I rarely get emotional at the grocery store, though it has been known to happen. On one occasion, while standing in the produce department, I experienced a heightened awareness of my surroundings–the vibrant colors and unique shapes of the fruits and vegetables: red peppers and pineapples, strawberries and asparagus spears–the sheer beauty at my fingertips. A lump rose in my throat, and I was filled with gratitude for a Heavenly Father who designed these foods to grow out of the earth and nourish the bodies of His children.

This sweet moment was no random occurrence. It came on the heels of a concerted effort to change my eating habits and live the guidelines in the Word of Wisdom more carefully. This effort was inspired by the need to reduce my high cholesterol, which was due partly to genetics, but mostly to poor eating choices. After recognizing that my heart’s health was at risk, I made a serious push to eliminate high cholesterol foods from my diet and draw heavily from the nutrition in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

My experience in the grocery store felt like a confirmation that I was on the right track, and my most recent bloodwork showed my cholesterol to be in the normal/healthy range for the first time in many years. I once asked my friend Susanna, who had recently run a marathon, how her body could handle that much exertion. She replied, “It’s amazing what your body can do when you give it the right fuel.” The same is true of our spirits.

The natural man 

The temple endowment and the temple garment remind us that both our bodies and spirits need constant nourishment. The pull of the natural man is powerful. The natural man “… 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.” (1) As King Benjamin taught, “… the natural man is an enemy to God…” (Mosiah 3:19)

But why is the natural man an enemy to God? Because he indulges in thoughts and behaviors that block the flow of the Holy Spirit just as surely as excess cholesterol blocks the proper flow of blood to the heart. The natural man goes places where the Spirit will not go, and requires little of us besides regular feedings of crude humor, profane language, movies and books filled with sex-driven dialogue, podcasts/influencers spouting the philosophies of men, violence, porn, and other addictive behaviors and substances. When we consume these things, we stunt our spiritual growth.

“… remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature, and goes on in the ways of sin and rebellion against God, remaineth in his fallen state and the devil hath all power over him. Therefore he is as though there was no redemption made, being an enemy to God…” (Mosiah 16:5)

A steady diet of light 

As children of God, “…we came from a heavenly place where light–spiritual light–was our natural habitat. Though a veil was drawn over our minds when we entered mortality, we seem to carry with us a deep hunger for light and truth. However, we don’t always recognize that hunger for what it is. With our spirits housed in bodies and subject to ‘the natural man’ (Mosiah 3:19), we attempt to fill our spiritual hunger by satisfying our physical cravings. It is a futile pursuit.” (2)

A healthy spirit requires constant nourishment, a steady diet of light:

“That which is of God is light,
and he that receiveth light,
and continueth in God,
receiveth more light;
and that light groweth brighter and brighter
until the perfect day…
I say it that you may know the truth,
that you may chase darkness
from among you.”

(D&C 50:24-25)

It’s possible to live an outwardly righteous life–attending church, praying in public, accepting a church calling, etc.–while privately indulging in carnal pleasures, catering to the natural man. But those conflicting actions will eventually catch up to us. It is exhausting to lead a double life. It is difficult to fake purity/piety when we are under Satan’s influence.

At some point, we must ask ourselves, “How good do I want to be?”  Do we want to live so we “may always have [Christ’s] spirit to be with [us]”? (Moroni 4:3) The seemingly small decisions we make multiple times a day about what we look at, listen to, think, say, do, and take into our bodies, determine whether we feed our carnal natures or nourish our spirits. I was recently reminded of one of those decisions:

You can’t have both

Last week I heard someone sing a couple of lines from a song I hadn’t listened to in many years, and it all came rushing back to me. The original hit song was superbly written and arranged, powerfully sung by a rising star, and soon after its release it went platinum, having enormous crossover success on the music charts. As a songwriter, I appreciated the spot-on blending of music and words, and the clever lyrics that pulled the listener into the story.

