Chapter 7: The Holy Ghost

THE HOLY GHOST CAME TO ADAM AND EVE

One important thing to keep in mind with this lesson is that later, Chapter 21 is “The Gift of the Holy Ghost.” With this in mind, following the Spirit, sort through what you think ought to be taught here and what should be taught later.

Tremendous resources for this lesson can be found in the Teachings of the Presidents of the Church:... (the old Priesthood/Relief Society manuals). Especially helpful will be the manuals for Brigham Young, p. 33, John Taylor, Chapter 17, Wilford Woodruff, Chapter 5, Joseph F. Smith, Chapter 8, Heber J. Grant, Chapter 20, Spencer W. Kimball, pp. 70-72, Harold B. Lee, pp. 32-33. Remember, these can all be found on “lds.org” by clicking on “Gospel Library” then “Lessons” then “Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society.” All of the manuals are listed at the bottom of this page.

Again, one of the greatest resources for this lesson is Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual. It can be found at the website “institute.lds.org” then click on “Institute Courses and Manuals.”

The principles of obedience and endurance could better understood in this section by discussing the idea that they were grandparents and had sacrificed for many long years before learning of the Atonement as discussed on p. 31 of this lesson (Moses 5:1-3).

The two verses (Moses 5:10-11) quoted in this section of the lesson are among the most beautiful scriptures we have concerning the blessings of the Fall.

Another terrific resource for any lesson is the “Scriptural Index to the Latter-day Prophets.” It is found at the website “scriptures.byu.edu.” A group of BYU professors have linked every scripture ever used in a conference addresses all the way back to Joseph Smith. Just go there and choose a scripture and then click on a speaker. The portion of the talk wherein that speaker used that scripture then pops up. Commenting on the above scripture (Moses 5:10-11) Elder Richard G. Scott comments:

(verse 10): Adam was thinking about his responsibilities. He was trying to align his performance with the desires of the Lord.

(verse 11): Eve’s response was characteristic of a woman. She embraced all, wanted to make sure that everyone was considered. One response was not more correct than the other. The two perspectives resulted from the traits inherent in men and women. The Lord intends that we use those differences to fulfill His plan for happiness, personal growth, and development. By counseling together they arrived at a broader, more correct understanding of truth. (Ensign, Nov 1996, 73)

The LDS Seminaries and Institutes not only have some of the finest manuals ever created in the Church, they are all on line at “institute.lds.org.” Among the best of these are the manuals for each of the Standard Works. From the Student Manual for The Pearl of Great Price comes the following from Joseph Smith concerning the Kingdom of God in Adam’s time:

Some say the kingdom of God was not set up on the earth until the day of Pentecost, and that John [the Baptist] did not preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. But I say, in the name of the Lord, that the kingdom of God was set up on the earth from the days of Adam to the present time, whenever there has been a righteous man on earth unto whom God revealed His word and gave power and authority to administer in His name. (p. 16)


ATTRIBUTES OF THE HOLY GHOST

The first question asked in this section is:

“How does the Holy Ghost differ from the Father and the Son? Why is that difference important to us?”

From “Additional Scriptures” at the end of the lesson come some of the best scriptures which can be used in discussion of the answer to that question. My favorites for this would be 1 Nephi 33:1; D&C 8:2-3; and D&C 130:22.

From D&C 130:22 we learn that:

“…the Holy Ghost can…dwell in us.”

In 1 Nephi 33:1 we are taught that:

…when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.

And in D&C 8:2 Jesus Christ says:

Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.

These ideas would be good to discuss as to how the Holy Ghost differs from the Father and the Son and why that difference is important to us.

Concerning D&C 8:2, President Boyd K. Packer states simply that:

This guidance comes as thoughts, as feelings through promptings and impressions. (Ensign, Nov 2009, 43)

I found the above quote by looking in “Scriptural Index to the Latter-day Prophets” referred to above, under “D&C 8:2” and then clicked on the first one there. It is (09—O, 46, BKP), which is short for 2009—October (conference), p. 46 (in Ensign) and Boyd K. Packer.

Those of us who tend more to the brain side and put more trust in thoughts than in feelings probably need to pay more attention to the heart and vice versa.

In John 14:26 the Savior teaches that the Holy Ghost:

…shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance…

While Jesus finished that sentence with “…whatsoever I have said unto you” the Holy Ghost apparently can bring other things to our remembrance from premortal existence, as taught by Elder Glenn L. Pace:

We first learned the gospel in our heavenly home. We have come to this earth with a veil of forgetfulness. And yet lingering in each of our spirits are those dormant memories.
The Holy Ghost can part the veil and bring those things out of their dormancy. Often my reaction to a supposedly newfound truth is, “Oh, I remember that!” [he then quotes John 14:26]. (Ensign, May 2007, 79)

President Marion G. Romney, of the First Presidency, quotes an interesting insight to the Holy Ghost as given by Elder James E. Talmage:

That the [Holy Ghost] is capable of manifesting Himself in the form and figure of man is indicated by the wonderful interview between the Spirit and Nephi, in which He revealed Himself to the prophet, questioned him concerning his desires and belief, instructed him in the things of God, speaking face to face with the man [then Elder Talmage quotes 1 Nephi 11:11]. (Ensign, May 1974, 90)

So the Holy Ghost would look like a man. When He does get His body, it will look like His Spirit. This doctrine is in accordance with D&C 77:2 which explains that our spirit is like our body:

…the spirit of man in the likeness of his person…

From Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual, Joseph Fielding Smith explains about the influence of the Holy Ghost:

The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead. He is a Spirit, in the form of a man. . . . The Holy Ghost is a personage of Spirit, and has a spirit body only. His mission is to bear witness of the Father and the Son and of all truth.
As a Spirit personage the Holy Ghost has size and dimensions. He does not fill the immensity of space, and cannot be everywhere present in person at the same time. He is also called the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of Truth, and the Comforter. (p. 11)


THE MISSION OF THE HOLY GHOST

This is an exciting section of the lesson to understand. In the current Ensign, Elder David A. Bednar proclaims.

We are assisted in learning of and listening to the words of Christ by the Holy Ghost, even the third member of the Godhead. The Holy Ghost reveals and witnesses the truth of all things and brings all things to our remembrance (see John 14:26, 16:13; Moroni 10:5; D&C 39:6). The Holy Ghost is the teacher who kindles within us an abiding love of and for learning. (Ensign, Feb 2010, 26)

Hopefully we can learn and teach this material with that “abiding love.”

This section of the lesson quotes 1 Corinthians 12:3 as:

No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

Turning to the New Testament Institute Student Manual at “institute.lds.org” we find the following:

The Prophet Joseph Smith said that 1 Corinthians 12:3 should be translated “no man can know that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” (Teachings, p. 223. Italics added.)

How grateful we should to be, that through the Holy Ghost we can “know” instead of just “say” that Jesus is the Christ. Christ is the center of the Father’s plan and we only can know Christ through the mission of the Holy Ghost.

The New Testament Institute Student Manual is the hardest one to navigate. You need to first click on the “Appendix Section” and then click on “Scripture Index” to scroll down to locate the scripture you are studying and then click on the section of the manual where it is found. For this verse, you need to click on the second one listed for 1 Corinthians 12:3 (36 -1) to locate this quote. Yeah, it is extra trouble, but in this case, easily see to be worth it.

An important principle for us to understand about the fact that one of the most important missions of the Holy Ghost is to lead us to a knowledge of Jesus Christ is the following from Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual. Joseph Smith explained:

Cornelius received the Holy Ghost before he was baptized, which was the convincing power of God unto him of the truth of the Gospel, but he could not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost until after he was baptized.
Had he not taken this sign or ordinance upon him, the Holy Ghost which convinced him of the truth of God, would have left him. (p. 44)

So apparently, the Holy Ghost leads, if we choose, to the Gift of the Holy Ghost. But if we do not choose, the Holy Ghost will leave us.

P. 33 of this section has two powerful quotes concerning the power of the witness of the Holy Ghost. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin adds his testimony:

He is a revelator and teacher who conveys information to our spirits with far more certainty than is possible by our natural senses. (Ensign, Nov 1994, 75)

President James E. Faust takes it one step further:

…every person must have a spiritual confirmation by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is more powerful than all the senses combined. (Ensign, Nov 2003, 19)

Brigham Young struggled for two years as to whether or not Mormonism was true. In the heading of chapter 43 in the old Priesthood/Relief Society manual is recorded:

President Brigham Young’s search for the truth of God was finally resolved by the sincere and simple testimony of a “man without eloquence…who could only say, ‘I know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of the Lord.’ ” Said President Young, “The Holy Ghost proceeding from that individual illuminated my understanding, and light, glory, and immortality were before me. (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 315)

An optional part of this lesson could be a discussion about what President McKay calls “The Dual Nature of Man” in Chapter 2 of Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay. A great scripture to preface this discussion is Galations 5:16-17.

Concerning this, Joseph Smith declared:

All things whatsoever God in his infinite wisdom has seen fit and proper to reveal to us, while we are dwelling in mortality, in regard to our mortal bodies, are revealed to us in the abstract, and independent of affinity of this mortal tabernacle, but are revealed to our spirits precisely as though we had no bodies at all; and those revelations which will save our spirits will save our bodies. God reveals them to us in view of no eternal dissolution of the body, or tabernacle (History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6: 312 - 313).

So the Holy Ghost speaks to our spirits, not our bodies.

