The Fall of Adam and Eve: Questions and Answers from and LDS Perspective

http://emp.byui.edu/huffr/Plan%20of%20Salvation/Mortal%20Existence/The%20Purpose%20of%20Mortality.pdf
http://scottwoodward.org/fall.html

Was the Fall part of Gods plan?

"We define the veil as the border between mortality and eternity; it is also a film of forgetting that covers the memories of earlier experiences. This forgetfulness will be lifted one day, and on that day we will see forever, rather than "through a glass, darkly." (1 Corinthians 13:12.)…But mercifully the veil is there! It is fixed by the wisdom of God for our good….Without the veil, for instance, we would lose that precious insulation which keeps us from a profound and disabling homesickness that would interfere with our mortal probation and maturation. Without the veil, our brief, mortal walk in a darkening world would lose its meaning, for one would scarcely carry the flashlight of faith at noonday and in the presence of the Light of the world! Without the veil, we could not experience the gospel of work and the sweat of our brow. If we had the security of having already entered into God's rest, certain things would be unneeded; Adam and Eve did not carry social security cards in the Garden of Eden!...Nor could we choose for ourselves in His holy presence among alternatives that do not there exist, for God's court is filled with those who have both chosen and overcome-whose company we do not yet deserve…Fortunately, the veil keeps the first, second, and third estates separate, hence our sense of separateness...(2 Nephi 2:11.) We are cocooned, as it were, in order that we might truly choose.

Did God use Evolution to bring about mankind?
"Adam was placed here, not a wild, half-civilized savage, but a perfectly-developed man, with wonderful intelligence, for he helped to create this earth. He was chosen in pre-existence to be the first man upon the earth and the father of the human race, and he will preside over his posterity forever.

Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3 vols., edited by Bruce R. McConkie, 1:, p.94

The gospel had been taught them during their sojourn in the Garden of Eden. They could not have been left in complete ignorance of the purpose of their creation. John A. Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, p.194

Did Adam and Eve make a mistake in the garden?
          "The natural birth creates a natural man, and the natural man is an enemy to God. In his fallen state he is carnal, sensual, and devilish by nature. Appetites and passions govern his life and he is alive -- acutely so -- to all that is evil and wicked in the world. (Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith [1985], p. 282)
          "There are those who, reading certain scriptural descriptions about the nature of man (such as that man is "carnal, sensual, and devilish," Alma 42:10) brush by these scriptures hurriedly, even nervously, because they feel so uncomfortable upon reading them. Such readers may feel, wrongly, that these scriptures sound much like a Calvinistic denigration of man. Such offended readers may even say those adjectives do not sound like most of the people they know. The same brush-by occurs regarding the numerous scriptures concerning "darkness" and "light.
          "As we understand the plan of salvation, we came into this sphere of existence for two purposes. First: We came to gain this natural body, this tangible body, this body which here in this life is a temporary house for the eternal spirit, but which body we will receive back again in immortality through the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Second: We came here to see if we would have the spiritual integrity, the devotion to righteousness, to overcome the world, to put off the natural man, to bridle our passions, to curb and control the appetites that are natural in this type of existence. (Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report, April, 1955, p. 115)
         "As I have told you, your spirit is continually warring with the flesh; your spirit dictates one way, your flesh suggests another, and this brings on the combat. (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 26 Vols. [1855-86], 3:212)

Difference Between Sin and Transgression
"How did Adam and Eve sin? Did they come out in direct opposition to God and to his government? No. But they transgressed a command of the Lord, and through that transgression sin came into the world. The Lord knew they would do this, and he had designed that they should.  (Discourses of Brigham Young, selected and arranged by John A. Widtsoe, p.103)
Did Adam and Eve Sin in the Garden?

The fall makes us weak, which helps brings us to Christ. 

          Ether 12:17 "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

          We can see the connection between the atonement and the fall to weakness. We are weak because of the flesh and we are made strong and overcome our weakness through the Atonement.

Can we really understand Christ's power to change us without understanding the fall? I believe that our love for God and Christ is in direct proportion to understanding our fallen nature. The more we see ourselves as we really are in terms of the fall (carnal, devilish, sensual, lost, and hopeless), the more we will appreciate Christ's power to save us.
“Just as a man really does not desire food until he is hungry, so he does desire the salvation of Christ until he knows he needs Christ.  No one properly or adequately 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.

          "We all need to take a careful inventory of our performance and also the performance of those over whom we preside to be sure that we are teaching the "great plan of the Eternal God" to the Saints....Do we understand and are we effective in teaching and preaching the Atonement? What personal meaning does the Lord's suffering in Gethsemane and on Calvary have for each of us?

          "What does redemption from the Fall mean to us? In the words of Alma, do we "sing the song of redeeming love"? (Alma 5:26). (President Benson Ensign, May 1987, 85)

The Fall and the Natural Man
        "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, 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 . . . 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.)  The "natural man" is the "earthy man" who has allowed rude animal passions to overshadow his spiritual inclinations.(Ensign, Nov. 1974, 112)

Behold Satan hath come among the children of men, and tempteth them to worship him; and men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out from the presence of God.
And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;
And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom. 

Why is suffering and pain part of Gods plan?

“I had a chance to suggest last spring to some of the women who gathered on this campus that Adam and Eve left the garden primarily for two reasons, and as I read it, they had a lot of other reasons to stay. They could backstroke in the lagoon every morning and pluck wild berries for lunch and avoid all these problems of growing up with all the difficulties you and I know about. I noticed the headlines on the front page of the paper this morning and just jotted them down. The front page of the paper this morning, moving clockwise around the page told of the U.S./Libyan shootout over the Mediterranean, the sentencing of John Lennon's murderer, the official indictment of President Reagan's would-be assassin, and the expulsion of Senator Harrison Williams for his "repugnant conduct in the Abscam affair." The only good news was the weather. It said it was going to be hot and muggy.”

“As I understand it, Adam and Eve could have avoided all of that if they stayed in the garden, but in pursuit of eternal progress they chose to leave for two reasons: family and knowledge.”  (BYU Speeches, Jeffrey R. Holland “That Our Children May Know.”)

Paradise Now, Or Later? Satan's Counterfeit

Ever since Satan was cast out he has sought to subject all men to him, he has been rightly earned the title, “The God of this world”.  For now, this is his domain where he rules with blood and horror.  

Satan uses many means and to bring about his Plan of Misery, We learn from Elder Oaks that a False Christ is the belief in any form of False salvation, a false Christ is one who claims to have the answer and means whereby to end all suffering and redeem mankind in a way that has not been established by the Lord.

The greatest evil the world has ever seen has come by way of false Christ's teaching the philosophies of men known as Fascism, Socialism and Communism. Each of these, or at least part of these ideas have infiltrated our media and universities and has been central in the disintegration of our moral fabric. What has been so destructive are the ideas that have come out of these institutions.    They take wonderful enduring truths like Equality, tolerance, diversity, freedom and agency, and corrupt them to fit their need.  

At the heart of these ideas is to bring about paradise here and now.  You see, when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden God placed Cherubim and a Flaming sword to prevent our first parents from re-entering and partaking of the fruit and living in their sins forever.  The message is loud and clear, the paradise that you once had will have to wait until after you die and are prepared by your experience in mortality to enjoy such a life.  

Satan, who corrupts everything tells the lie and convinces man to seek for ways to bring about this paradise here and now.  Since he is the God of this world he seeks to create his own perverted form of paradise here on earth, a paradise of Hell. He can only achieve this if he undermines foundation and Doctrines that are used to bring about a Celestial Heaven..  In order for him to do that he must convince man that he does not exist or by first distort Gods true character. Either way, if man believe in anything but the truth they will fall and stumble.

