The Fall

What do you think of the Fall? Was it a good thing? Was it a tragedy? I believe that the Fall was an essential element of the “merciful plan of the great Creator.” The Fall was not an accident, it was part of a plan that provides for the progress and improvement of the human family.

The Fall cannot be evaluated on its own, but must be considered within the totality of the plan of salvation, the focal point of which is the atonement and resurrection of Christ.

What do we know about the Fall?

In a prior post, “The Nature of God,” I talked about the importance of continuing revelation to understand gospel principles. The Fall is another example of a doctrine that is clarified by modern revelation. The Book of Moses, which is Joseph Smith’s Translation of a few chapters of the Book of Genesis, along with the Book of Mormon, provide additional details that help us understand the Fall.

After the creation, God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and said, “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, 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.”¹

What was the “death” that was the consequence of the Fall? There are two “deaths,” one is spiritual, a separation from God, and the other is the death of the body, the separation of the spirit from the physical body.

The first death – a spiritual death

The prophet Samuel taught that the “first death” was “spiritual death,” “for all mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord, are considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual.”²

While Adam and Eve were in the Garden, we read about conversations between them and God. But as a consequence of eating the fruit, they were cast out of the Garden, and in their next interaction with God, they could only hear his voice: “And Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence. And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.”³

After receiving those instructions, the next interaction was with an angel, rather than with God himself: “And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me. And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore. And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son.”⁴

The first death suffered by Adam and Eve, a spiritual death, was a separation from God. But this death was mitigated by the atonement of Jesus Christ. Because of his atonement, which was an infinite and eternal sacrifice,⁵ Adam and Eve were baptized and received the Holy Ghost, which testifies of the Father and the Son, and enables us to be brought back into the presence of God, which is even possible while still on this earth.⁶

The second death – a temporal death

As a result of the Fall, all of us who are born to this earth will die. It is inevitable. Through the Savior’s resurrection, we will also be resurrected, overcoming the temporal death. But in addition to the atonement and resurrection of Christ, God gave us another great gift: time.

“And the days of the children of men were prolonged, according to the will of God, that they might repent while in the flesh; wherefore, their state became a state of probation, and their time was lengthened, according to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the children of men. For he gave commandment that all men must repent; for he showed unto all men that they were lost, because of the transgression of their parents.”⁷

Time. We have time to repent. This life is a probationary period, a time that we have to repent and draw closer to God.

But life is uncertain. Death comes to us all, and at different times. What about those who don’t have time? What about children who die before they even have a chance to live? Especially in this, we see the great mercy and love of God.

In the Book of Mormon we read teachings by the prophet Mormon to his son Moroni about little children: “little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world; . . . Little children cannot repent; wherefore, it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in him because of his mercy. . . . For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot repent.”⁸

In a revelation to Joseph Smith, the Lord said, “little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten; Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me.”⁹

Time. Not just time to live, but from the moment we are born, we have time before we even become accountable. Why? Because of the love, and mercy, and grace of Jesus Christ. Because we are not responsible for Adam and Eve’s action in partaking of the fruit. “We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.”¹⁰

Suffering, sorrow, and pain

As a consequence of the Fall, Adam and Eve were told of the sorrows that they would face: “Because thou hast . . . eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying—Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou shalt return unto the ground—for thou shalt surely die—for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou wast, and unto dust shalt thou return.”¹¹

But even in this, God gave us the gift of his Son. Through his suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, Jesus Christ gained power to help us through this life. He told his disciples, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”¹²

Yes, because of the Fall we suffer in this life. But just as with the spiritual death, just as with the temporal death, the infinite atonement of Jesus Christ was given to us as a blessing to help us overcome our trials:

“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

“And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

“Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance.”¹³

The atonement of Christ mitigates all effects of the Fall

The Fall caused dire consequences for the human family: we die spiritually, we die temporally, and we suffer while in this life. But God gave us the atonement of Christ. Through Christ, we can overcome all effects of the Fall. And what were we given? Physical bodies, and time to learn and grow. Time to make mistakes. Time to learn for ourselves. Time to repent.

The Fall was an intentional of the plan of salvation

In the scriptures, we read that Satan “beguiled” Eve, and so she ate the fruit.¹⁴ Because of that, and because Adam and Eve partook of the fruit that they had been commanded not to eat, it may seem that the Fall was an unintended action, causing nothing but misery for the human family. But God knows all things. He sees the end from the beginning, and the Fall was part of his plan.

The Book of Moses then briefly describes Satan’s rebellion, and his desire “to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.”¹⁵ It was Satan who “sought to beguile Eve, for he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world.”¹⁶

That phrase, “he knew not the mind of God,” teaches us many things. Satan was seeking to overthrow the plan, but God intended for the Fall to occur, to grant all the blessings that were previously discussed. Only through the Fall could we be in a situation that allowed us to grow and progress, free to choose for ourselves, and with the gift of the atonement of Christ, free to choose redemption by following the Savior.