Brigham Young then stated:

You are aware that many think that the devil has rule and power over both body and spirit. Now, I want to tell you that he does not hold any power over man, only so far as the body overcomes the spirit that is in a man, through yielding to the spirit of evil. The spirit that the Lord puts into a tabernacle of flesh is under the dictation of the Lord Almighty; but the spirit and body are united in order that the spirit may have a tabernacle, and be exalted; and the spirit is influenced by the body, and the body by the spirit.
In the first place the spirit is pure, and under the special control and influence of the Lord, but the body is of the earth, and is subject to the power of the devil, and is under the mighty influence of that fallen nature that is of the earth. If the spirit yields to the body, the devil then has power to overcome both the body and spirit of that man, and he loses both.
Recollect, brethren and sisters, every one of you, that when evil is suggested to you, when it arises in your hearts, it is through the temporal organization. When you are tempted, buffeted, and step out of the way inadvertently: when you are overtaken in a fault, or commit an overt act unthinkingly; when you are full of evil passion, and wish to yield to it, then stop and let the spirit, which God has put into your tabernacles, take the lead. If you do that, I will promise that you will overcome all evil, and obtain eternal lives. But many, very many, let the spirit yield to the body, and are overcome and destroyed.
The influence of the enemy has power over all such. Those who overcome every passion, and every evil, will be sanctified, and be prepared to enjoy eternity with the blessed. If you have never thought of this before, try to realize it now. Let it rest upon your minds, and see if you can discover in yourselves the operations of the spirit and the body, which constitute the man. Continually and righteously watch the spirit that the Lord has put in you, and I will promise you to be led into righteousness, holiness, peace, and good order.
But let the body rise up with its passions, with the fallen nature pertaining to it, and let the spirit yield to it, your destruction is sure. On the other hand, let the spirit take the lead, and bring the body and its passions into subjection, and you are safe (Journal of Discourses, 2: 256).

David O. McKay also taught in Conference:

Man has a dual nature—one, related to the earthly or animal life—the other the spiritual life, akin to the divine. Man's body is but the tabernacle in which his spirit dwells. Too many, far too many, are prone to regard the body as the man and consequently, to direct their efforts to the gratifying of the body's pleasures, its appetites, its desires, its passions. Too few recognize that the real man is an immortal spirit which "intelligence or light of truth" was animated as an individual entity, with all its distinguishing traits, will continue after the body ceases to respond to its earthly environment.
Whether a man remains satisfied within what we designate the animal world, satisfied with what the animal world will give him, yielding without effort to the whim of his appetites and passions, and slipping further and further into the realm of indulgence or whether, through self-mastery, he rises toward intellectual, moral, and spiritual enjoyments depends upon the kind of choice he makes every day—nay, every hour of his life (Conference Report, April 1967).

The following chart illustrates what Elder William R. Bradford taught my brother Byron when he served as my brother’s Mission President (you can complete the circles when you draw the diagram on the board):

God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ have spoken to prophets, but rarely talk face-to-face with mortal man. Fallen man generally communes with the third member of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost (see D&C 130:22-23, Moroni 10:17, D&C 50:13-14). Satan also tempts man (see Moses 5:13, 2 Nephi 28:21, and Alma 30:53). Since both are spirits, they speak “by the spirit” (one a good spirit, one an evil one) to man. There is a gate, which shuts one or the other out. The handle is on our side. If we shut the Holy Ghost out, then we automatically open the door to Satan’s temptations. If we shut Satan out, then the Holy Ghost can commune with us. There is something that President Bradford did not show in his diagram that my brother and I think should be added. We think that for fallen man, there is a spring on the gate, making it harder to shut Satan out than to keep it open to the Holy Ghost. However, shutting Satan out and listening to the Holy Ghost is crucial to progressing and becoming like God.

Chapter 6: The Fall of Adam and Eve

ADAM AND EVE WERE THE FIRST TO COME TO EARTH

Again, as with so many topics in this manual, a terrific resource for this lesson is Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual, found at the “institute.lds.org” website. Another great resource is an article “The Fulness of the Gospel: The Fall of Adam and Eve,” in the Ensign, June 2006, pages 48–49.

One thing important in this section may be to establish the gospel fact that Adam and Eve really were the first to come to earth as mortals created in the image of our Heavenly Parents. In the famous First Presidency statement of 1909 we read;

It is held by some that Adam was not the first man upon this earth and that the original human being was a development from lower orders of the animal creation. These, however, are the theories of men. The word of the Lord declared that Adam was “the first man of all men” (Moses 1:34), and we are therefore in duty bound to regard him as the primal parent of our race. (“The Origin of Man,” [first in 1909] Ensign, Feb 2002)

Another important principle for this section of the lesson may be to dispel myths that Satan has authored to discredit Adam and Eve. Remember this is personal between Satan and Adam. It was Adam, who, as is mentioned in this section, was Michael the archangel (D&C 27:11) who led the battle against Satan’s hosts in premortality (Revelation 12:7-9).

Many in the world, lacking in knowledge of the restoration, characterize our first human parents as crude cavemen, who first communicated with grunting sounds which conveyed rudimentary essentials, then drew childlike pictures on cave walls, and much later in our history developed the first alphabet. As the apostle Elder Mark E. Petersen commented on Adam and Eve:

They were highly intelligent people, not at all like either the hominids or the cavemen some claim the first humans to have been. They were well educated, having been taught by the Lord himself. What an education! What an instructor! (Ensign, Nov 1980, 16)

Some great ideas about how "advanced" Adam and Eve were can be understood by discussing Moses 6:5-8.

A good discussion could come from listing the titles or designations Adam is given as found in the scriptures and in this section and their meaning. Included should be

An important title for Adam was mentioned by Joseph Smith in an earlier Priesthood/Relief Society manual:

The Priesthood was first given to Adam; he obtained the First Presidency, and held the keys of it from generation to generation. He obtained it in the Creation, before the world was formed. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 104)

In Conference, Elder Richard G. Scott discussed another important roll played by Adam:

Adam was Michael who helped create the earth—a glorious, superb individual. (Ensign, Nov 1996, 73)

Of course, we can learn more about this in the temple. After this discussion about Adam, it should come as no surprise that President Thomas S. Monson would exclaim:

I nominate to the Hall of Fame the name of Adam, the first man to live upon the earth. (Ensign, Jul 1991, 2)

A great article about Adam, “The Man Adam” by Robert L. Millet, includes the following:

Adam’s role in the eternal plan of God began in our premortal first estate. There he was known as Michael, a name which means “who is like God.” Indeed, “by his diligence and obedience there, as one of the spirit sons of God, he attained a stature and power second only to that of Christ, the Firstborn.”
The Prophet Joseph Smith thus taught that “the Priesthood was first given to Adam; he obtained the First Presidency, and held the keys of it from generation to generation. He obtained it in the Creation, before the world was formed, as in Genesis 1:26, 27, 28.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 157)
When it came time to begin our second estate, mortality, it was appropriate for God our Father to call upon Michael to receive a tabernacle of flesh and become earth’s first inhabitant. Luke’s genealogy of Jesus ends with a noble description of Adam, “the son of God” (Luke 3:38; see Moses 6:22). Adam’s name means “man” or “mankind,” and his position as the “first man of all men” (Moses 1:34) suggests the eminence of his premortal status. (Ensign, Jan 1994, 8)

Eve also a wonderful woman we need to learn more about. The Encyclopedia of Mormonism states:

Eve, first woman of earthly creation, companion of Adam, and mother and matriarch of the human race, is honored by Latter-day Saints as one of the most important, righteous, and heroic of all the human family. (see “Eve”)

Elder Bruce R. McConkie summarizes:

…there is no language that could do credit to our glorious mother Eve. (Woman, 69)

Indeed, perhaps we need go no further than canonized scripture which describes her as:

“…our glorious Mother Eve” (D&C 138:39)

President Gordon B. Hinckley painted a wonderful word picture of Eve:

And so Eve became God’s final creation, the grand summation of all of the marvelous work that had gone before. (Ensign, 2002, 82)


One of the scriptures suggested in this section (Moses 1:34) states:

And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many.

One way of reading this is that there are “many” Adams. That Eve (and thus possibly Adam) are titles, as well as real people who were our first parents, is suggested by Brigham Young in one of the previous Priesthood/Relief Society manuals:

Eve was a name or title conferred upon our first mother, because she was actually to be the mother of all the human beings who should live upon this earth. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 131)

The next-to-last sentence in this section quotes from Moses 3:18. In the rest of that verse it declares:

…wherefore, I will make an help meet for him.

In the past there has been misunderstanding about the role of husband and wife. Some have felt that since Adam was the patriarch and held the priesthood and Eve was the “helpmeet,” there was not an equal balance in this “sacred…responsibility.” For some “helpmeet” seems to connote a wife that “helps” the husband and “meets” his needs. The word “helpmeet” is actually a mistranslation.

In her book Eve and the Choice Made in Eden (an excellent resource) on, Beverly Campbell notes an article by David Freedman in Biblical Archeological Review where he writes that King James got it wrong and all other translations seemed to have followed. The two words in Hebrew translated into “helpmeet” should have been rendered (as they were dozens of other times in the Old Testament) “a power (or strength) equal to him” (p. 24).

Interestingly enough, that correction fits with what latter day prophets have counseled concerning marriage. The last sentence in this section mentions:

She [Eve] shared Adam’s responsibility and will also share his eternal blessings (p. 27).

The principle of true “sharing” is crucial to a marriage if it is to become exalted. President Marion G. Romney, of the First Presidency, declared:

They [husbands and wives] should be one in harmony, respect, and mutual consideration. Neither should plan or follow an independent course of action. They should consult, pray, and decide together.
In the management of their homes and families, husbands and wives should counsel with each other in kindness, love, patience, and understanding. (Ensign, Mar 1978, 2)

President Howard W. Hunter also stated in Conference:

The Lord intended that the wife be a helpmeet for man (meet means equal)—that is, a companion equal and necessary in full partnership. (Ensign, Nov. 1994, 49)

More recently, A Proclamation to the World declared:

In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.


THE GARDEN OF EDEN

This section is important because it helps us understand the Father’s perfect plan. As the first paragraph explains, as long as Adam and Eve remained in the Garden they could have no children and would not die. Without these two necessary things, we could have been born, much less progress. In addition, Adam and Eve were “innocent” as to things necessary to the test of mortality. From Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual, Joseph Fielding Smith said:

…under the conditions in which he was living at that time it was impossible for him [Adam] to visualize or understand the power of good and evil. He did not know what pain was. He did not know what sorrow was; and a thousand other things that have come to us in this life that Adam did not know in the Garden of Eden and could not understand and would not have known had he remained there” (p. 20).

In the Garden, God actually gave Adam and Eve three “commandments.” All are indeed commandments, but some were more than that. The first commandment discussed is “multiply and replenish the earth.” In footnote “c” to Genesis 1:28 it explains that the Hebrew translation for “replenish” should have been “fill” as was done in verse 22. This commandment has never been rescinded by the Lord.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks explained:

This commandment was first in sequence and first in importance. It was essential that God’s spirit children have mortal birth and an opportunity to progress toward eternal life. (Ensign, Nov. 1993, 72)

There is no need of further explanation of this commandment.