Pay attention to how Elder Packer describes mortality and its difficulty.  One can easily understand just how easy it would be for false Christs and false forms of Salvation can come about if one cannot see beyond this life.  Satan gains power by convincing mankind that they can achieve heaven on earth here and now by changing ones circumstance Rather then focusing on what the gospel teaches to focus on ones own nature.

The people at the tower of Babel sought to bring about heaven here and now, rather than

Satan tries to convince us that we can have the joy and happiness without the pain.  It is interesting that Karl Marx calls religion the opium for the masses but in reality, these false security systems is in reality the opium of the Masses.  

The Fall Enables us to Know Good From Evil
"One of the purposes of life is so we might know the difference between the Good and Evil.  So, can one know what is evil without tasting it?  Yes, that is one of the things Mormon is teaching us, also, we can look to Christ as the example, before the Atonement, did Christ know the difference between good and evil?  of course he did!  

"It is interesting that Satan offered Adam and Eve the opportunity to know good and evil (see Genesis 3:5). In contrast, Mormon indicates the purpose of mortality is to help us to "know good from evil" (Moroni 7:19; emphasis added). One can know evil without tasting it. (Elder Bateman, BYU Speech, September 2001)

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught: “The Lord has given you the gift of agency and instructed you sufficiently to know good from evil. You are free to choose and are permitted to act (see 2 Nephi 10:23; Helaman 14:30), but you are not free to choose the consequences. With absolute certainty, choices of good and right lead to happiness and peace, while choices of sin and evil eventually lead to unhappiness, sorrow, and misery” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1989, 94; or Ensign, Nov. 1989, 75).

Is there a difference between a Sin and a Transgression?

Elder Dallin H. Oaks has explained, “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.” 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. (Dallin H. Oaks, “The Great Plan of Happiness,” Ensign, November 1993, 72; emphasis added.)

Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught, “In a general sense and in most instances the terms sin and transgression are synonymous, although the use of the term transgression lays emphasis on the violation of the law or rule involved whereas the term sin points up the willful nature of the disobedience. There are situations, however, in which it is possible to transgress a law without committing a sin, as in the case of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1977), 804.)


“The Fall came by transgression of a law, but there was no sin connected with it. There is a difference between transgression and sin. Both always bring consequences. While it may not be a sin to step off a roof, in doing so one becomes subject to the law of gravity, and consequences will follow. (Boyd K. Packer, Things of the Soul , p.49)
(1) Creation
(2) Fall
(3) Atonement

          "As to the Fall itself we are told that the Lord planted "the tree of knowledge of good and evil" in the midst of the garden. (Moses 3:9.) To Adam and Eve the command came: "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, But of the tree of 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.) Again the account is speaking figuratively. What is meant by partaking of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is that our first parents complied with whatever laws were involved so that their bodies would change from their state of paradisiacal immortality to a state of natural mortality. (Bruce R. McConkie"Christ and the Creation," Ensign, June 1982, p. 15; emphasis added)

         "It may seem very cruel to us without any understanding of all the circumstances, to know that the Fall brought upon us all such awful consequences, and made it possible for an infinite atonement to be offered to amend the broken law. Adam and Eve did not come here in a mortal state. They had to come in the manner in which they did and then transgress the law. The transgression of that law, contrary to the view of many, was not a sin. It was not a sin any more than the transgression in the laboratory by a chemist in combining two substances and creating another entirely different from the first. It was not a sin to bring to pass mortality, a condition which was essential to the eternal welfare of man. (Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 5 vols.[1976], 2:214-215) 

          "It is true, the Lord warned Adam and Eve that to partake of the fruit they would transgress a law, and this happened. But it is not always a sin to transgress a law. I will try to illustrate this. The chemist in his laboratory takes different elements and combines them, and the result is that something very different results. He has changed the law. As an example in point: hydrogen, two parts, and oxygen, one part, passing through an electric spark will combine and form water. Hydrogen will burn, so will oxygen, but water will put out a fire. This may be subject to some disagreement by the critics who will say it is not transgressing a law. Well, Adam's transgression was of a similar nature, that is, his transgression was in accordance with law. (Doctrines of Salvation, 3 vols., edited by Bruce R. McConkie [1954], 1:114)

The Fall Centers in Christ

         Moses 4:2 2 But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.

Christ was always the way back, he knew it and we knew it.

Faith In Christ and The Fall
How much faith did we have in the son? The other day I was thinking of how tough mortality is.  The pain, the loneliness, disappointment and on and on. I thought what on earth would give you and I the strength to come here.  And it was the assurance through our faith in Christ that the power of the atonement was greater than all of life’s hardships.  We knew that in our pre-mortal life.  That Is what gave us the strength and courage to leave fathers presence and come here.  We knew that through Christ we could overcome and deal with the hardships of life.   

Three pillars of Eternity

"Be it remembered, the Atonement came because of the Fall. Christ paid the ransom for Adam's transgression. If there had been no Fall, there would be no Atonement with its consequent immortality and eternal life. Thus, just as surely as salvation comes because of the Atonement, so also salvation comes because of the Fall.  (Bruce R. McConkie, Sermons and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie , p.178)

“These three are the foundations upon which all things rest. Without any one of them all things would lose their purpose and meaning and the plans and designs of Deity would come to naught." (Bruce R. McConkie, "The Three Pillars of Eternity,'' BYU Devotional, Feb. 17, 1981.)

Why Was the fall a central feature of Gods Plan?

Opposition in all thing, did we experience opposition in the pre-mortal world? How is it different from this world? What is more difficult? With the difficulties of mortality and the complete reliance on Christ and the Atonement are we able to become holy as our Father is Holy!

The holiness that is required

"If we had the security of having already entered into God's rest, certain things would be unneeded;

“Adam and Eve did not carry social security cards in the Garden of Eden!...Nor could we choose for ourselves in His holy presence among alternatives that do not there exist, for God's court is filled with those who have both chosen and overcome-whose company we do not yet deserve…Fortunately, the veil keeps the first, second, and third estates separate, hence our sense of separateness...(2 Nephi 2:11.) We are cocooned, as it were, in order that we might truly choose. (Elder. Maxwell, 1978)

          We Must Descend Before We Can Ascend In Exaltation

"In my fullest belief, it was the design of the Lord that Adam should partake of the forbidden fruit, and I believe that Adam knew all about it before he came to this earth. I believe there was no other way leading to thrones and dominions only for him to transgress, or take that position which transgression alone could place man in, so descend below all things, that they might ascend to thrones, principalities, and powers; for they could not ascend to that eminence without first descending, nor upon any other principle. (Journal of Discourses, 26 vols., 2:, p.303 Brigham Young)

Faith in Christ and in Gods plan central to understanding the Fall?

“Elder Bruce R. McConkie described three doctrines as the ‘Three Pillars of Eternity.’

“What is interesting is that the Lord has told us that each of these has occurred, but gives no details on how they occurred. Notice how the information came through the veil to Adam; Through God’s own voice, through visitations of Angels, and the Holy Ghost. Information concerning these does not come through the veil easily. We can ask hard questions that, at this point, cannot be answered by anybody. You will hit the wall of faith on all three. We must have faith in these three.” — Robert J. Norman 

“The plan of redemption, with its three divisions, might be likened to a grand three-act play. In mortality, we are like one who enters a theater just as the curtain goes up on the second act. We have missed Act I. The production has many plots and sub-plots that interweave, making it difficult to figure out who relates to whom and what relates to what, who are the heroes and who are the villains. As part of the eternal plan, the memory of our pre-mortal life, Act I, is covered with a veil. Since you enter mortality at the beginning of Act II with no recollection of Act I, it is little wonder that it is difficult to understand what is going on.

