Every person on earth has the strength and potential to succeed regardless the circumstances of their life. We know this to be true because we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. Knowing that we would all have different backgrounds and environments, he provided us with the intrinsic ability to be as he would have us be despite all other things. However we know that no people are completely alike, that their inner natures are different. For this reason we see people in the same environments reacting differently under similar circumstances. Why is that? Why is it that when two men come from the basically the same situation one will go on to succeed and triumph over his trials and the other will fail?
Life is not easy for anybody on this planet. Everybody has issues that they face and stumbling blocks in their lives, big and small. To some it is the support and upbringing that they receive that gives them the wherewithal to pass through these well, but to others they must look within to find the means to endure. A prime example of this is that of a man named Christopher Gardner. As his story is related in The Pursuit of Happyness, he faced incredible trials. Unable to make sufficient means to provide for his family through medical supply sales, his wife leaves him and his young son. He loses his home and at one point he and his son stay in a public bathroom as their only shelter. Yet inexplicably, he rose up to become an extremely successful stockbroker. (Black, 2007). Where did this strength come from? By all means, he should have failed miserably. The best thing I could think of is love. His love for his son, provided strength that he couldn’t have found anywhere else. That basic human trait, love, that was inside him overruled doubt, despair, and all external forces. Nobody can give you that. Man’s intelligence and strength of character may be in part affected by our surroundings, but in the end it comes from the individual and nowhere else.
Another perfect example of internal moral fortitude comes from a surprising source. Pop culture looks at Mary Shelley’s monster from Frankenstein as just that, a mindless, murderous, monster. The truth is that the real monster in the story was Dr. Frankenstein. Despite the rejection of the one who created him (Shelley, ) despite being attacked by villagers (Shelley, ), the monster initially showed only the traits of a man of honor(). He acted with heroic valor to save a girl(). He spoke of love. The violent and vengeful tendencies came only after extreme mistreatment, and yet he still desired only a measure of peace and happiness in his life(). The truth of all this is that you it doesn’t matter how the world looks at you. Monster or no, we all have the ability to act with love, mercy, and courage.
Now, I’m not going to sit here and say that all people always have such moral fiber fundamentally. We know that no two people are completely equal. There is always somebody stronger, just as we are stronger in certain ways than others. And so there is a dichotomy in the internal man. Along side the noble and enlightening characteristics, there are base, weak, and vile attributes. Going back to Shelley’s Frankenstein, we see this. The doctor had every opportunity to love, to heal and to provide catharsis for his creation, for his son. And yet, something within him caused him to be repulsed. He feared the consequences of his actions, and yet instead of trying to find positive ways to correct his mistakes, he became bitter at the world. I’m sure his parents didn’t raise him to be so malicious, spiteful, and deceitful. And you know the same could be said of many others in the world. Nobody is raised to be wicked, murderous or genocidal. Now I’m not saying that Hitler was just “born that way,” but you can’t blame every evil person’s acts on the way they were raised. At some point, responsibility lies solely with that individual. This just goes to show that the nature of man is not the same as genetic predisposition although in many cases it does play a part. The force we call the nature of man is simply who the person is and the tendencies they have without regard to their upbringing, culture and environment.
Now considering genetic predisposition, it needs to be said that in many ways this is only a small portion of the current consideration. For instance, in my family, every man that has ever drunk alcohol has had to battle with alcoholism. That doesn’t mean that every one of those people became an alcoholic. I’m not, my older brother isn’t, and though it took him many years of his life, my grandfather was able to defeat that particular personal demon. That’s the point, the nature of man is much more complicated than straight-forward questions of genetics. There are many different factors when considering a the natural persona. Granted in this particular example, the external, or nurturing forces played a huge part in creating the strength to overcome such temptations, but again the final decision to have that beer or not doesn’t come ultimately from what my parents taught me in my youth. If that were the case I would be passed out in a ditch somewhere. Strength cannot be borrowed from others; it comes from somewhere deep in our souls.
Maybe that’s why God provided us with both external and internal sources of strength. The Book of Mormon teaches us that He “shall prepare a way for [us] that [we] may accomplish the thing which he commandeth [us].” (1 Nephi 3:7) It doesn’t say how He would do it. And soto protect us from our more base desires he provides what we would call the positive nurturing forces and to protect us from the world around us He created us with divine potential and character built right in.
There are other things to factor in when considering the implications of the natural force or persona. What about mental illness? Does it come from the circumstantial environment around oneself or is it part of who that person is right from birth? Also what about overcoming said mental illnesses? Can depression be overcome with personal determination and intrinsic strength from another part of the mind. I believe so. In Nature vs Nurture: Two Brothers with schizophrenia, it clearly states that genetics can be the cause mental illness such as schizophrenia(Keltner, 89). In this case the genetic predisposition of a person is a main contributing factor to the nature of such a person. However, as previously stated, it is not the only one. This complexity gives us the ability to wage battle on ourselves. This can often be self destructive as we allow the depression, psychosis, anger, or bitterness to gain the upper-hand. Our intimate relationship with God gives us the ability overcome bitterness, sorrow, and anger on our own, and in some cases the ability to overcome depression, and other illness. Again, we should take advantage of outside sources of strength such as counseling and family support, but this doesn’t excuse us from fighting our own fights and growing on our own.
The nature of man is complex. It rages like a storm tearing down all things around us. It becomes a shield and a protection in times of tribulation. It is what you see when you stare into the eyes of a person who pushes forward against all odds and of him of gives up all hope despite the love and support of those around him.
References
Black, Todd; Blumenthal, Jason; Lassiter, James; Smith, Will; Tisch, Steve (Producers) & Muccino, Gabriele (Director). (2007). The Pursuit of Happyness. [Motion Picture]. United States: Columbia Pictures.
Keltner, Norman L., James, Christopher A., Darling, Rani J., Findley, Lisa S., Oliver, Kelli. (2001) Nature vs. Nurture: Two brothers with schizophrenia. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, Vol. 37 Issue 3, 89-84.
Shelley, M. (1818). Frankenstein. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Harcourt Brace & Company.
