Seminarysnoozer

Ummm... wow.  Just wow.  "Our mortal experiences don't matter."  I can't tell you how much I disagree.
 
So, my view supports a view where I look outside myself at others' experiences and notice they might be dealing with stuff that is harder than it looks, so I empathize with their plight and do my best to understand their situation so that I can be caring (you know, Christlike) while still holding to my beliefs.  Yours is to condemn even their struggle.  I'll stick with mine; you can stick with yours if it really makes you happy. 

I am debating the point that you are saying we should try to overcome the natural man in the same breath (so-to-speak) that we should try to change the natural man.  My point is that sometimes we can overcome the natural man without changing the natural man, it is still there, underneath but by enduring it till the end.  In the end we overcome it through death. Some aspects of the natural man can change, such as the previous alcoholic developing a dislike for the taste of alcohol but there are many things that are simply the "thorn in the flesh" that we cannot change about our physical, carnal body, fallen self during this life.  To lump them together as if all tendencies should be overcome in this life is wrong. 
 
I think it is wrong to tell someone that if they have a desire for alcohol even though they are controling it and not giving into it that they are somehow evil for having that craving.  In my opinion, a person who has a craving for alcohol, that may be there their whole life and doesn't give into it despite being tempted over and over is doing excellent in this test!
 
In this life, yes, we are supposed to endure through our imperfections. When we die, we finally give up this corruption and it turns to dust where it came from.  Then we get a perfect body which allows us to receive a fullness of our perfection.  The test of endurance is not to see how much we can overcome but how we can perfect our ability to depend on the Lord.  Why did Job get stricken with so many things towards the end of his faithful life?  Were the number of things he was striken with a reflection of how successful he was in being faithful?
 
And by the way, your earlier comment about hunger when fasting not being evil is not correct, that is one of the things Christ was tempted with after His 40 day fast.  He was hungry and Satan used that as a temptation. The hunger was coming from Christ' own body, from himself and yet Christ was not evil.  The judgement of righteous or evil desires is not in what is presented but what is chosen after it is presented. 

Also, Elder Wood describes our inability to get rid of the "thorn in the flesh"; "Paul then quotes the Lord, who tells him, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). All men and women are bound by mortally imposed weaknesses and limitations in strength, knowledge, and power. Contrasting these limitations with the infinite wisdom and power of God brings humility. “Weaknesses are a constant reminder of our dependence upon the Lord. It is when we take those weaknesses to Him, in humility, that we can become effectively joined with Him in a great work. It is when we have done as much as we can do that His grace … can move us beyond our natural abilities” (Carolyn J. Rasmus, “Faith Strengthened in Weakness,” Church News, 26 Feb. 1994, 10). It is in this sense that God’s strength can then be made perfect in our lives. “The Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things” (Jacob 4:7)."
 
2 Corinthians 12; "7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."
 
It is not intended that the "thorn in the flesh" be taken away - it will be there our whole lives no matter how good one is at ignoring it or working through it.

I think you should reread Elder Bednar's description; "The precise nature of the test of mortality, then, can be summarized in the following question: Will I respond to the inclinations of the natural man, or will I yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit and put off the natural man and become a saint through the Atonement of Christ the Lord (see Mosiah 3:19)? That is the test. Every appetite, desire, propensity, and impulse of the natural man may be overcome by and through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We are here on the earth to develop godlike qualities and to bridle all of the passions of the flesh."
 
There are the "inclinations" of the natural man which is separate from the idea of whether they are "responded" to or not.   In other words, one can have an inclination but not respond to it.  Is that evil in your mind?
 
I would suggest that, as Elder Bednar described, the test of this life is to see which one we respond to.  Therefore, the "inclinations" are not going to go away while we are still in the test.  If the "inclinations" of the natural man were not there then there would be no test.  So, just to have a natural man "inclination" is not evil.   Is it evil that I am hungry during Fast Sunday?  Was it evil that the apostles slept when they didn't want to in the garden?  The spirit is willing but the body is weak.

