What does the Bible teach about The Fall of Adam and Eve?
This is a Christian response to what the LDS church (Mormons call "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints") teaches about The Fall. Was it a Divine decree or sin? To read what Mormonism teaches, go to:
WHAT IS THE FALL?
The Fall is never shown in Scripture as anything but negative. Nowhere in the Bible is the fall described as a positive change in a condition of being. Rather, it is shown in Genesis as an event that resulted in dire consequences, not only for Adam and Eve but for the rest of humanity and creation.
A fallen condition and The Fall are not synonymous. The Fall was an event; the results of The Fall is a fallen condition, which is not good. If a fallen condition was to further His purposes for humanity, God would have announced everything to be very good after the event of The Fall, not before. Adam and Eve were created as the crown of God's creation on the sixth day. On the day mankind was created God said it was very good:
Since in Mormonism a change of Adam and Eve's condition of being was necessary for them to produce children, shouldn't we be thankful and give honour to the instrument that brought them to that decisive event to eat of the forbidden fruit, the Devil? After all, Satan's tempting was successful, and it brought them to that pivotal moment to partake of the fruit. God forbid! Satan is evil at his core and everything he does is evil and corrupt. Jesus said:
Mormons agree that everything Satan does is evil:
Satan's temptation was tragically successful. It also brought about God announcing curses upon him that included his doom:
Mormonism identifies this passage as announcing Satan's doom as well. In their LDS website, it reads:
Also, Adam and Eve both received curses from God for eating of the fruit (read Genesis 3:16-19). Mormons will agree eating of the forbidden fruit brought about these curses, including death and separation from God. What is not found in His Holy Word, the Bible, is God blessing Adam and Eve for their decision to disobey Him.
So The Fall was an event where Adam and Eve disobeyed God that resulted in God's curses and their fallen state.
BUT DIDN'T ADAM AND EVE NEED TO EAT OF THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT SO THEY CAN FULFILL GOD'S COMMAND TO HAVE CHILDREN?
No! Adam did not disobey God out of necessity, either internally or externally, but freely and voluntarily. Adam and Eve's inability to produce children cannot be supported anywhere in the Bible. God never commands His children to do something He has not also empowered them to will and accomplish.
God granted Adam and Eve the ability to carry out His desires for them without hindrance. The Mormon message of The Fall opposes this truth. Think about the rest of God's creation. On the third day God created the trees and plants with their seeds already in them (Genesis 1:11-12). This means the plants and trees had the ability to produce after their own kind prior to The Fall. It is also recorded God created others of His creations with this same ability:
If the rest of His living creatures had the ability to produce after their own kinds, wouldn't it make sense that the crown of His creation be created with that same capability? God's command for Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply was part of His blessings to them as well:
When God blesses His children to carry out His great and perfect will He always includes the desire and ability to do so.
So it was not necessary for Adam and Eve to go through a change of condition before they could produce children. They already had this capability prior to The Fall.
DID ADAM AND EVE COMMIT SIN WHEN THEY ATE THE FRUIT OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL?
Since eating of the forbidden fruit was not something they had to do to produce children, then there was no good reason to disobey God's command. There is never a good reason to disobey any of His commandments. God is holy and His ways are perfect and pure. There is no darkness in Him and He will not look upon iniquity:
(At this point the Mormon friend reading this may be thinking: "We believe God is perfect too. But how can immortal humans with bloodless bodies produce children?" (See https://www.lds.org/manual/doctrines-of-the-gospel-student-manual/chapter-8-the-fall?lang=eng). What Adam and Eve's actual physiological makeup was like is unknown, and any description of such is speculative. The doctrine of Adam and Eve having bloodless bodies is nowhere to be found in the Bible. Too often people run with their imaginations where Scripture is silent about, and form doctrines to base their beliefs on. Beware of dogmatically holding onto doctrines God does not clearly reveal in His Word, the Bible. Wrong teachings could be a reflection of a wrong view of God. A teaching where God gives allowance to disobey Him, is not from God at all.)
Mormon's agree that Adam and Eve had transgressed God's commandment when they ate of the fruit. Notice what God's Word says about transgressing His commands:
(Note: The Joseph Smith Translation does not change the way 1 John 3:4 reads)
The Mormon church teaches that in Adam and Eve's case, their transgression was not a sin. However, even their own teachings demonstrates that disobedience to any of God's commands is sin. Below are definitions of terms taken from the LDS website:
Q. Did Adam violate or break a commandment?
A. Yes. Then Adam transgressed. (See Transgression above)
Q. Did Adam do all things whatsoever the Lord God commanded him?
A.
No. Then Adam was disobedient. (See Obedience above)
Q. Did Adam willfully disobey God's commandment?
A. Yes. Then based on the Mormon church's own definitions, Adam sinned.
(See Sin above)
CONCLUSION:
In The Fall - Divine Decree or Sin? (Part 1), we learned Mormons believe:
In The Fall - Divine Decree or Sin? (Part 2), we learned the Bible teaches:
Latest comments
14.09 | 00:17
Is it your intent to share your faith with me? I'm a devout Latter-day Saint.
30.06 | 17:21
Let's add, the keys to Death and Hades (Revelation 1:18) the key of David (Rev. 3:7) the key of knowledge (Luke 11:52) and the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matt.16:19) only given to Simon/Peter.
24.05 | 06:04
Intuitive
10.02 | 23:31
Checked out the great video. 👍 Thumbs up!
The Mormon Religion was officially founded by Joseph Smith Jr. on April 6. 1830 after the Book of Mormon (BOM) was published in that same year.
Joseph Smith Jr. was born in Vermont on December 23, 1805. He claimed that when he was 14, he received a vision from God the Father and Jesus Christ in a grove of trees near his home where he received instructions not to join any of the Christian churches because they were all wrong.
Three years later, Smith claimed that an angel named Moroni (a character found in the BOM) appeared to him in his bedroom whom he said revealed to him that he was selected to translate "Reformed Egyptian" (a language that does not exist) from gold plates into old English. These plates were supposedly hidden near Palmyra, New York and are said to be written around the 4th century. The BOM was named after Moroni’s father, Mormon. Mormons view the BOM as sacred. No one is able to study the original plates because Joseph Smith claimed the angel took them back on May 2, 1838 (History of the Church 1:60).
Smith had a scribe named Cowdery. Smith did not actually translate directly from any plates. Rather, in his writings, he said he placed a "seer stone" in a hat and covered any light from entering it as he placed his face in the hat. According to Martin Harris, “By aid of the seer stone, sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet . . . , and when finished he would say, ‘Written,’ and if correctly written, that sentence would disappear and another appear in its place, but if not written correctly it remained until corrected,” Smith said, “By the power of God I translated the Book of Mormon from hieroglyphics".
Despite such methods of translation, there have been at least 3,913 changes made in the BOM from the time it was first published. Joseph Smith stated, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” Smith also claimed that John the Baptist appeared to him on May 15, 1829 while he was translating the BOM, and instructed him to restore the church by preaching the only true gospel.
Mormons regard the BOM as sacred writings, and view it in higher standing than that of the Holy Bible. Mormon Missionaries will ask you to pray that it is true. (See our page Pray to Know)