Adam and Eve (LDS Church)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) teaches that Adam and Eve were the first man and the first woman to live on the earthLDS Church (1997). [http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=32c41b08f338c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=077a7befabc20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1&contentLocale=0 “Chapter 6: The Fall of Adam and Eve,”] "Gospel Principles" (Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church).] and that their fall was an essential step in the plan of salvation. Adam in particular is a central figure in Mormon cosmology:

Few persons in all eternity have been more directly involved in the plan of salvation—the creation, the fall, and the ultimate redemption of the children of God—than the man Adam. His ministry among the sons and daughters of earth stretches from the distant past of premortality to the distant future of resurrection, judgment, and beyond.Robert L. Millet, [http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=52ad425e0848b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1#footnote16 “The Man Adam,”] "Ensign", Jan. 1994, 8.]

Identity of Adam and Eve

According to LDS Church teachings, all people born on the earth lived with God the Father and Jesus Christ in a pre-mortal life. [LDS Church (1997). [http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=32c41b08f338c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=f04a7befabc20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1&contentLocale=0 “Chapter 2: Our Heavenly Family,”] "Gospel Principles" (Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church).] Adam and Eve were "among our Father's noblest children" and they were "foreordained" to be the parents of the human race. In the pre-mortal life, Adam was the archangel Michael.Keith Meservy, [http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=2e478949f2f6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 “Four Accounts of the Creation,”] "Ensign", Jan. 1986, 50.] [Doctrine and Covenants [http://scriptures.lds.org/dc/27/11#11 27:11] .] As Michael, Adam "led the forces of God against the armies of Lucifer" in the War in Heaven. [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/rev/12/7-9#7 Revelation 12:7–9] .] LDS Church scripture provides no information about Eve prior to her earth life, but it is believed that "she must have been a choice daughter of God".

In the LDS Church's temple Endowment, it is taught that Adam is Michael and that he assisted Jesus Christ in the creation.

Adam God theory

Several early leaders of the church taught that Adam was God the Father. This doctrine was taught several times by Brigham Young during general conferences and was supported by other high ranking leaders of the church.Fact|date=October 2008 However, the doctrine never gained wide support by the church as a whole, and was later repudiated.

In the Garden of Eden

Adam and Eve's mortal bodies were created by God the Father and Jesus Christ and were placed in the Garden of Eden, which church founder Joseph Smith, Jr. taught was located in Jackson County, Missouri. [Bruce A. Van Orden, [http://lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=ba4e425e0848b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 “I Have a Question: What do we know about the location of the Garden of Eden?”] , "Ensign", Jan. 1994, 54–55.] [Andrew Jenson (1888). "Historical Record of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", 7:438–439 (1888).] [Orson F. Whitney (1967). "Life of Heber C. Kimball" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft) p. 219.] [Heber C. Kimball, "Advancement of the Saints", "Journal of Discourses" 10:235 (1863).] ["Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", Brigham Young to Orson Hyde, March 15, 1857.] [Wilford Woodruff (Susan Staker ed.) (1993). "Waiting for the World to End: The Diaries of Wilford Woodruff" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books) p. 305.] [John A. Widtsoe (G. Homer Durham ed.) (1960). "Evidences and Reconciliations", 396–397.] [Bruce R. McConkie (1966). "Mormon Doctrine" (2d ed., Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft) pp. 19–20.] When they were created, their bodies were not mortal and they could not die or have children and they did not know right from wrong.

God commanded Adam and Eve to "have children and learn to control the earth". [Book of Moses [http://scriptures.lds.org/moses/2/28#28 2:28] .] God told them they could eat of any tree in the garden except for the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and that the day they ate the fruit from that tree they would die. [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/moses/3/17#17 Moses 3:17] .] Adam was made “lord or governor of all things on earth, and at the same time [enjoyed] communion … with his Maker, without a vail to separate between.” [Joseph Smith. "Lectures on Faith" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1985) 2:12 ]

Fall

Satan tempted Adam and Eve to eat of the prohibited fruit. [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/moses/4/6-11#6 Moses 4:6–11] .] Eve yielded to temptation and ate of the fruit; when Adam learned that Eve had done so, he ate the fruit too. [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/moses/4/12#12 Moses 4:12] .]

Because they ate of the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve underwent the "fall". As God had promised, the bodies of Adam and Eve became mortal and they became subject to physical death, as well as sickness and pain. They also underwent "spiritual death": they were cast out of the Garden of Eden and separated from the presence of God. Due to the fall, Adam and Eve also came to know the difference between good and evil and became capable of having children, as God had originally commanded.