If that is how you take that comment, then I am sorry.  That was not my intention. 
 
You are repeatedly saying to me that I am discussing something that has no relevence or purpose.  You keep saying that it doesn't matter.  That is where that comment came from, that you lack the understanding of why it is important to some.  It has nothing to do with intelligence more with perspective. 
 
Maybe you have been blessed with very little if any life long battles.  For the rest of us, we have to keep the battle going because if we drop our gaurd, the natural man slips back into control, waiting in the background to take center stage because she has never left.  So long as she is in the wings, we are okay, even if she (natural man) never leaves (never gotten rid of) during this life.

It has to do with what we are talking about because you suggest that we can somehow change the nature of our body.  Yes in some things we can.  The whole nature vs nuture thing comes to mind.  The nurture stuff, yes we can change, but the genetics, "nature" is something harder to change that simply might be the "thorn in the flesh" that remains throughout ones life. 
 
You are right, what we care about is the spiritual self.  I think that was my point too.  In not focusing on changing the physical nature so much then the focus is on changing the spiritual self.
 
It is not a meaningless point to someone who feels guilty that there body has a genetic predisposition to alcoholism, to same sex attraction, to eating a lot of food when stressed, to sleeping longer hours than most - we can go on and on.   They can be everything right and winning the battle, there disposition is to not give into those passions and yet they continue throughout one's life.  The goal isn't necessarily to make the inclination, the passion that comes from the hormones, the brain's wiring etc disapear but to maintain control over it and endure till the end through the battle so that one day we can be numbered with those that have no disposition to do evil.
 
King Benjamin spoke about this; "29 And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them.
 30 But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not."
 
The battle pertaining to these things is a life long battle for most.  We have to remember to keep the battle going even when we think 'all is well'.  We can never really put it behind us in this life.

Your contention is misplaced.  Nobody here, including me, is saying not to fight the good fight and to never give up.  We all agree with that.  You don't have to keep saying that that is your argument.  I have never disagreed with that in fact have written several times that we must endure till the end.
 
It is your continued use of words like getting "rid" of any imperfect feelings that shows a lack of understanding of our current condition as mortal beings.  The purpose of this life was to live with imperfectness, to live in the world but to not be of the world. Our goal is not to get rid of the challenges of life even if they come from our own body or own imperfect brain but to control them, to not give into them, to manage them and to choose spiritual influences over those carnal influences when they are in contention.
 
We don't want bad inclinations to become bad habits or it might become part of our spiritual nature.
 
My current body is only part of the temporary me, it is part of my stewardship that we sometimes call self but not the real me.  My spiritual self is the real me.  When people take in the characteristics of the body as self then it becomes part of their spiritual nature.  That doesn't have to happen.  It can be avoided without necessarily getting "rid" of the carnal nature while here. A same-sex attraction that is kept at bay because of "fighting the good fight" and having spiritual control over the carnal will not continue into the next life.  But if one gives into any carnal passion it may continue as part of our spiritual nature, the more we love earthly treasures (the corrupted body being an earthly thing) the more our spiritual nature changes into a carnal nature.  All along, though, the nature of the body may remain that way throughout one's life without it becoming part of the spiritual nature.
 
I don't think you would say that someone who dies with Alzheimers disease has a spirit nature that reflects that nature of the body or one who dies with trisomy 21 carries those traits and nature with them in the spirit.  The spiritual lessons learned from enduring those challenges carry through but the actual challenge (the carnal trait) does not.

Why didn't I go get this quote a while ago?  "
Where the Church stands:The experience of same-sex attraction is a complex reality for many people. The attraction itself is not a sin, but acting on it is. Even though individuals do not choose to have such attractions, they do choose how to respond to them. With love and understanding, the Church reaches out to all God’s children, including our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters."
 
http://mormonsandgays.org/

I saw in none of these that the fundamental desires, such as sexual attraction, of our bodies could be removed. They were all about changing our actions and thoughts. Sorry.

