PowerPoint Presentation

The Fall of Adam & Eve1

The Three Pillars of Eternity

2Moses 43Moses 4:1-6

Before the story of the Fall unfolds we are introduced to Satan (crucial context for the story of fallen man).

Lucifer sought to dethrone God, to sit himself on the divine throne, and to save all men without reference to their works.He sought to deny men their agency so they could not sin. He offered a mortal life of carnality and sensuality, of evil and crime and murder, following which all men would be saved.

Bruce R. McConkieQuorum of the Twelve(The Millennial Messiah, p.666)Lucifer and his lieutenants preached another gospel, a gospel of fear and hate and lasciviousness and compulsion. They sought salvation without keeping the commandments, without overcoming the world, without choosing between opposites.

Bruce R. McConkieQuorum of the Twelve(The Millennial Messiah, p.666)Satan (it is possible) being opposed to the will of his Father, wished to avoid the responsibilities of this position [redeemer], and rather than assume the consequences of the acceptance of the plan of the Father, he would deprive man of his agency, and render it impossible for him to obtain that exaltation which God designed.

John TaylorPresident(Mediation and Atonement[1882], pp. 96-97)It would further seem probable that he refused to take the position of redeemer, and assume all the consequences associated therewith, but he did propose, as stated before, to take another plan and deprive man of his agency, and he probably intended to make men atone for their own acts by an act of coercion, and the shedding of their own blood as an atonement for their sins.John TaylorPresident(Mediation and Atonement[1882], pp. 96-97)

Why the Fall?To Enable ProcreationTo Introduce Opposites (evil, misery, death, ect. in the right way)Why not just create Adam and Eve in an already fallen condition in a context of evil already created by God?9Now we had to have not only just the good but we had to have the evil in order that we could choose between the two. Now you think about that for a moment. If everything were good in the world and there were none evil, would you be able to choose anything but good?

Harold B. LeePresident(Teachings of the Presidents of the Church, Harold B. Lee, 13-14)If everything were evil in the world, if there wasnt any good to choose, could you choose anything else but evil? When you think about it for a moment, the only way there could be agency in the individuals who live upon this earth is to have both the good and the bad and each one of us given the opportunity to choose for ourselves.

Harold B. LeePresident(Teachings of the Presidents of the Church, Harold B. Lee, 13-14)The Event of the Fall

12Two Conflicting Commands?13Now this is the way I interpret [Moses 3:16-17]: The Lord said to Adam, Here is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If you want to stay here, then you cannot eat of that fruit. If you want to stay here, then I forbid you to eat it. But you may act for yourself, and you may eat it if you want to. And if you eat it, you will die.

Joseph Fielding SmithQuorum of the Twelve(FallAtonementResurrectionSacrament, inCharge to Religious Educators,2nd ed. [1982], 124)Adam and Eve ... were willing to transgress knowingly and consciously (the only way they could "fall" into the consequences of mortality, inasmuch as Elohim certainly could not force innocent parties out of the garden and still be a just God) only because they had a full knowledge of the plan of salvation, which would provide for them a way back from their struggle with death and hell.

Jeffrey R. HollandQuorum of the Twelve(Christ and the New Covenant, p.202-203)Adam and Eve ... were willing to transgress knowingly and consciously (the only way they could "fall" into the consequences of mortality, inasmuch as Elohim certainly could not force innocent parties out of the garden and still be a just God) only because they had a full knowledge of the plan of salvation, which would provide for them a way back from their struggle with death and hell.

Jeffrey R. HollandQuorum of the Twelve(Christ and the New Covenant, p.202-203)Some may regret that our first parents sinned. This is nonsense. I will not blame Adam or Eve, why? Because it was necessary that sin should enter into the world; no man could ever understand the principle of exaltation without its opposite; no one could ever receive an exaltation without being acquainted with its opposite.

Brigham Young(Discourses of Brigham Young, p.103)Adam and Eve came to this world to perform exactly the part that they acted in the Garden of Eden; and I will say,they were ordained of God to do what they did, and it was therefore expected that they would eat of the forbidden fruitin order that man might know both good and evil by passing through this school of experience which this life affords us. Wilford Woodruff(Journal of Discourses, 23:125)

The Effects of the Fall19To EdenTo Eternal Life

When Adam fell, it was as if the human race had fallen into a pit, from which they were powerless, by any act of their own, to emerge; having no means whereby to climb up and out, and not even knowing how to climb [or that they even need to].

To EdenTo Eternal Life

To EdenTo Eternal Life

What is our common inheritance in the pit of mortality?

