Falling Upward

According to the LDS church, "Adam fell, but he fell in the right direction... Adam fell, but he fell upward." (Deseret News, Church Section, July 31, 1965, p. 7) Rather than bring the curse on humanity of a life of sin terminated by death, the Fall of Adam and Eve is considered a blessing in Mormonism.

In order to understand the LDS concept of the fall in the Garden of Eden we must first understand the LDS teaching of the preexistence of man. In Mormonism "pre-existence is the term commonly used to describe the premortal existence of the spirit children of God the Father.: (Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 589) Mormonism teaches that as spirit children of God, we do not receive bodies until we are born on earth. However, according to the Book of Mormon Adam and Eve could not have children before the fall in the Garden of Eden (2 Nephi 2:22-23). Thus the "spirit children of God the Father" could not be born into this world and have bodies unless Adam and Eve fell. Therefore Mormons see the fall as a positive action which allowed humanity as a whole to exist.

Ultimately, according to Mormonism, it is the trials of this life that allow faithful Mormons to become gods. This is yet another reason why Mormonism view the fall as a positive act. No fall would mean no earthly existence, and no earthly existence would mean no chance at godhood.

The Biblical view of the fall of Adam and Eve is dramatically different from the LDS view. First, the Bible does not teach that we are preexisting spirits. Rather our spirits are formed in the womb (Zechariah 12:1). Nor were Adam and Eve unable to have children before the fall. God commanded them to be fruitful and multiply before they sinned (Genesis 1:28). He then gave them the command not to eat of the tree (Genesis 2:17). According to LDS theology God would have set up a no win situation for Adam and Eve. They could not multiply without eating the fruit and they could not eat the fruit without sinning against God. This begs the question of why God would command them to do two things which are in direct opposition of each other.

Even more important is the fact that Mormonism does not teach that Adam and Eve's act in the Garden was sin. Rather they view it as a transgression. "This was a transgression of the law, but not a sin in the strict sense, for it was something Adam and Eve had to do!" (Joseph F. Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:115) Mormon apostle Bruce McConkie argues that "it is possible to transgress a law without committing a sin as in the case of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden." (McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 804)

This form of thinking is the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches. The apostle John wrote "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." (1 John 3:4, italics added)

Just as important is the fact that sin and death came by the choice of Adam and Eve (Romans 5:12, 15, 18-19). Paul clearly tells us that "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin." Such a choice is clearly not wise.

If the LDS concept of the fall is true, then why were Adam and Eve cursed by God? Why drive them out of the Garden if "it was something that Adam and Eve had to do?" The fact is that Adam and Eve did not fall "in the right direction." The Bible teaches that they willfully disobeyed God and in doing so brought death and sin into a perfect world.

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