The Fall

The LDS Church and the Book of Mormon have some contradictory teachings on how Adam and Eve fell.

From the booklet called The Plan of Salvation, page 18 states Because Adam and Eve, the first humans, disobeyed God's commandments, they were separated from His presence and became mortal.

The Book of Mormon repeats this same mistake in Alma (12:31). Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to things which were temporal, and becoming as Gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good. The current Book of Mormon changed Gods to gods.

From the Bible we know that Adam and Eve fell when they disobeyed only one commandment.

One would think the LDS Church would know better.

The fall of Adam and Eve was not a serious sin but rather a great blessing.

In the Mormon Gospel Principles handbook in Chapter 6 page 33, it says Some believe believe Adam and Eve committed a serious sin when they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. However, latter-day scriptures help us understand that their fall was a necessary step in the plan of life and a great blessing to all of us. Because of the Fall, we are blessed with physical bodies, the right to choose between good and evil, and the opportunity to gain eternal life. None of these privileges would have been ours had Adam and Eve remained in the garden.

Do you believe that the great blessing of Christ's redemptive work caused God to bring about the great curse of the Fall? What is the cause and what is the effect?

Alma (12:22) - And thus we see, that by his fall, all mankind became a lost and fall people.

Alma (42:9) - And the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal.

Mosiah (3:11) - For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam.

Ether (3:2) - And that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually.

1 Corinthians (15:22) - For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Romans (5:19) - For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one Jesus shall many be made righteous.

In Chapter 6 of Gospel Principles, page 33 says, Because Satan had introduced evil into the world, Adam and Eve and their children were separated from God both physically and spiritually.

If one really believes the Fall was a great blessing, then what was Satan's first introduction of evil to Adam and Eve and how did they succumb to it? Depending on your answer to the first question, this may not be related but when did Satan first introduce sin to Adam and Eve?

Heavenly Father cursed the serpent. Genesis (3:14) - And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. See also Moses (4:20).

Eve was punished with sorrow. Genesis (3:16) - Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. See also Moses (4:22).

Adam and also the earth were punished. Genesis (3:17) - And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Genesis (3:18-19) - Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken:for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. See also Moses (4:23).

And they were expelled from the Garden of Eden. Genesis (3:23) - Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. Genesis (3:24) - So he drove out the man .... See also Moses (4:29).

And the rest of mankind suffers physical and spiritual death because of Adam and Eve's disobedience.

If their fall was such a great blessing to all of us, then shouldn't Heavenly Father have been overjoyed for them fulfilling their part of the plan? Judging from His actions, Heavenly Father was displeased with them. Mind you, he did provide the blessing of a future atonement, but God's desire for them was obedience, and the atonement was provided to pay for their sins (and ours) of disobedience.

The Mormon Story of the Fall

A Mormon prophet told Mormons, "Brethren and sisters, let's thank the Lord, when we pray, for Adam." (Ensign,Jan 2006, pp. 52-53)

Why would Mormons do that? The prophet explained, 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. ...If it hadn't been for Adam, I wouldn't be here; you wouldn't be here; we would be waiting in the heavens as spirits pleading for somebody [to do for us what Adam did]."

The Fall, he said, "wasn't a shameful fall at all." Gaining a body through this process was a necessary event for God's offspring "to become gods.

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", Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979, pp. 67-68). Brigham Young declared, "We should never blame Mother Eve, not the least" (in Journal of Discourses, 13:145). (General Conference, October 1993, "The Great Plan of Happiness", Elder Dallin H. Oaks).

Neither Adam nor Eve partook of the fruit because they loved Satan more than God or because they wanted to rebel against God. Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught: "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) (Pearl of Great Price Student Manual - Religion 327, Moses 4:7 - 19 - The Fall of Adam and Eve).

Knowing it would bless all mankind, Adam chose to sin (Bible Dictionary, "Fall of Adam).

Adam and Eve rejoiced after they had successfully fallen (Moses 5:10-12).

The Mormon logic: Everyone lived in heaven but could not progress without a testing in mortality. Only by sinning (some Mormons do not view it as a sin) did Adam and Eve become mortal and able to reproduce, making mortality possible for their billions of brothers and sisters "waiting in the heavens." Through ongoing human reproduction over thousands of years each spirit is placed into a mortal body with its opportunities to experience sin and other trials; and to overcome, return to the heavens, and advance ever closer to godhood.

The Fall enabled procreation, which remains today "the very key" to the plan of happiness or salvation, making pursuit of godhood possible for all (EternalMarriage Student Manual, pp. 140-141).

The bottom line: in Mormon theology the Fall is a blessing; Adam and Eve are heroes.

In previous times, a web page at www.mormon.org entitled "Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness" stated,God influences you to do good and to follow him, while Satan tempts you to ignore God and commit sin. It has been removed, but you can access a local copy.

A web page entitled "Agency and the Fall of Adam and Eve says They could remain in the garden, but they could not progress by experiencing opposition in mortality ... They had moral agency, or the ability to choose between good and evil, which made it possible for them to learn and progress. It also made it possible for them to make wrong choices and to sin. . It has also been removed, but you can access a local copy.

LDS theology teaches that Adam and Eve needed to fall so they could learn, progress, and have children.

Major problems arise in their theology as evident by certain questions.

The Book of Mormon teaches that the choice to disobey God was the act that caused Adam and Eve to become mortal so they could begin to progress. So, we need to wonder what choice (good or evil) made Adam and Eve mortal so they could progress. Was Adam's choice to disobey God good or evil?