Since I had a few minutes before hitting bed, I thought I'd post some quotes in support of my points:
 
D. TODD CHRISTOFFERSONAt the same time, let us not justify ourselves in a casual effort. Let us not be content to retain some disposition to do evil. Let us worthily partake of the sacrament each week and continue to draw upon the Holy Spirit to root out the last vestiges of impurity within us. I testify that as you continue in the path of spiritual rebirth, the atoning grace of Jesus Christ will take away your sins and the stain of those sins in you, temptations will lose their appeal, and through Christ you will become holy, as He and our Father are holy. 
DAVID A. BEDNARWe are instructed to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny [ourselves] of all ungodliness” (Moroni 10:32), to become “new creature” in Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:17), to put off “the natural man” (Mosiah 3:19), and to experience “a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” (Mosiah 5:2). Please note that the conversion described in these verses is mighty, not minor—a spiritual rebirth and fundamental change of what we feel and desire, what we think and do, and what we are. Indeed, the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ entails a fundamental and permanent change in our very nature made possible through our reliance upon “the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah” (2 Nephi 2:8). As we choose to follow the Master, we choose to be changed—to be spiritually reborn. DAVID A. BEDNARThe gospel of Jesus Christ encompasses much more than avoiding, overcoming, and being cleansed from sin and the bad influences in our lives; it also essentially entails doing good, being good, and becoming better. Repenting of our sins and seeking forgiveness are spiritually necessary, and we must always do so. But remission of sin is not the only or even the ultimate purpose of the gospel. To have our hearts changed by the Holy Spirit such that “we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” (Mosiah 5:2), as did King Benjamin’s people, is the covenant responsibility we have accepted. This mighty change is not simply the result of working harder or developing greater individual discipline. Rather, it is the consequence of a fundamental change in our desires, our motives, and our natures made possible through the Atonement of Christ the Lord. Our spiritual purpose is to overcome both sin and the desire to sin, both the taint and the tyranny of sin. DAVID A. BEDNARThe essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ entails a fundamental and permanent change in our very nature made possible through the Savior’s Atonement. 
RUSSELL M. NELSONThe doctrine of repentance is much broader than a dictionary’s definition. When Jesus said “repent,” His disciples recorded that command in the Greek language with the verb metanoeo.  This powerful word has great significance. In this word, the prefix meta means “change.”  The suffix relates to four important Greek terms: nous, meaning “the mind”;  gnosis, meaning “knowledge”;  pneuma, meaning “spirit”;  and pnoe, meaning “breath.”  Thus, when Jesus said “repent,” He asked us to change—to change our mind, knowledge, and spirit—even our breath. A prophet explained that such a change in one’s breath is to breathe with grateful acknowledgment of Him who grants each breath. King Benjamin said, “If ye should serve him who has created you … and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath … from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.”  Yes, the Lord has commanded us to repent, to change our ways, to come unto Him, and be more like Him.  This requires a total change. Alma so taught his son: “Learn wisdom in thy youth,” he said. “Learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God. … Let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.”  
EZRA TAFT BENSONThe third important principle for us to understand if we would be true members of the Church is that repentance involves not just a change of actions, but a change of heart. When King Benjamin finished his remarkable address in the land of Zarahemla, the people all cried with one voice that they believed his words. They knew of a surety that his promises of redemption were true, because, said they, “the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent … has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, [and note this] that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” (Mosiah 5:2.) When we have undergone this mighty change, which is brought about only through faith in Jesus Christ and through the operation of the Spirit upon us, it is as though we have become a new person. Thus, the change is likened to a new birth. Thousands of you have experienced this change. You have forsaken lives of sin, sometimes deep and offensive sin, and through applying the blood of Christ in your lives, have become clean. You have no more disposition to return to your old ways. You are in reality a new person. This is what is meant by a change of heart. And from the topic, CONVERSION:Conversion includes a change in behavior, but it goes beyond behavior; it is a change in our very nature. It is such a significant change that the Lord and His prophets refer to it as a rebirth, a change of heart, and a baptism of fire. 
___________
 
