Adam and Eve Part 1: Who is Adam?

Adam and Eve Part 1:  Who Is Adam?

By Connie Raddon

“And the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose up and blessed Adam,

and called him Michael, the prince, the archangel.”  D&C 107:53-54

Color Key:

Quotes from the Mormon Teachings in blue.

Quotes from the Bible in red.

First of all, remember that Christians believe that the Word of God is contained in the Bible alone. 

So what does the Bible alone teach us about Adam?

Genesis 2:7  “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”

That “breath of life” kick-started humanity.  (That living soul started with Adam, and was passed on to every one of his descendants.) 

Then… God put Adam into the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:16). 

Then… God made woman from Adam’s rib (Gen 2:18; 21).

Simply put, God created Adam out of the earth, and brought him to life.

What does Mormonism teach about Adam?

In one of the Mormon scriptures, the Doctrine & Covenants, section 107 teaches how the priesthood began to be handed down… “Three years previous to the death of Adam, he called Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, and Methuselah, who were all high priests, with the residue of his posterity who were righteous into the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and there bestowed upon them his last blessing.  And the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose up and blessed Adam, and called him Michael, the prince, the archangel.”  D&C 107:53-54

In the book, “LDS Beliefs” (published 2011) Brent L. Top explains, “Adam was known as Michael, the prince, the archangel…  Undoubtedly, the archangel joined with the Father and the Son in governing the kingdom of heaven and preparing the earth.  President Brigham Young taught that ‘Father Adam came to assist in organizing the earth out of the crude material that was found’ (Journal of Discourses, 16:167).  Likewise, President Joseph Fielding Smith taught:  ‘It is true that Adam helped to form this earth.  He labored with our Savior Jesus Christ’…

Just as Michael helped prepare the earth, so will the postmortal Adam play a deeply significant role in preparing the earth for the Second Coming and the ultimate triumph of God’s kingdom.  He ministered to the Prophet Joseph Smith…”  pg. 21

Let me just point out here that the Bible teaches that angels are a different species from man, so Adam would have to be a hybrid of some sort- which the Bible says absolutely nothing about.

(If you are subscribed to this blog, you will the article on Angels when it comes out, and there will be more information on this subject.)

The LDS scriptures also teach that the term, “Ancient of Days” from Daniel chapter 7 refers to Adam.

“…it is the place where Adam shall come to visit his people, or the Ancient of Days shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the prophet.”  (D&C 116:1)

“Daniel, in his seventh chapter speaks of the Ancient of Days; he means the oldest man, our father, Adam, Michael…”  (Joseph Smith, History of the Church 3:386)

“This is one of the laughable and lamentable mistakes of Joseph Smith because the Bible is clear that this revelation refers to deity; namely, and uniquely, first to the Father, and then the Son – not Adam.”¹

The second president and prophet of the LDS Church, Brigham Young taught that Adam was none other than God the Father, Himself.

“How much unbelief exists in the minds of the Latter-day Saints in regard to one particular doctrine which is revealed to them, and which God revealed to me – namely that Adam is our father and God”  (Brigham Young, Deseret News, June 18, 1873, p. 308)

Although Brigham Young proclaimed this to be DOCTRINE, the LDS Church today discourages its members to believe it, calling it only a theory.  They chose to carry on with the belief that Adam is Michael the archangel, instead.

(More references about these beliefs can be found at www.utlm.org)

I know the Mormon Church REALLY wants people to consider them to be Christian.  However, like most of their beliefs, the LDS belief about the Adam is NOT Biblical, and therefore, NOT consistent with Christian beliefs.

On May 18, 1873 (as recorded in the Journal of Discourses, Vol. 16 p. 46), Brigham Young issued a challenge:  “Take up the Bible, compare the religion of the Latter Day Saints with it, and see if it will stand the test.”

I have accepted that challenge from Brigham Young.

On the subject of the Adam, the LDS religion FAILS this test.

¹“Where Mormonism Meets Biblical Christianity Face to Face:  An A to Z Doctrinal Comparative between Mormonism and Biblical Christianity” by Shawn Aaron McCraney (2011)  pg. 7