Creation - The Fall - The Atonement
“Because of My Transgression, My Eyes are Opened”
Lesson 4 – Moses 4; 5:1-15, 6:48-62 January 24, 2010 Sherwood Hills Ward
Three Pillars of Eternity or Salvation according to Elder McConkie
The Creation, the Fall, and The Atonement
Summarize the Fall of Adam (sealed portion of the Bible) – Bible Dictionary
First Reading: BIBLE DICTIONARY, Fall of Adam
The process by which mankind became mortal on this earth. The event is recorded in Gen. 2, 3, 4; and Moses 3, 4. The fall of Adam is one of the most important occurrences in the history of man. Before the fall, Adam and Eve had physical bodies but no blood. There was no sin, no death, and no children among any of the earthly creations. With the eating of the “forbidden fruit,” Adam and Eve became mortal, sin entered, blood formed in their bodies, and death became a part of life. Adam became the “first flesh” upon the earth (Moses 3: 7), meaning that he and Eve were the first to become mortal. After Adam fell, the whole creation fell and became mortal. Adam’s fall brought both physical and spiritual death into the world upon all mankind (Hel. 14: 16-17).
The fall was no surprise to the Lord. It was a necessary step in the progress of man, and provisions for a Savior had been made even before the fall had occurred. Jesus Christ came to atone for the fall of Adam and also for man’s individual sins.
Latter-day revelation supports the biblical account of the fall, showing that it was a historical event that literally occurred in the history of man. Many points in latter-day revelation are also clarified that are not discernible from the Bible. Among other things it makes clear that the fall is a blessing, and that Adam and Eve should be honored in their station as the first parents of the earth.
Question: What do we learn from the Book of Moses, the Book of Mormon, and from Latter-day Prophets about the Fall that is not discernible from the Bible?
Read 2 Nephi 2: 14-26 (Tells the story of the Fall)
I. The Fall of Adam and Eve & Its affects on them and us
List:
◊ They could become parents (Moses 5:11)
◊ They brought physical death to all of us (Moses 4:25)
◊ We would all experience spiritual death (Moses 4:29)
◊ We would experience misery and woe (Moses 6:48)
◊ We would have free agency and opposition (choices) (Moses 6:49)
◊ We would work because ground is cursed (Moses 4:23-25)
◊ We could learn to distinguish between good and evil (Moses 4:28)
◊ We could have joy (Moses 5:10)
◊ We could experience the joy of redemption (Moses 5:11)
◊ It is possible to obtain eternal life (Moses 5:11)
Question: Why is it important to understand that Heavenly Father foresaw the Fall & that it was a necessary part of His plan for our salvation
Learning by questions:
Second Reading: Joseph Smith - I have a key by which I understand the scriptures. I inquire, what was the question which drew out the answer, or caused Jesus to utter the parable? (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 276-277)
Here is an example of some fun learning by questions:
Moses 4:1 – Why does the Lord say “that Satan” and not just Satan?
Why does Satan say “I will be thy son.”
Verse 3 – When did Satan rebel? Why does the Lord speak of it in the past tense?
Verse 4 – What does it mean “he became Satan?”
Verse 5 – What does it mean to say “the serpent was subtle?”
Verse 6 – What did Satan put in the heart of the serpent? Who are the many Satan had drawn away? What does it mean to say that Satan did not know the mind of God? What is the connection between not knowing God’s mind and seeking to destroy the world?
Verse 10-11 – What is the serpent saying when he says “you shall not surely die? What kind of doubt is he trying to plant?
Verse 12: What does does the woman see when she looks at the tree that she did not see before? What makes her think the fruit is good to eat? Why is it good to eat? What does it mean that it is pleasant to the eyes?
Verse 13 – What does it mean that their eyes were opened?
Verse 15 – The Lord asks “Where art thou?’- in Genesis. In Moses he asks “where goest thou?’ (He obviously knows where Adam and Eve are? When does the Lord ask us where we are going?
Verse 17 – The Lord asks two questions of Adam. What is the answer to the first?
Verse 18 – Which question does Adam answer? Why doesn’t he answer the other one?
Verse 23- Why is the ground cursed? Note the first hind that Satan was wrong – doing field work all the days of his life…eating the fruit does bring death.
Verse 28 – Why does the Lord say “the man is like one of us? Is this a type?
II. The Atonement of the Savior saves us from physical and spiritual death.
Third reading:
President Ezra Taft Benson said: “The plan of redemption must start with the fall of Adam. In the words of Moroni, “by Adam came the Fall of Man. And because of the Fall of Man came Jesus Christ…and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man.” (Moroni 9:12) Just as a man does not really desire food until he is hungry, so he does not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ. No one adequately and properly knows why he need Christ until he understands the doctrine of the Fall and its effects upon all mankind.” Ensign, May 1987, p 85
Question: How are we saved from physical death? How can we be saved from spiritual death?
III. Adam and Eve began life as mortals, bore children, taught them the gospel, and to worship and obey God.
The Book of Moses teaches us how to have an eternal marriage in a fallen world.
Moses 5: 1 – And Eve his wife, did labor with him. (Work together)
Moses 5: 2 – They began to multiply and replenish the earth (Have children)
Moses 5:5 – They should worship the Lord their God (Worship together)
Moses 5:12 – They made all things know unto their sons and their daughters (Teach their children)
Moses 5:27 – Adam and his wife mourned before the Lord because of Cain and his brethren (Mourned and as well has experienced joy together).