If you are a Latter-day Saint and you are reading this, then what was the first choice between good and evil in the Garden? Did Adam and Eve choose to follow od in disobeying him or did they choose to follow Satan in obeying him?

I would say it was an evil choice to follow Satan. And what wrong choice caused them to sin? I would say the choice to disobey God caused them to sin.

Do you need to learn andprogress by always obeying God or does he want you to both obey and disobey him to learn? Should we always follow the example of Christ's obedience?

Do you believe God ever blesses someone when they use their agency to follow a temptation of the devil? Mormons would have to say yes. Even Gospel Principles says great blessings resulted from the Fall.

LDS theology teaches Adam and Eve chose good (i.e. chose wisely) in disobeying God because they could not learn and progress without becoming mortal first. That is why Mormons honor Eve in the role she played. The entire plan of the Mormon god would be thwarted as long as Adam and Eve lived in obedience. The Mormon god knew it would happen and he wanted it to happen because his plan depended on it. Strange but true.

Latter-day Saints would do well to consider that Joseph Smith taught that all blessings are predicated on obedience (D&C 130:20-21).

I get the feeling that Mormons follow Smith some times and don't follow at other times.

Shall we sin that God may be glorified? My answer is no. What is your answer?

Some Latter-day Saints would disagree that God blessed Adam and Eve for their disobedience.

But from what I have seen in LDS literature, the things which resulted from the Fall are either referred to as blessings from God, punishment, or curses. The "Religion 327 - Pearl of Great Price Student Manual" refers to them as "consequences of the Fall" (page 13).

In the 1997 version of Gospel Principles, these things happened when Adam and Eve they disobeyed God:

- Adam and Eve became mortal. Their posterity were born in mortal bodies.
- Adam and Eve, etc were able to have children.
- Adam and Eve, etc would experience sickness and pain.
- Adam and Eve's posterity obtained physical bodies, the right to choose between good and evil, and
the opportunity to gain eternal life.
- Adam and Eve, etc and their posterity suffered a spiritual death.
- Adam and Eve were sent into a world where the women would have sorrow multiplied in childbirth
and men would work hard for their food (paraphrase) (Genesis 3:16-19).

Preach My Gospel says in chapter 2, Life on earth is an opportunity and a blessing. Also, Latter-day revelation makes clear that the Fall is a blessing and that Adam and Eve should be honored as the first parents of all mankind. The training guide gives no honor to Satan however.

Religion 430-431 - Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual says, When Adam was driven out of the Garden of Eden, the Lord passed a sentence upon him. Some people have looked upon that sentence as being a dreadful thing. It was not; it was a blessing (chapter 8, page 21). The Book of Mormon calls it a punishment of the sinner however, not a blessing (Alma chapter 42).

Also, The fall of man came as a blessing in disguise, and was the means of furthering the purposes of the Lord in the progress of man, rather than a means of hindering them (Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:113-114)." (chapter 8, page 21).

According to the Pearl of Great Price, it says, And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: 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.

Adam blessed God for he realized that he was blessed by God for his disobedience.

Eve, after hearing what Adam said, also said herself, Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed [children], 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).

She also was thankful to God for being blessed with the ability to have children. This blessing would not come about without their disobedience.

In verse 12, they both bless God:

And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters.

They blessed God for the blessings they received due to their disobedience.

The LDS Church would not use the term "blessings" if they wanted to convey something that God did not "bless" them with. Unless the Mormon Church has made a doctrinal error.

Here are some other quotes:

She subsequently encouraged Adam to partake. Adam concluded that God's command to remain with his wife was more important than His command to abstain from the fruit. Thus in the face of this enticement, "Adam fell that men might be" (January 2002 Ensign, The Choice That Began Mortality, online).

Adam chose to partake of the forbidden fruit rather than become separated from Eve. Adam and Eve fell so we could be born into mortality. (online).

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. (online).

The adversary, Lucifer, through the serpent, beguiled Eve and deceived her and induced her to eat of the forbidden fruit. It was not so with Adam. . . . He knew that unless he did partake there would be an eternal separation between him and the partner that God had given to him, so he transgressed the law. . . . Because had he not partaken of the fruit, they would have been eternally separated. (online).

Then, telling Adam what she had done, she urged him to eat of the fruit also. Adam found himself in a position that made it impossible for him to obey both of the specific commandments given by the Lord. He and his wife had been commanded to multiply and replenish the earth. Adam had not yet fallen to the state of mortality, but Eve already had; and in such dissimilar conditions the two could not remain together, and therefore could not fulfil the divine requirement as to procreation. On the other hand, Adam would be disobeying another commandment by yielding to Eve's request. He deliberately and wisely decided to stand by the first and greater commandment; and, therefore, with understanding of the nature of his act, he also partook of the fruit that grew on the tree of knowledge.

Eve was deceived and beguiled by Satan into partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (see Moses 4:5-6, 19; 1 Timothy 2:14). As a result, Adam was required to make a choice. He chose to obey the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth, which choice was in harmony with the will of God. Nevertheless, because of his choice and his partaking of the fruit, Adam, with Eve, was removed from the Garden of Eden (Old Testament Instructor's Guide, Religion 301-302, online, local copy).

The Institute for Religious Research has also done some investigative work into the LDS teaching about The Fall. Click here to view it.