February 14, 2016
I have been re-reading the book, "The Infinite Atonement" by Tad Callister in preparation for teaching a Sunday school lesson next month on the Atonement. I read this book years ago and it has been rewarding to skim over it once again. The atonement is complex and one could spend a lifetime exploring the details of it. One of the chapters talks about the Fall and how it has been misunderstood by many. I wanted to make note of some of the principles of the Fall that I am grateful to understand better as I study more.
In speaking of the conditions before the Fall, Callister talks about Adam and Eve finding themselves subject to 4 basic conditions-- 2 positive and 2 negative.
1. They were immortal, not subject to pain, disease, or death. Speaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God said, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thous shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17), implying that in the interim, until such an event should occur, Adam and Eve would enjoy a state of immortality. This was positive.
2. Adam and Eve walked and talked in the presence of God. This was also a positive. The Prophet Joseph Smith spoke of those glorious days when "God conversed with Adam face to face. In His presence he was permitted to stand, and from His own mouth he was permitted to receive instruction. He heard God's voice, walked before him and gazed upon His glory, while intelligence burst upon his understanding." It is hard to imagine a more idyllic setting in which to reside.
3. The third condition was a negative. Adam and Eve were in a state of innocence, without a full knowledge of good and evil, and thus unable to experience a fulness of joy. Lehi describes this condition: "And 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...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 Nephi 2:22-23). This was an obstacle to their individual development and progression. Without complete knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve could not exercise their full moral agency. John Fiske, a Harvard philosopher, grasped this dilemma: "Clearly, for strong and resolute men and women an Eden would be but a fool's paradise. How could anything fit to be called 'character' have ever been produced there?...We can at least begin to realize distinctly that unless our eyes had been opened at some time, so that we might come to know the good and the evil, we should never have become fashioned in God's image. We should have been the denizens of a world of puppets, where neither morality nor religion could have found place or meaning." Eden was a way-station, not a destination. It was a temporary resting spot in the journey of life. One could not expect to become like God in the Garden of Eden any more than one could expect to drive from Los Angeles to New York while in neutral. Except for the tree of knowledge of good and evil, there were no challenges, no temptations, and no obstacles in that quasi-heavenly setting. Accordingly, there could be no progression. They were temporarily stuck in a world of spiritual sterility. (This makes me think of how much we love little babies. They are so sweet, so innocent, and so completely dependent upon us. This is fine for a while, but we want for our children to have the opportunity to grow, learn to walk on their own, speak like us, learn and progress into adults. Sure, it can be painful to watch them fall and make mistakes, but we know that as their parents it is the only way for them to grow. We want for them to someday become fully aware adults, not remain babies forever. Likewise our Heavenly Father knows we need to experience the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, to become spiritually mature.)
4. The fourth condition was also negative. As long as they remained in this garden state, Adam and Eve would have no children, no joy in their posterity. What a devastating drawback. Under these conditions they could not obey the divine command to multiply and replenish the earth, which was the foremost design and object of their married life.
I am grateful that Adam and Eve were willing to transgress in order that the full plan of salvation and eternal happiness could be brought forth for us all. Satan thought he was being so clever when he tempted Eve to partake of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thinking this would doom her and Adam to eternal damnation. However, Satan did not understand the wonderful plan of redemption by Jesus Christ and did not understand that His Atonement would not only bring the principle of repentance and forgiveness to us but through the power of the resurrection, we too would be given immortality once again. When Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden and became fully mortal, they could then have children, and they would understand the opposites we need to experience here on earth (good and evil, pleasure and pain, happiness and sadness) in order for us to grown, progress, and become more and more like our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ as we make good choices in this temporary life on earth. Yes, Adam and Eve, and consequently the rest of mankind, would have to forego for a time being able to speak face to face with our Heavenly Father, but because of the atonement and resurrection of Christ, through faith in Him, we can someday return to our heavenly home for all of eternity. God did not leave us with no direction; He gave us prophets and scriptures to teach and guide us. Jesus extends his loving arms to all people in all circumstances, waiting to bring them unto Him, forgive their sins, and wash them clean, teach them of His ways, and prepare them to return to their God. Satan may have power to tempt us during our time on earth, but in the end he will be overcome by the plan of salvation and the goodness of Christ, never to have power over us again. When Christ returns to the earth once again, Satan will have to utter the old cliche, "Curses, foiled again".