Next discussed is the commandment not to eat of the “tree of knowledge of good and evil.” This idea has produced much worrying by LDS about “two conflicting commandments.” Indeed, Adam and Eve could not have kept the first commandment (having children) unless they broke the second, as discussed in the first paragraph of this section. However, there are two things about this “commandment” which are very unique. First, God used a phrase found in no other commandment. In Moses 3:17, concerning this charge, God tells Adam and Eve:

…nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee…

Concerning that phrase, in Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual, Joseph Fielding Smith stated:

…it is the only place in all the history where we read that the Lord forbade something and yet said, ‘Nevertheless thou mayest choose for thyself.’ He never said that of any sin. (p. 20)

The second unique thing about this commandment is the phrase:

…for in the day (“time” in Abraham) thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:17, Moses 3:17, and Abraham 5:13)

Very few times in scriptures does the Lord accompany a commandment with its consequence (murder, Sabbath Day, etc).

Elder John A. Widstoe explained:

The eternal power of choice was respected by the Lord himself...it really converts the command into a warning, as much as if to say, if you do this thing, you will bring upon yourself a certain punishment, but do it if you choose.. The Lord had warned Adam and Eve of the hard battle with earth conditions if they chose to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He would not subject his son and daughter to hardship and the death of their bodies unless it be of their own choice. They must choose for themselves. (Evidences and Reconciliations, 193)

It may have been that God needed Adam and Eve to make this most important decision for themselves - - to bring evil into their world. We still make that decision every day of our lives.

Concerning commandment # 2, Joseph Fielding Smith taught:

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.
I see a great difference between transgressing the law and committing a sin. (Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual, 20)

Rather than just a commandment, I like to think of commandment # 2 rather as a “consequence.”

Now, what the “third commandment”? The last paragraph in this section states, “God brought Adam and Eve together in marriage…” (p. 27).

Scriptural basis for this idea can be found in the heading to Genesis Chapter 2:

Adam and Eve are married by the Lord.

In Moses 4:18, concerning his decision to eat of the forbidden fruit, Adam said:

The woman thou gavest me, and commandest that she should remain with me…

Adam may have been referring to the following charge from God:
Therefore shall a man…cleave unto his wife… (Genesis 2:24, Moses 3:24, and Abraham 5:18)

President Spencer W. Kimball stated:

Now, this man and this woman were sealed for eternity, God being the sealer. He gave to Adam his wife, Eve. (Ensign, Oct 1975, 2)

Much more than just a “commandment,” this was also the first “covenant.

We even know when the marriage took place. It was a summer marriage - - since it was before the Fall. Just a little seminary humor. I can already hear the reply out there - - “Yeah, little is right!”

In the manual it states next, “Eve yielded to the temptation and ate the fruit. When Adam learned what had happened, he chose to partake also.” (p. 28)

As explained in “Lesson 6: The Fall of Adam,” Aaronic Priesthood Manual 3:

Many religions accuse Adam and Eve of being sinful, wicked people. (p. 19)

In the wonderful article mentioned at the very top of this chapter of the blog, “The Fulness of the Gospel: The Fall of Adam and Eve,” it explains:

Most Christian churches teach that the Fall was a tragedy, that if Adam and Eve had not partaken of the forbidden fruit, they and all their posterity could now be living in immortal bliss in the Garden of Eden. (Ensign, June 2006, 48)

The blame is carried further by many Christians and the world in general, to Eve, who was the first to partake of the forbidden fruit. Elder Dallin H. Oaks commented:

Some Christians condemn Eve for her act, concluding that she and her daughters are somehow flawed by it. (Ensign, Nov. 1993)

It is my personal opinion that all of the terrible discrimination laws against women (such ownership of land, voting rights, rights to abuse, etc.), when records become available, could be traced back to Satan’s efforts to discredit Eve and all of her daughters.

Eve, for whatever reasons, chose to eat of the forbidden fruit. Prophets or scripture, as far as I know, do not give a reason for this. President James E. Faust came closest:

Spiritual intuition has its roots in the Garden of Eden. Mother Eve was caught in a dilemma. (CES Satellite Broadcast, Jan. 7, 1996)

The bottom line is we are glad ate the fruit. If there was closed circuit broadcast to the premortal world, I am sure we cheered when she partook.

Joseph Fielding Smith said it this way:

One of these days, if I ever get to where I can speak to Mother Eve, I want to thank her for tempting Adam to partake of the fruit...And when I kneel in prayer, I feel to thank Mother Eve, for if she hadn't had that influence over Adam, and if Adam had done according to the commandment first given to him, they would still be in the Garden of Eden and we would not be here at all. (Conference Report, October 1967, 122)

Elder Dallin H. Oaks commented:

It was Eve who first transgressed the limits of Eden in order to initiate the conditions of mortality. Her act, whatever its nature, was formally a transgression but eternally a glorious necessity to open the doorway toward eternal life. (Ensign, Nov. 1993)

Next, of courts, Adam partook. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said:

Adam showed his wisdom by doing the same. And thus Eve and "Adam fell that men might be" (2 Ne. 2:25). (Ensign, Nov. 1993)

It seems clear that no matter how much Adam knew or didn’t know about how to fulfill commandment # 1 and no matter how reluctant Adam was about breaking commandment # 2 or even if he saw any “conflict” between # 1 and # 2, keeping a covenant (# 3 commandment) to “cleave” unto and “remain with” his wife when his wife would be leaving the Garden was not really a tough choice. Adam did what he saw he had to do.

As stated in “Lesson 6: The Fall of Adam,” Aaronic Priesthood Manual 3, 19 this question is asked and answered:

Because we understand their transgression in its true light, how should we feel about them? (We should be deeply grateful for their willingness to make mortality possible. We see them as two of the greatest and most righteous people the earth has known.)


ADAM AND EVE’S SEPARATION FROM GOD

This section states that “Their physical condition changed as a result of their eating the forbidden fruit.” In regards to that, Joseph Fielding Smith taught:

…there had to come a change in his [Adam’s] body through the partaking of this element—whatever you want to call it, fruit—that brought blood into his body; and blood became the life of the body instead of spirit. And blood has in it the seeds of death, some mortal element. Mortality was created through the eating of the forbidden fruit. (Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual, 20-21)

As a result of partaking of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve did indeed “die” as promised by God in “commandment” # 3. They actually died in two ways.

First, the “physical death” of Adam and Eve is discussed in this section. As mentioned previously, the seeds of death were sowed in the bodies of Adam and Eve as a result of the fruit.

Remember, a time table for their “death” was given by God with commandment # 2:

…for in the day (“time” in Abraham) thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:17, Moses 3:17, and Abraham 5:13)

The location of where this promise was given is apparently important. Joseph Fielding Smith explained:

When this earth was created, it was not according to our present time, but it was created according to Kolob’s time, for the Lord has said it was created on celestial time which is Kolob’s time. (The Pearl of Great Price Student Manual, 41)

This means that the definition of time given in 2 Peter 3:8 may help us understand. It reads:

…one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

So the day/time God referred to may have been 1,000 years. And Adam did die at the age of 930 (Genesis 5:5) - - well within the “day/time” limit.

Secondly, this section discusses their “spiritual death.” This did happen immediately when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden and out of God’s presence.


GREAT BLESSINGS FROM THE TRANSGRESSION

In all LDS Bibles before 1978, when the Church received permission to publish a King James Bible with changes to the headings, the heading to Genesis 3 read, “Man’s Shameful Fall.”

President Joseph Fielding Smith had this to say about that phrase:

So the commentators made a great mistake when they put in the Bible at the top of page 3, as I think it is (it may not be the same page in every Bible), the statement "Man's shameful fall." (Conference Report, October 1967, 122)

At another time, President Joseph Fielding Smith said:

Well, it wasn't a shameful fall. 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. (LDS Institute of Religion Address to Seminary and Institute Personnel, Salt Lake City, Jan. 1961

However, “shameful” pretty much sums up how most of the Christian world feels about the Fall. Therefore, this section of the lesson is very important because it teaches us that the Fall was designed by a just Father as a crucial part of His Plan.

Joseph Smith stated:

I believe in the fall of man…He [God] foreordained the fall of man…He foreordained at the same time, a plan of redemption for all mankind. (History of the Church, 4:78)

Elder Russell M. Nelson tied these two ideas together:

But before one can comprehend the atonement of Christ, one must first understand the fall of Adam. And before one can comprehend the fall of Adam, one must first understand the Creation.
These three pillars of eternity relate to one another.
The Fall was a necessary part of Heavenly Father’s plan for His children. (Ensign, Aug 1991, 5)

In Conference, Elder Boyd K. Packer taught:

Elder Orson F. Whitney described the Fall as having “a twofold direction—downward, yet forward. It brought man into the world and set his feet upon progression’s highway. (Ensign, Nov 1993, 21)

President Joseph Fielding Smith also gave his testimony about the blessings of the Fall:

When Adam was driven out of the Garden of Eden, the Lord passed a sentence upon him. Some people have looked upon that sentence as being a dreadful thing. It was not; it was a blessing. I do not know that it can truthfully be considered even as a punishment in disguise. …
The fall of man came as a blessing in disguise, and was the means of furthering the purposes of the Lord in the progress of man, rather than a means of hindering them. (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:113–14).

Another time Joseph Fielding Smith proclaimed:

The “fall” of Adam and Eve was not a sin but an essential act upon which mortality depends. (Answers to Gospel Questions, 5:15)

More than semantics, there seems to be a vast difference in explaining Adam and Eve’s partaking of the forbidden fruit as a transgression and not as a sin.

From the article mentioned at the top of the blog, President Joseph Fielding Smith said:

I never speak of the part Eve took in this fall as a sin, nor do I accuse Adam of a sin. … This was a transgression of the law, but not a sin … for it was something that Adam and Eve had to do! (Ensign, Jun 2006, 48)

This seemed apparent to Joseph Smith when he composed Article of Faith #2:

We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.