These were only a very minor few of the talks, quotes, concepts, and scriptures that teach us that change of our very souls, natures, feelings, hearts, minds, and actions is absolutely possible through obedience and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

This is what you posted in #75; "
Do you honestly believe that someone who consistently puts of natural, evil tendencies won't change over time? You believe that the inclinations remain, exactly the same, exactly as strong, no matter how much we put them off and yield to the enticings of the Spirit?
 
I do not believe that. Practice makes perfect. Practice not being angry, and over time, you stop being angry. Add the Atonement and the literal changing effect it can have on our lives and character and the recipe is complete. Change is possible."
 
Now in this post you say; "If we overcome the evil (whether the inclination goes away or not) then we haven't failed."
 
... you cant have it both ways.
 
What changes is what inclinations we listen to, the spiritual ones or the carnal ones.  The inclinations can remain the same and yet the being changes because those carnal inclinations are not listened to.  But that does not mean those inclinations have changed, the body can keep them going with those evil influences even though they are ignored or overcome.
 
This is why we have to endure till the end. 
 
If someone overcame some evil inclination through their spiritual prowess and they no longer listen or feel the influence of that particular inclination, you want me to believe that if the person dropped their gaurd and stopped being righteous that the evil inclination has dissapeared and will never challenge that person again?   Or could it be that simply the person in their spiritual righteousness is keeping at bay the evil inclination that persists as a "thorn in the flesh" but kept under control as they don't give heed to that inclination when they are keeping their self spiritually pure.  If they were to drop their armor, the evil inclination would gain power again - why? Because it never went away!!!!

I already said some a while back, look at post #83; "Some aspects of the natural man can change, such as the previous alcoholic developing a dislike for the taste of alcohol but there are many things that are simply the "thorn in the flesh" that we cannot change about our physical, carnal body, fallen self during this life.  To lump them together as if all tendencies should be overcome in this life is wrong."
 
I never said any and all do.
 
Do you want to talk about trying to do away with them or doing away with them?   Those are two different things. 
 
As Elder Oaks explained people are born with some of these "thorns" as no fault of their own.  If someday we can engineer the genetics then great, we can do away with some of those things.  But until then, people are kinda stuck with their genetics.  Yes they can fight genetics and go against the natural tendencies.  I have not said anything against that and if anything have supported that idea, that one should endure to the end through these thorns. It is but a short time, then they are gone.  The test will be over soon enough. 
 
The main thing is to not learn to love them, to not say "God made me this way and so I accept it as the way I am supposed to be."  We can live in the world without being of the world.  God never told us to go live in some remote part of the forest and isolate ourselves from everything so we don't have to face any challenge in this life, like a monk is some far away monostary. 
 
In a person that has same sex attraction, for example, that test and challenge may be there their whole life, it likely will not go away, no matter how good they are at controlling it.  That does not mean the person failed in any way just because the tendency persists, because it is a carnal one that dies with the body so long as they don't take it in as "this is the way God made me so I desire to remain this way."  Which is what you are saying about "fighting" the tendeny and I agree with that part.  But you have to realize that there is a lot of guilt associated with the idea that one should be able to make it go away in this life and then it doesn't.  For any given person, that "thorn in the flesh" may very well be there their whole life, just like Pauls didnt go away until he died.  One should not feel like they failed any part of the test simply because the tendency is still there so long as they are controling that passion.  Just like I don't feel guilty about being hungry on Fast Sunday.  I do not expect to some day not even be hungry on Fast Sunday if I 'keep fighting the carnal instinct of hunger'.  That is an unreasonable goal. 

