The Fall - On a More Personal Level

Because of my Transgression my Eyes are Opened

Just chillin in my room, eating Mike and Ikes and listening to my girl, Enya...I feel like this is rap material...anyways...

I am a gospel doctrine teacher in my ward, and this week's lesson is on the Fall of Adam, a topic I absolutely LOVE. There is so much thoughtful insight about the Fall out there, and it all comes together in a way you never thought of before until you study it in depth.

I love the title of this lesson - Because of my Transgression my Eyes are Opened. To have our eyes opened, I think, is to gain understanding, knowledge, truth, progress, and understand what is right. Through Adam's transgression, he was able to realize good and evil, and the joyous and miserable things of the world. Likewise, when we sin, if we repent, our sins can become a blessing as they open our eyes to truths we never realized, and allows us to progress and become better than we were before we sinned.

This lesson focuses a lot on the consequences of the fall, and how we can personally relate. I think we can definitely all relate on two different levels. First, the Fall directly affects us, as it is because of Adam's transgression that we are here, so it is important that we understand what happened in the Fall, and how that led to our mortal bodies and allowed us to obtain salvation. Second, we can learn for the mistakes made in the Fall and apply what we learn to our own lives and become better.

The Fall is defined as: The process by which mankind became mortal on this Earth, and a necessary step in the progress of man (Bible Dictionary, 670). The Fall prepared the way for Christ, and is taught in both Genesis 2-4, and Moses 3-4. For the purposes of this lesson, I am going to be referencing the chapters in Moses.

Why are we here and what is our purpose? We were sent to Earth to become like God and to have eternal families. We all know the scripture in Moses 1:39 "For this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". (and woman). There is a quote by Elder Nielson I believe, that reads "The Earth was created that families might be".

I once had a seminary teacher that told us "As man is now, God once was, and as God is now, man may become". That always stuck with me. This is our purpose. This is demonstrated in Moses 1:34, when God says to Moses, "And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many." A great cross reference to this is Revelations 1:5-6. "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the Earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. And hath made us kings, and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." This makes me think to myself, when was there a father who wasn't first a son? This is an eternal and everlasting work. It never ends. This wonderful Plan of Salvation is for us. And it all began with the Creation...

In Moses 2:27 God creates man and woman. After creating them, he proceeds to give them the first commandments ever given in verse 28. The first of these commandments was to multiply and replenish the Earth. This is very important. The second commandment was to have dominion on the Earth. The third commandment was given in chapter 3 verse 17, instructing Adam and Eve not to partake of the forbidden fruit. But wait....

HOLLLDDD IT. Something isn't right...isn't there a contradiction here? Adam and Eve can't multiply without becoming mortal, but they can't become mortal without eating the fruit. How can this be right? Either way they will clearly be breaking a commandment. Why would God give them commandments they couldn't keep?

In 3:17, after giving them the commandments, God tells Adam and Eve, "Thou mayest choose for thyself". What does this mean? Does God want them to sin? How can this be possible?

The way I see it, when God told Adam and Eve this, he was essentially saying, "If you want to stay here and never change, don't eat the fruit. BUT, if you want to go forward with my work and progress, the tree is right over THERE. You choose."

This is the point where it is important to distinguish between a Transgression and a Sin. A transgression is defined as something that is wrong because it was formally prohibited. A sin is to know the will of God and not to do it - it is inherently wrong.

Adam and Eve could not sin because they did not know right from wrong at this point in time. God wanted the plan to start, but as He is perfect, He cannot bring on transgression. So, Adam and Eve had to choose to partake of the fruit themselves. After all, agency was a pivotal point of the plan.

God gave his fourth commandment in Moses 3:24. Cleave unto your wife and be one flesh. In verse 21, it says God took one of Adam's ribs and in verse 22 He made a woman and brought her unto the man. Was this the creation of Eve? No. This represents the marriage of Adam and Eve. What does a rib have to do with any of this? I believe that God took a rib from Adam to represent that Eve is as Adam's side, under his arm, and protected. In a sense, Adam fell for Eve. Because of his fall, they were able to have an eternal family. This is true love.