“We progress or we are held back in life within the limits imposed by spiritual and natural law which govern all the universe. We sometimes wonder, if the plan really is the great plan of happiness, why must we struggle to find fullness of it in mortal life?

“If you expect to find only ease and peace and bliss during Act II, you surely will be frustrated. You will understand little of what is going on and why it is permitted to be as they are. Remember this! The line “And they all lived happily ever after” is never written into the second act. That Line belongs in the third act when the mysteries are solved and everything is put right.

“Until you have a broad perspective of the eternal nature of this great drama, you won’t make much sense out of the inequities in life. Some are born with so little and others with so much, some in poverty, with handicaps, with pain, with suffering, premature death even of innocent children. There are the brutal, unforgiving forces of nature and the brutality of man to man." (President Packer)

These three "acts" in Gods plan are so connected that if we misunderstand any part of the three act play we misunderstand Gods plan of Salvation. If we have incorrect doctrine about one, it will affect our interpretation and understanding of the other two. (e.g. a belief in evolution, that life has no purpose)

         "There is a danger, however, in ignoring these scriptures and the profound message they contain. Calvinism focused unnaturally on the natural man and lacked the lifting dimension contained in the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, with its exalting perspectives and sweeping promises. Though these scriptural insights concerning the natural man may seem to put us sternly in our place, when they are combined with the fullness of the gospel, we are shown our immense possibilities and what we have the power to become. Are we not wiser to understand our fallen nature and then, with equal attention, to be taught about how we can be lifted up? Indeed, for one to ask "Where do we go from here?" he must know where "here" is! (Neil Maxwell, Notwithstanding My Weakness [1981] p. 70)

One of the result of the fall is that all mankind will die. What role does death play in Gods plan?

           Alma 12:26 And now behold, if it were possible that our first parents could have gone forth and partaken of the tree of life they would have been forever miserable, having no preparatory state; and thus the plan of redemption would have been frustrated, and the word of God would have been void, taking none effect. 

Alma teaches that had Adam and Eve partaken of the forbidden fruit they would have lived forever in the garden.  Our Christian brother believe the fall was contrary to Gods plan. Mormon theology is that had Adam and Eve partaken of the tree they would have been miserable forever because they never would have died. Death is a central part of Gods plan because with out it we could never become like Christ. After all, Christ is a resurrected being. In order for Christ to become resurrected he likewise needed to die just as you and I need to die someday so that can become resurrected. This blessing only comes because of Christs Resurrection which provided the way for each of us to overcome the effects of death and receive a glorified body like our Christ.

The Fall Brought About Physical Changes to the Earth

"When man fell, the earth fell into space, and took up its abode in this planetary system, and the sun became our light."  (JofD, Brigham Young, 9:317) 

Why Didn't God Just Create a Mortal Fallen World? 

        To understand the answer to this question there is an aspect to Gods character that is essential to understand. Our Father does not operate in the realm of mortality which is a corruptible, temperal environment. God operates in the realm of that which is spiritual and incorruptible. After creation, the earth was in a pure incorruptible spiritual state where corruption and sin did not exist. Therefore, when our Father placed Adam and Eve in the garden it was in a spiritual, incorruptible state.  

For the plan of Salvation to move forward the earth needed to undergo a change in which death and sin existed. To bring about this change our father provided a way for Adam and Eve by placing the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden. As we know God promised them that if they ate of the fruit of this tree they would surly die. Not only would they die but they would also be cast out of Gods presence and bring about a fallen world, hence the earth changed from its spiritual incorruptible state to one of corruption, death and sin. This fallen world placed man in a position of being in a lost, hopeless state which necessitates the need for a Savior. 

The purpose of placing the tree of knowledge of good and evil was to provide a way for Adam and Eve to use their agency and make a conscious choice to bring about the fall.  Bruce Hafen said it this way, "The Fall was not a disaster. It wasn't a mistake or an accident. It was a deliberate part of the plan of salvation."(Bruce C. Hafen in "The Atonement: All for All". April 2004 General Conference message.) Just as the atonement is an essential part of the plan in which Chrsit made a conscious choice to endure the pains of hell for each of us, so to was the case with the Fall.  Adam and Eve also made a conscious choice to partake of the tree to bring about Gods purposes. 

          Brigham Young taught that the Fall was so essential to Gods plan that had Adam and Eve had not partake of the fruit, you or I would have. "Some may regret that our first parents sinned. This is nonsense. If we had been there, and they had not sinned, we should have sinned. I will not blame Adam or Eve. Why? Because it was necessary that sin should enter the world." (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 103).  "They transgressed a command of the Lord, and through that transgression sin came into the world. The Lord knew they would do this, and He had designed that they should." (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 26 vols., 10:, p.312)

          Alma 42:12 emphasis the point that mankind through Adam brought about the conditions of the fall and not God.  "And now, there was no means to reclaim men from this fallen state, which man had brought upon himself because of his own disobedience"

The fall is essential to the plan of salvation.  It was us and not God who brought about the conditions of mortality, death, pain, sickness and ultimate separation from God.  Our father on the other hand has brought about the conditions of eternal life, salvation, exaltation, glory, so we can receive a fullness of joy through our Savior.  Everyone who comes into mortality is here because they chose to come. just as Adam and Eve chose to partake of the fruit to initiate the fall. We alone are accountable for the choice of entering a fallen world. We did so because we have the faith and confidence in out savior Jesus Christ. (Initial Idea Originates With Robert Mathews, A Bible A Bible, Pg 185-87)  

We sustain Adam and Eve in the pre-mortal to bring about the conditions of the fall. We sustained Adam and Eve the way we sustained Christ, both play a central role in bringing about Gods purposes. Because we agreed to have Adam and Eve act on our behave we are accountable for the conditions of the world that we are born into. We are not victims but were active participants in gods plan. After all, the only reason you and I are here in mortality is because we chose to come here.  

What Were three Commandments God Gave Adam and Eve In The Garden?

he two commandments

I like the way Robert J. Matthews handles the "problem" of the two commandments and Adam's origin: see,(Robert J. Matthews, A Bible! A Bible! , p.185-190)

How is the Mormon view different from main stream Christianity?

 
 Main stream Christians perspective
Socrates once said, “being born a woman is a divine punishment, its somewhere between a man and an animal.” (heard in a talk given) Augustine, who no doubt was influenced by these early philosophers said “how can a man love his wife for what she represents, but after all, we are commanded to love our enemies.”

      LDS Perspective

Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained: "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." (Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1985),

Lehi taught in 2 Nephi that Satan sought that all men might be miserable like unto himself.  We can conclude from this that Satan sought the fall that he might bring about our destruction.  Oh how his plan has been frustrated, the savior will bring about the salvation of us all except those of the sons of perdition.

