Carnal
Scripture describes the natural man as one who rejects the things of the Spirit and lives “without God in the world.”
Caro in Latin connotes flesh, and the Greek sarkikos behind Paul’s usage means fleshly. Throughout scripture, the term carries a distinctly negative connotation. “Carnal, sensual, and devilish” appears repeatedly in Latter-day Saint canon (Moses 5:13; Mosiah 16:3; Alma 42:10). Paul warns that “to be carnally minded is death” because “the carnal mind is enmity against God” (Romans 8:6-7). Read quickly, this sounds like a verdict against bodies.
However, Mormon theology challenges this interpretation. All spirit is matter, albeit finer and purer (D&C 131:7-8). God has an exalted physical body (D&C 130:22), and the dead in spirit prison perceive the separation of their spirits from their physical tabernacles as bondage, not liberation (D&C 138:50). Because God declares that all things are spiritual unto Him (D&C 29:34-35), the carnal-spiritual contrast must mark something other than a boundary between matter and non-matter.
WHAT PAUL ACTUALLY LISTS
When Paul identifies the evidence of a “carnality,” he points to communal breakdown—envy, strife, and factional allegiance around competing leaders.
Paul’s address to the Corinthians clarifies this nuance. He identifies the evidence of their carnal nature as social dysfunction: envy, strife, and tribal factions rallying around competing leaders (1 Corinthians 3:1-4). None of these examples involve appetite. By describing his audience as “babes” still reliant on milk, Paul reframes carnality. It emerges as a state of arrested development; a failure to mature beyond the zero-sum survival impulses of our biological baseline.
The book of Hebrews further clarifies this distinction by contrasting a “carnal commandment” with “the power of an endless life” (Hebrews 7:16). In this context, “carnal” refers to something temporary: rules applicable only to a single generation and ordinances that address local conditions. The carnal mind, according to this interpretation, is one that is oriented towards that which is perishable, while the natural man is someone who is repulsed by the things of godliness.
RELEVANCE OF THE BODY
The critique of disembodiment insists that any functioning entity requires a material substrate; even when minds are modeled through computation, embodiment remains a condition of existence.
A strand of transhumanism reproduces old gnosticism, treating the body as a prison and digital existence as an escape from physical limitations. However, this perspective overlooks the fundamental physics of existence. Disembodied information doesn’t exist, and brain emulation merely changes the substrate rather than providing an exit from embodiment. Any entity operating on new hardware remains fundamentally a body.
In contrast, Mormon eschatology envisions bodies being restored rather than abandoned. Paul’s own remedy emphasizes the importance of the flesh: God condemned sin in the flesh by sending the Son in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3). This cure was administered within the human condition, by someone who condescended below all things.
CARNALITY SCALES
Envy, strife, and contention persist as one’s capacity expands. These negative traits accompany the individual and inherit any leverage they acquire. Consequently, greater power tends to amplify rather than correct one’s orientation. A petty mind with a longer lifespan remains petty for an extended period. Similarly, a factional mind armed with enhanced biotechnology merely builds more destructive factions.
This is where the term “carnal” finds its relevance. Extended bodies, repaired brains, and engineered capacities align perfectly with a theology that views embodiment as essential to eternal progression and resurrection as the ultimate goal. However, when pursued by individuals who remain in a state of innocence and charity, these capacities risk creating a posthumanity that is fundamentally beneath our divine potential, which is the most straightforward interpretation of the term “devilish.” The test to apply to any enhancement, personal or societal, is whether it expands the user’s desire for compassion and creation, or merely amplifies the user’s own desires.