For a week or two I could not get enough of that song. But eventually, I acknowledged a little niggle of guilt in the back of my mind. I didn’t like how I felt after listening to the CD. The song glorified taking revenge on an unfaithful partner in a rather violent manner, and appealed to the “natural woman” in me. On first hearing the lyrics, I mentally cheered for the person who wasn’t gonna stand for cheating, but I finally had to admit that the song chased the Spirit away.

I had a choice to make. I could listen to the song or I could have the Spirit with me, but not both. I was embarrassed at how reluctant I felt to part with the album, but I knew I would keep listening if I kept it around, so I got rid of it. What I didn’t expect was the flood of approval I felt from the Spirit afterward, confirming that I had made a wise decision.

Developing a taste for light

Determining that I needed to change my eating habits to improve my physical health was easy. Implementing a healthier diet, not so much. I had a transition period learning to appreciate the subtle flavors of the healthier food I was eating, which contrasted greatly with the high fat/salt/sugar foods I had indulged in for so long, though after the first two weeks it became easier, and I slowly began to crave more nourishing foods.

The same is true when we attempt to overcome long-held carnal habits and addictions in favor of seeking God’s light and truth. It doesn’t generally happen overnight. Here are a few suggestions for developing a taste for light:

  1. It is difficult to give up carnal pleasures if we have used them as an escape from pain. We may not want to give them up, even when we know deep down that they aren’t a true solution to our problems. A man who was addicted to drugs for many years once said that it wasn’t enough to pray for God to change him. The first step in his successful recovery was to pray to be willing to change, willing to give up the thing he had depended on for so long.
  2. Start with baby steps. Turn on some inspirational music in the background, or a conference talk while you’re driving. This is a simple step and will invite the Spirit into your environment.
  3. When you put on a fresh pair of temple garments each day, let them remind you of your covenants and the need to be nourished.
  4. Few things subdue the impulses of the natural man more than temple and family history work. If you’re not currently worthy to be in the temple, try indexing, doing family history research, or working on a personal history. If this is difficult, try for just fifteen minutes each day.
  5. I once heard a woman who had overcome a porn addiction say that she had to find activities to replace her addiction so she wouldn’t turn back to her old ways. She needed something worthwhile to fill her time and her mind. Just as I had to replace the unhealthy food in my fridge and pantry with healthy alternatives so it would be easy to prepare nutritious meals, anyone working to overcome addictions or other natural man behaviors/activities will benefit from identifying a new project to work on, getting a job, finding someone to serve on a regular basis, developing a new skill, or working to magnify a church calling.

Just as I gradually learned to appreciate the flavors of nutritious foods, when we persist in subduing the desires of the natural man, we eventually “… hunger and thirst after righteousness.” Then we can be “… filled with the Holy Ghost.” (3 Nephi 12:6) Spiritual light becomes delicious to us. “To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8:5-6) I end with a song to fill you with light:

LIFT YOUR MIND HIGHER

Music and lyrics by Lynne Perry Christofferson
Vocal: Rebecca Lopez

Are you weary of the world
and the messages it sends?
Are you troubled by the images
that entice, and yet offend?
If you sense that darkness
is dimming your sight
but you feel a craving for light

Lift your mind higher
let your thoughts soar
till the pull of the world
has no power
to weigh you down anymore
Lift your mind higher
let your thoughts soar
Think of all that will truly inspire
lift your mind higher

Are you tangled in a web
of ideas that lead to sin?
Are you lured by shallow promises
that intrigue and draw you in?
If you feel the world
closing in every day
but you long
to chase it away

Lift your mind higher
let your thoughts soar
till the pull of the world
has no power
to weigh you down anymore
Lift your mind higher
let your thoughts soar
Think of all that will truly inspire
lift your mind higher

Anything virtuous or lovely
anything worthy of your praise
earnestly seek for these things
all your days

Lift your mind higher
let your thoughts soar
till the pull of the world
has no power
to weigh you down anymore
Lift your mind higher
let your thoughts soar
Think of all that will truly inspire
lift your mind higher