Book of Mormon Fall of Adam Hi, I’m Danny. I was LDS for 6 decades. Once again, I am doing an examination of Mormonism’s truth claims. Today, I want to compare the teaching about the Fall of Adam and Eve in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. As a temple endowed Latter-day Saint, I always experienced a bit of cognitive dissonance in the temple with the instruction of The Fall - from a Mormon doctrinal viewpoint - with what I read in the Bible record. I saw contradictions and wasn’t sure how to reconcile them. It wasn’t until I finally decided to set both viewpoints side-by-side and make a comparison to see how they individually aligned with the throughline of Scripture. Here is what I discovered: Mormonism has its own unique position on the garden of Eden story, which is very different from the biblical narrative. It’s foundational teaching comes from the Book of Mormon and the Book of Moses which is in the Pearl of Great Price. But today, I am going to focus primarily on the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon teaches that the disobedience of Adam and Eve in eating the forbidden fruit was necessary so they could have children and bring joy to mankind. The primary passage in the Book of Mormon that teaches this idea is found in 2 Nephi 2:22-25. It is the writing of Lehi, around 580 BC. I’m first going to read this passage through once and then go back to comment. 2 Nephi 2:22-25 “22 And now, behold, 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. 23 And they 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. 24 But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. 25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.” In Verse 22, Lehi states, “And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed, he would not have fallen,” That’s a true statement. “but he would have remained in the garden of Eden.” And living in paradise and in the presence of God would have been amazing! But is it saying that if he had not transgressed, he would have remained and been alone in the garden - while Eve was kicked out for her transgression? “And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created;” What does “same state” mean? “and they must have remained forever and had no end.” Does “remained forever and had not end” mean eternal life - where they are living forever in God’s presence? Verse 23 Here’s the issue. “And they would have had no children;” Who’s to say they weren’t having children already. They were specifically commanded in the Genesis account to “multiply and replenish.” Do we think they didn’t know how that worked? All they would have to do is watch the wildlife to understand how to “do it.” Plus, we don’t know how long they lived in the garden - possibly hundreds of years. And they could already have had numerous descendants, even multiple generations of offspring by then. The verse goes on, “wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence,” Maybe innocent, but not naive. “having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. I don’t agree with that statement at all. I am sure they were experiencing joy in their relationship with God, with each other and their children. There had to be enjoyment in naming the animals and admiring the beauty of nature in the garden, which they were commanded to dress and tend the garden. There were plenty of good things to do. God had to be pleased with them up to that point. In, Verse 24 “But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.” Next is a well-known and repeated phrase in Mormonism. Verse 25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.” That statement is a little confusing and unclear. What does it mean, “Adam fell that men might be” – Be what - gods? I know that is the ultimate, goal for Latter-day Saints – to reach the Celestial kingdom and ultimately achieve godhood. Or does it simply mean that for humanity to begin – Adam and Eve had to fall to commence the process of bringing children into the world? All of which would then bring, joy? Now, if you were not that familiar with the Bible Genesis account, you might think Lehi’s statement makes sense. Who doesn’t want the possibility or option of having children and otherwise experiencing joy? Right? My argument is that Adam and Eve were most likely already having children and experiencing joy. Their children - Cain, Able, and Seth were a few of the sons of Adam and Eve, who were conceived outside the garden - but any daughters they might have had outside the garden were not mentioned. And we aren’t given any names of the children who might have been born inside Eden. We are somewhat left to speculate about these things. Going back to the beginning of the passage - Lehi says, “if Adam had not transgressed.” The assumption is that Adam HAD to transgress. He needed to transgress and fall. Lehi is implying that Adam’s behavior was an honorable act. This passage in 2 Nephi and in Moses 5:10-11 from the Pearl of Great Price, both refer to the act of Adam and Eve as a “transgression” – not a sin. But what is the biblical definition of “sin”? Sin is defined as any action, feeling, or thought that goes against God’s law, character, and will. It is often described as "missing the mark" of God’s perfect standard. It is disobedience, or rebellion before God. However, Mormonism interprets these texts to mean that Adam and Eve did right, by committing transgression for the higher purposes of advancing spiritually and starting the human, race. Thus, their acts of willfully disobeying God were not considered a sin. This is supported in a talk given by Dallin H. Oaks (now LDS Church President) during October 1993 General Conference when he said that “the act that produced the Fall was not a sin – inherently wrong – but a transgression – wrong because it was formally prohibited.” Oaks also called the Fall a “glorious necessity.” And in Doctrine of Salvation and Gospel Principles it is recorded that Joseph Smith taught, “that Adam did not commit sin eating the fruits, for God had decreed (or commandment) that he should eat and fall.” The Bible on the other hand, explicitly refers to Adam’s transgression AS “sin.” Apostle Paul refers to Adam when he writes in Romans 5:12 “by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin.” As a result, everyone who has ever lived as Paul puts it in Romans 5:14 “had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression.” In other words, Adam’s transgression was an exceptionally terrible kind of sin - because it was committed by someone who had been innocent and not predisposed to sin. Whereas all people after the Fall do have such a predilection to sin. Both the Old and New testaments represent Adam’s action as something especially bad. It is never characterized as noble or necessary (Genesis 3:16-19; Romans 5:12-19; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22). Of course, it is true that God “knows all