Also from the article mentioned at the top of the blog Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a lawyer well versed in the legalities of semantics, observed:

This suggested contrast between a sin and a transgression reminds us of the careful wording in the second article of faith: ‘We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression’ (emphasis added). It also echoes a familiar distinction in the law. Some acts, like murder, are crimes because they are inherently wrong. Other acts, like operating without a license, are crimes only because they are legally prohibited. Under these distinctions, the act that produced the Fall was not a sin—inherently wrong—but a transgression—wrong because it was formally prohibited. These words are not always used to denote something different, but this distinction seems meaningful in the circumstances of the Fall.
(Ensign, 1993, 72)

Brigham Young further explained:

How did Adam and Eve sin? Did they come out in direct opposition to God and to his government? No. But they transgressed a command of the Lord, and through that transgression sin came into the world. The Lord knew they would do this, and he had designed that they should. (Discourses of Brigham Young, 103)

Elder Russell M. Nelson helps us understand a scriptural comment concerning this:

Happily for them, "the Lord said unto Adam [and Eve 26]: Behold I have forgiven thee thy transgression in the Garden of Eden" (Moses 6:53). (Ensign, Nov. 1993)

That the Fall was indeed a great blessing is explained by Elder Russell M. Nelson:

We and all mankind are forever blessed because of Eve's great courage and wisdom. By partaking of the fruit first, she did what needed to be done. Adam was wise enough to do likewise. Accordingly, we could speak of the fall of Adam in terms of a mortal creation, because "Adam fell that men might be" (2 Ne. 2:25). (Ensign, Nov. 1993)

A discussion of Moses 5:10-11 should leave little doubt as to the blessings Adam and Eve saw in looking backward to the Fall.

It may be important to better understand the power Adam and Eve had in being together. Together they were the lone couple in the Garden of Eden and together they were cast out to begin this earth.

President Spencer W. Kimball explained:

He [God] intended that all men should live worthy to have performed this ordinance of marriage for time and all eternity. The Lord has said that in order to obtain the highest of the three heavens or degrees of glory in the celestial kingdom, “a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage];(D&C 131:2). (Ensign, Oct 1975, 2)

Note that President Kimball tied together two very important principles, everlasting marriage and Godhood.

Genesis 5:2 (Moses 6:9) reads:

…and [God] called their name Adam…

The important principle of unity of the Godhead is very closely related to the unity required of a husband and wife sealed for eternity. Elder Erastus Snow, an apostle, after quoting the above scripture, explained:

I sometimes illustrate this matter by taking up a pair of shears, if I have one, but then you all know they are composed of two halves, but they are necessarily parts, one of another, and to perform their work for each other, as designed, they belong together, and neither one of them is fitted for the accomplishment of their works alone. And for this reason says St. Paul, "the man is not without the woman, nor the woman without the man in the Lord." In other words, there can be no God except he is composed of the man and woman united, and there is not in all the eternities that exist, nor ever will be, a God in any other way. I have another description: There never was a God, and there never will be in all eternities, except they are made of these two component parts; a man and a woman; the male and the female. (Journal of Discourses, 19:271-2)

So not only are husbands and wives to be united as Zion should be:

…of one heart and one mind… (Moses 7:18)

and as disciples of Jesus Christ are commanded to be:

I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine. (D&C 38:27)

but even more so in an intimate, wonderful eternal way as are Our Father and Mother in Heaven.

Class members could certainly now be encouraged to attend the temple and learn more about this lesson.

Chapter 5: The Creation

GOD’S PLAN FOR US

To help us grasp the importance of the creation, Elder Burce R. McConkie declared:

God himself, the Father of us all, ordained and established a plan of salvation whereby his spirit children might advance and progress and become like him. It is the gospel of God, the plan of Eternal Elohim, the system that saves and exalts, and it consists of three things. These three are the very pillars of eternity itself. They are the most important events that ever have or will occur in all eternity. They are the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement. (Ensign, June 1982, 9)

As with so many important gospel subjects, a wonderful resource here is Chapter 7, “The Creation” in the Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual (found at the web site “institute.lds.org”). There is found this quote from Joseph Fielding Smith:

In the pre-existence we dwelt in the presence of God our Father. When the time arrived for us to be advanced in the scale of our existence and pass through this mundane probation, councils were held and the spirit children were instructed in matters pertaining to conditions in mortal life, and the reason for such an existence. In the former life we were spirits. (Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual, 14)

Effective discussion may center with the questions, “Since we were only spirits, and did not have a body and all that would accompany that body, what could we be taught and what could we not yet be taught?”

JESUS CREATED THE EARTH

The plan for this earth was the Father’s, as taught in the previous section. However, as this section teaches, Jesus Christ created this earth. This is taught so very well in the scriptures in this section, as well as those “Additional Scriptures” at the end of the lesson.

The term “divine investiture” is important to understand as to how Jesus acted in the role of creator. Elder Bruce R. McConkie explains:

He [Jesus Christ] is the Father by what has aptly been termed divine investiture of authority. That is, since he is one with the Father in all of the attributes of perfection, and since he exercises the power and authority of the Father, it follows that everything he says or does is and would be exactly and precisely what the Father would say and do under the same circumstances. (Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual, 10)

A great discussion on the idea if divine investiture, as well as how the Father and the Son are “one” is found in the article, “I Have a Question,” (Ensign, Dec 1989, 52–53).

This section quotes from D&C 76:24 (also found in the document The Living Christ) that Jesus created “worlds.” This is clarified a bit further in Moses 1:33 in which the Father declares:

And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.

The concept of “worlds without number” and the potential we have to become like God and create as well was powerfully illustrated for us by a guide at the museum at NASA Ames Research Center near Palo Alto, California.

He showed a slide of one of the latest photos from the Hubble telescope on a wall about 6 feet by 10 feet and asked the audience how many stars they could see. Guesses were taken until he helped arrive at the “answer” of 10,000. But then he told us that it was a trick question. There was not a star in the bunch. Each point of light was in fact a galaxy.

The guide then explained about a theory originated by Dr. Frank Drake which postulated that our galaxy (the Milky Way) has the potential to contain about 10,000 planets that could be other “earths” (capable of supporting life). Thus we were looking at a potential of one hundred million earths in that slide.

As if the above was not mind-blowing enough, the guide then explained that what we saw on the screen would be blotted out by a grain of sand held between the finger and thumb held arms length away from our eye.

CARRYING OUT THE CREATION

Both scriptures quoted in this section concerning the creation of man (Abraham 3:24 and Moses 2:26) mention a plurality of Gods involved in the creation. Two of the Gods are named in Moses 2:26 - - God the Father and God the Only Begotten. That another God is involved can be found in pondering Genesis 1:26-27:

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

In this verse, as with many other verses about God in the Old Testament, King James’ scholars apparently caved in to political correctness to agree with the false doctrine of the Trinity. The Hebrew word for God here, translated to Elohim, is plural. We also use this word for the name of God the Father (Bible Dictionary, 681). Those scholars rendered an English translation for the plural noun for “Gods” into the singular “God.” Some of the struggle these translators had can be seen in the fact that they translated the pronouns (“us” and “our”) to be plural.

So a correct translation of this verse would be something like:

“So the Gods created man in their own image…male and female…”

Now the question can be asked, “In whose image were women created?” Two prophets help us with that question:

God made man in his own image and certainly he made woman in the image of his wife-partner. (Spencer W. Kimball, Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 25)

Is it not feasible to believe that female spirits were created in the image of a “Mother in Heaven”? (Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 3:144)

We do sing of Mother in Heaven in verse 3 of Hymn 292, “O My Father.”

When The First Presidency issued a statement on the origin of man in 1909, they stated:

…man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents…

All men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity. (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 961)

As President of the Church, President Harold B. Lee said:

We forget that we have a Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother who are even more concerned, probably, than our earthly father and mother, and that influences from beyond are constantly working to try to help us when we do all we can. (Ensign, Feb 1974, 77)

However, we really do know so very little about Mother in Heaven. Since the prophets seldom mention Her, it is therefore wise that we do not mention Her very often. In conjunction with this scripture may be one of the very few times it is appropriate.

It is interesting to note that Joseph Smith may have not yet understood about the role of Mother in Heaven in the creation of man when he translated the Book of Moses, since Moses 2:27 (quoted in this section of the lesson) also uses a singular “God.” But later, when the prophet Joseph translated Abraham 4:27, this verse reads:

So the Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them.

This brings up another principle Joseph taught about the creation. In this verse he changed the verb “create’ (found in Genesis and Moses) to “organize.” In Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual (p. 16) is found the following quote by Joseph Smith:

Now, the word create came from the word baurau which does not mean to create out of nothing; it means to organize; the same as a man would organize materials and build a ship. Hence, we infer that God had materials to organize the world out of chaos—chaotic matter, which is element, and in which dwells all the glory. Element had an existence from the time he had. The pure principles of element are principles which can never be destroyed; they may be organized and re-organized, but not destroyed. They had no beginning, and can have no end. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 350–52)

Also from Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual (p.14) comes a quote by Joseph Smith:

In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 349)

Joseph’s use of the word “concoct” seems confusing today. However, in the American Dictionary of the English Language by Daniel Webster in 1828, the second meaning of the word is “To purify or sublime; to refine…”

All of this helps us understand wonderful words Joseph Smith used in Abraham 4-5 (“Additional Scriptures’ at the end of this lesson) to describe the creation.

There is a terrific principle taught in this section - - “…the greatest creation of all—mankind” - - that should not be overlooked.

Concerning this, Joseph F. Smith proclaimed:
...man, the crowning work of God, on this earth, the masterpiece, if you please...
(Journal of Discourses, 15:326)

In a past Priesthood/Relief Society manual, President David O. McKay taught:

Although God has created the universe and all therein, “man is the jewel of God.” This is just another way of saying that the earth was created for man and not man for the earth.
Yet, God’s greatest creation—man—often is content to grovel on the animal plane. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 205

Elder Russell M. Nelson explained:

…after the earth had been created, divided, beautified, and inhabited with plant and animal life, the crowning achievement of the Creation was to be man—the human being. (Ensign, Nov 1987, 86)

President Gordon B. Hinckley said it this way:

You are a child of God, His crowning creation. (Ensign, Mar 1997, 58)

From Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual (p.17), here is how the First Presidency stated it in their wonderful statement on the origin of man in 1909:

He (God) made the tadpole and the ape, the lion and the elephant but He did not make them in His own image, nor endow them with Godlike reason and intelligence.