In Chapter 4 of Moses we learn about how Satan became the Devil. Man, I love this part haha! It's just awesome. Let's first look at verses 1-2. 

1) And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou has commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying - Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.

2) But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me - Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.

Wow. See the difference? Is it just me or does Satan sound completely self interested? Christ is so humble and gave all glory to the Father from the beginning. Who would you rather follow and strive to become like? 

In verses 3-4, Satan becomes the Devil.

3)Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of my Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;

4)And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice. 

This concept is best represented in a chart.

	END	MEANS	MOTIVE
CHRIST	Save all	Agency	Glory of God/Love
SATAN	Save all	No agency	Self glory

Moses 4:5-6 discusses Satan as a serpent, attempting to "beguile" Eve, "for he knew not the mind of God, wherefore, he sought to destroy the world." Satan clearly hoped that by getting Adam and Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit he would frustrate God's plan. However, what does the account of the Fall teach us about Satan's ability to frustrate the purposes of God? We just read it - he does not know the mind of God. He cannot frustrate his purposes, he will never win. 

"The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught. For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand not to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round. Remember, remember that it is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the work of men." (DC 3:1-3)

I love that scripture. 

Moses 4:7-14 is a wonderful part of the book in terms of applying scripture directly to our daily lives. These verses show exactly how Satan works. In fact, he has a pattern. Look at verse 12:

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 she did eat, and also gave unto her husband with her, and he did eat.

First, Eve saw the fruit. Next she desired it. Then she took. Then she ate. And last, she  gave. Do we see this in our lives when we sin? Certainly. Let's take pornography for example. First you may see it. You have the choice to either look away, or keep looking. If it becomes pleasant to the eyes, you will desire it. You will take it. Then indulge in it, looking at it more and more as it damages your spirit. And then you may share it with others. This is very real. In fact, there is a very real example of this in the scriptures, with King David in Samuel 11. This patterns is repeated, step by step. He saw Bathsheba. He then had a choice. This is where "cross-switches" come in. A cross-switch is a part of a railway, when the train can remain on its present path, or the conductor can switch, turning the wheels in a different direction, and going on a different track at the cross switch. We all reach cross-switches in our lives. We have the power of choice in our hands. You either choose one way, or the other. In verse 2, David could have chosen to look away when he saw Bathsheba. But he chose to look upon her. In verse 3, he could have chosen to forget about her, but he chose to inquire after her. In verse 4 he still could have chosen to forget about her, but he chose to send for her. At all these points, he could have chosen to stop, repent of lust and become righteous again. But he crossed the line, and chose to commit adultery, and continued to take cross-switches to hell, eventually committing murder. How did this happen?? David was such a wholesome, righteous king. This tells us that no one is immune to the Devil. But you have the choice. Even if you have made wrong choices so far, you can always choose to repent and go back before it is too late. He has no power over you until you give it to him.

Consequences of the Fall

It is very important to recognize the consequences of the Fall.

• Adam and Eve could have children. We could come to Earth and receive mortal bodies.
• Experience physical death
• Experience spiritual death
• Partake of misery and woe
• Capable of sinning
• Ground is cursed - we need to work.
• Can learn to recognize good and evil
• Can have joy in mortality
• Know the joy of our redemption
• Obtain eternal life
• Obtain the power to heal

Remember, consequences aren't just bad things. In fact, in this case, I can see how ALL the consequences of the Fall are good things. An important distinction to make at this point, is all of Adam and Eve's posterity (us too) inherited the consequences of the Fall, including physical and spiritual death, but not the responsibility for the Fall. Remember the Second Article of Faith, "men will be punished for their owns sins, and not for Adam's transgression."

