HOLY REVELATION.
Brother Griffin really knows how to answer the questions of my soul. Well, I guess it's the spirit working through him...he's just really good at listening to the spirit and teaching us with the power of discernment. I was about to write about it, and then I realized that I left my notes in the library last night! I'll just write what I remember. I hope that I find my notebook in the lost and found....there are a lot of important notes in there.
First I want to present a possible problem that people have with the story of Adam and Eve. Moses 3:16-17 says:
16 And I, the Lord God, commanded the man, saying: of ever tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat.
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
We teach pretty simply about this as missionaries, right? In Preach My Gospel, it teaches "Satan tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, and they chose to do so. This was part of God’s plan."
However, Nephi 3:7, says: "the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."
The issue that some people have with this is WHY would God intend for Adam and Eve to sin and break commandments when he says that he would never give a commandment that we can keep or tempt us above what we will be able to overcome? It seems like God is contradicting himself.
Here's an excerpt from an article in the Ensign:
"President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972) said: “I never speak of the part Eve took in this fall as a sin, nor do I accuse Adam of a sin. … This was a transgression of the law, but not a sin … for it was something that Adam and Eve had to do!”
Regarding this distinction, Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles observed: “This suggested contrast between a sin and a transgression reminds us of the careful wording in the second article of faith: ‘We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression’ (emphasis added). It also echoes a familiar distinction in the law. Some acts, like murder, are crimes because they are inherently wrong. Other acts, like operating without a license, are crimes only because they are legally prohibited. Under these distinctions, the act that produced the Fall was not a sin—inherently wrong—but a transgression—wrong because it was formally prohibited. These words are not always used to denote something different, but this distinction seems meaningful in the circumstances of the Fall.”
Even though Adam and Eve had not sinned, because of their transgression they had to face certain consequences, two of which were spiritual death and physical death. Physical death came to Adam and Eve at the end of their earthly lives, but spiritual death occurred as they were cast out of the Garden of Eden, being cut off from the presence of God (see Alma 42:9)."
The original command in Moses 3 is the ONLY commandment in the scriptures where God explicitly says the word "nevertheless." Nevertheless can be substituted with a < sign. It is clear that the Fall was a part of Heavenly Father's plan. I can't adequately explain in words the exact doctrine behind how I know this, but I know it. We needed to progress.
The commandment to multiply and replenish the earth was a higher commandment than the commandment not to eat the fruit. Eating the fruit WAS the way that God provided for Adam and Eve to fulfill his other, greatest commandment of having children. Remember 1 Nephi 3:7? It IS true.
I love the gospel! It's not always easy to understand everything, but understanding comes over time when we trust in the Lord.
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