Not the banana, not the baboon, but only man and woman did the Gods create in their own image.

Since the false doctrine of the Trinity includes the concept that God does not have a body, there is much confusion about what “image” means. Most of those who believe in the Trinity believe that “image” is really more like the “reflection” behind a mirror. Man is no more like God than a reflection is not really like the tangible object in front of the mirror.

In a Hebrew class for seminary and institute teachers I attended in the summer of 1981 at BYU, Dr. David Noel Friedman taught the scholarly truth about this idea. At that time, Dr. Friedman was one of the very top Biblical Hebrew scholars in the world. He told us he was Jewish by tradition and agnostic by faith. Because of friends at BYU, he took a sabbatical to teach this class to amateurs in Biblical Hebrew. We spent eight hours a day for eight weeks studying every detail about the Biblical Hebrew translation of Genesis and never made it all the way through chapter one. I am so glad we made it to the word “image” in verse 26. I will never forget that day. Dr. Friedman obviously knew we were all LDS, but did not have an LDS agenda. When he came to the word “image” he said something like the following:

I know that there are many who want this word to translate to something akin to the reflection of a real object in a mirror, or something like that. But I am here to tell you that the writer of this verse used a Hebrew word that has corporeal, physical, tangible and three-dimensional characteristics in its meaning. The writer who used this Hebrew word in this verse to describe Adam being made in the image of God also used exactly the same Hebrew word in Genesis 5:3 to describe Seth being made in the image of Adam. Dr. Friedman went on and on for what seemed like fifteen minutes saying the same things in different ways. Then he concluded with, “But I know you Mormons know all about that” and went on to another subject.

As Brigham Young emphatically stated:
:
When Moses wrote and said that man was formed precisely in the image of God he wrote the truth. We are the children of our father,—his offspring, of the same family; we belong to him by birthright, and we are his children and Jesus is our brother. Does the Bible tell all this? Just as plain as words can tell anything. (Journal of Discourses, 14:280)

There are many misconceptions about the creation which arise from the so-called “conflict” between science and religion. This conflict had historical roots in the stand taken by the Catholic Church which interpreted the Bible to show that the sun must revolve around the earth. Nickolaus Copernicus presented findings opposite to that belief. Galileo Galilei (Galileo for short) supported Copernicus and was tried by the Catholic Church and found guilty of heresy. Ever since then a gap has widened to where today many scientists cannot tolerate religion and many religious people will not trust scientists. First, think how silly all of this must have seemed to the second Nephi, supposing he was able to view all of this from the spirit world, who wrote some 1,640 years earlier in Helaman 12:15:

…and it appeareth unto man that the sun standeth still; yea, and behold, this is so; for surely it is the earth that moveth and not the sun.

Some of the problems in this supposed conflict (there is no conflict if real facts and theories are kept separate) come from misinterpretations of the Bible. James E. Talmage (another first-rate scientist) stated:

The opening chapters of Genesis, and scriptures related thereto, were never intended as a textbook of geology, archaeology, earth-science, or man-science. Holy Scripture will endure, while the conceptions of men change with new discoveries. We do not show reverence for the scriptures when we misapply them through faulty interpretation. (The Talmage Story: Life of James E. Talmage--Educator, Scientist, Apostle, 232)

One such “faulty interpretation” of the Bible is that the six “days” of creation should be taken literally. An important change Joseph Smith was made as he translated the Book of Abraham. There, instead of using the word “day,” as he did in Moses, he changed the word to “time” (Abraham 4:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, and 31). The word “time” is a much more indefinite measure than is “day.”

In conference, Elder Russell M. Nelson taught:

Whether termed a day, a time, or an age, each phase was a period between two identifiable events -- a division of eternity. (Ensign, May 2000, 85)

Brigham Young stated:

How long it [the earth] has been organized it is not for me to say, and I do not care anything about it. whether he [God] made it in six days or in as many millions of years, is and will remain a matter of speculation in the minds of men unless he give revelation on the subject. (Journal of Discourses, 14:116)

Elder Russell M. Nelson, who, before he was called to the Apostleship, was a physician and a first-rate scientist, counseled us on two points:

Compared with the omniscience of our Creator, we know relatively little about dinosaurs or the details of the Creation, for example (footnote 39). (Ensign, Nov. 1993, 33)

Whether truth comes from a laboratory of science or directly by revelation, truth is embraced by the gospel. (Ensign, Nov. 1993, 35)

First, there is so much we do not know but hope to learn. President Kimball explained:

It is obvious that before one can take of the materials in existence and develop them into a world like our own, he must be master of geology, zoology, physiology, psychology, and all the others. It is obvious, also, that no soul can in his short mortal life acquire all this knowledge and master all these sciences, but he can make a beginning and with the foundation of spiritual life and controls and mastery, and with the authorities and powers received through the gospel of Christ, he is in a position to begin this almost limitless study of the secular. (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 53)

Second, as LDS, we should never fight with truth. Elder James E. Talmage taught:

Evolution is true so far as it means development of and progress and advancement in all the works of God; but many of the vagaries that have been made to do duty under that name are so vague as to be unacceptable to the scientific mind. (“Earth and Man” Salt Lake Tabernacle, August 9, 1931)

Many of these “vagaries” have to do with theories which have without merit become labeled as “facts.”

Concerning this, Brigham Young explained:

You may take geology, for instance, and it is a true science; not that I would say for a moment that all the conclusions and deductions of its professors are true, but its leading principles are; they are facts—they are eternal. (Journal of Discourses, 14: 116)

It is interesting to note that the Theory of Evolution has become one of the most explosive and divisive wedges in the science/religion conflict. In 1909, some 50 years after Charles Darwin published his book On the Origin of Species, in 1859 and 17 years before this battle would explode in the famous “Scopes Monkey Trial” in Tennessee (to determine whether evolution could be taught in public schools) in 1926, the First Presidency, well aware of the swirling evolution controversy, published a statement as follows:

Man is the child of God, formed in the divine image and endowed with divine attributes, and even as the infant son of an earthly father and mother is capable in due time of becoming a man, so the undeveloped offspring of celestial parentage is capable, by experience through ages and aeons, of evolving into a God. (Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual, 17)

Note their use of the word “evolving.”

One thing is certain. The Church teaches without reservation that Adam did not evolve from animals. The previously mentioned statement by the First Presidency was repeated by a different First Presidency in 1925. Then in 1931, amidst further discussion and cussin’ of evolution, still another First Presidency proclaimed:

Upon the fundamental doctrines of the Church we are all agreed. Our mission is to bear the message of the restored gospel to the world. Leave geology, biology, archaeology, and anthropology, no one of which has to do with the salvation of the souls of mankind, to scientific research, while we magnify our calling in the realm of the Church…

Upon one thing we should all be able to agree, namely, that Presidents Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder, and Anthon H. Lund were right when they said: “Adam is the primal parent of our race” [First Presidency Minutes, Apr. 7, 1931]. (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 478)

President Boyd K. Packer also stated this well when he said:

What application the evolutionary theory had to animals gives me no concern. That is another question entirely, one to be pursued by science (Fourth Annual Book of Mormon Symposium at BYU, 1988)

Evolution is indeed “evil”ution if the following occurs, as stated by Elder Bruce R. McConkie:

Now, here are some doctrines that weaken faith and may damn. It depends on how inured a person gets to them, and how much emphasis he puts on them, and how much the doctrine begins to govern the affairs of his life. Evolution is one of them. Somebody can get so wrapped up in so-called organic evolution that he ends up not believing in the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. Such a course leads to damnation (Sermons and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie, 338.)

Personally, I like the stand taken by President Hinckley:

People ask me every now and again if I believe in evolution. I tell them I am not concerned with organic evolution. I do not worry about it. I passed through that argument long ago. (Discourses of President Gordon B. Hinckley, 379)

The list which follows may help to summarize some of what we have covered.

First a quote from Elder Bruce R. McConkie as found in Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual (p.16) to set the stage.

“The Lord expects us to believe and understand the true doctrine of the Creation—the creation of this earth, of man, and of all forms of life” (Ensign, June 1982, 9).

Many problems come from TLI’s (Too Little Information) from both science and religion. Too many scientists as well as religious people do not know or accept the truths of the restoration.

The “WHAT” for this list is the Creation.



TLI*s & TRUE DOCTRINE OF CREATION
(* Too Little Information)

FIRST - - WHO

RELIGION WITH TLI

“Trinity” - - the universal “false” god

SCIENCE WITH TLI

For Atheistic Scientists: There is no God

TRUE DOCTRINE

“…they (the Gods)…” (Abraham 4:3)


SECOND - - WHEN

RELIGION WITH TLI

6 days - - each 24 hours long

SCIENCE WITH TLI

Empirical Only - - geological record & scientific discovery

TRUE DOCTRINE

“…time…” (Abraham 4)


THIRD - - HOW

RELIGION WITH TLI

“ex nihilo” (meaning “from nothing”) creation

SCIENCE WITH TLI

Theory of Evolution no longer a “theory” - - now a FACT

TRUE DOCTRINE

Planned - - spiritual then physical. Plants & animals organized
“…after…kind…” (9 times in 5 verses)


FOURTH - - WHY

RELIGION WITH TLI

False concept of “image” - - just a “reflection”

SCIENCE WITH TLI

Theory of Evolution no longer a “theory” - - now a FACT

TRUE DOCTRINE

Literal “image” Moses 1:39


GOD’S CREATIONS SHOW HIS LOVE

That the love of God is from within Him is illustrated by the quote by Heber C. Kimball:

Often when I have been in the presence of brother Brigham, we would feel such a buoyant spirit that when we began to talk we could not express our feelings, and so, "Hallelujah," says Brigham, "Glory to God," says I. I feel it and say it.

Some of the brethren kind of turn their noses on one side at me when I make such expressions, but they would not do it if they knew God. Such ones do not even know brothers Brigham and Heber; if they did they would not turn a wry face at us. I am perfectly satisfied that my Father and my God is a cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured Being. Why? Because I am cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured when I have His Spirit. That is one reason why I know; and another is--the Lord said, through Joseph Smith, "I delight in a glad heart and a cheerful countenance." That arises from the perfection of His attributes; He is a jovial, lively person, and a beautiful man. (Journal of Discourses, Vol.4, p.222)

Perhaps a great example we have in this lesson to illustrate how God shows His love for us is the following scripture chain (remembering promises made in the temple):

Abraham 3:22 (see “Additional Scriptures”)

Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;

Revelation 1:6

And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father…

D&C 75:56

They [celestial] are they who are priests and kings…

D&C 138:53-56

[list of prophets]

…temples and the performance of ordinances…

I observed that they were also among the noble and great ones who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God.

