Adam fell that man may be…

1. Adam fell that man may be… Khinckley1@yahoo.com

2. Zebedee Coltrin Once after returning from a mission, Bro. Coltrin met Brother Joseph in Kirtland, who asked “…if I did not wish to go with him to a conference at New Portage. The party consisted of Presidents Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Oliver Cowdery and myself.” Next morning at New Portage, … Joseph seemed to have a far off look in his eyes, or was looking at a distance and presently he, Joseph, stepped between Brothers Cowdery and Coltrin and taking them by the arm, said, "Let's take a walk." They went to a place where there was some beautiful grass and grapevines and swampbeech interlaced. President Joseph Smith then said, "Let us pray." They all three prayed in turn--Joseph, Oliver, and Zebedee. Brother Joseph then said, "Now brethren, we will see some visions." Joseph lay down on the ground on his back and stretched out his arms and the two brethren lay on them. The heavens gradually opened, and they saw a golden throne, on a circular foundation, something like a light house, and on the throne were two aged personages, having white hair, and clothed in white garments. They were the two most beautiful and perfect specimens of mankind he ever saw. Joseph said, "They are our first parents, Adam and Eve." Adam was a large, broad-shouldered man, and Eve as a woman, was a large in proportion.

3. Bro. Robert Millett 1- Everything has not been revealed. 2- We cannot always tell which items are literal and which are figurative. - For instance: Rib or no rib? 3- We do not know how much Adam and Eve knew and understood prior to their fall. Bruce R. McConkie “our knowledge about the Creation is limited. We do not know the how and why and when of all things. Our finite limitations are such that we could not comprehend them if they were revealed to us in all their glory, fulness, and perfection.” Bruce R. McConkie In short, to say that Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit is to say that they "complied with whatever the law was that brought mortality into being." Bro. Millett Like all of us, the knowledge of their premortal existence was veiled. In that sense, then, they were required, as are we, to walk by faith. But unlike us, they walked and talked with God, held immediate communion with him, and were taught by him.

4. The Three PillarsBruce R. McConkie Plan of Salvation THE CREATION

5. Beguile Hebrew: Naw’ shaw: To deceive, to forget Moses 4 5 And now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which I, the Lord God, had made. 6 … and he sought also to beguile Eve, for he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world. 7 And he said unto the woman: Yea, hath God said—Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?... 8 And the woman said unto the serpent: We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; 9 But of the fruit of the tree which thou beholdest in the midst of the garden, God hath said—Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 10 And the serpent said unto the woman: Ye shall not surely die; 11 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 12 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it became pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make her wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and also gave unto her husband with her, and he did eat. Ted E. Gibbons: So far as we know, only one thing in the garden was forbidden to Adam and his wife. Lucifer took Eve’s attention to that one thing. There were 876 trees (more or less) in the garden and they could eat of any or all of them, except that one, and the devil focused Eve’s attention exactly there. As he always will. One of his ways to get into our hearts and minds is to point out the things we cannot do. Are there any movies you should not go to? Are there words you should not say? Are there things you should not do?

6. The Three PillarsBruce R. McConkie Plan of Salvation THE CREATION THE FALL

7. Mother Eve 11 And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression 1) we never should have had seed, 2) and never should have known good and evil, 3) and the joy of our redemption, 4) and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient. (Moses 5:11)

8. The Three PillarsBruce R. McConkie Plan of Salvation THE CREATION THE FALL THE ATONEMENT

9. Lehi’s Explanation 11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things 19 And after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit they were driven out of the garden of Eden, to till the earth 26 And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon…

10. The Lord to Joseph SmithAfter the loss of the 116 pages And behold, how oft you have transgressed the commandments and the laws of God, and have gone on in the persuasions of men. For, behold, you should not have feared man more than God. Although men set at naught the counsels of God, and despise his words—Yet you should have been faithful; (D&C 3:6)

11. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland If there is one lament I cannot abide, it is the poor, pitiful, withered cry, "Well, that's just the way I am." If you want to talk about discouragement, that is one that discourages me. I've heard it from too many people who want to sin and call it psychology. And I use the word sin to cover a vast range of habits, some seemingly innocent enough, that nevertheless bring discouragement and doubt and despair… …Repentance is not easy or painless or convenient. It is a bitter cup from hell. But only Satan, who dwells there, would have you think that a necessary and required acknowledgment is more distasteful than permanent residence. Only he would say, "You can't change. You won't change. It's too long and too hard to change. Give up. Give in. Don't repent. You are just the way you are." That is a lie born of desperation. Don't fall for it.( In Times of Trouble, 1980 BYU Devotional)