The scriptures contain the account of Satan beguiling Adam and Eve to partake of t fruit which

brought about the fall.  We know that Satan would do anything to prevent Gods plan from going forward.  Can we assume that Satan would be that stupid to tempt Adam and eve into tempting them to partake of the fruit to fall, rather he would tempt them to stay in the garden.  We know Satan knew the plan of God.  it was either one of two ways.  And I am sure there may be more reasons.  But first, Satan may have wanted to bring about the fall believing he could get the savior to sin thus destroying gods plan becoming ruler over all of Gods children.  or, that the account in Gen just shows Satan tempting Adam and Eve to show us how subtle he is.  Can we not doubt that the father taught both Adam and eve the plan of salvation and the need to bring about the fall. If the fall is as central as the atonement can we doubt that Adam and Eve knew what they were doing as clearly as the savior did when entering Gethsemane and Calvary.  

As we came to earth, separated from the presence of heavenly parents, we died spiritually (see Helaman 14:16) and, in a sense, we were "orphaned." And now, with memory veiled, and much reduced from our premortal estate--somewhat as aliens in a world that is inimical to our spiritual natures--we may carry an insecurity, a self-pain that pervades much of our emotional life. Like Adam and Eve, we feel our self-consciousness or spiritual nakedness. The scriptures teach about this nakedness as a feeling of guilt or shame (see 2 Nephi 9:14, Mormon 9:5). Do we have a sense of loss from deeply buried memories of who we once were in contrast with who we are now? But here is my main question: Is it possible that in our efforts to find security, we have fallen into a number of errors? Is it possible that we have created the whole issue of self-esteem in an attempt to soothe this fallen, homesick self?

But there is a better way. Our Savior, who felt all this pain himself (Alma 7:11 13), would not send us to earth without compensation for the distresses he knew we would feel, separated from him. He would not leave us comfortless. You recall the passages in John in which the Savior has told the Twelve that he will be with them only a little while (John 13:33). Peter responds with, "Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake" (John 13:37). Jesus senses their pain, almost their desperation, at his leaving them. He promises, "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (John 14:18). The English word comfortless translates the Greek word for "orphans": "I will not leave you orphaned." The Savior continued,

Here we grasp the stunning insight that the Lord Jesus Christ himself is that consolation, that compensation, designed from the foundation of the world to comfort the human pain of fallenness, to compensate men and women for their earthly reductions and sacrifices. Only the Atonement, or more expressly, the At-one-ment, can heal the pain of the Fall.

Now to the second source of pain: The Lord explained, speaking to Adam: "When [thy children] begin to grow up, sin conceive in their hearts, and they taste the bitter" (Moses 6:55). What is this bitterness? The Lord says it is the conception of sin in our hearts. The pain of fallenness, then, is compounded by the bitterness of sin.

To understand why sin produces bitterness in the human soul, we remember that each individual spirit was begotten by glorious heavenly parents and thereby inherits a nature that is at its very core light, truth, intelligence, and glory (D&C 93:23, 29, 36). "Knowest thou not," the Prophet John Taylor wrote, "that thou art a spark of Deity, struck from the fire of his eternal blaze, and brought forth in the midst of eternal burnings?" ("Origin, Object, and Destiny of Women," The Mormon 3 (28): 3, 29 August 1857). Christ says, "I am the true light that is in you, and that you are in me; otherwise ye could not abound" (D&C 88:50). Christ is the life and the light of every person (John 1:4, 9). King Benjamin teaches similarly that God preserves us from day to day, lending us breath, that we may live and move--even supporting us from one moment to another (see Mosiah 2:21), and that all we have and are come from him (see Mosiah 4:21).

I ask, if we live and move and have our being in him (see Acts 17:28), where is self-esteem? How do I even separate my self out from the abundant grace that makes my life and even my intellect go forward in some marvelous symbiosis with my Creator?

Is it not obvious that we, created out of the very stuff of truth and permeated by his power, cannot live against our own natures of light and truth and intelligence without setting up conflict and spiritual dis-ease within ourselves? The quality of our emotional and spiritual existence is absolutely governed by divine law, and whether or not we know about these laws, or observe them, we are continually and profoundly affected by them. I suggest that at the base of much low self-esteem lies not only spiritual conflict but a deep self-disapproval, whether conscious or not, over neglect of the spiritual laws that govern happiness and freedom.

So here we have a challenging situation: a person, whose primeval nature is truth and light and purity, begins, under the influence of a fallen environment and a fallen body, to act against his spiritual nature. His sins of ignorance or choice produce bitterness, and he begins to suffer--but usually he doesn't know what the real source of his unhappiness is. He thinks it has something to do with the people around him, or he thinks it has to do with his circumstances. But Elder Neal A. Maxwell observes: "The heaviest load we feel is often from the weight of our unkept promises and our unresolved sins, which press down relentlessly upon us" (CR, October 1989, p. 106; also, "Murmur Not," Ensign, November 1989, p. 85).

Resistance to our spiritual natures manifests itself as guilt, despair, resentment, self-pity, fear, depression, feelings of victimization, fear over the scarcity of needed things, and other forms of distress. These are all functions of the fallen self, and we all necessarily experience them. But the pursuit of self-esteem will not solve the problems of the self that is in conflict because of sin. It will not even solve the problems of those who suffer from others' sins against them.

What does the Lord mean by the nothingness of man? We recoil at nothingness because we try so hard to overcome our feelings of unimportant. But nothingness refers to man's state in this mortal sphere (see Mosiah 4:5). Nothingness describes not man's lack of value, but rather his powerlessness during his mortal probation and, especially, his all-encompassing need for the Lord. Nothingness reminds us of the reductions we voluntarily subscribed to before the foundations of this world in order to come to earth and learn how to be taught from on high. Mosiah 4:11-12, Alma 26:11-12 2 Nephi 26:26-30(“The doer of Our Deeds and the speaker of Our Words”.  M Catherine Thomas, BYU speeches 1993)

The fall (“The doer of Our Deeds and the speaker of Our Words”.  M Catherine Thomas, BYU speeches 1993)

The Fall

It is easier for me to understand the word fall in the scriptures if I think both in terms of location and condition. The word fall means to descend to a lower place. Knowledge and agency were given to man in the Garden of Eden—on the day of creation (see Moses 7:32). Choice can not exist unless both good and evil are options. The fall of man was a move from the presence of God to mortal life on earth. That move down to a lower place came as a consequence for breaking a law.

Whatever else happened in Eden, in his supreme moment Adam made a choice. He had his agency, he had knowledge of the law, was given a commandment with consequences, was accountable. “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi

Fall may also describe a change in condition. For instance, one can fall in reputation, or from prominence. The word fall describes well what transpired when Adam and Eve were driven from the garden. A transformation took place which made them “a little lower than the angels.” (In the Hebrew text, the word “angel” is given as “gods,” see Ps 8:5, Heb 2:7-9.) The bodies formed for mankind became temporal or physical bodies. The scriptures say “the life of all flesh is in the blood thereof” (Lev 17:11-13; Deut 12:23; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith 199-200, 367 Kimball 5-6).

After the transformation caused by the Fall, bodies of flesh and bone and blood (unlike our spirit bodies), would not endure forever. Somehow the ingredient blood carried with it a limit to life. It was as though a clock were set and a time given. Thereafter, all living things moved inexorably toward mortal or temporal death. Temporal, I repeat, means temporary.

Mortal death, the penalty imposed upon Adam and his posterity, is in fact a mechanism of rescue. It is the process by which we may return to the presence of God. Man must be released from mortality lest he live forever in his sins. Without mortal death, the plan of happiness would not just be disturbed or delayed, it would be destroyed! Alma was right when he said, “Now behold, it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this temporal death, for that would destroy the great plan of happiness” (Alma 42:8).