Moses 1:39 (see “Additional Scriptures”)

For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

From Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Student Manual (p.16-17):

. . . It is true that Adam helped to form this earth. He labored with our Savior Jesus Christ. I have a strong view or conviction that there were others also who assisted them. Perhaps Noah and Enoch; and why not Joseph Smith and those who were appointed to be rulers before the earth was formed? . . .

Chapter 4: Freedom to Choose

AGENCY IS AN ETERNAL PRINCIPLE

This probably goes without saying, but…
Great insights and inspiration will come from reading all of the scriptures in the lesson before you start deciding how to teach it (or how to study it).

Two great resources on “Agency” for this lesson are Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff (Chapter 20) and Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay (Chapter 22).

From one of these, a terrific quote by President David O. McKay:

Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct that life is God’s greatest gift to man. … Freedom of choice is more to be treasured than any possession earth can give. It is inherent in the spirit of man. It is a divine gift. … Whether born in abject poverty or shackled at birth by inherited riches, everyone has this most precious of all life’s endowments—the gift of free agency; man’s inherited and inalienable right.It may be helpful to reconcile two important ideas taught in this lesson. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 205)

FIRST - - Agency is an eternal principle (the section title).

President John Taylor said it this way:

As the gospel is a principle that emanates from God, like its author it is “the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever,”—eternal and unchangeable. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 11)

So God didn’t “invent” principles. He first learned and lived them, just as He wants us to do. Then, as a God He “created” them. My favorite quote about the word “create” is from Joseph Smith:

“The word create came from the [Hebrew] word baurau which does not mean to create out of nothing; it means to organize; the same as a man would organize materials and build a ship. (Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 9)

The Sunday School manuals are excellent sources for teachers and students, NOT just during Sunday School. They are found online at “lds.org” then “Gospel Library” (then “Lessons”) then “Sunday School.”

SECOND - - God “organized” mortality to provide new opportunities for agency for us, \His spirit children. The first scripture listed under “Additional Scriptures” at the end of the lesson is Moses 7:32 which states:

Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;

So the word “gave” herein is best understood that God “created” an opportunity for “man/woman” to have “agency.” This is important principle in Father’s plan. Discussion about this would be effective. A question such as “How many new “opportunities” did Father provide us, His children, on this earth that were not available in premortality?” for class members. Hopefully two of the most important elements of mortality, a body and a test, would be included in the answers.

The reference from this section of 2 Nephi 2:27 is s terrific one. It reads:

Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

An important principle herein is that with every choice we make about good and evil there are only two consequences: liberty” or “captivity.” A distinction should be made here about other choices made which are not about good and evil. Some of these include things like what color to paint the bathroom, which shoes to wear today, etc. To reinforce this idea, a quote from President Henry B. Eyring in a First Presidency Message might help:

When we reject the counsel that comes from God, we do not choose to be independent of outside influence. We choose another influence. We reject the protection of a perfectly loving, all-powerful, all-knowing Father in Heaven, whose whole purpose, as that of His Beloved Son, is to give us eternal life, to give us all that He has, and to bring us home again in families to the arms of His love. In rejecting His counsel, we choose the influence of another power, whose purpose is to make us miserable and whose motive is hatred. We have moral agency as a gift of God. Rather than the right to choose to be free of influence, it is the inalienable right to submit ourselves to whichever of those powers we choose.

Another fallacy is to believe that the choice to accept or not accept the counsel of prophets is no more than deciding whether to accept good advice and gain its benefits or to stay where we are. But the choice not to take prophetic counsel changes the very ground upon which we stand. That ground becomes more dangerous. The failure to take prophetic counsel lessens our power to take inspired counsel in the future. The best time to have decided to help Noah build the ark was the first time he asked. Each time he asked after that, each failure to respond would have lessened sensitivity to the Spirit. And so each time his request would have seemed more foolish, until the rain came. And then it was too late. (Ensign, Jun 2008, 4)

Additional discussion about how every choice we make concerning good and evil draws us closer to God or Satan could be helpful.

AGENCY IS A NECESSARY PART OF THE PLAN OF SALVATION

In this section the principle is discussed that “…we are responsible for our actions… (p. 19). Following is a great quote on this idea from President David O. McKay:

Freedom of the will and the responsibility associated with it are fundamental aspects of Jesus' teachings. Throughout his ministry he emphasized the worth of the individual, and exemplified what is now expressed in modern revelation as the work and glory of God—"To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). Only through the divine gift of soul freedom is such progress possible.
Force, on the other hand, emanates from Lucifer himself. Even in man's preexistent state, Satan sought power to compel the human family to do his will by suggesting that the free agency of man be inoperative (Moses 4:1-4). If his plan had been accepted, human beings would have become mere puppets in the hands of a dictator, and the purpose of man s coming to earth would have been frustrated. Satan's proposed system of government, therefore, was rejected, and the principle of free agency establish in its place. (Conference Report, April 1950, pp. 31)

Note that in the first sentence, President McKay names two great principles of agency - - freedom to choose and responsibility for choice. Today in the world there are deafening cries for freedom to choose, but there is often deathly silence about the responsibility for choices made.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson also add the following wonderful insights:

In years past we generally used the term free agency. That is not incorrect. More recently we have taken note that free agency does not appear in the scriptures. They talk of our being “free to choose” and “free to act” for ourselves (2 Nephi 2:27); 10:23; see also Helaman 14:30) and of our obligation to do many things of our own “free will” (D&C 58:27). But the word agency appears either by itself or with the modifier moral: “That every man may act in doctrine and principle … according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment” (D&C 101:78; emphasis added). When we use the term moral agency, we are appropriately emphasizing the accountability that is an essential part of the divine gift of agency. We are moral beings and agents unto ourselves, free to choose but also responsible for our choices. (Ensign, Jun 2009, 46–53)

This principle of personal responsibility for our choices is under attack today. It would be helpful to list on the board commonly heard phrases which run counter to this principle. Some examples of “verbal traps” we sometimes fall into may include:

“You make me so mad…”

“He/she made me do it…”

“You just have to…”

“I can’t help it if…”

“It wasn’t my fault…”

Also discussed in this section is the idea that “”Right choices increase our power to make more right choices.” This is a powerful concept perhaps lost in a world where the myth thrives that religion restricts us and stifles man’s true spirit. A discussion of the steps clearly outlined by the Savior in John 8:31-32 may be helpful here.

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Carefully numbering the five steps to “freedom” outlined by the Savior will correct the fallacy often used when the statement “The truth will make you free” is quoted without the preceding conditions. Freedom in this formula only comes with the four prerequisites of belief, continuance, discipleship and knowledge.

This concept can be reinforced by the counsel about “line upon line” which originated in Isaiah 28:10-13 and was clarified in 2 Nephi 28:30 as follows:

For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

Perhaps our understanding of the wonderful gift Our Heavenly Father wants to give us can be strengthened by understanding the principles taught in this wonderful message shared by Elder Boyd K. Packer:

Now, my young friends, I would like to make reference to another experience, one I think of often but one I seldom talk about. I shall not mention it in detail; I only want to refer to it. It happened many years ago when I was perhaps not quite as young as you are now, and it had to do with my decision to follow that guide.

I knew what agency was and knew how important it was to be individual and to be independent, to be free. I somehow knew there was one thing the Lord would never take from me, and that was my free agency. I would not surrender my agency to any being but to Him! I determined that I would give Him the one thing that He would never take—my agency. I decided, by myself, that from that time on I would do things His way.

That was a great trial for me, for I thought I was giving away the most precious thing I possessed. I was not wise enough in my youth to know that because I exercised my agency and decided myself, I was not losing it. It was strengthened!

I learned from that experience the meaning of the scripture: “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31–32.)

I have not been quite as frightened of spiritual crocodiles since then, because I have been alerted on many occasions as to where they were lurking.

I have been nipped a time or two and on occasion have needed some spiritual first aid, but have been otherwise saved because I have been warned. (New Era, Jan 1981, 58)

This really ties in well with the last scripture listed in this section, D&C 93:28:

He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.

AGENCY REQUIRES THAT THERE BE A CHOICE

This section picks up from the last section on the consequences of choice. From the quote of Moses 4:3-4 it is important to understand that “captivity” is a result of listening to Satan rather than God. In 2 Nephi 26:22 Nephi warns about this captivity:

yea, and he leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever.

While on our mission in North Carolina, we went to a museum in Boone, NC where a guide there taught us how fibers of flax were woven into linen in Daniel Boone’s time. Flax plants look a lot like wheat. After soaking the flax stems in water and pounding them, the fibers inside the stem were withdrawn. The guide told us that most people could extract three fibers, but with practice, four or five could be extracted from one stem. These threads would then be woven into linen cloth.

The guide then told us that even though a single fiber could be broken easily, when woven together with other fibers, the resulting threads had a tensile strength almost comparable to steel. This seems to be similar to how many addictions grow.
Other scriptures talk about Satan’s hold being “chains” rather than “strong cords.” Several really worth reviewing are 2 Nephi 28:22 and Alma 12:6, 11, 17. Here it may also be effective to discuss how Satan deceives us into believing “I can quit anytime I want to. I’ve done it hundreds of times.” Addictions begin with our choice and end with us loosing our agency. According to God’s word, our will is replaced by “his [Satan’s] will” (Moses 4:4). In Conference in 1963 Elder Ezra Taft Benson said:

One of the greatest discourses that I have ever heard or read on how to avoid being deceived was given from this pulpit during the priesthood session of the October, 1960 semiannual conference by Elder Marion G. Romney…During the talk Elder Romney stated that there was no guarantee that the devil will not deceive a lot of men who hold the priesthood. Then, after referring to a talk on free agency by President McKay, Elder Romney states, ". . . Free agency is the principle against which Satan waged his war in heaven. It is still the front on which he makes his most furious, devious, and persistent attacks. That this would be the case was foreshadowed by the Lord."

