True religion is an attempt to overcome the “natural man,” or natural woman if you will.
The Natural Man
The natural man wants what he wants when he wants it. The natural man imagines that time and all eternity, and of course humankind, began with his birth and will end with his death. The natural man thinks that the earth, the moon, the sun, and the stars revolve around him, and that all Creation was created to fulfill his every desire, want, need. The natural man expects everyone else to strive to be of service to him.
The natural man thinks and acts as if the rest of our human family are just supporting characters in the grand play which is his life. The natural man therefore chooses those to spend his time with based on their willingness and ability to reflect glory back on him.
The natural man’s actions are to satisfy his desires. The natural man seeks always to be entertained and nothing is more satisfying than flattery, having his myriad virtues extolled, plentiful righteous works praised, his every good deed memorialized. Few things the natural man despises and resents more than a compliment, however slight, directed toward someone other than himself. Even the natural man’s seeming charitable acts are designed to direct glory, and profit, to himself.
The natural man’s every thought and feeling is unique in the history of humankind, and the most poignant. The first time the natural man experiences any emotion, it is the first time anyone anywhere has ever experienced that emotion at any time, and certainly also the most profound experience, ever.
The natural man though never feels remorse, or in need of repentance, because the natural man never truly reflects upon how any of his actions affects others. The natural man’s brilliant mind always allows him to come to the root of every issue without fail, in an instant. The natural man knows what he knows with absolute certainty.
For the natural man, food is not to nourish the body but to satisfy cravings, and foods are chosen for their taste and appearance, to satisfy his tongue and eyes, not to build the body and mind. For the natural man sexual activity is not for bonding two people together, much less for procreation, but for mere pleasure or conquest. The natural man chooses a mate based on how that mate reflects upon him. If the natural man does father children, the role of those children is also to reflect glory back on him, and to carry his name into the future.
True Religion
True religion teaches us to strive to overcome the natural man. True religion teaches us each to overcome the natural man we each possess by helping each of us to realize and embrace the divine nature we also each possess.
True religion teaches us to discipline our desires, to examine our wants. True religion teaches us to postpone immediate short term gratification for a delayed, but more lasting, long term satisfaction. True religion teaches us to strive to be of service to others.
True religion teaches that there were generations that came before us, and generations that will continue on after we leave this mortal existence. We are not the beginning of time and all eternity, and our death will not be the end. True religion pushes our horizons back into the past, and forward into the future.
True religion teaches us that all Heavenly Father’s children are unique and of worth in His eyes. True religion teaches us to gain from the experiences of our brothers and sisters and to learn from them, whoever they may be and wherever they live, or whenever they may have lived.
Ture religion teaches us to seek to know our Creator and that flattery is poison to the soul, and to be avoided as such. True religion teaches that no man is the equal to Our Heavenly Father nor can any man comprehend the totality of his Creation.
True religion teaches us to search our actions for ways in which we can improve, to reflect upon and ponder the impact of our actions upon others, to feel empathy and true remorse. True religion teaches us to be repentant, to seek to change for the better. True religion teaches us to value the experiences and insight of others, realizing of course the failings we all have, and to realize that Our Heavenly Father communicates to all His children.
True religion teaches that our bodies are precious gifts, and to be nourished and cared for as such. True religion teaches us to ponder carefully what we put into our bodies, to select our foods based upon the nourishment and strengthening those foods provide our bodies.
True religion teaches the sacredness of bringing a child into this world and the responsibility that that entails. True religion teaches that our children are also sons and daughters of Our Heavenly Father and to be nourished and cared for as such.
No one is the perfect epitome of the natural man, nor completely free of the natural man.
No one follows true religion without fail, or completely fails in following true religion.
All just one man’s opinion.