"And the Gods formed man from the dust of the ground, and took his spirit (that is, the man’s spirit), and put it into him; and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul."
Abraham 5:7
This verse is basically saying that our bodies are foreign to us when we start out in this life, but our spirits have been around a long time. Joined together, they are both a part of us, making us whole in a new way that we had never experienced before mortality. This is an important truth, because we so often get life backwards. We think that what our body wants, and the physical desires we were born with, should dictate our lives. We think that our bodies should take precedence in this new unity of soul.
Letting our bodies have control is not what God wants. God tells us to *not* be as the "as the horse, or as the mule" (Psalms 32:9), but instead to "bridle all [our] passions" (Alma 38:12).
This doesn't mean that our bodies are bad at all. They are an awesome gift, and they make it possible for us to feel joy on a whole new level. Plus, God has a body, and we need bodies so that we can follow his path. We just need to make sure that our *spirits* take precedence, so that we can do as God asks, and not fall away, following the whims of desire and appetite. Just like we have to learn not to eat cake all day, we have to learn to control all our desires. As we treat our bodies well, and teach ourselves to be in harmony within our souls, we can grow in joy and in connection to God... finding the awesome, good things about life rather than letting ourselves go after desires that are unwise and which will make us unhappy in the long term. True joy is found in internal harmony, and unity with God... not, much as we may like it temporarily, in eating cake all day. :) God has much better things in store.
Abraham 5:7
This verse is basically saying that our bodies are foreign to us when we start out in this life, but our spirits have been around a long time. Joined together, they are both a part of us, making us whole in a new way that we had never experienced before mortality. This is an important truth, because we so often get life backwards. We think that what our body wants, and the physical desires we were born with, should dictate our lives. We think that our bodies should take precedence in this new unity of soul.
Letting our bodies have control is not what God wants. God tells us to *not* be as the "as the horse, or as the mule" (Psalms 32:9), but instead to "bridle all [our] passions" (Alma 38:12).
This doesn't mean that our bodies are bad at all. They are an awesome gift, and they make it possible for us to feel joy on a whole new level. Plus, God has a body, and we need bodies so that we can follow his path. We just need to make sure that our *spirits* take precedence, so that we can do as God asks, and not fall away, following the whims of desire and appetite. Just like we have to learn not to eat cake all day, we have to learn to control all our desires. As we treat our bodies well, and teach ourselves to be in harmony within our souls, we can grow in joy and in connection to God... finding the awesome, good things about life rather than letting ourselves go after desires that are unwise and which will make us unhappy in the long term. True joy is found in internal harmony, and unity with God... not, much as we may like it temporarily, in eating cake all day. :) God has much better things in store.
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