What does it mean that ‘…the natural man is an enemy to God’? (Mosiah 3:19)

I’ve been pondering on this subject for a fair while and I somehow doubt I will be able to do it justice, but I’m going to try anyway. The passage from King Benjamin’s speech to his people is oft-quoted in LDS talks and lessons. We tend to focus on the latter half of the verse, where Benjamin tells us how to put off the natural man. That will unfortunately have to wait for another post, because there’s more going on there than we usually discuss, but I want to start with defining the natural man. Because if we get that part wrong, it can have incredibly damaging consequences for how we view ourselves.

It’s probably useful to go back to the beginning. When God created people¹, in Genesis, He said that they were created in His likeness and image (Genesis 1:26-27). Granted, this is pre-fall, before Adam and Eve partake of the forbidden fruit, but it gives us a useful key in looking for what is god-like.