The Fall |
How did Adam and Eve fall?
The LDS Church and the Book of Mormon have some contradictory teachings on how Adam
and Eve fell.
From the booklet called "The Plan of Salvation" (item # 36950000 available from
www.ldscatalog.com), page 18 states "Because Adam and Eve, the first humans,
disobeyed God's commandments, they were separated from His presence and became
mortal".
The Book of Mormon repeats this same mistake in Alma (12:31). "Wherefore, he gave
commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to things
which were temporal, and becoming as Gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a
state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures,
whether to do evil or to do good".
From the Bible we know that Adam and Eve fell when they disobeyed only one commandment.
One would think the LDS Church would know better.
The fall of Adam and Eve was not a serious sin but rather a great blessing.
In the Mormon Gospel Principles handbook in Chapter 6 page 33, it says "Some
believe believe Adam and Eve committed a serious sin when they ate of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil. However, latter-day scriptures help us understand that
their fall was a necessary step in the plan of life and a great blessing to all of us.
Because of the Fall, we are blessed with physical bodies, the right to choose
between good and evil, and the opportunity to gain eternal life. None of these privileges
would have been ours had Adam and Eve remained in the garden".
Do you believe that the great curse of the Fall is the reason for the requirement of the
great blessing of Christ's redemptive work?
Alma (12:22) - "And thus we see, that by his fall, all mankind became a lost and
fall people".
Alma (42:9) - "And the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as
well as a temporal".
Mosiah (3:11) - "For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who
have fallen by the transgression of Adam".
Ether (3:2) - "And that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our
natures have become evil continually".
1 Corinthians (15:22) - "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be
made alive".
Romans (5:19) - "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by
the obedience of one Jesus shall many be made righteous".
In Chapter 6 of Gospel Principles, page 33 says, "Because Satan had introduced
evil into the world, Adam and Eve and their children were separated from God both
physically and spiritually".
If one really believes the Fall was a great blessing, then what was Satan's first
introduction of evil to Adam and Eve and how did they succumb to it? Depending on
your answer to the first question, this may not be related but when did Satan first
introduce sin to Adam and Eve?
Heavenly Father cursed the serpent. Genesis (3:14) - And the Lord God said unto the
serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every
beast of the field”. See also Moses (4:20). Eve was punished with sorrow.
Genesis (3:16) - “Unto the woman he said, 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”. See also Moses (4:22). Adam and
also the earth were punished. Genesis (3:17) - “And unto Adam he said, Because
thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I
commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in
sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life”. Genesis (3:18-19) -
“Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the
herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto
the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou
return”. See also Moses (4:23).
And they were expelled from the Garden of Eden. Genesis (3:23) - “Therefore
the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was
taken”. Genesis (3:24) - “So he drove out the man ...”. See
also Moses (4:29).
And the rest of mankind suffers physical and spiritual death because of Adam and Eve's
disobedience.
If their fall was such a great blessing to all of us, then shouldn't Heavenly Father have
been overjoyed for them fulfilling their part of the plan? Judging from His actions,
Heavenly Father was displeased with them. Mind you, he did provide the blessing of a
future atonement, but God's desire for them was obedience, and the atonement was only
provided to pay for their sins (and our sins) of disobedience.
Shall we sin that God may be glorified? My answer is no. What is your answer?