And then after quoting the scripture from the Pearl of Great Price regarding the war in heaven over free agency (Moses 4:1-4) Elder Romney continues:

"You see, at the time he was cast out of heaven, his objective was (and still is) `to deceive and to blind men and to lead them captive at his will.' This he effectively does to as many as will not hearken unto the voice of God. His main attack is still on free agency. When he can get men to yield their agency, he has them well on the way to captivity. (Conference Report, October 1963, 15)

The previous discussion would lay a great foundation for the wonderful illustration of the whirlpool (p. 20). It would seem helpful to ask, “What are whirlpools of sin that you have seen in today’s society?”

Earlier was a quote from Elder Boyd K. Packer. This came from a terrific talk entitled, “Spiritual Crocodiles” and can be found in New Era, Jan 1981, 58. This talk reinforces and adds great illustrations for the ideas discussed here.

This might be a good time to discuss John 8:34 from “Additional Scriptures” at the end of the lesson:

Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

Moroni 7:17, the scripture listed on p. 20, is wonderful:

But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.

It might be helpful to have the class discuss who “those who subject themselves unto him” are and how they try to influence us to fall into captivity. We need to avoid employing “whirlpool guides” (guides into, that is, not away from). The following might be good to share from For the Strength of Youth pamphlet:

Choose your friends carefully. They will greatly influence how you think and act, and even help determine the person you will become. Choose friends who share your values so you can strengthen and encourage each other in living high standards. A true friend will encourage you to be your best self (p. 12).

Then compare this with the following from the same pamphlet:

Have the courage to walk out of a movie or video party, turn off a computer or television, change a radio station, or put down a magazine if what is being presented does not meet Heavenly Father’s standards. Do these things even if others do not (p. 17).

To build on the idea in the previous section that Satan slows our progress (captivity does that) and God helps eternal progression, the following from Moroni 7:12 may help:

Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually.

A neat illustration of what happens here is to put the following diagram on the board:

God → good

Devil → evil

Ask “What do you notice about the letters of these words? A simple lesson comes from “God adds” and Satan takes away.” A discussion here of what Satan attempts to “take away” from our heritage as sons and daughters of God may be effective.

One of the suggested scriptures listed on p. 20 is 1 Corinthians 10:13:

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Have the class discuss “What is “a way to escape” mentioned here?” Then discuss the following scripture from John 14:5-6:

Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

What might it mean, then in 1 Corinthians 10:13 as to “the way”?

Now 3 Nephi 18:15 (listed on p. 20) ties in beautifully:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him.

Alma 13:28 (listed on p. 20) introduces another important principle tying back to 1 Corinthians 10:13:

But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit,

Something that may be helpful in this lesson would be to discuss help God has given us in using our agency to make choices. Important help is explained in Moroni 7:15:

For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

In addition to the ideas already discussed in this lesson of what God “adds” to our lives, Our Father has provided us three “lights” in mortality.

FIRST - - the light of Christ. Following the verse we just discussed, Moroni 7:16 states:

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.

In D&C 93:2 the Savior proclaims:

“…I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world;”

SECOND: The Holy Ghost. Joseph Smith explained:

Cornelius received the Holy Ghost before he was baptized, which was the convincing power of God unto him of the truth of the Gospel, but he could not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost until after he was baptized. Had he not taken this sign or ordinance upon him, the Holy Ghost which convinced him of the truth of God, would have left him. (Doctrines of the Gospel, Institute Student Manual, 44)

THIRD: The Gift of Holy Ghost. In John 14:26 we learn:

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

But if we hearken to Satan rather than God (Moses 4:4) we will lose this gift. From a little-known treasure, Gospel Fundamentals comes the following:

If we do not obey the Holy Ghost and if we begin to do wrong things, the Holy Ghost leaves us (p. 77).

This gem Gospel Fundamentals can be found at “lds.org” then “Gospel Library” then “Support Materials” then “Family” then “Gospel Fundamentals” (at the bottom). It can also be ordered from Distribution Center online.

Chapter 3: Jesus Christ, Our Chosen Leader and Savior

If you have not yet done so, please read the “Welcome…” introduction at the beginning (very bottom now) of this blog.

For this lesson, there are some terrific quotes in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church that pertain to the Savior being chosen in premortality. My favorites are found in Heber J. Grant (pp. 221-225), David O. McKay (pp. 7-8), Spencer W. Kimball (pp. 24-26), and Joseph Smith (pp. 53-54). The way to access all of these is found in this blog, Chapter 2, section 3.

A SAVIOR AND LEADER WAS NEEDED
The two questions asked at the beginning of this section are great ones to utilize the “For teachers” suggestion at the bottom of p. 10. However, the discussion of these questions should lead at least to the two answers found in this sentence later in this section, “Our Heavenly Father knew and loved each one of us.” As pertaining to the “omniscience of God” discussed previously (Chapter 2, section 2) Our Father “knew” that all of us would sin as Paul would later proclaim in Romans 3:23. Because He “loved” us He did as proclaimed:

“Heavenly Father has provided us, His children, with a way to be successful in this life and to return to live in His presence.” (“Preach My Gospel”, 31)
The following material is mostly for our adult institute class on Wednesday, Jan.20. Some of the material may be useful for teachers of Priesthood/Relief Society in either this lesson or Chapter 11.

This lesson deals with the premortal battle between Jesus and Satan. While it is crucial to avoid inviting the presence of Satan at any time, it is important that, as taught in this lesson, we understand who Satan is, as well as his agenda. As Brigham Young said:
…study…evil, and its consequences. (Discourses of Brigham Young, 256)

As President James E. Faust also stated:

Since Satan is the author of all evil in the world, it would therefore be essential to realize that he is the influence behind the opposition to the work of God. (Finding Light in a Dark World, 69-70)
The following chain of scriptures help us understand this battle between Jesus and Satan, which began in the War in Heaven and continues today (section 3).

D&C 76:25 (see “Additional Scriptures” at end of lesson) - - Satan “was in authority” in premortality.

Moses 4:3 - - “Satan rebelled…that I should give him mine own power.”

For years, I thought the above scripture meant that Satan wanted the assignment and the Priesthood. However…

D&C 76:28 (see “Additional Scriptures” at end of lesson) - - “Satan…sought to take the kingdom of our God.”

This was the first recorded attempt at a very hostile takeover.

As President David O. McKay declared:

…he [Satan] desired to supplant God. (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 207)

President Ezra Taft Benson also stated:

In the pre‑earthly council, Lucifer placed his proposal in competition with the Father’s plan as advocated by Jesus Christ....He wished to be honored above all others....In short, his prideful desire was to dethrone God. (Ensign, May 1989, 4)

The Encyclopedia of Mormonism states:

The devil…is also known by the personal names of Lucifer in the premortal existence and Satan since being cast down. The name Lucifer means “light bearer” in Latin and is a translation of the Hebrew…which means…”morning star.” The name Satan comes from a Hebrew root meaning “to oppose…” (p. 379)

In 2 Nephi 24:12-14 (Isaiah 14:12-14) we read:...Lucifer...hast said...I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God...I will be like the Most High
There is only one way that Satan could “ascend…above” God, who is the highest there is - - and that is to attempt to replace Him.

Paul prophesied about an important attempt by Satan to do just that:
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 - - [between Paul’s time and the Second Coming of Christ, during the apostasy] “…that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; “so that he as Godsitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”

Spencer W. Kimball further explained:Men with keen intelligence got together...[at] Nicea and created a God. They made it just about like a political party would do, and out of their own mortal minds created a God which is still worshiped by the great majority of Christians. They did not pray for wisdom or revelation. They claimed no revelation from the Lord. They took away all his physical properties; they took the Father and the Son and made them into one undefinable spirit... (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 426)

President Kimball comments that the concept of the “Trinity” is “worshipped by the great majority of Christians.” He may be speaking conservatively. This doctrine is the most universally accepted, unifying doctrine of all religions which are usually categorized as “Christian.”

Interestingly, the concept of the “Trinity” (usually defined as 3 Gods in one and 1 God in 3, without a physical body) is the most common reason LDS are not considered “Christian.” The following newspaper statement was given as the reason that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was excluded from the National Day of Prayer:

“Mormon faith…not in accordance with… evangelical principles…a belief in the ‘Holy Trinity,’ or in the idea that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all one being.” (AP article, May 5, 2004)

The following statement is from The Encyclopedia of Religion (not an LDS work), a book edited by dozens of scholars, most with several PhD’s to their credit:

... theologians agree that the New Testament also does not contain an explicit doctrine of the Trinity... it is incontestable that the doctrine cannot be established on scriptural evidence alone... By the end of the fourth century...theologians went beyond the immediate testimony of the Bible and also beyond the liturgical and creedal expressions of Trinitarian faith to the ontological trinity of coequal persons "within" God.

Dozens of statements like the above can be found in scholarly books.

Now let’s look at how Jesus explained all of this to Joseph in the First Vision:
…the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt…having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof. (Joseph Smith-History 1:19

Note that Jesus condemned “professors” here. In fact, most members of other churches and even many ministers have no knowledge of the fact that the definition of God that their churches teach came after the Bible was written and is not Biblical. This doctrine falls into what many call “traditional” or “historic” Christianity. But Jesus Christ made it plain to Joseph Smith that power is at the root of the struggle between Jesus and Satan. This power struggle continues on earth today.

In Conference Elder Jeffrey R. Holland summarizes much of what has been discussed:

Indeed no less a source than the stalwart Harper’s Bible Dictionary records that “the formal doctrine of the Trinity as it was defined by the great church councils of the fourth and fifth centuries is not to be found in the [New Testament].”

So any criticism that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not hold the contemporary Christian view of God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost is not a comment about our commitment to Christ but rather a recognition (accurate, I might add) that our view of the Godhead breaks with post–New Testament Christian history and returns to the doctrine taught by Jesus Himself. Now, a word about that post–New Testament history might be helpful.
In the year a.d. 325 the Roman emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea to address—among other things—the growing issue of God’s alleged “trinity in unity.” What emerged from the heated contentions of churchmen, philosophers, and ecclesiastical dignitaries came to be known (after another 125 years and three more major councils) as the Nicene Creed, with later reformulations such as the Athanasian Creed. These various evolutions and iterations of creeds—and others to come over the centuries—declared the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost to be abstract, absolute, transcendent, immanent, consubstantial, coeternal, and unknowable, without body, parts, or passions and dwelling outside space and time. In such creeds all three members are separate persons, but they are a single being, the oft-noted “mystery of the trinity.” They are three distinct persons, yet not three Gods but one. All three persons are incomprehensible, yet it is one God who is incomprehensible.

