Monday, July 7, 2014

Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual Chapter 8: The Fall

Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual Chapter 8: The Fall: "•“I’m very, very grateful that in the Book of Mormon, and I think elsewhere in our scriptures, the fall of Adam has not been called a sin. It wasn’t a sin. … What did Adam do? The very thing the Lord wanted him to do; and I hate to hear anybody call it a sin, for it wasn’t a sin. Did Adam sin when he partook of the forbidden fruit? I say to you, no, he did not! Now, let me refer to what was written in the book of Moses in regard to the command God gave to Adam. [Moses 3:16–17.]
“Now this is the way I interpret that: 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 of it if you want to. And if you eat it, you will die."



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4 comments:

Brett said...

This interpretation cleans up a tough concept. Maybe we should start a group to promote the idea and then refuse to stop if told to do so.

Ryan said...

There's a general understanding in the church that by eating the fruit, Eve was taking a crucial step in God's plan. We also understand that when Lucifer tempted Eve to eat the fruit, he was an unwittingly forwarding God's agenda.

I've been thinking about this question: if God wanted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit, why did he forbid them from eating it in the first place?

This quote kind of helps, but doesn't completely explain why God is using reverse-psychology.

Is your second sentence in reference to some recent women's movement in the church?

Brett said...

Yes, the reference was to the Ordain Women movement, whose arguments I find pretty ridiculous.

"if God wanted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit, why did he forbid them from eating it in the first place?

This quote kind of helps, but doesn't completely explain why God is using reverse-psychology."

I had a religion professor who was of the opinion that Eve sinned since she acted in response to a suggestion from Satan (which could be the very definition of sin), but that Adam did not..he merely chose to stay with Eve rather than staying in the Garden.

Brett said...

I certainly don't fully understand the Fall, but it would seem that God forbade them in the first place so that they could make the choice to be separated from Him.