Article of Faith 2 – The Fall and Original Sin

We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression
- Articles of Faith 1:2

The Fall

During the sixth of the seven periods of the creation, referred to as days in scripture, God said Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth [Gen 1:26] and it was done. God breathed into his [the man's] nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul [Gen 2:7]. He prepared the garden of Eden, and placed the man in the garden [Gen 2:8] commanding him to care for it, and forbidding him from eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil with the warning, in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die [Gen 2:17].

Lucifer, the son of God who rebelled, seeking to usurp the glory and authority of God by altering his divine plan [Moses 4:1-4], was cast out of heaven and sought to destroy the work of God. He first did this by tempting Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good an evil. Using his strategy of mixing truth into his lies, told Eve that she would not surely die but rather her eyes would be open, and she would be as gods, knowing good and evil [Gen 3:4-5]. Eve recognized the appeal of this argument, and elected to eat the fruit, violating the commandment of God in exchange for the knowledge and wisdom granted by the fruit. She then offered the fruit to Adam as well, who partook, and thus both were in violation of the commandment.

The Fall of Adam and Eve was an essential step in the progression of mankind. It is sometimes argued that had Adam and Eve not partaken of the fruit and been cast out of the garden, all mankind would have been allowed to live in the garden, in the presence of God. This is not the case. Lehi makes this clear in the Book of Mormon teaching that 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. And they [Adam and Eve] 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 [2 Ne 2:22-23]. Lehi here emphasizes that opposition is essential to progression [2 Ne 2:11]. As they were in the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve knew no pain, no sorrow, no darkness; and as such, were unable to truly experience happiness, joy, or light. They lived in the presence of God, in absolute peace, which is not a state in which they could grow in wisdom, knowledge, or strength of character, which was the purpose of the creation [Matt 5:48, Moses 1:39].

Agency and Accountability

In teaching Abraham about the creation of the world, God gave this view of the purpose of the creation: after seeing the spirits of men which were in existence, he said

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; and we will prove them herewith to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; and they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
- Abraham 3:24-26

The purpose of the creation was inseparably connected to man's God-given ability to choose for himself, whether that be liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil [2 Ne 2:27]. Every person is accountable to God for his/her own choices and sins, and every one must work out [their] own salvation with fear and trembling before him [Mormon 9:27]. The responsibility for sin lies upon the individual who commits it, not on their child, nor their parent, not their sibling, nor any other relation [Ezek 18:20, Alma 34:11-12]. This would not be justice—the blood of the innocent cannot pay the debts of the guilty.

This reasoning, however, applies only to the spiritual ramifications of sin—the son does not come under condemnation for the sins of his father—however, many temporal consequences of sin can at times be felt by family, peers, or others in association with the sinner. For example, in the Old Testament the Lord vowed to curse future generations for the idol worship of their parents [Ex 20:5]. It's unreasonable to think that the grandchildren of idol worshippers should be counted as idol worshippers, and denied salvation because of the sins of their grandparents; however, it is more understandable that grandchildren of idol worshippers may suffer slavery in heathen nations, after their grandparents were invaded and destroyed by foreigners as a consequence of idolatry.

The burden of accountability shifts partially in certain circumstances. Using the metaphor of the watchman, the Lord teaches Ezekiel that if he fails to do his duty as a prophet, and warn the people of the consequences of sin, their sins and destruction will be upon his head [Ezek 33:6]. This is commonly the case with those who are placed in authority over others, especially with a responsibility to teach. Parents can be considered guilty for the mistakes of their children, if the parents fail to teach their children the proper way to act [2 Ne 4:5-6, D&C 68:25]. Autocratic rulers such as kings bear responsibility for iniquities that they cause to be committed among their people [Mosiah 29:31].

Transgression and Original Sin

Since Adam and Eve had no knowledge of good or evil prior to partaking of the fruit, the act of partaking of it was not considered sin, but merely a transgression—a violation of the commandments of God. To sin requires a knowledge of good and evil [James 4:17]. This is why Mormon teaches that little children are incapable of sin [Moro 8:8]; they are too young to have been sufficiently taught what is good and what is evil. Likewise, Jesus Christ awards spiritual cleansing and forgiveness to those who are without the law of God because of their ignorance [2 Ne 9:26], while more is expected of those who have more of God's word [D&C 82:3]. Since Adam and Eve had, up to their partaking of the forbidden fruit, only been issued three commandments—not to eat the fruit, to multiply and replenish the earth, and to care for the earth [Moses 2:28]—they were too ignorant for this transgression to be counted as sin, and therefore the responsibility of repentance was not upon them. They were granted forgiveness through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

