 | This article uses texts from within a religion or faith system without referring to secondary sources that critically analyze them.(February 2024) |
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) teaches that Adam and Eve were the first man and the first woman to live on the earth and that their fall was an essential step in the plan of salvation. [1] Adam in particular is a central figure in Mormon cosmology.
According to LDS Church teachings, all people born on the earth lived with God the Father and Jesus Christ in a pre-mortal life. [2] Adam and Eve were "among our Father's noblest children" and they were "foreordained" to be the parents of the human race. [1] In the pre-mortal life, Adam was the archangel Michael. [1] [3] [4] As Michael, Adam "led the forces of God against the armies of Lucifer" in the War in Heaven. [5] [6] LDS Church scripture provides no information about Eve prior to her earth life, but it is believed that "she must have been a choice daughter of God." [1]
In the LDS Church's temple endowment, it is taught that Adam is Michael and that he assisted Jehovah in the creation. [5] [3]
Adam and Eve's bodies were created by God the Father and Jesus Christ and were placed in the Garden of Eden, [1] which Joseph Smith taught was located in or near Jackson County, Missouri. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] When they were created, their bodies were not mortal and they could not die or have children, and they did not know right from wrong. [1]
Adam and Eve were married by God in Eden, [1] [12] and he commanded them to have children. [1] God told them they could eat of any tree in the garden except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and that the day they ate the fruit from that tree they would die. [1] [13] Adam was made “lord or governor of all things on earth, and at the same time [enjoyed] communion … with his Maker, without a veil to separate between.” [14]
Satan tempted Adam and Eve to eat of the prohibited fruit. [1] [15] Eve yielded to temptation and ate of the fruit; when Adam learned that Eve had done so, he ate the fruit too. [1] [16]
Because they ate of the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve underwent the "fall". [1] As God had promised, the bodies of Adam and Eve became mortal and they became subject to physical death, as well as sickness and pain. [1] Erastus Snow taught that the fruits of the Earth literally made Adam and Eve's bodies mortal. [17] : 17 They also underwent "spiritual death": they were separated from the presence of God by being cast out of the Garden of Eden. [1] Due to the fall, Adam and Eve also learned the difference between good and evil and became capable of having children, as God had originally commanded. [1]
Unlike some Christians, Latter-day Saints generally do not see the fall of Adam and Eve as a serious sin or as an overwhelmingly negative event. [5] [18] [19] Rather, the fall is viewed as "a necessary step in the plan of life and a great blessing to all of us. Because of the Fall, we are blessed with physical bodies, the right to choose between good and evil, and the opportunity to gain eternal life. None of these privileges would have been ours had Adam and Eve remained in the garden." [1] Latter-day Saint scripture reports that Adam and Eve later rejoiced that they had chosen to partake of the fruit, [20] and the Book of Mormon teaches that the fall was necessary for humankind to exist and for them to develop and eventually experience joy, which is the ultimate purpose of existence: "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." [21] Furthermore, the LDS version of the fall of Adam and Eve emphasizes the fall was a part of God's plan: "But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things," [21] as God had "foreordained" [22] and prepared Jesus Christ to be slain "from the foundation of the world" [23] in order to redeem mankind from the fall. In the early church, the idea that Eve's promised hardships [24] were passed on to all women was commonly accepted. [17] : 8 Valerie Cassler argues that God's description of her future hardships was not a curse, but a natural consequence that comes from living in a world with opposites. [25]
The fall of Adam and Eve as viewed by Latter-day Saints denies the concept of original sin. They instead believe that "little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in [Jesus Christ]." [26] Joseph Smith also stated that "men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression." [27] Latter-day Saint doctrine holds firm that through repentance, Adam and Eve were eventually forgiven of their transgression in Eden. [28]