I am debating the point that you are saying we should try to overcome the natural man in the same breath (so-to-speak) that we should try to change the natural man.  My point is that sometimes we can overcome the natural man without changing the natural man, it is still there, underneath but by enduring it till the end.  In the end we overcome it through death. Some aspects of the natural man can change, such as the previous alcoholic developing a dislike for the taste of alcohol but there are many things that are simply the "thorn in the flesh" that we cannot change about our physical, carnal body, fallen self during this life.  To lump them together as if all tendencies should be overcome in this life is wrong. 
 
I think it is wrong to tell someone that if they have a desire for alcohol even though they are controling it and not giving into it that they are somehow evil for having that craving.  In my opinion, a person who has a craving for alcohol, that may be there their whole life and doesn't give into it despite being tempted over and over is doing excellent in this test!
 
In this life, yes, we are supposed to endure through our imperfections. When we die, we finally give up this corruption and it turns to dust where it came from.  Then we get a perfect body which allows us to receive a fullness of our perfection.  The test of endurance is not to see how much we can overcome but how we can perfect our ability to depend on the Lord.  Why did Job get stricken with so many things towards the end of his faithful life?  Were the number of things he was striken with a reflection of how successful he was in being faithful?
 
And by the way, your earlier comment about hunger when fasting not being evil is not correct, that is one of the things Christ was tempted with after His 40 day fast.  He was hungry and Satan used that as a temptation. The hunger was coming from Christ' own body, from himself and yet Christ was not evil.  The judgement of righteous or evil desires is not in what is presented but what is chosen after it is presented. 

Just to say that it is all matter doesn't speak of whether it is of a different type.  D&C suggests they are different, "
 7 There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes;
 8 We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter."
 
In other words, when the body is changed from a type that can't see fine matter to one that can then we will see that it is all matter but realize there are different types, one of which is fine and can only be discerned by the purified body. 
 
When we say "physical" we realize there is more than one type of "physical", it is not all one in the same.  Otherwise a physical body would not have to be transfigured to withstand the presence of God.

From LDS.org under "Fall of Adam"; "
Our Fallen Condition
As descendants of Adam and Eve, we inherit a fallen condition during mortality (see Alma 42:5-9, 14). We are separated from the presence of the Lord and subject to physical death. We are also placed in a state of opposition, in which we are tested by the difficulties of life and the temptations of the adversary (see 2 Nephi 2:11-14; D&C 29:39; Moses 6:48-49).
In this fallen condition, we have a conflict within us. We are spirit children of God, with the potential to be “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). However, “we are unworthy before [God]; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually” (Ether 3:2). We need to strive continually to overcome unrighteous passions and desires.
Repeating the words of an angel, King Benjamin said, “The natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam.” King Benjamin warned that in this natural, or fallen, state, each person will be an enemy to God forever “unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19)."
 
Elder Bednar April Conference 2013; "As sons and daughters of God, we have inherited divine capacities from Him. But we presently live in a fallen world. The very elements out of which our bodies were created are by nature fallen and ever subject to the pull of sin, corruption, and death. Consequently, the Fall of Adam and its spiritual and temporal consequences affect us most directly through our physical bodies. And yet we are dual beings, for our spirit that is the eternal part of us is tabernacled in a physical body that is subject to the Fall. As Jesus emphasized to the Apostle Peter, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).
The precise nature of the test of mortality, then, can be summarized in the following question: Will I respond to the inclinations of the natural man, or will I yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit and put off the natural man and become a saint through the Atonement of Christ the Lord (see Mosiah 3:19)? That is the test. Every appetite, desire, propensity, and impulse of the natural man may be overcome by and through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We are here on the earth to develop godlike qualities and to bridle all of the passions of the flesh."
 
