Adam and Eve Part 2

Adam and Eve Part 2: 

God Gives Opposing Commandments?

By Connie Raddon

The LDS Church believes: “The Fall is an integral part of Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation… It has a twofold direction – downward yet forward…If Adam had not transgressed, he would not have fallen, … and Adam and Eve 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.”  (True to the Faith, pg. 57 – published by the LDS Church)

Color Key:

Quotes from the Mormon Teachings in blue.

Quotes from the Bible in red.

Before we dive into the topic, I just have to mention – one of the books I was really looking forward to using for my research was the new LDS publication, “Teachings of Thomas S. Monson”. This is a compiled alphabetical listing of his teachings.  I hope you are as disappointed as I am that the so-called prophet of the so-called “Church of Jesus Christ” does not have section in his book about Adam and Eve, or the Fall.  (Instead of finding articles on the Fall at the beginning of the "F" section, I found sections on Family History Work and Family Home Evening.) 

The lack of theological teaching from the prophet in the Mormon Church is astounding!

Now on to Part 2 of Adam and Eve…

The Bible teaches that God gave Adam and Eve two commands.

1.       Multiply and replenish the earth.  (Genesis 1:28)

2.       Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  (Genesis 2:17)

First

As a Mormon, I was taught that in order to keep the first command, Adam and Eve must break the second command, or vice versa. 

“All of this is built on man-made pre-supposition and a kind of strange notion that God is a God of tricks and games.  It assumes that Adam and Eve could not have learned to multiply; or, if they had had questions on how, that they couldn’t have asked God how to go about it.” ¹

There is nothing in the Bible that suggests you must break one commandment in order to keep the other.  It simply says to do both

“According to Mormon doctrine, they wouldn’t know how to procreate until they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil!  So in ORDER to get God’s true plan going, they had to eat the fruit – the fruit that God Himself commanded them not to eat.  And then, when they did, He punished them for their disobedience to His will.”²

How could anyone worship a God as diabolical and twisted as the one Mormonism has created??

Second

This concept also puts sex and procreation into the “evil” category.  Follow my logic here – if Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, and everything in the Garden was good…  and if it was true that they could not “multiply and replenish” while in the Garden, then the act of “multiplying and replenishing” must not be good – it can only come when they gain a knowledge of good AND EVIL.  Therefore, there is an underlying implication that sex is evil. 

I have personally known LDS newlyweds and “not so newly”-weds who have had seriously twisted and deep seeded issues which caused trouble in their marriage because of this belief. 

Third

In Mormonism, Adam and Eve are looked up to for their brave and noble decision.  You see, LDS doctrine teaches than all humans existed as spirits in a pre-mortal world with our Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother.  The next step towards becoming Gods ourselves was to gain a physical body.  In order for that to happen, Adam and Eve had to break God’s command.  Here are some LDS quotes to explain:

“The Fall is an integral part of Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation (see 2 Nephi 2:15-16; 9:6).  It has a twofold direction – downward yet forward.  In addition to introducing physical and spiritual death, it gave us the opportunity to be born on the earth and to learn and progress.  Through our righteous exercise of agency and our sincere repentance when we sin, we can come unto Christ and, through His Atonement, prepare to receive the gift of eternal life.  The prophet Lehi taught:

            ‘If Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden.  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.’      

            ‘And [Adam and Eve] 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.’

            ‘Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”³

The LDS scripture Pearl of Great Price goes on to say:

            Moses 5:10-11  “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.

            ‘And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad saying; 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.”

This doesn’t even make sense – Eve is saying that by being “disobedient” (transgressing), they will receive the gifts that God only gives to the “obedient”. 

“In other words, she is saying, ‘I am so glad I sinned so I could then experience Jesus saving me from sin.’

‘Forget about the price He paid for the sin.  Forget about the pain HE endured or the crime that sin is against God in the first place.  Instead, Joseph Smith has Eve rejoicing in her transgression because she could now rejoice in the solution to it!”⁴

Mormons claim they are Christian.  However, the LDS belief about Adam and Eve 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 Adam and Eve, 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

²  Ibid pg 8

³ “True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference”  published by the First Presidency of the LDS Church in 2004  pg. 57-58

⁴ “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. 9