How can a correct understanding of the Fall help us during mortality? It helps us recognize why we are here, why need to experience misery, to realize our purpose, and to give us the greatest blessings we have - our eternal families. Why is it also important to understand that God foresaw the Fall and that it was a necessary part of his plan? Because we need to realize that Satan did not and cannot frustrate God's plan. It was meant to happen that way. The fall is beneficial to us. This is a time for testing to prove we can become more like God. This requires that we are mortals, able to learn and choose between good and evil, which was made possible through the Fall.

"The Fall was not a disaster. It wasn't a mistake or an accident. It was a deliberate part of the Plan of Salvation. We are God's spirit 'offspring' sent to Earth 'innocent' of Adam's transgression. Yet our Father's plan subjects us to temptation and misery in this fallen world as the price to comprehend authentic joy. Without tasting the bitter, we cannot actually understand the sweet. We require mortality's discipline and refinement as the 'next step in our development' toward becoming like our Father. But growth means growing pains. It also means learning from our mistakes in a continual process made possible by the Savior's grace, which He extends during and after 'all we can do'".

- Bruce C. Hafen

Symbolism of the Fall

One of my favorite parts about the Fall is the amazing symbolism associated with it. In Moses 4, a lot of symbolism is seen.

Verse 13: Fig Leaves to clothe themselves - When a fig tree has leaves, this means it will soon be fruitful, as Adam and Eve were soon to have children. Fig leaves also give humans a rash on their skin, showing that when we try to cover our sins ourselves, as Adam and Eve did, we get a rash - it doesn't work.

Verse 19: God gives Adam and Eve a chance to confess. Of course He already knew what they had done. Why did he ask? To give them the chance to confess themselves.

Verse 28: See 1 Nephi 11. Adam and Eve are told to partake of the tree of life. Here, the tree of life symbolizes Christ, and partaking of the fruit symbolizes worshiping Christ. So, God was really instructing Adam and Eve to worship and partake of Christ.

Verse 27: God kills a lamb to cover Adam and Eve with skin. This is directly symbolic of Christ and his Atonement. He too was a lamb, killed to cover us. To cover our sins.

The Fall prepared the way for the Atonement, which saves us from physical and spiritual death. One of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon is 2 Nephi 9. This chapter is awesome, because it does something most scripture doesn't - it studies the "What Ifs" in depth, particularly the what-ifs of the Atonement. What if the Atonement hadn't happened? Then what? 

There is a blog I LOVE that talks about this chapter a lot, called The Redheaded Hostess. The author, Shannon, shows what would happen to us, the fallen man (or woman) if the Atonement hadn't happened, and what will happen because it did, in great pictorial form. This is my own representation of it:

Write one of these for yourself - draw a picture of yourself falling, so it can remind you what the Savior did for you, and what will happen if you do not take advantage of the price he paid for you. 

We all sin. We know right from wrong. We must escape this fallen state and fulfill God's plan. This is all so personal - we sin, but "no matter how bleak the chapter of our lives may look today, because of the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we can be assured that the ending of the book of our lives will exceed our grandest expectations." (Dieder F Uchdorf).

Which brings me back to the topic of the title of this lesson - Because of my SINS I can understand more and be closer to my Savior. I can repent of my wrongs, and turn them into blessings. in Moses 5:11 Eve bears her testimony of the blessings of the Fall: "Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient." Because of this, we call all become better than we were yesterday, we can grow and progress.

Elder Nielson said, "The Creation required the Fall. The Fall required the Atonement. The Atonement enabled the purpose of the Creation to be accomplished. Eternal Life, made possible by the Atonement, is the supreme purpose of the Creation. If families were not sealed in holy temples, the whole Earth would be utterly wasted." It amazes me how much the gospel is all interrelated. There are absolutely no gaps or shortcomings, and I am so grateful for the wonderful purposes God has for us. I have my family now, and I can have a wonderful family in the future, and it is because of this that I am SO grateful for the Fall of Adam.