things” (1 John 3:20) and therefore God knew Adam and Eve would sin - just as He knows what sins you and I will commit. This fact, however, does not make Adam and Eve’s willful act - any less sinful. It’s important to know that in Scripture, the terms translated “transgression” and “sin” are used interchangeably over forty times - as two different ways of describing acts of disobedience, against God for which people are guilty before him (Exodus 34:7; 1 Kings 8:50; Psalms 32:1,5; Psalms 51:3, 13; Isaiah 43:25, 27; Isaiah 53:12; Isaiah 59:12; Jeremiah 33:8; Amos 5:12; James 2:9). Never does the Bible suggest that transgressions against God’s commands might NOT be considered sins. All transgressions of God’s commands are, by definition, sin. It is stated very clearly in 1 John 3:4 “for sin is the transgression of the law.” In 2 Nephi 2:23, it states that if Adam and Eve had not transgressed, “they would have had no children.” This claim implies that God gave Adam and Eve two conflicting commands: the command to “be fruitful and multiply” and the command “not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Adam and Eve thus chose to disobey the second command to obey the first command. And this teaching in Mormonism, contradicts the Bible in many ways. Seven times in Genesis, God observes His creation to be “good.” Finally, after creating humans both male and female as the pinnacle of His creation (Genesis 1:26–31) and commanding them to be fruitful and to multiply - God declared it not just good - but “very good.” That statement “very good” could not be true, if Adam and Eve were incapable of producing children and experiencing joy. In the Bible, after Adam and Eve transgressed, God told Eve, in Genesis 3:16 “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children.” God was not telling Eve that NOW - FINALLY she would be able to have the joy of bearing children. God was saying that Eve would NOW experience increased pain in the process of giving birth to children. Possibly risking having miscarriages or stillbirths. The unavoidable implication is that Eve could have given birth prior to her transgression, but now she will experience added “sorrow” in doing so. Listen - The Bible teaches clearly that God does not tempt people to do anything sinful. James 1:13 “God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.” If God had put Adam and Eve in a position in which they necessarily HAD to commit a transgression/sin - because they supposedly could not obey both commands – you can see that it would have been an act of God tempting them. Which would have contradicted scripture. We see that in one short passage, the Book of Mormon totally contradicts the Bible by teaching that (1) Adam and Eve’s transgression was not sin but a necessary and even noble act – and that (2) Adam and Eve could not have had children, without first committing that act of transgression. That is a deception – a lie. Whereas the Bible teaches that Adam’s sin brought mortality and death to creation. I believe that a significant foundational error of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is found in its alteration of the pivotal account of the Fall of Adam. The reasons why this teaching is foundationally heretical is because in Genesis 1, God repeatedly states that His creation, including the creation of mankind was “very good.” Sin was not needed for this goodness to exist. Satan, not God, was the one promoting the idea that having knowledge of good and evil was a beneficial thing for humans (Genesis 3:1-6). Remember, it was Satan who told Eve that this knowledge would result in the progression of humanity. That they would become wiser and more like God. To say that the knowledge of good and evil was needed and essential for humans to experience goodness and happiness - as 2 Nephi does - is to agree with Satan and to disregard God’s commandment to not eat from the tree. To say that sin is needed for good - and evil needed for righteousness is to deny God’s goodness and holiness. We know that Satan’s goal was to elevate himself - become God - and convince humans that they can as well. This message in 2 Nephi is clearly aligned with this pursuit. The biblical Genesis account is much more logically consistent. God gives a clear prohibition regarding the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil,” and a warning of judgment that will inevitably follow disobedience (Genesis 2:16–17). Adam and Eve disobeyed God and hid from Him because of their shame. God accuses them of breaking His command and then He judges them. The Bible is completely consistent with the throughline of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. By contrast, the LDS scriptures have them rejoicing at their disobedience. (Moses 5:10-11) Joseph Smith’s wrote in the 2nd Article of Faith which states, “We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.” But the Bible teaches that people inherit Adam’s fallen nature, and therefore they inherently sin from an early age. It states in Romans 5:19 “By one man’s disobedience, many were made sinners.” We must admit that all of us have sinned, individually. It states in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Fortunately, God provided an answer for our sins and fallen nature we inherited from Adam. God loves us – He loves sinners. He has provided a solution to our sin problem by sending His Son to atone for our sins - and to offer us His righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). Yeshua took the death that was our penalty - upon Himself, “so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). We who were once in Adam - can now be in Christ by faith. And “in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). Let me conclude with this: The contradictions between the Book of Mormon and the Bible are numerous. That is why the Book of Mormon fails as “another witness” of Jesus Christ. Remember, the Bible came first, not the Book of Mormon. We should use the Bible as the standard for judging the Book of Mormon - and not the other way around. When we do so - we find numerous, significant problems with the Book of Mormon’s claim to be inspired scripture. Joseph Smith twisted scripture and Christian teaching to fit a new, entirely unbiblically supported religion in the 1800’s. So much is riding on the assumption that the Book of Mormon is true and as Joseph Smith claimed, “the most correct book on earth.” If it isn’t true and correct, then it should be disregarded as Scripture. There is so much more to talk about regarding the Book of Mormon teachings and doctrines. Many more aspects need to be investigated. I believe that once you understand these points of contradictions with the Bible, you will never read Joseph Smith’s book the same again. Keep listening and watching on You Tube or at talkingtomormons.com. Until next time - God Bless!
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