Latter-day Saint scripture teaches that Adam and Eve had "sons and daughters" after the fall, [29] including Cain, Abel, [30] and Seth. [31] Adam and Eve worshiped God, offered animal sacrifices, and were taught by an angel about Jesus Christ. [32] Latter-day Saint doctrine teaches that the "coats of skins" Adam and Eve received [33] were to remind them of the coming of Jesus Christ who, through the atonement, would "cover their sins". [34] Adam is believed to be "the world's first Christian," [5] as well as the first prophet. [34] Adam was taught the plan of salvation, was baptized in water in the name of Jesus Christ, received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and was given the Melchizedek priesthood. [35] [36] Adam ordained his descendants to the priesthood. [37]
Three years prior to his death, Adam and his righteous posterity gathered in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman [38] in present-day Daviess County, Missouri, where Adam and Eve had settled after being expelled from the Garden of Eden. [39] [40] At this meeting, Adam bestowed his last blessing on his descendants. [38] [41] The premortal Jesus Christ appeared as the unembodied God Jehovah at the meeting to bless Adam and Adam uttered prophecies, [41] [42] which are said to have been recorded by Enoch. [42] Adam died when he was 930 years old. [43] [44]
Some presidents of the LDS Church report to have had visions of Adam and Eve. In 1836, Joseph Smith said that he saw Adam in the celestial kingdom [45] and in 1918 Joseph F. Smith said that he saw Adam and Eve in the world of spirits when Jesus visited there between his death and resurrection. [46] Joseph Smith also said that the voice of Adam was heard near the Susquehanna River "detecting the devil when he appeared as an angel of light". [47]
Joseph Smith prophesied that Adam would one day return to Adam-ondi-Ahman "to visit his people". [48] Thousands will attend this meeting with Adam, which will be prior to and in preparation of the Second Coming of Jesus. [41] Adam is believed to be the "Ancient of Days" prophesied of in the Book of Daniel. [5] [48] [49] At the Second Coming, Adam will "sound his trump", which will signal the resurrection of the dead. [5] [50] At the end of the millennial rule of Christ, Adam will lead the forces of good against Satan in the final "battle of the great God", [5] [51] also known as the battle of Gog and Magog. [52]
One LDS Church apostle has suggested that it may have been Adam who was sent as the angel Michael to "strengthen" [53] Jesus when he was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane during his passion. [54] [55]
Adam and Eve are frequent topics in Latter Day Saint arts and literature. [56] Some significant examples include The Plan by Eric Samuelsen, "Adam-ondi-Ahman" by W. W. Phelps, and paintings by J. Kirk Richards.
Several early leaders of the LDS Church taught that Adam was God because he was the father of the human race. This doctrine was taught several times by Brigham Young during general conferences [57] [58] [59] and was supported by other high-ranking leaders of the church. [60] [61] [62] [ unreliable source? ] However, the Adam–God doctrine never gained wide support by the church as a whole. Some members and critics of the church claimed that Young was declaring Adam to be God the Father. This specific interpretation was later repudiated by church president Spencer W. Kimball. [63]
The Standard Works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are the four books that currently constitute its open scriptural canon. The four books of the standard works are:
The Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God, editions of the book continue to be printed mainly by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Community of Christ.
Mormonism is the theology and religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of the Latter Day Saint movement, although there has been a recent push from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to distance themselves from this label. A historian, Sydney E. Ahlstrom, wrote in 1982 that, depending on the context, the term Mormonism could refer to “a sect, a mystery cult, a new religion, a church, a people, a nation, or an American subculture; indeed, at different times and places it is all of these."
The Adam–God doctrine was a theological idea taught in mid-19th century Mormonism by Brigham Young, a president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although the doctrine is rejected by the LDS Church today, it is still an accepted part of the modern theology of some Mormon fundamentalists.
The Latter Day Saint movement is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Joseph Smith in the late 1820s.
