The Fall of Adam and Eve (Lesson 6)

My last lesson post dealt with agency and the freedom to choose.  Now, we come to one of the most pivotal choices ever made.  With the Father’s plan of happiness in place and Lucifer’s rebellion stopped, the time for discussion ended as the plan was put into motion.  Because our Elder Brother, had been chosen to move God’s work forward, He was given the opportunity to create this earth.  In keeping with the proposed plan, He chose a site and declared, “We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell” (Abraham 3:24).  Under the direction of Father, Jesus laid the "foundations of the earth” and we “the sons [and daughters] of God shouted for joy" (Job 38:4, 7).

I am reminded of the time when our home and the Redlands Temple were being built almost simultaneously.  We would travel to both sites, usually alternating weekends, to see the progress being made and to take pictures.  When the framework went up on our house, it was fun to actually have a visual and tactile way to show Ben and Isaac which room would be their bedroom.  We could also picture where items would go in the living room and kitchen and so on.  With the temple, it was great to see the building rise from the ground and to describe to the boys what the different rooms where and why they were important.  On one Saturday visit to the temple construction site, Ben and Isaac were given strips of granite that had been cut off the larger pieces being fitted to the outside walls.  Those have become keepsakes.  To have a physical representation of our house and the temple instead of just looking at artist’s renderings or floor plans or pictures focused our excitement.  During the creation, I believe we felt much the same way as we watched the earth go through its different stages of development.  Actually seeing the plan executed increased our anticipation.  Six creative days culminated when God “created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” and pronounced His work to be “very good” (Genesis 1:27, 31).

The first commandment Father gave to “the man and his wife” was to “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth” (Genesis 2:25; 1:28).  However, as Lehi taught his son Jacob, this commandment could not yet be fulfilled.  Adam and Eve could “have . . . no children” (2 Nephi 2:23) because they, the earth, and all other things on it were, as Elder Bruce R. McConkie declared, “created in a paradisiacal state—without death, without procreation, without probationary experiences” (Ensign, May 1985, 11).  Elder Dallin H. Oaks described Adam and Eve’s state as “transitional,” further clarifying that they were “no longer in the spirit world but with physical bodies not yet subject to death and not yet capable of procreation” (Ensign, Nov. 1993, 72-73).

The second commandment given to Adam and Eve was to refrain from eating the fruit of one specific tree: “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17).  For mortal life to truly begin, a change needed to take place in the paradisiacal earth and bodies of Adam and Eve.  This alteration from paradisiacal to mortal hinged upon the choice Adam and Even made concerning the forbidden tree.  According to Elder Oaks: “For reasons that have not been revealed, this transition, or ‘fall,’ could not happen without a transgression—an exercise of moral agency amounting to a willful breaking of a law (see Moses 6:59). This would be a planned offense, a formality to serve an eternal purpose. The Prophet Lehi explained that ‘if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen’ (2 Ne. 2:22), but would have remained in the same state in which he was created” (ibid, 73).
 

It is important to realize, as the second Article of Faith points out, that the Fall occurred because of Adam and Eve’s “transgression” (emphasis added).  Elder Oaks explained: “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” (ibid, 73).  In this instance, Father in Heaven forbidding Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the formal prohibition.  At the same time, however, in order for Adam and Eve to fulfill the first commandment to be fruitful and multiply, the second prohibition needed to be broken—the choice, however, was Adam and Eve’s to make.  I believe this is why Father made it a point to remind them of their agency: “nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it [the tree] is given unto thee” (Moses 3:17, emphasis added).
 

It may seem strange to us that Adam and Eve would be placed in such a conundrum, but as Lehi testified: “all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things” (2 Nephi 2:24).  This dichotomy was part of Father’s plan.  I believe Adam and Eve would have eventually reached the conclusion that they needed to partake of the fruit of the tree in order to fulfill the greater commandment to multiply and replenish the earth.  The “random element” (if you will) in the drama was Satan.  Not knowing “the mind of God, . . . he sought to destroy the world” by seeking “to beguile Eve” (Moses 4:6).  To beguile means to deceive.  Dictionary.com offers one definition of deceive as “to mislead by a false appearance or statement” (link).  The scriptural account shows how Satan takes enough truth and subtly weaves a tapestry of lies around it to suit his purposes.  Elder James E. Faust taught: “Who has not heard and felt the enticings of the devil? His voice often sounds so reasonable and his message so easy to justify. It is an enticing, intriguing voice with dulcet tones. It is neither hard nor discordant. No one would listen to Satan’s voice if it sounded harsh or mean. If the devil’s voice were unpleasant, it would not entice people to listen to it” (Ensign, Nov. 1987, 34).

Even though Lucifer had his own reasons for wanting Adam and Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit, when it came to both of them individually making that choice, I don’t believe they made it lightly.  Their very innocent and childlike natures would have made breaking God’s prohibition a very difficult choice to make.  Despite Satan’s beguiling pressure, as Sister Sheri L. Dew, a former counselor in the Relief Society general presidency taught, “Eve . . . was the first to see that the fruit of the tree was good . . .  Were it not for [her], our progression would have ceased” (Ensign, Nov. 2001, 13).  I believe Eve recognized the necessity of breaking Father’s commandment concerning the tree and partook of the fruit fully understanding there would be consequences for her action.  Elder Russell M. Nelson declared: “We and all mankind are forever blessed because of Eve’s great courage and wisdom. By partaking of the fruit first, she did what needed to be done. Adam was wise enough to do likewise” (Ensign, Nov. 1993, 34).  Thus, with the fruit partaken, a fundamental change took place in the creation God had made.  In the case of Adam and Eve, Elder Nelson continued, “While I do not fully understand all the biochemistry involved, I do know that their physical bodies did change; blood began to circulate in their bodies. Adam and Eve thereby became mortal. Happily for us, they could also beget children and fulfill the purposes for which the world was created” (ibid, 34).

Early in my mission, maybe a month or two, I was doing my morning personal study in my bedroom and I opened the window because the room was feeling a bit stuffy.  Not long afterward, someone (who was either fixing a car or washing it) switched on a radio and started listening to a Christian station.  The man who was preaching was railing on Adam and Eve.  I don’t remember the words, but I do recall that he was quite angry with them for the choice they had made to partake of the fruit.  I was very surprised by his reaction.  It was as if he thought all mankind would be living blissfully in the Garden of Eden if it weren’t for the choice they made.  I had never heard someone react so negatively to our First Parents in this way.  If Adam and Eve could have had children while in the Garden, there would have been no point to offer them the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  The Fall wasn’t mearly a formality; it was a necessary choice.  Without it, there would be no reason for a Savior, or an Atonement; for as Paul declared, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).
 

I am grateful for the choice Eve and Adam made to partake of the forbidden fruit and to face the consequences of their actions.  I’ve had plenty of times in my life when a choice I’ve made puts me in the position of facing unknown territory or sailing uncharted waters.  By making their choice, they faced a great unknown, but they were able to do so knowing they had the Savior and Father by their sides even though they had been removed from their presence.  As she came to understand the magnitude of the Savior’s grace and His gospel, Eve proclaimed: “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” (Moses 5:11).  May we find joy in our own journey and know that even though we will make mistakes along the way, with the help of the Savior we can overcome those mistakes and find a place with Him in the kingdom of our Father.