Obedience to the voice of God activates the enabling power of the Atonement

"The genesis of belief—or in this case, unbelief—is an interesting puzzle. Part of this puzzle is revealed by Nephi while speaking prophetically of our day:

14 They have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men. (2 Nephi 28:14)

The phrase 'precepts of men' encompasses any uninspired thought, process, or belief. Anything uninspired is either partly, or wholly, untrue. Such uninspired beliefs could be as simple as 'Miracles happen but not to me.' Or it could be something more intimate like, 'I just don't have much faith,' or 'I doubt I'll ever see a vision.' Unbelief may also result from clinging to incorrect precepts that are the remnants of childhood, such as 'I can't help myself. I'm just a naughty girl.'

The precepts of men may also take the form of platitudes that seem true but are not scriptural and dangerously tainted. Such precepts of men may include things like, 'You have to love yourself before you can love God,' when in fact, the scriptures teach that we must love God first and foremost, and love of self comes from God, not from self-promotion.

Almost all concepts of self—self-esteem, self-love, self-fulfillment, self-sufficiency, and the like—are not scriptural and are largely uninspired. Even the concept of self-discipline as a primary process to perfection places too much emphasis upon self and too little upon obedience to the voice of God, which activates the enabling power of the Atonement and acknowledges our utter dependence upon Christ's grace to heal and uplift us.

King Benjamin taught that we are to consider our self as being even less than the dust of the earth (Mosiah 2:25). Why? Because our self, our natural self, is tainted with mortal impurity, and in that state it is forever excluded from the presence of God. There is nothing the self can do to change this except to yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit and put off the natural self, and in so doing, become a Saint through the Atonement of Christ (Mosiah 3:19).

Elder David A Bednar made this timeless statement in general conference in October 2007: 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."

John Pontius, "The Triumph of Zion"