Original Sin

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints paints a confusing picture of whether or not Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden.

Let's examine some contradictory teachings.

Joseph F. Smith said, "He [mankind] dies in consequence of the sin of Adam" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church - Joseph F. Smith, Jesus Christ Redeems All Mankind from Temporal Death, chapter 10, p. 89, online, local copy).

Then Joseph Fielding Smith, tenth LDS president, 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" (Pearl of Great Price Student Manual, p. 13).

Elder Bruce R. McConkie said, "It is proper and according to the scriptural pattern to speak of the transgression of Adam, but not the sin of Adam" (Mormon Doctrine, p. 804).

If you study the Pearl of Great Price, both Adam and Eve glorify God for their transgression (see Moses 5:10-11).

Then you have this teaching calling Adam and Eve's transgression a sin:

"His ransom for Adam's original transgression so that no member of the human family is held responsible for that sin ... while all members of the human family are freely given a reprieve from Adam's sin through no effort of their own, they are not given a reprieve from their own sins unless they pledge faith in Christ ...and press forward in faithful endurance the remainder of life's journey" (Ensign, "The Atonement of Christ", March 2008, p. 35, subheading "The Gifts of Christ's Atonement", online)

Then you have another LDS teaching where young students are taught Adam and Eve did not sin:

"The decision of Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit was not a sin, as it is sometimes considered by other
Christian churches. It was a transgression - an act that was formally prohibited but not inherently wrong" (see Dallin H. Oaks, in Conference Report, Oct. 1993, 98; or Ensign, Nov. 1993, 73) (Preparing For Exaltation: Teacher's Manual - Lesson 3 - The Fall of Adam and Eve).

Then you have another LDS teaching which says Adam and Eve did sin:

"It anticipated the need for a Savior to win the victory over death, atone for the sin of Adam, which brought death, and provide the means whereby men, through repentance, may receive forgiveness for personal sins and be readmitted into the presence of God" (Ensign, "Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ", November 1979, online, local copy).

"God was willing that his Beloved Son should take upon himself the responsibility of that mission, namely, to atone for the sin of Adam and Eve which brought about the fall, and, also, that mankind might receive forgiveness for their individual sins, provided they would keep the commandments upon which salvation and exaltation were based" (Ensign, "A Testimony of Christ", November 1974, online, local copy).

Then you have another LDS teaching where Adam and Eve did not sin:

"The majority [of Christians] maintain that every child born into this world is tainted with 'original sin,' or partakes of Adam's transgression in his birth. The second Article of Faith contradicts this foolish and erroneous doctrine." "The act that produced the Fall was not a sin" (Liahona, "The Fulness of the Gospel - The Fall of Adam and Eve", June 2006, pages 8-9, online, local copy).

Then you have another LDS teaching where Adam and Eve did sin:

"With the eating of the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve became mortal, sin entered, blood formed in their bodies, and death became a part of life. (Bible Dictionary, 2006, "Fall of Adam", local copy). The LDS Church removed this part in her current version).

Then you have another LDS teaching where Adam and Eve did not sin:

Joseph Smith taught that it was not a sin, because God had decreed it." "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! (Ensign, "The Great Plan of Happiness", November 1993, online, local copy).

Then you have yet other teachings indicating that Adam and Eve sinned:

"Now, my sisters, I am speaking from my point of view, and my point of view is that Christ was divinely appointed and sent into the world to relieve mankind of sin through repentance; to relieve mankind from the death which came upon them by the sin of the first man. I believe it with all my soul" (Gospel Doctrine, President Joseph F. Smith, page 528).

"Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God the Eternal Father. He is our Creator. He is our Teacher. He is our Savior. His atonement paid for the sin of Adam and won victory over death, assuring resurrection and immortality for all men." (Ensign, "What Think Ye of Christ?", November 1988, online, local copy).

Quite possibly, the most authoritative source is the Doctrines of Salvation.

"All men are redeemed from the effects of Adam's transgression both with respect to the death of the body and inherited sin (Articles of Faith, page 87). The topic of original sin is more fully discussed on pages 474 to 477. Adam's disobedience is considered the 'original sin'. Adam's posterity inherited the resultant ills. Despite the biblical teaching that God only cursed the ground and Satan, LDS teaching is that all mankind was also cursed by Adam's transgression.

Latter-day Saints must really get confused when they look at all these contradictory Mormon teachings.