Adam-ondi-Ahman is a historic site in Daviess County, Missouri, about five miles south of Jameson. It is located along the east bluffs above the Grand River. According to the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is the site where Adam and Eve lived after being expelled from the Garden of Eden. It teaches that the place will be a gathering spot for a meeting of the priesthood leadership, including prophets of all ages and other righteous people, prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Joseph Smith–History is a book in the Pearl of Great Price containing excerpts from an autobiographical record of some of the early events in the life of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Like many of Smith's publications, it was dictated to scribes.
John Andreas Widtsoe was a Norwegian-American scientist, author, and religious leader who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1921 until his death in 1952.
The 1890 Manifesto is a statement which officially advised against any future plural marriage in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Issued by Church President Wilford Woodruff in September 1890, the Manifesto was a response to mounting anti-polygamy pressure from the United States Congress, which by 1890 had disincorporated the church, escheated its assets to the U.S. federal government, and imprisoned many prominent polygamist Mormons. Upon its issuance, the LDS Church in conference accepted Woodruff's Manifesto as "authoritative and binding."
Matthias Foss Cowley was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1897 until 1905. He resigned from the Quorum of the Twelve due to his unwillingness to support the church's abolition of plural marriage. He and John W. Taylor are the most recent apostles of the LDS Church to have resigned from their positions.
The Pearl of Great Price is part of the canonical Standard Works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and some other Latter Day Saint denominations.
Community of Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are two denominations that share a common heritage in the Church of Christ founded by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830. Since Smith's death in 1844, they have evolved separately in belief and practices. The LDS Church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and claims more than 17 million members worldwide; Community of Christ is headquartered in Independence, Missouri, and reports a worldwide membership of approximately 250,000.
Mormon cosmology is the description of the history, evolution, and destiny of the physical and metaphysical universe according to Mormonism, which includes the doctrines taught by leaders and theologians of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mormon fundamentalism, the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ, and other Brighamite denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement. Mormon cosmology draws from Biblical cosmology, but has many unique elements provided by movement founder Joseph Smith. These views are not generally shared by adherents of other Latter Day Saint movement denominations who do not self-identify as "Mormons", such as the Community of Christ.
Lyman Royal Sherman was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement, an inaugural member of the Seven Presidents of the Seventy, and was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles but died before being informed and ordained.
Janne Mattson Sjödahl was a Swedish convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was the author of influential commentaries on LDS Church scriptures. Sjödahl was among the first commentators to advance a "limited geography model" for the theorized geography of the Book of Mormon.
The largest church within Mormonism, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, takes no official position on whether or not biological evolution has occurred, or on the validity of the modern evolutionary synthesis as a scientific theory. In the 20th century, the LDS Church published doctrinal statements on the origin of man and creation. In addition, individual leaders of the LDS Church have expressed a variety of opinions on evolution, many of which have affected the beliefs and perceptions of Latter-day Saints.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints focuses its doctrine and teaching on Jesus Christ; that he was the Son of God, born of Mary, lived a perfect life, performed miracles, bled from every pore in the Garden of Gethsemane, died on the cross, rose on the third day, appeared again to his disciples, and now resides, authoritatively, on the right hand side of God. In brief, some beliefs are in common with Catholics, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. However, teachings of the LDS Church differ significantly in other ways and encompass a broad set of doctrines, so that the above-mentioned denominations usually place the LDS Church outside the bounds of orthodox Christian teaching as summarized in the Nicene Creed.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a son of perdition is a person who will not take part in the glory of God in the afterlife. This is in contrast to the vast majority of people, who will receive a "kingdom of glory" after the Final Judgment, and enter into one of three degrees of glory after the resurrection: celestial, terrestrial, or telestial kingdoms.
The President of the Church is the highest office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, the church's founder. The church's president is its leader and the head of the First Presidency, its highest governing body. Latter-day Saints consider the president of the church to be a "prophet, seer, and revelator" and refer to him as "the Prophet", a title that was originally given to Smith. When the name of the president is used by adherents, it is usually prefaced by the title "President". Russell M. Nelson has been the president since January 14, 2018.
