 2021, Sandy, UT, transcript, 6.