KnoWhy #311 - How Can One Overcome The Natural Man? (Mosiah 3:19)

King Benjamin’s inspired speech in Mosiah 2–5 is rich with parallelisms, chiasmus, and other literary techniques that highlight and emphasize core doctrinal principles. One such doctrinal subject is the Fall, which Benjamin emphasizes in a chiastic frame at Mosiah 3:18–19. According to Benjamin’s formulation, the Fall of Adam and Eve, with the result that the natural (fallen) man is an “enemy to God,” can only be overcome through the Atonement of Jesus Christ by “putting off the natural man.” But beyond merely conveying this crucial doctrine, Benjamin added poetic depth to this teaching through his skilled use of chiastic structuring.