David O. McKay; "Each of us has two contrasting natures: the physical and the spiritual.
Man is a dual being, and his life a plan of God. That is the first fundamental fact to keep in mind. Man has a natural body and a spiritual body. In declaring this fact the scriptures are very explicit:
“And the Gods formed man from the dust of the ground, and took his spirit (that is, the man’s spirit), and put it into him; and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” [Abraham 5:7.]
Man’s body, therefore, is but the tabernacle in which his spirit dwells. Too many, far too many, are prone to regard the body as the man, and consequently to direct their efforts to the gratifying of the body’s pleasures, its appetites, its desires, its passions. Too few recognize that the real man is an immortal spirit, which [is] “intelligence or the light of truth"
 
 
The problem with saying an evil desire is evil is the fact that "far too many, are prone to regard the body as the man".  It is not the "real man", "man is a dual being" with "contrasting natures".  As Elder Bednar puts it, "The precise nature of the test of mortality, then, can be summarized in the following question: Will I respond to the inclinations of the natural man, or will I yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit and put off the natural man and become a saint through the Atonement of Christ the Lord"
 
David O McKay states that the body has desires.  This may be different than "desires of the heart".

I think one has to think of this as being one of those things in which the means to the end is just as important as the end.  There is value in taking a name to the temple to do work for someone and the experiences gained by doing that act of service.  There is value to the person who receives the act of kindness as well more than would be there if it was as simple as crossing a name off a list somewhere.
 
There is value in doing things, that is one of the main lessons and tests of this life.  Will we do the things we are asked to do?   If all we had to do is say that we would do them if we had the chance then nobody would move onto the second estate test, the test of actually doing the things we said we would.  If all we had to do is proclaim that we believe and would follow Christ and His teachings no matter what then this whole thing would have ended at the first estate test as we all believed and said we would do those things.  So, doing is different than saying you would do it.  It is a test of integrity with addional refinement and appreciation for the value of the blessings by actually having the experience for both the doer and the receiver.

Enoch - in the ancient Book of Enoch wrote that elements are, of necessity, corrupted over time in our universe but are cycled constantly to be renewed and purified inside stars in order to maintain their eternal purpose.  The ancient Egyptians believed the secret of things eternal is that they continually pass through cycles like the seasons. 
 
The idea of cycles is strongly embedded in the scripture notion of types and shadows.  (see for example - Ecclesiastes 1:9-10)

I can see where you are coming from, I have had similar questions.  All of the elements of the Earth will be done away with and all that was old will be made new.  Coarse matter will be turned to fine matter.  Some may argue that that only entails changing a few atoms here and there but in reality we do not know if coarse matter exists in the same realm and system as fine matter.  We don't know if one converts to another.  We know that a mortal and corrupt body has no ability to become eternal on its own.  We always speak of that change as a transformation. So, there is no need to have the actual corrupt, mortal material come back to life, it will turn to dust from which it came.  Elder Bednar said; "The very elements out of which our bodies were created are by nature fallen and ever subject to the pull of sin, corruption, and death."
 
The other thing to consider is that when a body decays in the ground the atoms and molecules are reused.  What if a person dies under an apple tree and years latter a person comes by and eats an apple incorporating some of the atoms that used to be a part of another person's body.  Now who gets the material?  Is it going to be ripped from one to give to another? What about all the hamurgers, steaks, fillets etc one eats during one's lifetime.  Does all that material have to pulled out from the body to form the bodies of all the animals they came from to reform them?  It seems to me that the actual material forming the body that one dies with does not need to be used to resurrect.  I think rising from the grave is a metaphor that simply means to bring back to life.  The actual mechanics of how it is done seems less likely to involve using corrupt and recycled elements.

Phillipians squares just fine with Truth (Jesus).  Jesus condescended from his statehood, Godly/Holy/Perfect, to do his father's will; although man, he was still one (equal) with his Father.  
 
John 6: 38, "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me."  One doesn't perform the will of another unless there is some form of obedience.  If Jesus did not do the will of Him who sent him, would He have been perfect?  No.
 
Let's review the KJV, a translation we accept as more correct (Philippians 2: 6-7), "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men."
 
Sets perfectly well within Truth.
 
Let's review another passage similar to this spoken by John (John 5:18), "Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God."
 
Again, nothing unsettling to Truth given by the Lord's prophets in this the last dispensation.  