It is still the case, however, that Adam and Eve violated the commandment of God. Because of this disobedience, they were cut off from the presence of God, and were expelled from the Garden of Eden [D&C 29:41, 2 Ne 9:6]. They were also still subject to the physical consequences of partaking of the fruit, in particular, they received a knowledge of good and evil, and they became mortal [D&C 29:40]. Mortality must have been a consequence, directly or indirectly of eating the fruit, which is reasonable, as God said, in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die [Gen 2:17]. However, mortality and death were damning conditions upon the human race and, if left unchecked, would frustrate the plan of God, for the natural man has been an enemy to God since the fall of Adam [Mosiah 3:19].

Nobody is responsible for the fall of Adam and Eve except for Adam and Eve, the unique perpetrators of the transgression. As descendants of Adam and Eve, we inherit the physical consequences of their action: their mortality, their knowledge of good and evil, and their physical separation from God. Our ability to be spiritually clean, and to achieve salvation is dependent only upon our personal acts and beliefs, be those sinful or repentant, centered in Christ, or elsewhere.

Repentance, Resurrection, and The Tree of Life

As a result of the fall, God granted unto men a period of time in which to repent, and to bring their natures back in line with precise standards of divinity. It was for this cause that God set angels to guard the tree of life, as partaking immediately would have robbed men of a the period of repentance [Alma 42:4-5]. The effect of the resurrection seems to be equivalent to partaking of the fruit of the tree of life: it reverts the fall, and brings us back in into God's presence in perfect physical form [Alma 42:23]. At this time, our bodies will be perfected, and we will no longer be natural men and women, subject to the weakness of mortality. As such, if we have not already reconciled ourselves to God, and learned to obey his law and choose righteousness over all other pursuits, we will not be worthy to remain in the presence of God [Alma 12:23-24]. We will be cast off to remain in our impurity and will not be eligible to receive the mansions and blessings which God has prepared. It is for this reason that a state of mortality is necessary: that we may repent and purify our natures through the atonement of Jesus Christ, to the extent that mortal flesh allows before we return to God's presence and it is too late to change any further [Hel 13:38]. Directly removing death would destroy the plan of salvation [Alma 42:8].

James E. Talmage teaches that death is the wage of sin [Jesus the Christ, ch. 3]. Jesus Christ's death on the cross was completely voluntary, as he was without sin, and therefore not subject to the power of the devil in the way all other mortal men are. Death for him was a choice, not a natural consequence of sin. Because of this, and because of his perfection, the power remained in him to give up his life and to take it again. Indeed, Jesus said, No man taketh [my life] from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up [John 10:18] For this reason, only he was capable of the resurrection, and of thereby breaking the bands of death.

The Justice of Death

For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection [2 Ne 9:6]. This power of resurrection is available to all men, however to protect the justice of God, not all are resurrected at the time of their death [Alma 40:6]. In fact, the only ones who will be resurrected immediately are a number of the righteous followers of Jesus Christ who remain on the Earth at the time of his second coming [D&C 63:50-51], as well as those who live in the 1000 years thereafter, in which Jesus Christ reigns personally upon the Earth [D&C 101:30-31].

The resurrection is a preliminary judgement; men are resurrected into bodies of differing glories depending on the worthiness of their spirit [1 Cor 15:40-42], and they will inherit kingdoms based upon the glory of their bodies. If a sinful individual, or one who had never known Jesus Christ, were to be resurrected without delay, they would lack the time sufficient to prepare their spirits for a celestial glory. (The same condition would have come upon Adam and Eve if they had partaken immediately of the fruit of the Tree of Life.) Thus all those who die without a knowledge of God would be consigned to damnation, or at least a lesser glory. This period of postmortality is unnecessary for many who are sufficiently righteous—so those faithful at the time of and after the second coming can be "twinkled," or resurrected without tasting death. All others, however, are granted a space of time in which their rejection or lack of access to the gospel can be addressed [Alma 40:11-14].

To this end, Jesus Christ organized the preaching of the gospel to the deceased during the three days between his death and resurrection [1 Pet 3:18-20; D&C 138:18-19, 29-34]. Once this teaching was organized, provision had been made for justice to be fulfilled: all of God's children would have an opportunity to receive the gospel, whether they had received it in life or after death, and according to their acceptance of or adherence to it, would be eligible for exaltation and resurrection into a celestial body as well [D&C 138:58-59].

Therefore, despite the Lord's power over death, and the imminent resurrection of all men, death remains in place to protect the justice of God.

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