How the transformation of the Fall occurred, I do not know. I do know it resulted from choice, and law, and accountability, and consequence. The separate creation of man in the image of God and his subsequent fall were essential if the condition of mortality were to exist and the plan proceed. If man is but an animal, then logic favors freedom without accountability or consequence. Had man evolved from animals, there could have been no fall, no law broken, no penalty, no need for a mediator. The ordinance of baptism would be an empty gesture since it is for a remission of sins. Many who perceive organic evolution to be law rather than theory do not realize they forsake the Atonement in the process. (Packer, law and the light,  talk in green binder)

Death/fall/resurrection: 
To have a greater appreciation for the atonement and what it does for us in over coming death, it is helpful to look at the consequences of death as the adversary sees it.  Now, what Lie did Satan Tell Adam and Eve.  “You shall not surly die,” why is that significant, because Satan wanted them to die.  According to 2 Nephi 9, we become subject to the devil forever because of death.  So from the fall of Adam to the atonement of Christ, I think Satan felt he had dominion.  Think for a moment, think of the faithfulness of Lehi, Nephi, Alma Captain Moroni.  All who died before the resurrection where potentially in the grasps of Satan.  Of course we know that many received their calling and election sure before the atonement, because all things are known to God, and Gods knew that Christ would perform the atonement.  And oh by the way, we did to.  That is how we overcame the adversary in the pre-mortal life through the blood of the lamb and the faith of our testimonies.  Now, the point I am trying to make is that without the resurrection we would forever be subject unto the adversary.  Never at any moment would the plan of God be frustrated, but by using hyperbole, had the atonement failed, because of death.  We would forever be in Satan’s grasp.  Also, we might be able to tie sin into this mess.  Since Brigham young said that sin is what makes our bodies corruptible, thus susceptible to death.  Brigham makes the point that if we could live our lives and not sin we would live forever.  Again, I don’t know if he is using hyperbole or not.  because it would be impossible for any man to go through life and not sin.  The point is, Satan has dominion in this mortal fallen world because of sin and death.  The atonement overcomes all these things.  

President Joseph Fielding Smith said: "He partook of that fruit for one good reason, and that was to open the door to bring you and me and everyone else into this world" (in Conference Report, October 1967, 121).

Ether 12: 27:  we know the verse, what caught my attention was verse 37.  Moroni is made strong because he has seen his weakness.  I fear many do not really come to “see” that they are weak because of the fall (ether 3:2).  When the spirit speaks to our spirits

and we come to see that we are weak, than the lord is able to take us and make us strong.  Perhaps this is part of the progression in the beatitudes when we mourn and the lord is able to make us strong.   

"Adam and Eve came to this world to perform exactly the part that they acted in the Garden of Eden; and I will say, they were ordained of God to do what they did, and it was therefore expected that they would eat of the forbidden fruit in order that man might know both good and evil...(JD 23:125, May 14, 1882. Wilford Woodruff)

"The simple fact is, as explained in the Book of Mormon and the revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the fall was a very essential part of the divine plan. Adam and Eve therefore did the very thing that the Lord intended them to do. If we had the original record, we would see the purpose of the fall clearly stated and its necessity explained. (Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 5 vols., 4:, p.80)

Elder B. H. Roberts reminded us that "the 'Fall' was as much a part of God's earth-planned life for man as the 'redemption' provided for him; indeed there would have been no need of redemption but for the 'Fall,' and no redemption would have been provided but for anticipation of that 'Fall.'" This was the will of God. This was the Plan. That which is named the Fall should surely be identified as "the beginning of the rise of man." (Roberts, The Truth, the Way, the Life, 345, 344.)

If the fall were unpremeditated, the savior would not have been chosen form the foundation of the earth  (Moses 4:6-7).

"Such is the reality. Such is the rationale. Such is the divine will. Fall thou must, O mighty Michael. Fall? Yes, plunge down from thy immortal state of peace, perfection, and glow to a lower existence; leave the presence of thy God in the garden and enter the lone and dreary world… Yes, Adam, fall; fall for thine own good; fall for the good of all mankind; fall that man may be; bring death into the world; do that which will cause an atonement to be made, with all the infinite and eternal blessings which flow there from.    And so Adam fell as fall he must. ( Bruce R. McConkie, Sermons and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie , p.201)

These terrible risks of sorrow and death were facts Adam and Eve were willing to face in order that "men might be." But they-like us-were able and willing to venture these only with the knowledge that there would be safety at the end of the day for those who wanted it and lived for it. They were willing to [pagebreak]transgress knowingly and consciously (the only way they could "fall" into the consequences of mortality, inasmuch as Elohim certainly could not force innocent parties out of the garden and still be a just God) only because they had a full knowledge of the plan of salvation, which would provide for them a way back from their struggle with death and hell. As Adam would later say, "Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God."  Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon, p.202 – 203

Did we know and understand from the pre-mortal council that the fall would take place? absolutely.  

What did Adam and Eve know of their purpose while in Eden?

Conditions in the Garden
Adam. God was once known on the earth among his children … as we know one another. Adam was as conversant with his Father who placed him upon this earth as we are conversant with our earthly parents. The Father frequently came to visit his son Adam, and talked and walked with him; (Teachings Of Presidents Of The Church: Brigham Young, p.93)

They had a full knowledge of the plan of salvation. Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon, p.202 – 203

Moral law assumes accountability; no accountability, no penalties! Moral law will self-destruct if enforced against those not accountable. It is not moral to do so. (Boyd K Packer) Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr., eds., Jacob through Words of Mormon: To Learn with Joy, p.6  (hence the protection of children from the law until they are accountable.)

They must have had the full knowledge of what was to take place, if not, they could not be accountable. Something as significant as the fall could not have come about with full knowledge of Adam and Eve. Now, would God allow mortality to come into being with out Adam and Eve knowing what it was that they were to do, and the effect it would have. No wonder Eve is the mother of all living, its not that we come from here, but she put in motion that very thing that would give us life, spiritual life through Christ.

We learn man's situation at his first creation, the knowledge with which he was endowed, and the high and exalted station in which he was placed-lord or governor of all things on earth, and at the same time enjoying communion and intercourse with his Maker, without a veil to separate between. (Joseph Smith, Lectures on Faith 2:12)     

They were not to be shut out from the presence of the Almighty. They could behold his countenance, they could hear his voice. Those who then existed-could converse with him freely. There was no veil between them and the Lord. (Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses, 26 vols., 21:, p.204 – 205)

With the fall of Adam there seems to have come a forgetfulness of the plan of salvation devised in the counsels of the Elohim before Adam's earth-life began. (B. H. Roberts, Seventy's Course in Theology, 2:, p.62 – 63)

What were Adam and eves instruction in the garden of Eden?

Did Adam and eve have to break one commandment in order to keep another? No

President Joseph Fielding Smith put it: "The Lord said to Adam, here is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you want to stay here then you cannot eat of that fruit. If you want to stay here then I forbid you to eat it. But you may act for yourself and you may eat of it if you want to." Robert L. Millet, The Power of the Word: Saving Doctrines from the Book of Mormon, p.63

The to so called contradictory commandments are both kept, if they wanted to stay in the garden, then they were forbidden to eat the tree of knowledge of good and evil,

In what sense did Eve transgress a commandment of god?

