The Fall of Adam Reading Assignment No. 9

Transcription

1 The Fall of Adam Reading Assignment No. 9 Introduction With the completion of the physical creation of the earth in a spiritual or endless state, it was essential that a fundamental change in the earth take place in order for man to progress through the purposes of the second estate. This was the purpose of the Fall of Adam. Adam s Fall is a fundamental doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The second Article of Faith declares: We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression. An understanding of the Fall of Adam and its results upon mankind is essential to understanding our mortal experience. It helps us properly interpret the difficult nature of this life and why many things are the way they are. This understanding is central to comprehending the purpose of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. President Ezra Taft Benson ( ) declared to the world: Just as a man does not really desire food until he is hungry, so he does not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ. No one adequately and properly knows why he needs Christ until he understands and accepts the doctrine of the Fall and its effect upon all mankind. And no other book in the world explains this vital doctrine nearly as well as the Book of Mormon. ( The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, Ensign, May 1987, 85) The focus of this reading assignment is not on the story of the Fall but rather it is concerned with the results of the Fall upon all mankind. Not too familiar with the story of the Fall? The scriptural account of the Fall is: Moses 3:7-9, 15-17; 4:5-13, (Note: keep in mind that the story of the Fall as found in scripture is a simplified or even figurative portrayal of the actual account which may be too difficult to fully understand) The following give important understanding to the story: 2 Nephi 2:15-25 D&C 29:34-35, Elder Bruce R. McConkie ( ) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, briefly renders the story in the following: We do not know how the fall was accomplished any more than we know how the Lord caused the earth to come into being and to spin through the heavens in its paradisiacal state. We have been given only enough information about the creation and the fall to enable us to understand the purposes of the Lord, to exercise faith in him, and to gain our salvation. As to the fall, the scriptures set forth that there were in the Garden of Eden two trees. One was the tree of life, which figuratively refers to eternal life; the other was the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which figuratively refers to how and why and in what manner mortality and all that appertains to it came into being. "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat," the Lord told our first parents, "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Moses 3:16-17.) Eve partook without full understanding; Adam partook knowing that unless he did so he and Eve could not have children and fulfill the commandment they had received to multiply and replenish the earth. After they had thus complied with whatever the law was that brought mortality into being, the Lord said to Eve: "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." To Adam the decree came: "Cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee." Thus the paradisiacal earth was cursed; thus it fell; and thus it became as it now is. Adam was then told that he would surely die, returning through death to the dust whence his physical body had come. And then the Lord said to his Only Begotten: "Behold, the man is become as one of us to know good and evil; and now lest he put forth his hand and partake also of the tree of life and eat and live forever [in his sins!], therefore I, the Lord God, will send him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken." (Moses 4:22-29.) Such is the ancient account of the fall. (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith [1985], 85-86)

2 Key Concepts and Teachings Adam and Eve D. Todd Christofferson Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Adam and Eve acted for all who had chosen to participate in the Father s great plan of happiness. ( Why Marriage, Why Family, Ensign, May 2015) John A. Widtsoe ( ) Quorum of the Twelve Apostles The plan of salvation provided that two of the spirits in the pre-existent world, known to us as Adam and Eve, should come upon the newly-formed earth, to become the parents of the human race. However, spiritual beings are not subject to material laws. It became necessary for Adam and Eve to step down, as it were, to become subject to the conditions of earth. This was in essence the breaking of a law; but the necessary breaking of a lesser to conform to a higher law. This is not an unusual occurrence in life. Clean hands are soiled in our daily toil. The man who rivets the steel girders of a skyscraper, subjects himself dangerously to the law of gravitation as he swings from the tenth story over the street below. The runner strains heart and muscle in winning the race. From one point of view, these are violations of law. In a similar manner our first parents subjected themselves to the law of the earth, involving the conditions described in a previous paragraph, including, ultimately the death of the earthly body. Adam and Eve, who were willing to do this necessary work in the plan of salvation, fearlessly accepting the pains of earth, must be classed as the great hero and heroine among the human race.... Mankind are not punished for the act of Adam and Eve-the so-called fall. It was in the Plan; it was necessary. Besides, no spiritual being is sent to earth, except as he deliberately accepts the Plan, with its attendant conditions of mortality. Men are punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression. (Program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [Copyrighted by Heber J. Grant, 1937], 205) Fall Initiated the Mortal Creation of Earth Joseph Smith ( ) President Adam was made to open the way of the world. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [1976], 12) Joseph Fielding Smith ( ) President When Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden, he was in the presence of God our Eternal Father. He talked with the Father and the Father with him. But something happened, and it had to happen.... Adam came here to bring mortality upon the earth, and that resulted in the shutting out from the presence of the Eternal Father of both Adam and Eve and their posterity. ( Adam s Role in Bringing Us Mortality, Ensign, Jan. 2006,52-3) Russell M. Nelson Quorum of the Twelve Apostles The Fall of Adam (and Eve) constituted the mortal creation and brought about the required changes in their bodies, including the circulation of blood and other modifications as well. They were now able to have children. They and their posterity also became subject to injury, disease, and death. ( The Atonement, Ensign, Nov. 1996, 33) Why the Fall was Necessary Dallin H. Oaks First Presidency [The Fall was ]a planned offense, a formality to serve an eternal purpose. The Prophet Lehi explained that if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen (2 Ne. 2:22), but would have remained in the same state in which he was created. And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin (2 Ne. 2:23). But the Fall was planned, Lehi concludes, because all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things (2 Ne. 2:24). It was Eve who first transgressed the limits of Eden in order to initiate the conditions of mortality. Her act, whatever its nature, was formally a transgression but eternally a glorious necessity to open the doorway toward eternal life. Adam showed his wisdom by doing the same. And thus Eve and Adam fell that men might be (2 Ne. 2:25). Some Christians condemn Eve for her act, concluding that she and her daughters are somehow flawed by it. Not the Latter-day Saints! Informed by revelation, we celebrate Eve s act and honor her wisdom and courage in the great episode called the Fall (see Bruce R. McConkie, Eve and the Fall, Woman, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979, pp ). Joseph Smith taught that it was not a sin, because God had decreed it (see The Words of Joseph Smith, ed. Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook, Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1980, p. 63). Brigham Young declared, We should never blame Mother Eve, not the least (in Journal of Discourses, 13:145). Elder Joseph Fielding Smith said: I never speak of the part Eve took in this fall as a sin, nor do I accuse Adam of a sin. This was a transgression of the law, but not a sin for it was something that Adam and Eve had to do! (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols., Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, , 1:114 15). This suggested contrast between a sin and a transgression reminds us of the careful wording in the second article of faith: We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam s transgression (emphasis added). It also echoes a familiar distinction in the law. Some acts, like murder, are crimes because they are inherently wrong. Other acts, like operating without a license, are crimes only because they are legally prohibited. Under these distinctions, the act that produced the Fall was not a sin inherently wrong but a transgression wrong because it was formally prohibited. These words are not always used to denote something different, but this distinction seems meaningful in the circumstances of the Fall. ( The Great Plan of Happiness, Ensign, Nov. 1993, 72-75)

3 Results of Fall upon Earth and Mankind The Scriptures address a number of results the come upon all mankind as a result of the Fall. This list is eyeopening and should be carefully studied. For each bulleted item, record the result: D&C 29:40; Moses 6:48-49; Mosiah 16:3 D&C 29:41 Alma 42:7-9; Helaman 14:16 1 Nephi 10:5-6; Mosiah 16:4; Alma 34:9; 42:6 Alma 22:13-14 Moses 6:48-49; Mosiah 16:4; Al. 42:10 Ether 3:2 The Fall Effected Great Change Upon the Earth Harold B. Lee ( ) President Adam and Eve exercised their agency and of their own volition had partaken of the fruit, of which they were commanded not to eat; thus they had become subject to the law of Satan. In that disobedience, God was now free to visit upon them a judgment. They were to learn that besides God being a merciful Father, he is also a just Father, and when they broke the law they were subject to the receiving of a penalty and so they were cast out of that beautiful garden. They were visited by all the vicissitudes to which mortals from that time since have been heir [sicknesses, disease, loneliness, despair, etc.). They were to learn that by their disobedience they received the penalty of a just judgment. They were forced to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow, for now they had become mortals. Pain, misery, death, all now came in their wake, but with that pain, quite like our own experiences from that time to this, there came knowledge and understanding that could never have been gained except by pain. Besides the Fall having had to do with Adam and Eve, causing a change to come over them, that change affected all human nature, all of the natural creations, all of the creation of animals, plants all kinds of life were changed. The earth itself became subject to death. How it took place no one can explain, and anyone who would attempt to make an explanation would be going far beyond anything the Lord has told us. But a change was wrought over the whole face of the creation, which up to that time had not been subject to death. From that time henceforth all in nature was in a state of gradual dissolution until mortal death was to come, after which there would be required a restoration in a resurrected state. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B.Lee [2000], 20-21) D. Mortality Teaches us Things We Never Could Understand Without It. Joseph Fielding Smith ( ) President Well, that was what the Lord expected Adam to do, because that opened the door to mortality; and we came here into this mortal world to receive a training in mortality that we could not get anywhere else or in any other way. We came here into this world to partake of all the vicissitudes, to receive the lessons that we receive in mortality from or in a mortal world. And so we become subject to pain, to sickness....we are in school, the mortal school, to gain the experiences, the training, the joys, and the sufferings that we partake of, that we might be educated in all these things and be prepared, if we are faithful and true to the commandments of the Lord, to become sons and daughters of God, joint heirs with Jesus Christ; and in His presence to go on to a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever, and perhaps through our faithfulness to have the opportunity of building worlds and peopling them. We are in the mortal life to get an experience, a training, that we couldn t get any other way. And in order [for us] to become gods, it is necessary for us to know something about pain, about sickness, and about the other things that we partake of in this school of mortality. So don t let us, brethren and sisters, complain about Adam and wish he hadn t done something that he did. I want to thank him. ( Adam s Role in Bringing Us Mortality, Ensign, Jan. 2006, 52-53) Supplementary Readings The following teachings give greater insight into the purposes of mortality made possible by the Fall of Adam Mortal Body Spirits do not have power to procreate. The power to begat offspring is given man during mortal probation. Boyd K. Packer ( ) Quorum of the Twelve Apostles There was provided in our bodies and this is sacred a power of creation, a light, so to speak, that has the power to kindle other lights. This gift was to be used only within the sacred bonds of marriage. Through the exercise of this power

4 of creation, a mortal body may be conceived, a spirit enter into it, and a new soul [be] born into this life. This power is good. It can create and sustain family life, and it is in family life that we find the fountains of happiness. It is given to virtually every individual who is born into mortality. It is a sacred and significant power. The power of creation or may we say procreation is not just an incidental part of the plan: it is essential to it. Without it the plan could not proceed.... It is the very key to happiness. ( Why Stay Morally Clean, Ensign, Jul. 1995, 102; emphasis added) Gain Experience With a Physical, Fallen World Lehi taught that a main purpose of mortality was to experience opposites: Read 2 Ne. 2: We often misunderstand the full meaning of Lehi s use of the word opposition. Though it is true the word can mean The act of opposing and yes, we are in a battle of opposing forces while in mortality yet, Lehi s primary meaning is Situation so as to front something else such as the opposition of two mountains (1828 American Dictionary of the English Language). Lehi is saying that everything has its opposite such as bitter and sweet, or good and evil. Read D&C 29:39. What is the purpose of eating the forbidden fruit? Howard W. Hunter ( ) President There is purpose in man s sojourn in mortality. He is placed here for a definite reason, in accordance with God s great plan. We read in Genesis the story of the creation: And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil.... (Gen. 3:22) To learn the difference between good and evil is one of the great purposes for man to have mortal life, yet he is given his freedom of choice with the promise of eternal blessings if he obeys the laws of God. (Conference Report, Oct. 1969, 112; emphasis added) First Presidency Statement (Joseph F. Smith, President) God, doubtless, could avert war, prevent crime, destroy poverty, chase away darkness, overcome error, and make all things bright, beautiful and joyful. But this would involve the destruction of a vital and fundamental attribute in man -- the right of agency. It is for the benefit of His sons and daughters that they become acquainted with evil as well as good, with darkness as well as light, with error as well as truth, and with the results of the infraction of eternal laws. Therefore he has permitted the evils which have been brought about by the acts of His creatures, but will control their ultimate results for His own glory and the progress and exaltation of His sons and daughters, when they have learned obedience by the things they suffer. The contrasts experienced in this world of mingled sorrow and joy are educational in their nature, and will be the means of raising humanity to a full appreciation of all that is right and true and good. The foreknowledge of God does not imply His action in bringing about that which He foresees, nor make Him responsible in any degree for that which man does or refuses to do. The comprehension of this principle makes clear many questions that puzzle the uninformed as to the works and power of Deity. (Messages of the First Presidency 6 vols. [ ], 4: ) George Q. Cannon ( ) First Presidency In our pre-existent state, in our spiritual existence, I do not know how extensive our knowledge of good and evil was. That is not fully revealed. But this I do know, that when we come to earth and become clothed with mortality we do arrive at a knowledge of good and evil, and that knowledge prepares us for that future existence which we will have in the eternal worlds; it will enable us to enter upon a career that is never ending, that will continue onward and upward throughout all the ages of eternity. It is for this purpose that we are here. God has given unto us this probation for the express purpose of obtaining a knowledge of good and evil of understanding evil and being able to overcome the evil and by overcoming