Anything said about this would be pure speculation on our part, and would only be our individual opinions. There is no revealed doctrine on these ideas. The exception maybe is that we do have a heavenly mother.

I understand what you are saying about teaching and even agree with it.  However the proper place for this teaching belongs in the home, by parents to children...  By the words, actions, and examples of the same.
 
Once you get outside of that you get very problematic.  It needs to be taught by someone that the person trusts and that has a good understanding of where the person is in their understanding of the topic.
 
Any other method (church, government/schools) leads to it being done by people with less trust and less understanding of the individual and usually in groups where you spend more time dealing with what is deemed the 'most important'  In the case of Church it is avoiding Sin, in the case of Government it is avoid disease.

Being one does not mean being equal.  See Abraham chapter 3. -- whenever there are two one will be greater (more outstanding and unique) than the other.  Jesus was one with the Father and always said that the father was greater (more outstanding and unique) than him.  If you have a problem with Jesus and this doctrine - I would suggest you take up this point with him.  Trying to make this point with me is not likely the best things to do - since you are most likely greater than I.  At least in the knowledge of this - but then that would prove my point???  :)

One of its similarities is in the idea that here we have diversity, variability and inequality, as one star differs from another.  Whereas, the glory of the sun is one and the glory of the moon is one.

All passions of the body should be controlled.  To just have the passion is not sin, to act upona passion that leads away from God is.  If I am hungry during a fast I am not sinning.  There is the passion of the body presented from which we can act upon, either take it into our soul or keep it separate.  Whe Jesus was tempted by Satan, Satan used the passions of the body to persuade him to sin but Christ did not follow those passions.  I believe after fasting for 40 days, Jesus body was hungry but He did not give into that passion.
The attraction describes the chemical, genetic etc. carnal drive.  Acting upon carnality can make it start to be part of the spirits desires and this is where one can deviate from the right path.  Taking on carnality is done in part by acting upon carnal drives.
 
David O. McKay; "The choice is given, whether we live in the physical world as animals, or whether we use what earth offers us as a means of living in the spiritual world that will lead us back into the presence of God.
This means specifically:
Whether we choose selfishness or whether we will deny ourselves for the good of others;
Whether we will cherish indulgence of appetite [and] passion, or whether we will develop restraint and self-control.
Whether we choose licentiousness or chastity;
Whether we will encourage hate or develop love;
Whether [we] practice cruelty or kindness;
Whether [we] be cynical or sanguine—hopeful;
Whether we be traitorous—disloyal to those who love us, to our country, to the Church or to God—or whether we will be loyal;
Whether we be deceitful, or honest, our word our bond;
Whether [we have] a slanderous or a controlled tongue.
Whether a man remains satisfied within what we designate the animal world, satisfied with what the animal world will give him, yielding without effort to the whim of his appetites and passions and slipping farther and farther into the realm of indulgence, or whether, through self-mastery, he rises toward intellectual, moral, and spiritual enjoyments depends upon the kind of choice he makes every day, nay, every hour of his life."
 
That is the difference between having a passion and acting on it.

I agree with you.  It's not just the objective severity of the sin; it's the severity of the sin in conjunction with the light and knowledge that the sinner had at the time of the sin. 
 
Also, bear in mind (re Packer's quote):  Everyone who is saved in any kingdom of glory at all, receives forgiveness--were it not so, they would remain in outer darkness in eternity.  And I think we often focus on exaltation so much that we tend to underestimate just how big of a gift "forgiveness" and even a place in the Telestial Kingdom really is. 
 
That said:  not everyone can be sanctified to the point that they can endure celestial glory and entrusted with all the powers and responsibilities that exaltation entails.  David had his opportunity to show what he would do with ultimate, unfettered power over life and death; and in that regard his test--the D&C and Joseph Smith tell us--is over.  He can still be saved, in the loose sense of the word; but he will never be entrusted with such absolute control over humans ever again.