Transgress means pass over, step across or go beyond.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks explained in a general conference address, "For reasons that have not been revealed, this transition, or 'fall,' could not happen without a transgression—an exercise of moral agency amounting to a willful breaking of a law (see Moses 6:59). This would be a planned offense, a formality to serve an eternal purpose." He further explained how a transgression can be just that and not a sin: "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." Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “The Great Plan of Happiness”, Ensign (CR), November 1993, p.72

"If I do wrong knowingly, then I sin. When this people can live and never do a wrong knowingly, if they should sin in their ignorance, God will freely forgive that sin, if they are ready to repent when it is made known to them and refrain from it in the future. (BY Journal of Discourses, 26 vols., 9:, p.220 – 221)

But Adam and Eve made their choice for an even more generous reason than those of godly knowledge and personal progress. They did it for the one overriding and commanding reason basic to the entire plan of salvation and all the discussions ever held in all the councils of heaven. They did it "that men might be." Had Adam and Eve never left the garden, Lehi noted, "they would have had no children." Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon, p.204

These terrible risks of sorrow and death were facts Adam and Eve were willing to face in order that "men might be." But they-like us-were able and willing to venture these only with the knowledge that there would be safety at the end of the day for those who wanted it and lived for it. They were willing to [pagebreak]transgress knowingly and consciously (the only way they could "fall" into the consequences of mortality, inasmuch as Elohim certainly could not force innocent parties out of the garden and still be a just God) only because they had a full knowledge of the plan of salvation, which would provide for them a way back from their struggle with death and hell. (Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon, p.202 – 203)

Some blessings come soon, some later, and some don’t come until heaven.  But for those who embrace Jesus Christ they Come.  Holland. (for this very reason the fall should be studied in connection with the atonement. The atonement is the vehicle that sets all things right, that rights all wrongs done to humanity by evil forces.  How wonderful the savior is, no wonder all will kneel and confess that Jesus is the Christ.  

(we understand our true identity) this is in reference to Abraham 4: Notice the words that are used over and over:  organize, 1,7, 9, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 25, 27. obey, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, Saw, Watched, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25.  what is the principle, when we come into mortality, we are fallen and lost.  We are unorganized. We are like the materials that must be molded to what our father wants us to become.  remember what king Benjamin said. Even the dust obeys.  The creation is a type, a shadow of each one of us.  With out our fathers hands in our life we will remain unorganized and lost and useless.  Now, we must be organized because the natural man is an enemy to God.  we are out of order.  As we obey Gods commandments we become organized.  We are put in proper place.  We can see how Satan tells lie about our nature.  That sinful, that we are who we are.  not so, as we obey Gods commandments we are placed in proper order.  Many believe Satan’s lies and believe that our fallen nature is our true nature. Not so, we are like humpty dumpy, we fall and break into pieces.  It is through our fathers ordinances and the power of the priesthood that we put back together.  Look for yourself, we are gods in the book of Abraham.  We must be put back in order.  According to who we really are and really were before we condescended in coming to earth.   

The Book of Mormon Saints knew that the plan of redemption must start with the account of the fall of Adam. In the words of Moroni, "By Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, . . . and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man" (Mormon 9:12).

Adam did not commit sin in eating the fruit for God had decreed that he should eat and fall. . . . That he should die was the saying of the Lord, therefore the Lord appointed us to fall and also redeemed us. . . . (Joseph Smith).
Just why the Lord would say to Adam that he forbade him to partake of the fruit of that tree is not made clear in the Bible account, but in the original as it comes to us in the book of Moses it is made definitely clear. It is that the Lord said to Adam that if he wished to remain as he was in the garden, then he was not to eat the fruit, but if he desired to eat it and partake of death he was at liberty to do so. So really it was not in the true sense a transgression of a divine commandment. Adam made the wise decision, in fact the only decision that he could make.
It was the divine plan from the very beginning that man should be placed on the earth and be subject to mortal conditions and pass through a probationary state as explained in the Book of Mormon where he and his posterity would be subject to all mortal conditions. - Joseph Fielding Smith, “Was the Fall of Adam Necessary?” Improvement Era, Apr. 1962, p. 231
I’m very, very grateful that in the Book of Mormon, and I think elsewhere in our scriptures, the fall of Adam has not been called a sin. It wasn’t a sin. . . . It wasn’t a shameful fall. What did Adam do? The very thing the Lord wanted him to do, and I hate to hear anybody call it a sin, for it wasn’t a sin. Did Adam sin when he partook of the forbidden fruit? I say to you, no, he did not!
. . . Now this is the way I interpret that. [Moses 3:16-17] The Lord said to Adam, here is the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. If you want to stay here then you cannot eat of that fruit. If you want to stay here then I forbid you to eat it. But you may act for yourself and you may eat of it if you want to. And if you eat it you will die. - Joseph Fielding Smith, “Fall – Atonement – Resurrection – Sacrament,” address given at Salt Lake Institute of Religion Fireside, Jan. 14, 1961.
Adam did only what he had to do. He partook of that fruit for one good reason, and that was to open the door to bring you and me and everyone else into this world, for Adam and Eve could have remained in the Garden of Eden; they could have been there to this day, if Eve hadn’t done something.
One of these days, if I ever get to where I can speak to Mother Eve, I want to thank her for tempting Adam to partake of the fruit. He accepted the temptation, with the result that children came into this world. And when I kneel in prayer, I feel to thank Mother Eve, for if she hadn’t had that influence over Adam, and if Adam had done according to the commandment first given to him, they would still be in the Garden of Eden and we would not be here at all. We wouldn’t have come into this world. . . . – Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, Oct 1967, pp. 121-122
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 Nephi 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 – Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, Nov. 1993, p. 73.
Adam and Eve could have avoided all [the wickedness of the world] if they stayed in the garden, but in pursuit of eternal progress they chose to leave for two reasons: family and knowledge. They would not have had children and they could not have become like the gods, knowing good from evil. And against all of those other very attractive and very accommodating and very pleasant reasons to stay in the garden, they left to have a family and gain knowledge and pass that knowledge on to their family. - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “That Our Children May Know…,” Speeches, Aug. 25, 1981, p. 157
When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is Michael, the Arch-angel, the Ancient of Days. - Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 1:150
The Father frequently came to visit his son Adam, and talked and walked with him; and the children of Adam were more or less acquainted with him, and the things that pertain to God and to heaven were as familiar among mankind in the first ages of their existence on the earth as these mountains are to our mountain boys. - Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 104
And the Lord administered comfort unto Adam, and said unto him; I have set thee to be at the head – a multitude of nations shall come of thee, and thou art a prince over them forever. - Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 10:355
We all belong to the races which have sprung from Father Adam and Mother Eve; and every son and daughter of that God we serve, who organized this earth and millions of others, and who holds them in existence by law. - Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 105
The Devil had truth in his mouth as well as lies when he came to Mother Eve. Said he, “If you will eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you will see as God sees.” That was just as true as anything that ever was spoken on the face of the earth. She did eat, her eyes were opened, and she saw good and evil.- Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 12:70

God’s plan in relation to man was that he should fall, and having fallen and obtained a knowledge of good and evil, (which knowledge he could not have obtained without placing himself in that position), then it became necessary that he should know concerning the atonement and redemption which should be brought about through the mediation of Jesus Christ. - Teachings of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, p. 51
Premortal life
"Adam did not commit sin in eating the fruits, for God had decreed that he should eat and fall. . . . [That] he should die was the saying of the Lord; therefore, the Lord appointed us to fall and also redeemed us-for where sin abounded grace did much more abound. (Joseph Smith, The Words of Joseph Smith, p. 63; standardized)    


We are taught in many places that many became Gods in the pre-mortal world.  Now, I don’t know if everyone who came into mortality achieved this.  I don’t think so because Alma 13 tell us that many did not exercise the faith like the other brothers and sisters. But the point is this.  I always thought it was unsettling that many become like god before we came here.  How could that be?  Well, I thought about that. And it all makes sense.  You see we needed Christ there as much as we do now, and will in the future in the resurrection ext.  the grace of Christ as been in operation through all eternity, and the grace of Christ is to give us the strength to do things that we normally could not do on our own.  In the pre-mortal life we became Gods through the power of Christ.  Meaning, through him we became as he and the father was.  It really is a powerful principle to know just how powerful the atonement is.  

