The spirit is not naturally subjected
to the power of Satan; rather, it has an affinity to the Spirit of God. As
Satan has power over the flesh, God has influence with the spirit of man. These
opposite inclinations are not equally balanced. Brigham Young said: “I am satisfied
that he /man/ is more inclined to do right than to do wrong. There is a greater
power within him to shun evil and perform good, then to do the opposite.” (Journal
of Discourses, IX [March 23, 1863], 246) He added that “it was never designed that
he [man] should naturally do and love evil.” (Ibid., IX [June 15, 1862], 305)
This is simplified by the following statement of Brigham Young: “In every man
there is a candle of the Lord which burns with a clear light; and if by the
wickedness of man it is extinguished, then farewell for ever to that
individual.” (Ibid., IX [January 5, 1860], 104, 105)
Brigham Young believed that man is
sovereign over his own actions, yet he did not rule out the omnipotence of God.
He recognized the possibility of divine intervention, such as the religious
experience of Paul, but believed the ultimate decisions of life affecting man’s
eternal destiny are to be left to man. This idea was so important to Brigham
Young as he conceived the purpose of this mortal existence that he said that “the
consent of the creature must be obtained before the Creator can rule perfectly.”
(Ibid., XV [August 18, 1872], 134) Explaining this with eternal perspective,
Brigham Young said: “Man is made an agent to himself before his God; he is
organized for the express purpose, that he may become like his master. . . .
The Lord has organized mankind for the purpose of increasing in that intelligence
and truth . . . until he is capable of creating worlds n worlds, and becoming
Gods, even the sons of God.” (Ibid., III [August 8, 1852], 93) Believing that “the
power of choice all intelligent beings inherit from the Gods of eternity; it is
innate,” (Ibid., IX [January 5, 1860], 105) Brigham concluded: “If you have a
blank ticket for the theatre, you may fill it up for the boxes, or the gallery,
or the pit just as you please. Your lives must fill the blank, and if you would
fill it for one of the best seats in the kingdom, you must live accordingly.”
(Ibid., IV [March 15, 1857], 289)
Disagreeing with Socrates and Plato, Brigham
Young believed sin was a result of more than just ignorance. Man’s power to
choose evil, which would ultimately result in his destruction, was part of the
plan of life and consistent with the principle of free agency. To express how
man could follow a path of life which would end in death, Brigham Young used Jeremiah’s
analogy of the potter and his clay. (Jeremiah, 18:1-10) Brigham Young said that
if the clay continually mars in the Great Potter’s hand, He will cut it from
the wheel of life and throw it back into the native element. The second death,
or the death of the spirit, is a result of man’s decisions to follow the
enticement of His Satanic Majesty. (James Keith Melvile, “The Political Ideas
of Brigham Young” [PhD. Thesis; University of Utah, January 1956], 125-27)
Further Reading:
Answering the Tanners' Misrepresentation of Brigham Young on the “natural man”