Eve’s testimony of the Fall –
Moses 5:11 “Were it not for our transgression, we never should have had seed, and never should have know good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.”
Question: How can we show our gratitude for the Fall and the Atonement?
According Elder Gerald Lund, Lehi taught 5 fundamental truths about the Fall:
Fundamental 1: “The Spirit is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.” (2 Ne. 2:4.) This is a significant point, especially for Jacob, who lived six centuries before the Messiah came to earth to work out the infinite atonement. It does not matter, in terms of redemption, whether one is born before the Savior’s coming to the earth or afterward. It does not even matter whether one is born on this earth, or on another. In Moses 1:33, we are told that by the Only Begotten Son “worlds without number” were created. Elder Bruce R. McConkie, commenting on that verse, wrote: “Now our Lord’s jurisdiction and power extend far beyond the limits of this one small earth on which we dwell. … the atonement of Christ, being literally and truly infinite, applies to an infinite number of earths.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966, p. 65.)
Fundamental 2: “The way is prepared from the fall of man.” (2 Ne. 2:4.) The fact that the plan of redemption was prepared long before the Fall took place is clearly taught in many places in the scriptures. (See, for example, D&C 124:33, 41; D&C 128:5; D&C 130:20.) The Fall was part of a plan laid down in the very beginning.
Fundamental 3: “Salvation is free.” (2 Ne. 2:4.) This is a profound and important concept. The best single commentary we have on 2 Nephi 2 is 2 Nephi 9—Jacob’s own commentary on the doctrine taught by his father in chapter two. [2 Ne. 9] Of the concept that salvation is free, Jacob writes, quoting Isaiah 55:1–2: [Isa. 55:1–2]
“Come, my brethren, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.
“Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy.” (2 Ne. 9:50–51.)
Fundamental 4: “Men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil.” (2 Ne. 2:5.)
We know from other places in scripture that the medium or the means by which “men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil” is known as the Light of Christ. Moroni, citing the words of his father, Mormon, said, “For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.” (Moro. 7:16; see also Moro. 7:15–19.)
In latter-day revelation, the Prophet Joseph refers to this Spirit of Christ, as Mormon calls it, as “the light of Christ.” (D&C 88:7.)
Fundamental 5: “By the law no flesh is justified.” (2 Ne. 2:5.) In that simple statement lies the primary reason there must be a Redeemer, and so we must examine Lehi’s fifth fundamental at greater length.
Gerald N. Lund, “The Fall of Man and His Redemption,” Ensign, Jan 1990, 22
For reasons that have not been revealed, this transition, or “fall,” could not happen without a transgression—an exercise of moral agency amounting to a willful breaking of a law (see Moses 6:59). This would be a planned offense, a formality to serve an eternal purpose. The Prophet Lehi explained that “if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen” (2 Ne. 2:22), but would have remained in the same state in which he was created.
Dallin H. Oaks, “‘The Great Plan of Happiness’,” Ensign, Nov 1993, 72
First Reading: BIBLE DICTIONARY, Fall of Adam
The process by which mankind became mortal on this earth. The event is recorded in Gen. 2, 3, 4; and Moses 3, 4. The fall of Adam is one of the most important occurrences in the history of man. Before the fall, Adam and Eve had physical bodies but no blood. There was no sin, no death, and no children among any of the earthly creations. With the eating of the “forbidden fruit,” Adam and Eve became mortal, sin entered, blood formed in their bodies, and death became a part of life. Adam became the “first flesh” upon the earth (Moses 3: 7), meaning that he and Eve were the first to become mortal. After Adam fell, the whole creation fell and became mortal. Adam’s fall brought both physical and spiritual death into the world upon all mankind (Hel. 14: 16-17).
The fall was no surprise to the Lord. It was a necessary step in the progress of man, and provisions for a Savior had been made even before the fall had occurred. Jesus Christ came to atone for the fall of Adam and also for man’s individual sins.
Latter-day revelation supports the biblical account of the fall, showing that it was a historical event that literally occurred in the history of man. Many points in latter-day revelation are also clarified that are not discernible from the Bible. Among other things it makes clear that the fall is a blessing, and that Adam and Eve should be honored in their station as the first parents of the earth.
Second Reading: Joseph Smith - I have a key by which I understand the scriptures. I inquire, what was the question which drew out the answer, or caused Jesus to utter the parable? (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 276-277)
Third Reading: President Ezra Taft Benson said: “The plan of redemption must start with the fall of Adam. In the words of Moroni, “by Adam came the Fall of Man. And because of the Fall of Man came Jesus Christ…and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man.” (Moroni 9:12) Just as a man does not really desire food until he is hungry, so he does not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ. No one adequately and properly knows why he need Christ until he understands the doctrine of the Fall and its effects upon all mankind.” Ensign, May 1987, p 85
Fourth Reading: Dallin H. Oaks For reasons that have not been revealed, this transition, or “fall,” could not happen without a transgression—an exercise of moral agency amounting to a willful breaking of a law (see Moses 6:59). This would be a planned offense, a formality to serve an eternal purpose. The Prophet Lehi explained that “if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen” (2 Ne. 2:22), but would have remained in the same state in which he was created. (“‘The Great Plan of Happiness’,” Ensign, Nov 1993, 72)
Excellent lesson.
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