  "Thus, as the interpolative exposition in the divine word explains, "I, the Lord God, planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there I put the man whom I had formed." (Moses 3:8.) Adam, our father, dwelt in the Garden of Eden. He was the first man of all men in the day of his creation, and he became the first flesh of all flesh through the Fall. Because of the Fall "all things" changed from their spiritual state to a natural state. And thus we read: "And out of the ground made I, the Lord God, to grow every tree, naturally, that is pleasant to the sight of man; and man could behold it. And it became also a living soul. For it was spiritual in the day that I created it." (Moses 3:9; italics added). ("Christ and the Creation," Ensign, June 1982, p. 14)

     "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.

In no other commandment the Lord ever gave to man, did he say: "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself."   

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" (italics 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. (Ensign, Nov. 1993, 72-74)

1. He was banished from the presence of God and partook of the spiritual death. Now that was a terrible calamity. At least, as we read in the 9th chapter of 2nd Nephi, it would have been a most terrible thing, that banishment from the presence of God, if there had been no remedy."

2. He also partook of the temporal or physical death, and that would have been also a terrible calamity if there had been no remedy for it."

3. He gained knowledge and experience--knowledge of good and evil.

4. He obtained the great gift of posterity.

Brigham Young (1801-1877) President

Bruce R. McConkie (1915-85) Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Moses 6:48-49

Moses 6:55

2 Nephi 2:27-29

Ether 3:2

O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the floods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be angry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires.

Bruce R. McConkie (1915-85) Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Alma 42:3-13

D&C 29:41-45

Aspects of the Story of the Fall are Symbolic

The Condition of Adam and Eve in the Garden

We find Adam in the Garden of Eden with the promise that he can live there, he can stay there, he can enjoy himself as far as is possible under the conditions, as long as he wants to, as long as he does not do something he is told not to do, and that is to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He was told that in the day that he should eat of that fruit he should surely die.

We find, then, Adam's status before the fall was:

1. He was not subject to death.

2. He was in the presence of God. He saw him just as you see your fathers; was in his presence, and learned his language. Now if any of you are professors from our schools of language, and have an idea that language came as these theorists say, I am going to tell you that Adam had a perfect language, for he was taught the language of God. That was the first language upon this earth. So much for those theories.

3. He had no posterity.

4. He was without knowledge of good and evil. He had knowledge, of course. He could speak. He could converse. There were many things he could be taught and was taught; but under the conditions in which he was living at that time it was impossible for him to visualize or understand the power of good and evil. He did not know what pain was. He did not know what sorrow was; and a thousand other things that have come to us in this life that Adam did not know in the Garden of Eden and could not understand and would not have known had he remained there. That was his status before the fall. (Doctrines of Salvation 3 Vols. Ed. Bruce R. McConkie [1954-56], 1:107-108)

Thus we learn that the initial creation was paradisiacal; death and mortality had not yet entered the world. There was no mortal flesh upon the earth for any form of life. The Creation was past, but mortality as we know it lay ahead. All things had been created in a state of paradisiacal immortality. It was of this day that Lehi said: "And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end." (2 Ne. 2:22.) If there is no death, all things of necessity must continue to live everlastingly and without end.

Continuing the divine commentary about the Creation, we read: "And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also; nevertheless, all things were before created; but spiritually were they created and made according to my word." (Moses 3:7.) How filled with meaning are these words! The physical body of Adam is made from the dust of this earth, the very earth to which the Gods came down to form him. His "spirit" enters his body, as Abraham expresses it. (See Abr. 5:7.) Man becomes a living, immortal soul; body and spirit are joined together. He has been created "spiritually," as all things were because there is as yet no mortality. Then comes the Fall; Adam falls; mortality and procreation and death commence. Fallen man is mortal; he has mortal flesh; he is "the first flesh upon the earth." And the effects of his fall pass upon all created things. They fall in that they too become mortal. Death enters the world; mortality reigns; procreation commences; and the Lord's great and eternal purposes roll onward.

Thus, "all things" were created as spirit entities in heaven; then "all things" were created in a paradisiacal state upon the earth; that is, "spiritually were they created," for there was as yet no death. They had spiritual bodies made of the elements of the earth as distinguished from the mortal bodies they would receive after the Fall when death would enter the scheme of things. Natural bodies are subject to the natural death; spiritual bodies, being paradisiacal in nature, are not subject to death. Hence the need for a fall and the mortality and death that grows out of it.

Orson Pratt (1811-1881) Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

This tree, of which they both ate, was called the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Why was it thus termed? I will explain a mystery to you, brethren, why this was called so. Adam and Eve, while in the garden of Eden, had not the knowledge you and I have; it is true, they had a degree of intelligence, but they had not the experience, they had not the knowledge by experience, which you and I have: all they knew was barely what they knew when they came there; they knew a commandment had been given to them, and they had sufficient knowledge to name the beasts of the field as they came up before them; but as for the knowledge of good, they had not got it, because they never had anything contrary to good placed before them.

We will bring up an example. For instance, suppose you had never tasted anything that was sweet--never had the sensation of sweetness--could you have any correct idea of the term sweetness? No. On the other hand, how could you understand bitter if you never had tasted bitterness? Could you define the term to them who had experienced this sensation, or knew it? No. I will bring another example. Take a man who had been perfectly blind from his infancy, and never saw the least gleam of light--could you describe colors to him? No. Would he know anything about red, blue, violet, or yellow? No; you could not describe it to him by any way you might undertake. But by some process let his eyes be opened, and let him gaze upon the sun beams that reflect upon a watery cloud, producing the rainbow, where he would see a variety of colors, he could then appreciate them for himself; but tell him about colors when he is blind, he would not know them from a piece of earthenware. So with Adam previous to partaking of this fruit; good could not be described to him, because he never had experienced the opposite. As to undertaking to explain to him what evil was, you might as well have undertaken to explain, to a being that never had, for one moment, had his eyes closed to the light, what darkness is. The tree of knowledge of good and evil was placed there that man might gain certain information he never could have gained otherwise; by partaking of the forbidden fruit he experienced misery, then he knew that he was once happy, previously he could not comprehend what happiness meant, what good was; but now he knows it by contrast, now he is filled with sorrow and wretchedness, now he sees the difference between his former and present condition, and if by any means he could be restored to his first position, he would be prepared to realize it, like the man that never had seen the light. Let the man to whom all the beauties of light have been displayed, and who has never been in darkness, be in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, deprived of his natural sight; what a change this would be to him; he never knew anything about darkness before, he never understood the principle at all; it never entered the catalogue of his ideas, until darkness came upon him, and his eye-sight was destroyed: now he can comprehend that the medium he once existed in was light. Now, says he, if I could only regain my sight, I could appreciate it, for I understand the contrast; restore me back again to my sight, and let me enjoy the light I once had; let me gaze upon the works of creation, let me look on the beauties thereof again, and I will be satisfied, and my joy will be full. It was so with Adam; let the way be prepared for his redemption, and the redemption of his posterity, and all creation that groans in pain to be delivered--let them be restored back again to what they lost through the fall, and they will be prepared to appreciate it. (Journal of Discourses 26 Vols. [1855-86], 1:285)

The Fall

Bruce R. McConkie (1915-85) Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

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.)

