Dual Nature of Man

In October of 1969, just before his death, President David O. McKay gave his final talk as President of the Church. It was titled "In the Church, Man Does Not Live for Himself Alone". His emphasis was on the duality of man:

“We have heard during the sessions of this conference that man is a dual being: He is physical, and has his appetites, passions, desires, just as any animal has. But he is also a spiritual being; and he knows that to subdue the animal instincts is to achieve advancement in his spiritual realm; that a man who is subjected to his physical appetites and passions only, who denies any reality of a spirit, is truly of the animal world; and that man is a spiritual being, and his real life is the spirit that inhabits his body.”

He then tells the following story about President John Quincy Adams:

“President John Quincy Adams gave a good illustration of this when he was accosted on the streets of Boston one day and was asked, "How is John Quincy Adams today?"

He answered, as he tottered along with hips cane, "John Quincy Adams is well, thank you, quite well. But the house in which he lives is tottering on its foundations, the windows are shaking, the roof is leaking, the doors are not hanging straight; and I think John Quincy Adams will have to move out of it soon. But John Quincy Adams himself, sir, is quite well, I thank you, quite well!" He sensed that the real John Quincy Adams was an immortal being, a son of a Father in heaven.

That is one great truth to which testimony has been borne in this conference—that man is spirit, the son of his Father, and has within him that which will cause him to yearn and to aspire to become dignified as a son of God should be dignified. The dignity of man, not the degradation of man, has been emphasized throughout this conference.”

I love this teaching; that man, while subject to passions and appetites, is not meant to just give in to them. The world may teach and believe that we have no control over any physical urges that come to us and we should just embrace them, regardless of the consequences. I believe we are here in this life to tame our physical body, to bring it into subjection to our spirit, which is the “real” us. That’s one of the reasons we fast, so we can show that while our body may be subject to hunger, our spirit is stronger and when we fast for something, the spirit will give us strength to overcome the body hunger pains. There is spiritual strength in this.