In the end, LDS theology all boils down to this - the Mormon Heavenly Father really wanted Adam and Eve to disobey Him so that He could give them great blessings (as Gospel Principles refers to on page 33). Strangely enough, Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21 says that all blessings are predicated on obedience.

Is this really a foolish doctrine or do Latter-day Saints have difficulty in believing even what the Book of Mormon teaches?

Every child born into this world is tainted with Adam's transgression. "The fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal, that is, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual death" (Alma 42:9). Even the child who dies in infancy needs to be reclaimed from this cut off state through the atonement of Christ.

Moroni 8:8 says, "little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, and it hath no power over them; and the law of circumcision is done away in me". Little children are said to have the curse of Adam. This curse is removed through the atonement of Christ. Even adults are cursed in this way.

The Bible, in Romans chapter 5, teaches that Adam sinned. "Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (verse 12). Little children die because they have this stain of sin.

"Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come" (verse 14). Adam's transgression is called sin.

"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous" (verse 19). Adam's disobedience made us sinners.

Another LDS training guide tries to define what Original Sin is, but it seems to say what it is not instead of what it is.

"Because of the Fall of Adam and Eve, all people live in a fallen condition, separated from God and subject to physical death. However, we are not condemned by what many call the original sin. In other words, we are not accountable for Adam's transgression in the Garden of Eden. The Prophet Joseph Smith said, "We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression" (True to the Faith, 2004, pp. 110-111).

Original sin is the first sin of Adam. We are condemned by the sin of Adam because we are fallen because of what he did.

According to LDS teachings, humans who die a mortal death (due to Adam's sin) are punished forever were it not for the free gift of Christ's resurrection to unite their body and spirit. See the section on Mercy and Justice for an in-depth explanation. Some screen prints are included in the Sin of Adam pdf file.

Let's look at other teachings by early LDS leaders.

“It is most natural and just that he who commits the wrong should pay the penalty—atone for his wrongdoing. Therefore, when Adam was the transgressor of the law, justice demanded that he, and none else, should answer for the sin and pay the penalty with his life. But Adam, in breaking the law, himself became subject to the curse, and being under the curse could not atone, or undo what he had done. Neither could his children, for they also were under the curse, and it required one who was not subject to the curse to atone for that original sin. Moreover, since we were all under the curse, we were also powerless to atone for our individual sins” (Teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith, Chapter 3).

"There are two general divisions of sin, viz., original and actual. Original sin is that which was committed by the parents of the race, the consequences of which pass upon all of their posterity. Actual sin is that committed by each individual and for which he is personally responsible. Adam and Eve broke the divine law given to them in the garden, the penalty for which was death, natural and spiritual ; the first being the separation of the spirit and the body, and the second, banishment from the presence of God. The taint descended to their offspring" (Charles Penrose, Mormon Doctrine Plain and Simple, Second Leaf, page 13).

"He died not only to atone for original sin but for actual sin, and to become the mediator between God and man ... His blood was shed for the sins of the whole world. For original sin unconditionally, for actual sin conditionally" (Charles Penrose, Mormon Doctrine Plain and Simple, Second Leaf, page 14).

The concept of "original sin" was then referred to as foolish, abominable, and erroneous in other teachings (1, Book of Mormon Seminary Teacher Manual and 2, June 2006 Liahona).

1] "The doctrine that infants come into this world under the curse of ‘original sin,’ is an abominable doctrine in the sight of God, and denies the greatness and mercy of the atonement".

2] "The majority … [of Christians] maintain that every child born into this world is tainted with ‘original sin,’ or partakes of Adam’s transgression in his birth. The second Article of Faith contradicts this foolish and erroneous doctrine.”

One other teaching even says "The Book of Mormon refutes notions that the Fall of Adam tainted mankind with original sin" (President Russell M. Nelson, November 2017 Ensign).

But the Book of Mormon does teach this "tainting" aspect (Mosiah 16:3-4; Helaman 14:16; Ether 3:2). Even little children need to have the curse of Adam removed from them (Moroni 8:8).

Original sin, rephrased as original guilt, is also mentioned in the Pearl of Great Price. "Hence came the saying abroad among the people, that the Son of God hath atoned for original guilt, wherein the sins of the parents cannot be answered upon the heads of the children, for they are whole from the foundation of the world" (Moses 6:54). The first instance of these parents is Adam and Eve, referred to as sinners (Alma 42:1-7).