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)

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" (v. 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," in Woman [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979], pp. 67-68). 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: 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!" (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954-56], 1:114-15).

Results of the Fall

Orson F. Whitney (1855-1931) Quorum of the Twelve  Apostles

Joseph Fielding Smith (1876-1972) President

Adam's status after the fall was:

Before this temporal death took place the Lord, by his own voice and the visitation and ministration of angels, taught Adam the principles of the gospel and administered unto him the saving ordinances, through which he was again restored to the favor of the Lord and to his presence. Also, through the atonement, not only Adam, but all his posterity were redeemed from the temporal effects of the fall, and shall come forth in the resurrection to receive immortality.(Doctrines of Salvation 3 Vols. Ed. Bruce R. McConkie [1954-56], 1:111-112)

The fall of Adam brought temporal and spiritual death into the world. Temporal death is the natural death; it occurs when body and spirit separate, thus leaving the body to return to the dust whence it came. Spiritual death is to be cast out of the presence of the Lord and to die as pertaining to the things of righteousness. Adam died spiritually when he was cast out of the heavenly presence found in the garden, and he remained spiritually dead until he repented and was born again through baptism and the receipt of the Holy Spirit. Having thus the companionship of the Holy Ghost, he became alive in Christ and was again guided and directed from on high. He was again in the presence of the Lord. Adam died temporally when his spirit separated from his mortal body. (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith [1985], pp.86-87)

Russell M. Nelson Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

To bring the plan of happiness to fruition, God issued to Adam and Eve the first commandment ever given to mankind. It was a commandment to beget children. A law was explained to them. Should they eat from "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" (Genesis 2:17), their bodies would change; mortality and eventual death would come upon them. But partaking of that fruit was prerequisite to their parenthood.

While I do not fully understand all the biochemistry involved, I do know that their physical bodies did change; blood began to circulate in their bodies. Adam and Eve thereby became mortal. Happily for us, they could also beget children and fulfill the purposes for which the world was created. Happily for them, "the Lord said unto Adam [and Eve26]: Behold I have forgiven thee thy transgression in the Garden of Eden" (Moses 6:53). We and all mankind are forever blessed because of Eve's great courage and wisdom. By partaking of the fruit first, she did what needed to be done. Adam was wise enough to do likewise. Accordingly, we could speak of the fall of Adam in terms of a mortal creation, because "Adam fell that men might be" (2 Nephi 2:25).27

Other blessings came to us through the Fall. It activated two closely coupled additional gifts from God, nearly as precious as life itself--agency and accountability. We became "free to choose liberty and eternal life . . . or to choose captivity and death" (2 Nephi 2:27). Freedom of choice cannot be exercised without accountability for choices made. (Ensign, Nov. 1993, p. 34)

Dallin H. Oaks Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

To the first man and woman on earth, the Lord said, "Be fruitful, and multiply" (Moses 2:28; Genesis 1:28; see also Abraham 4:28). This commandment was first in sequence and first in importance. It was essential that God's spirit children have mortal birth and an opportunity to progress toward eternal life. Consequently, all things related to procreation are prime targets for the adversary's efforts to thwart the plan of God.

Necessity of the Fall

When Adam and Eve received the first commandment, they were in a transitional state, no longer in the spirit world but with physical bodies not yet subject to death and not yet capable of procreation. They could not fulfill the Father's first commandment without transgressing the barrier between the bliss of the Garden of Eden and the terrible trials and wonderful opportunities of mortal life.

For reasons that have not been revealed, this transition, or "fall," could not happen without a transgression--an exercise of moral agency amounting to a willful breaking of a law (see Moses 6:59). This would be 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" but would have remained in the same state in which he was created (2 Nephi 2:22).

"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" (v. 23).

But the Fall was planned, Lehi concludes, because "all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things" (v. 24).

Eve's wisdom and courage

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" (v. 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," in Woman [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979], pp. 67-68). 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: 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!" (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954-56], 1:114-15).

Contrast between sin and transgression

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" (italics 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.

First parents knew the Fall's necessity

Modern revelation shows that our first parents understood the necessity of the Fall. Adam declared, "Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God" (Moses 5:10).

Note the different perspective and the special wisdom of Eve, who focused on the purpose and effect of the great plan of happiness: "Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient" (Moses 5:11). In his vision of the redemption of the dead, President Joseph F. Smith saw "the great and mighty ones" assembled to meet the Son of God, and among them was "our glorious Mother Eve" (D&C 138:38-39).

When we understand the plan of salvation, we also understand the purpose and effect of the commandments God has given his children. He teaches us correct principles and invites us to govern ourselves. We do this by the choices we make in mortality.

We live in a day when there are many political, legal, and social pressures for changes that confuse gender and homogenize the differences between men and women. Our eternal perspective sets us against changes that alter those separate duties and privileges of men and women that are essential to accomplish the great plan of happiness. We do not oppose all changes in the treatment of men and women, since some changes in laws or customs simply correct old wrongs that were never grounded in eternal principles. (Ensign, Nov. 1993, 72-74)

Orson Pratt (1811-1881) Quorum of the Twelve Apostles 

     And what was the fullest extent of the penalty of Adam's transgression? I will tell you--it was death. The death of what? The death of the immortal tabernacle--of that tabernacle where the seeds of death had not been, that was wisely framed, and pronounced very good: the seeds of death were introduced into it. How, and in what manner? Some say there was something in the nature of the fruit that introduced mortality. Be this as it may, one thing is certain, death entered into the system; it came there by some means, and sin was the main spring by which this monster was introduced. If there had been no sin, old father Adam would at this day have been in the garden of Eden, as bright and as blooming, as fresh and as fair, as ever, together with his lovely consort Eve, dwelling in all the beauty of youth.

    By one man came death--the death of the body. What becomes of the spirit when the body dies? Will it be perfectly happy? Would old father Adam's spirit have gone back into the presence of God, and dwelt there eternally, enjoying all the felicities and glories of heaven, after his body had died? No; for the penalty of that transgression was not limited to the body alone. When he sinned, it was with both the body and the spirit that he sinned: it was not only the body that eat of the fruit, but the spirit gave the will to eat; the spirit sinned therefore as well as the body; they were agreed in partaking of that fruit. Was not the spirit to suffer then as well as the body? Yes. How long? To all ages of eternity, without any end; while the body was to return back to its mother earth, and there slumber to all eternity. That was the effect of the fall, leaving out the plan of redemption; so that, if there had been no plan of redemption prepared from before the foundation of the world, man would have been subjected to an eternal dissolution of the body and spirit--the one to lie mingling with its mother earth, to all ages of eternity, and the other to be subject, throughout all future duration, to the power that deceived him, and led them astray; to be completely miserable, or, as the Book of Mormon says, "dead as to things pertaining to righteousness;" and I defy any such beings to have any happiness when they are dead as to things pertaining to righteousness. To them, happiness is out of the question; they are completely and eternally miserable, and there is no help for them, laying aside the atonement. That was the penalty pronounced upon father Adam, and upon all the creation of which he was made lord and governor. This is what is termed original sin, and the effect of it. (Journal of Discourses 26 Vols. [1855-86], 1:284)