I have been re-reading the book, "The Infinite Atonement" by Tad Callister in preparation for teaching a Sunday school lesson next month on the Atonement. I read this book years ago and it has been rewarding to skim over it once again. The atonement is complex and one could spend a lifetime exploring the details of it. One of the chapters talks about the Fall and how it has been misunderstood by many. I wanted to make note of some of the principles of the Fall that I am grateful to understand better as I study more.
In speaking of the conditions before the Fall, Callister talks about Adam and Eve finding themselves subject to 4 basic conditions-- 2 positive and 2 negative.
1. They were immortal, not subject to pain, disease, or death. Speaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God said, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thous shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17), implying that in the interim, until such an event should occur, Adam and Eve would enjoy a state of immortality. This was positive.
2. Adam and Eve walked and talked in the presence of God. This was also a positive. The Prophet Joseph Smith spoke of those glorious days when "God conversed with Adam face to face. In His presence he was permitted to stand, and from His own mouth he was permitted to receive instruction. He heard God's voice, walked before him and gazed upon His glory, while intelligence burst upon his understanding." It is hard to imagine a more idyllic setting in which to reside.
3. The third condition was a negative. Adam and Eve were in a state of innocence, without a full knowledge of good and evil, and thus unable to experience a fulness of joy. Lehi describes this condition: "And 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...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 Nephi 2:22-23). This was an obstacle to their individual development and progression. Without complete knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve could not exercise their full moral agency. John Fiske, a Harvard philosopher, grasped this dilemma: "Clearly, for strong and resolute men and women an Eden would be but a fool's paradise. How could anything fit to be called 'character' have ever been produced there?...We can at least begin to realize distinctly that unless our eyes had been opened at some time, so that we might come to know the good and the evil, we should never have become fashioned in God's image. We should have been the denizens of a world of puppets, where neither morality nor religion could have found place or meaning." Eden was a way-station, not a destination. It was a temporary resting spot in the journey of life. One could not expect to become like God in the Garden of Eden any more than one could expect to drive from Los Angeles to New York while in neutral. Except for the tree of knowledge of good and evil, there were no challenges, no temptations, and no obstacles in that quasi-heavenly setting. Accordingly, there could be no progression. They were temporarily stuck in a world of spiritual sterility. (This makes me think of how much we love little babies. They are so sweet, so innocent, and so completely dependent upon us. This is fine for a while, but we want for our children to have the opportunity to grow, learn to walk on their own, speak like us, learn and progress into adults. Sure, it can be painful to watch them fall and make mistakes, but we know that as their parents it is the only way for them to grow. We want for them to someday become fully aware adults, not remain babies forever. Likewise our Heavenly Father knows we need to experience the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, to become spiritually mature.)
4. The fourth condition was also negative. As long as they remained in this garden state, Adam and Eve would have no children, no joy in their posterity. What a devastating drawback. Under these conditions they could not obey the divine command to multiply and replenish the earth, which was the foremost design and object of their married life.
I am grateful that Adam and Eve were willing to transgress in order that the full plan of salvation and eternal happiness could be brought forth for us all. Satan thought he was being so clever when he tempted Eve to partake of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thinking this would doom her and Adam to eternal damnation. However, Satan did not understand the wonderful plan of redemption by Jesus Christ and did not understand that His Atonement would not only bring the principle of repentance and forgiveness to us but through the power of the resurrection, we too would be given immortality once again. When Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden and became fully mortal, they could then have children, and they would understand the opposites we need to experience here on earth (good and evil, pleasure and pain, happiness and sadness) in order for us to grown, progress, and become more and more like our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ as we make good choices in this temporary life on earth. Yes, Adam and Eve, and consequently the rest of mankind, would have to forego for a time being able to speak face to face with our Heavenly Father, but because of the atonement and resurrection of Christ, through faith in Him, we can someday return to our heavenly home for all of eternity. God did not leave us with no direction; He gave us prophets and scriptures to teach and guide us. Jesus extends his loving arms to all people in all circumstances, waiting to bring them unto Him, forgive their sins, and wash them clean, teach them of His ways, and prepare them to return to their God. Satan may have power to tempt us during our time on earth, but in the end he will be overcome by the plan of salvation and the goodness of Christ, never to have power over us again. When Christ returns to the earth once again, Satan will have to utter the old cliche, "Curses, foiled again".
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