We agree with our critics on at least that point—that such a formulation for divinity is truly incomprehensible. (Ensign, Nov 2007, 40–42)

There are some great quotes about Joseph Smith’s feelings concerning the “Trinity” in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, p.42. The scripture that Joseph refers to concerning Stephen is one of the “Additional Scriptures” at the end of Chapter 1 (Acts 7:55-56). Also listed there is the reference to the First Vision (Joseph Smith History 1:17).

It is significant that that the first thing God restored to Joseph Smith was the nature of God. This knowledge completely counter to what was taught before Joseph’s prayer in 1820 and continues today. As Joseph Smith stated:

I have always declared God to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a separate and distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods. (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, p. 41-42)

What Joseph Smith said about this matter is still true today:
There are but a very few beings in the world who understand rightly the character of God. The great majority of mankind do not comprehend anything, either that which is past, or that which is to come, as it respects their relationship to God. (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, p. 39)

JESUS CHRIST BECAME OUR CHOSEN LEADER AND SAVIOR
Far more important than historical scholarship, is the wonderful restored doctrine that God the Father called for and His son accepted the mission of being a Savior, as taught in the first section of this lesson. John 3:16 (see “Additional Scripture” at the end of Chapter 1) reads:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

In our dispensation, D&C 20:21 reads:

Wherefore, the Almighty God gave his Only Begotten Son, as it is written in those scriptures which have been given of him.

Because of our knowledge of the nature of God as restored to the prophet Joseph Smith, we know that John 3:16 speaks of two gifts. One was given by God the Father, that of His Son. The second gift was given by Jesus Christ that we might “not perish, but have everlasting life.” The “Trinity” concept robs one of these two gifts. If one accepts the “Trinity,” this scripture could be vastly shortened to”

“For God so loved the world, that he came…”
As I once pondered that idea, a second question can came. “Why DID God the Father send His Son to do something as excruciatingly difficult as was the Atonement?” If it were at all possible, any good parent would rather do something deathly dangerous him/her self rather than ask his/her own child to do it.

It seems that there are at least three reasons why God the Father could not have performed the Atonement.

ONE: The Father could not die. He was a resurrected being over whom death had no power (Romans 6:9, Alma 11:45)

TWO: The Father could not be tempted (James 1:13)

THREE: The Father could not suffer physical pain.
President Wilford Woodruff taught, “When the resurrection comes, we shall come forth clothed with immortal bodies; and the persecutions, suffering, sorrow, pain and death, incident to mortality, will be done away forever.” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 81)

ALL THREE of these were crucial to the completion of the Atonement. Jesus Christ (or Son of Man as He is called 33 times in Matthew alone) could do ALL THREE of these things only because He was born the son of mortal Mary.

But the only way Jesus Christ could possibly complete the Atonement was because of what He inherited from His immortal Father in Heaven in ALL THREE of these areas.

ONE: He did not have to die, but gave his life (John 10:11).

TWO: He overcame temptation (Hebrews 4:15, 2 Nephi 17:16 or Isaiah 7:16).

THREE: He suffered every kind of physical (and every other kind of) pain (Mosiah 3:7, Alma 7:11, D&C 19:18-19).

The concept of “Trinity” cannot explain these three areas. Simply put, there could have been no Atonement without Jesus being the Son of an immortal Father and a mortal Mary. We are eternally grateful that Jesus Christ answered the call “Whom shall I send?” (p. 13).

The concept of “Trinity” also raises questions about how Mary could conceive the Son of God. There are three good answers to that question.

FIRST: The role of The Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost had a role in the birth of Jesus, but that role is vastly misunderstood in the Christian world. Most Christians believe in something similar to the Apostles Creed (several versions, most in agreement on this point) which states:

I believe in God the Father almighty And in Christ Jesus, his only Son, our LordWho was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary…

This misunderstanding may arise in part from Matthew 1:18 which states:
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Also, in verse 20 Joseph is told by the angel:

…for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

A similar statement about the Holy Ghost is found in Alma 7:10, which reads:

And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.

The key concept here is that although many times in scripture (34 times in the Gospels alone) Jesus is referred to as the Son of God, He is never called the Son of the Holy Ghost. Luke, who incidentally was a physician and, more than others, would understand the medical process of birth, wrote:

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)

Note that Luke clearly states that the angel said, “…the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee…” It would seem reasonable that any Christian, if asked to name the “highest” in the Godhead, would name “The Father.”

The Encyclopedia of Mormonism states:
He [Christ] was not the son of the HOLY GHOST; it was only through the Holy Ghost that the power of the Highest overshadowed Mary (Luke 1:35; 1 Ne. 22:19). (p. 729)

Further on the subject of "Tranfiguration" the Encycopedia of Mormonism also explains:
Transfiguration for mortals consists of a temporary physical and spiritual change, allowing them not only to behold the glory of God but to enter his presence. (1484)

Bruce R. McConkie adds:
By the power of the Holy Ghost many prophets have been transfigured so as to stand in the presence of God… ( Pearl of Great Price Institute Student Manual, 4)

President Ezra Taft Benson also explained:
Jesus Christ is the Son of God in the most literal sense. The body in which He performed His mission in the flesh was sired by that same Holy Being we worship as God, our Eternal Father. He was not the son of Joseph, nor was He begotten by the Holy Ghost. He is the Son of the Eternal Father! (Ensign, Dec 2001, 8

SECOND: Some of the specifics of the birth of Jesus Christ are none of our business.

I like how this is clearly demonstrated in 1 Nephi 11 when the Angel showed Nephi Mary in vision:

…the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh” (verses 14-18).

Then these significant verses (verses19-20) follow:

And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!
And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.

Note that the bolded words indicate what Nephi did not see. If Nephi, a prophet of God experiencing a revelatory vision concerning this part of the birth of Christ, was “excused,” we should also excuse ourselves.

THIRD: The most important in all of the above is simply this - - Jesus Christ is literally the Son of God. He is indeed the “Only Begotten of the Father” (more on that in Chapter 11). This is by far our best answer to members of other faiths when they ask about this.

THE WAR IN HEAVEN

In D&C 52:14 is found a powerful principle in the battle between God and Satan, as well as many other truths:

And again, I will give unto you a pattern in all things, that ye may not be deceived; for Satan is abroad in the land, and he goeth forth deceiving the nations—

One of the very important patterns to recognize is that of the battle between God and Satan, part of which is as follows:

• Satan allowed in Garden
• Satan cast out of Garden
• Satan allowed on earth
• Satan cast out on earth
• Satan bound during the Millennium
• Satan loosed for a little season
•  Satan’s power destroyed at end of Millennium (D&C 88:114)

In reality, there were two things Joseph Smith learned before God revealed the doctrine of the nature of God in the First Vision. First Joseph learned about the power of Satan (Joseph Smith-History 1:15-16) Second Joseph learned that God had power over Satan (verses 16-17). Moses learned the same two lessons in reverse order (Moses 1:1-21).
We also have power over Satan, as Joseph Smith taught:
All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not. The devil has no power over us only as we permit him. The moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 181)
As Joseph herein implied, we also need God’s power to overcome Satan (as did Moses, see Moses 1:16-21). God even controls the ability Satan has to tempt us (1 Corinthians 10:13).

An important part of this scripture, often overlooked is “God…will with the temptation also make a way to escape…” (1 Corinthians 10:13). If we remember that Jesus Christ said, “…I am the way…” (John 14:6) it becomes clear that we indeed can overcome any temptation with “the way” provided by Our Father in Heaven, even Jesus Christ. Again affirmation of this important principle, Jesus Christ, if we come unto Him, is more powerful than Satan or his temptations.

Another illustration of the importance of Jesus Christ being “the way” appears in the Book of Mormon where Alma counsels his son Shiblon:

And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ… (Alma 38:9)

It is significant that in the accounts in Genesis and Moses where God casts Satan out of the Garden, God tells the serpent (mouthpiece for Satan) that [Christ] will “bruise thy [Satan’s] head.” However, footnote “c” to “bruise” in Genesis 3:15 gives the Hebrew translation as “crush.” In the temple, we learn that “crush” is the right word. This is clarified in D&C 19:3 where Jesus Christ proclaims:

“I AM Alpha and Omega, Christ the Lord; Retaining all power, even to the destroying of Satan and his works at the end of the world…”
Now let’s combine these two principles to see how the battle between God and Satan will play out during the the beginning of Millennium. Nephi declared:

And because of the righteousness of his [Holy One of Israel’s] people, Satan has no power… (1 Nephi 22:26)

John the Revelator also prophesied about this event:

And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up,
and set a seal upon him… (Revelation 20:2-3)

This important combination was discussed by Elder George Q. Cannon:

Satan will be bound by the power of God; but he will be bound also by the determination of the people of God not to listen to him, not to be governed by him.” (Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Manual, 101)
The final chapter in this battle is described in Encyclopedia of Mormonism:
Toward the end of the Millennium, Satan will be loosed (D&C 88:110-15) because people will again hearken to him. But he will be vanquished and sent from this earth to outer darkness, where he and his followers, both spirits and resurrected sons of perdition…will dwell in the misery and darkness of selfishness and isolation forever. (p. 381)
It is most interesting that the Hebrew meaning of Satan is “to oppose,” since one of the principles of why a Satan is necessary is “opposition in all things” (2 Nephi 2:21). Another principle is found in this quote by Brigham Young:
I ask, is there a reason for men and women being exposed more constantly and more powerfully, to the power of the enemy, by having visions than by not having them? There is and it is simply this--God never bestows upon His people, or upon an individual, superior blessings without a severe trial to prove them, to prove that individual, or that people to see whether they will keep their covenants with him, and keep in remembrance what He has shown them. Then the greater the vision, the greater the display of the power of the enemy. (Journal of Discourses 3:205)
Let us all pray to stay on the Lord’s side in this battle.