After Adam and Eve partook of the fruit and were cast out of the garden, Adam and Eve learned of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, and they received the Holy Ghost, which testified to them that “as thou hast fallen, thou mayest be redeemed and all mankind, even as many as will.”¹⁷ After receiving that testimony through the Holy Ghost, Adam proclaimed, “Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God,” and Eve testified, “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.”¹⁸

These statements by Adam and Eve show the great blessings of the Fall, and how it is an integral part of the plan of salvation.

The Fall is part of the merciful plan of the great Creator

In a prior post (“Interludes – Avoiding Myopia,”) I talked about the need to locate all doctrines within the context of the plan of salvation. In a similar way, understanding basic, fundamental principles of the gospel helps us have greater clarity of all doctrines.

The Savior often taught using principles. For example, a Pharisee asked him, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?”¹⁹ He responded, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”²⁰

Love of God and love of our neighbor are two great principles that are the basis for all of God’s teachings, and all of his work. His love is reflected in the gift of his son: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”²¹

The plan of salvation is called by many names. The prophet Jacob called it “the merciful plan of the great Creator.”²² Alma called it “the plan of mercy.”²³ All throughout scripture, we read of the mercy and grace of God in conjunction with his love.

God’s plan is not one of judgment, punishment, or condemnation. It is a plan of salvation, created by our Father in Heaven who loves us with a perfect love.

I believe that the Fall reflects God’s mercy. I believe that God intended for the Fall to occur, and so authored a circumstance in which we could learn and develop, with the freedom to make mistakes without the condemnation that comes with open rebellion.

Consider Satan’s rebellion, and what happened to him and all the “angels” that followed him: “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”²⁴ Why were they cast out? Because their rebellion was an open rebellion while in the presence of God.²⁵

Because of that, I believe the Fall is a great gift. Through no fault of our own, we have become separated from God, given time to repent, and through the atonement of Christ we can be brought back into his presence. Without the Fall, our mistakes would be done in open rebellion in the presence of God. But because of the Fall, we are given time. As little children, we can grow up innocent, free to make mistakes. As we learn over time, we make covenants, receive instructions from God’s chosen servants, and learn line upon line. We become accountable as we grow into the capacity to choose for ourselves, and we are given a circumstance in which we are asked to exercise faith rather than being given a perfect knowledge, so that any mistakes do not carry the consequence of open rebellion.

O the wisdom of God!

In one of the greatest discources about the plan of salvation, the prophet Jacob celebrated the greatness of the plan: “O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! . . . O how great the goodness of our God . . . O how great the plan of our God! . . . O the greatness and the justice of our God! . . . O the greatness of the mercy of our God . . . O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it.”²⁶

Paul called Jesus “the author and finisher of our faith.”²⁷ God, our Heavenly Father, created a plan for our salvation, and Jesus Christ is at the center of that plan. Through the Fall, we are given an opportunity to be innocent, to be without the law for a time, and to learn, progress, and accept Christ through faith. We have been separated from God, but through the atonement of Christ, and with his priesthood authority, we can enter into covenants with him that allow us to receive the Holy Ghost to be brought back into his presence, even in this life. Because of the Savior’s resurrection, we will overcome physical death and return to the presence of God.

It is a remarkable plan. It is a merciful plan. It is a plan created by an ominpotent, almighty, supreme creator, who has asked us to call him “Father.” If we focus on the merciful principles of the plan of salvation, if we choose to see the blessings that come because of the Fall, we can be filled with gratitude for God’s love and mercy.

References

1. Moses 3:16-17. ↩︎
2. Helaman 14:16. ↩︎
3. Moses 5:4-5. ↩︎
4. Moses 5:6-9. ↩︎
5. Alma 34:10-12. ↩︎
6. Ethern 3:13. ↩︎
7. 2 Nephi 2:21. ↩︎
8. Moroni 8:12-22. ↩︎
9. Doctrine and Covenants 29:46-47. ↩︎
10. Articles of Faith 2. ↩︎
11. Moses 4:23-25. ↩︎
12. John 16:33. ↩︎
13. Alma 7:11-13. ↩︎
14. Moses 4:19. ↩︎
15. Moses 4:4. ↩︎
16. Moses 4:6. ↩︎
17. Moses 5:9. ↩︎
18. Moses 5:10-11. ↩︎
19. Matthew 22:36. ↩︎
20. Matthew 22:37-40. ↩︎
21. John 3:16. ↩︎
22. 2 Nephi 9:6. ↩︎
23. Alma 42:15. ↩︎
24. Revelation 12:9. ↩︎
25. Doctrine and Covenants 76:25. ↩︎
26. 2 Nephi 9. ↩︎
27. Hebrews 12:2. ↩︎