Positive interpretation of the fall

Unlike some Christians, Latter-day Saints generally do not see the fall of Adam and Eve as a serious sin or as an overwhelmingly negative event. Rather, the fall is viewed as "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." Latter-day Saint scripture reports that Adam and Eve later rejoiced that they had chosen to partake of the fruit, [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/moses/5/11#11 Moses 5:11] .] and the Book of Mormon teaches that the fall was necessary for humankind to exist and for them to experience joy, which is the ultimate purpose of existence. [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/2_ne/2/22-25#22 2 Nephi 2:22–25] .]

Post-fall lives

Latter-day Saint scripture teaches that Adam and Eve had "sons and daughters" after the fall, [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/moses/5/12#12 Moses 5:12] ] including Cain and Abel [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/moses/5/16-17#16 Moses 5:16–17] .] and Seth. [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/moses/6/2#2 Moses 6:2] .] Adam and Eve worshipped God, offered animal sacrifices, and were taught by an angel about Jesus Christ. [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/moses/5/4-8#4 Moses 5:4–8] .] Adam is believed to be "the world's first Christian." Adam was taught the plan of salvation, was baptized in water in the name of Jesus Christ, received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and was given the Melchizedek priesthood. [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/moses/6/51-67#51 Moses 6:51–67] .] [Wilford Woodruff (G. Homer Durham ed.) (1946). "Discourses of Wilford Woodruff" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft) p. 64.] Adam ordained his descendants to the priesthood, including Seth, [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/107/41-42#41 Doctrine and Covenants 107:41–42] .] Enos, [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/107/44#44 Doctrine and Covenants 107:44] .] Cainan, [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/107/45#45 Doctrine and Covenants 107:45] .] Mahalaleel, [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/107/46#46 Doctrine and Covenants 107:46] .] Jared, [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/107/47#47 Doctrine and Covenants 107:47] .] Enoch, [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/107/48#48 Doctrine and Covenants 107:48] .] and Methuselah. [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/107/50#50 Doctrine and Covenants 107:50] .]

Three years prior to his death, Adam and his righteous posterity gathered in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/107/53#53 Doctrine and Covenants 107:53] .] in present-day Daviess County, Missouri, where Adam and Eve had settled after being expelled from the Garden of Eden. [John Taylor (1882). "The Mediation and Atonement" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News) p. 69.] [Matthias F. Cowley (1964). "Wilford Woodruff" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft) pp. 481, 545–546.] At this meeting, Adam bestowed his last blessing on his descendants.Joseph Smith (Joseph Fielding Smith ed.) (1976). "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) pp. 157–159.] Jesus Christ appeared at the meeting to bless Adam and Adam uttered prophecies, [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/107/54-57#54 Doctrine and Covenants 107:54–57] .] which are said to have been recorded by Enoch. Adam died when he was 930 years old. [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/moses/6/12#12 Moses 6:12] .] [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/gen/5/5#5 Genesis 5:5] .]

Visions and prophecies about Adam and Eve

Some presidents of the LDS Church have claimed to have had visions of Adam and Eve. In 1836, Joseph Smith, Jr. said that he saw Adam in the celestial kingdom [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/137/5#5 Doctrine and Covenants 137:5] .] and in 1918 Joseph F. Smith said that he saw Adam and Eve in the world of spirits when Jesus visited there between his death and resurrection. [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/138/38-39#38 Doctrine and Covenants 138:38–39] .] Joseph Smith also said that the voice of Adam was heard near the Susquehanna River "detecting the devil when he appeared as an angel of light". [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/dc/128/20#20 Doctrine and Covenants 128:20] .]

Joseph Smith, Jr. prophesied that Adam would one day return to Adam-ondi-Ahman "to visit his people". [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/116/1 Doctrine and Covenants 116:1] .] Thousands will attend this meeting with Adam, which will be prior to and in preparation of the Second Coming of Jesus. Adam is believed to be the "Ancient of days" prophesied of in the Book of Daniel. [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/dan/7/13-14#13 Daniel 7:13–14] .] At the Second Coming, Adam will "sound his trump", which will signal the resurrection of the dead. [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/dc/29/26#26 Doctrine and Covenants 29:26] .] At the end of the millennial rule of Christ, Adam will lead the forces of good against Satan in the final "battle of the great God", [ [http://scriptures.lds.org/dc/88/110-16#110 Doctrine and Covenants 88:110–116] .] also known as the battle of Gog and Magog. [Joseph Smith (Joseph Fielding Smith ed.) (1976). "Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) p. 280.]

One LDS Church apostle has suggested that it was Adam who was sent as the angel Michael to "strengthen" [See [http://scriptures.lds.org/luke/22/43#43 Luke 22:43] .] Jesus when he was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane during his passion. [Bruce R. McConkie (1979–81). "The Mortal Messiah: From Bethlehem to Calvary" (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book) 4:125; Bruce R. McConkie, [http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=e88b8949f2f6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 “The Purifying Power of Gethsemane,”] "Ensign", May 1985, 9.]

ee also

*Mormonism and evolution
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Notes