Moses 6:48-49 We will all Die Partake of Misery & Woe Satan is here Temptations abound Carnal, Sensual, Devilish Shut Out from GodThe Natural Man is

Carnal: not spiritual; inclined toward worldly things

Sensual: seeks to please and gratify the physical senses. Devilish: inclined to do evil. Gods Commandments

My commandments are spiritual; they are not natural nor temporal, neither carnal nor sensual. (D&C 29:35)Vs.Have you ever not wanted to go to church? Have you ever not wanted to read your scriptures? Have you ever not wanted to help people? Have you ever not wanted to accept or fulfill a calling because it forces you out of your comfort zone (selfish zone?)? We need some help out at the meat packing plant.Have you ever not wanted to control your passions? The natural man does not want to keep the commandmentsits not natural!!! If you have ever felt those feelings you have some concrete evidence that you are a fallen person living in a fallen world. 23Vs.SpiritNatural ManThe Holy Ghost Entices our SpiritSatan Entices our FleshInternal Battle(Built-in Opposition)Repentance requires spiritual dominion over appetites of the flesh....Whenever we allow uncontrolled appetites of the body to determine behavior opposed to nobler promptings of the Spirit, the stage is set for misery and grief.

Russell M. NelsonQuorum of the Twelve(BYU Speeches, 29 March 1987)The precise nature of the test of mortality, then, can be summarized in the following two questions: Will my body rule over my spirit, or will my spirit rule over my body? Will I yield to the enticings of the natural man or to the eternal man? That, brothers and sisters, is the test. We are here on the earth to develop godlike qualities and to learn to bridle all of the passions of the flesh (Alma 38:12).

David A. Bednar(Ricks College DevotionalJanuary 11, 2000)

The men and women, who desire to obtain seats in the celestial kingdom, will find that they must battle every day.

Brigham Young(Discourses of Brigham Young, p.392)

The Fall & the Problem of EvilNearly every contention people have against God is answered in the doctrine of the fall. Why isnt life fair? Why does God let little children suffer? Why all of the starvation in Africa? If God really loves us, then why doesnt He come and help us with our problems?

Girl at check stand in Ohio: I dont believe in God because my brother committed suicide. If there was a God, how would He let something like that happen?

Another young woman only days ago: Im mad at God because He let my dad die of heart failure. 28If God is good and all powerful, why does He permit so much human suffering? Why does He allow so much evil to be in the world he created?We cannot say that [God] would like to help but cannot: God is omnipotent. We cannot say that he would help if he only knew: God is omniscient. We cannot say that he is not responsible for the wickedness of others: God creates those others. Indeed an omnipotent, omniscient God [who creates all things absolutelyi.e., out of nothing] must be an accessor before (and during) the fact to every human misdeed; as well as being responsible for every non-moral defect in the universe. (Antony Flew, Theology and Falsification,New Essays in Philosophical Theology[London: SCM Press, 1955])

Jeffrey R. HollandQuorum of the Twelve(Christ and the New Covenant, p.203)In doing so [falling], Adam and Eve answered forever the plaintive question that is so often heard:If there is a God, why is there so much suffering in the world? The answer to that is we now live in a fallen world filled with opposites, a world in which God is the most powerful but decidedly not the only spiritual influence. As part of the doctrine of opposition, Satan is also at work in the world, and we knew before we came here that he would bring grief and anguish with him.

Jeffrey R. HollandQuorum of the Twelve(Christ and the New Covenant, p.203)Nevertheless, we (through Adam and Eve) made the conscious choice to live in and endure this mortal sphere of opposition in all things, for only through such an experience was godly progress possible. Adam and Eveand weknowingly and lovingly absolved God of the responsibility for the thorns and thistles of a fallen world that was personally chosen by us, not capriciously imposed by him.

Jeffrey R. HollandQuorum of the Twelve(Christ and the New Covenant, p.203)We wanted the chance to become like our heavenly parents, to face suffering and overcome it, to endure sorrow and still live rejoicingly, to confront good and evil and be strong enough to choose the good. In this telestial, mortal world filled with competing voices, enticements, and experiences, we get a lifetime of opportunity to refine and strengthen these virtues. Temple Implications?Nearly every contention people have against God is answered in the doctrine of the fall. Why isnt life fair? Why does God let little children suffer? Why all of the starvation in Africa? If God really loves us, then why doesnt He come and help us with our problems?

Girl at check stand in Ohio: I dont believe in God because my brother committed suicide. If there was a God, how would He let something like that happen?

Another young woman only days ago: Im mad at God because He let my dad die of heart failure. 34

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The Presence of God(Celestial)36

Paradisiacal State(Terrestrial)37

Lone and Dreary World(Telestial)38EndBlues40359.07