it receive the exaltation and glory that He has in store for us. (Gospel Truths, 2 vols. comp. Jerrald L. Newquist, [1974], 1:16-17) Neal A. Maxwell ( ) Quorum of the Twelve Apostles There is an opposition in all things" (2 Nephi 2:11). All facts are demonstrated by "their opposites," said Brigham Young. He further counseled, "We find ourselves surrounded in this mortality by an almost endless combination of opposites, through which we must pass to gain experience and information to fit us for an eternal progression. (That Ye May Bellieve [1992], 104) James E. Talmage ( ) Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) A knowledge of good and evil is essential to the advancement that God has made possible for His children to achieve; and this knowledge can be best gained by actual experience, with the contrasts of good and its opposite plainly discernible. Therefore has man been placed upon earth subject to the influence of good and wicked powers, with a knowledge of the conditions surrounding him, and the heaven-born right to choose for himself. (Articles of Faith [1978], 53-4) Mortality is a Time of Testing Ezra Taft Benson ( ) President The great test of life is obedience to God. We will prove them herewith, said the Lord, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them (Abraham 3:25). The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it. ("The Great Commandment--Love the Lord,"Ensign, May 1988, 4) George Q. Cannon ( ) of the First Presidency We have got to be watchful, for I tell you God has sent us here to test us and to prove us. We were true in keeping our first estate. The people that are here today stood loyally by God and by Jesus, and they did not flinch. If you had flinched then, you would not be here with the Priesthood

5 upon you. The evidence that you were loyal, that you were true and that you did not waver is to be found in the fact that you have received the Gospel and the everlasting Priesthood. Now you are in your second estate, and you are going to be tested again. Will you be true and loyal to God with the curtain drawn between you and Him, shut out from His presence, and in the midst of darkness and temptation, with Satan and his invisible hosts all around you, bringing all manner of evil influences to bear upon you? The men and the women that will be loyal under these circumstances God will exalt, because it will be the highest test to which they can be subjected. (Gospel Truth [1974], 1:7) Richard G. Scott ( ) Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Mortal life is a proving ground. God said, We will make an earth whereon these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them. (see Abr. 3:24 26 [Abraham 3:24 26].) Our proving grounds vary. Some of us are born with physical limitations; others are lonely or do not enjoy good health. Some are challenged by economic conditions, the lack of good parental example, or a myriad of other things that test our mettle. While much of the pain and sorrow we endure is the result of our own stubborn acts of disobedience, many of the things that appear to be obstacles in our path are used by a loving Creator for our own personal growth. Life never was intended to be easy. Rather, it is a period of proving and growth. It is interwoven with difficulties, challenges, and burdens. We are immersed in a sea of persistent, worldly pressures that could destroy our happiness. Yet these very forces, if squarely faced, provide opportunity for tremendous personal growth and development. The conquering of adversity produces strength of character, forges self-confidence, engenders self-respect, and assures success in righteous endeavor. One who exercises free agency by faith grows from challenges, is purified by sorrow, and lives at peace. In contrast, one who frantically seeks to satisfy appetite and worldly desire is driven in a downward spiral to tragic depths. Temptation is the motivating influence in his exercise of free agency. ("The Plan of Happiness and Exaltation," Ensign, Nov. 1981, 11) and wife should become a father and mother in Israel to children born under the holy, eternal covenant. By bringing these choice spirits to earth, each father and each mother assume towards the tabernacled spirit and towards the Lord Himself by having taken advantage of the opportunity He offered, an obligation of the most sacred kind, because the fate of that spirit in the eternities to come, the blessings or punishments which shall await it in the hereafter, depend, in great part, upon the care, the teachings, the training which the parents shall give to that spirit. No parent can escape that obligation and that responsibility, and for the proper meeting thereof, the Lord will hold us to a strict accountability. No loftier duty than this can be assumed by mortals. (Conference Report, October 1942, 12-3; emphasis added) The Family: A Proclamation to the World (The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles) We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator s plan for the eternal destiny of his children... The First Commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife. We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God s eternal plan.... The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. (Ensign, 1995, 102) Marriage Parenthood First Presidency Statement (Heber J. Grant, President) In the October, 1942 General Conference, J. Reuben Clark, Jr. read a message from the First Presidency to the general Church membership. Under the title of PARENTHOOD, the following was said: The Lord has told us that it is the duty of every husband and wife to obey the command given to Adam to multiply and replenish the earth, so that the legions of choice spirits waiting for their tabernacles of flesh may come here and move forward under God s great design to become perfect souls, for without these fleshly tabernacles they cannot progress to their God-planned destiny. Thus, every husband