Adam and Eve’s Sin

11 May

Adam and Eve’s Sin and the New Mormon Website

    In my daily LDS Gems e-mails I received notice today (February 26, 2008) of another new website launched by the Church.  Here in part is what it said;

“The new site is a helpful resource for anyone who wishes to know firsthand what Latter-day Saints believe about Jesus Christ. It is also a valuable reference that Church members can use as they share their beliefs with others.”

Now while I always have something to say about theatrics of the Church, I am once again amazed at how the Church pulls out all the stops in their production of looking good to outsiders.  2 Corinthians 11:14 comes to mind…

The purpose of the site is to proclaim to the world the Church’s focus of worship.  They’ve also beefed up television ads with offers of free DVDs which show much of the same thing they have on the new site.

It looks as if they’ve taken some blows in the media lately and therefore wanting the public at large to understand their stance of what they believe.  Don’t be fooled my friends.  The only thing that’s changed is the amount of money they dumped into this one.

While cruising through their site I came across this in their description of Jesus;

“After the agony of Gethsemane came His arrest, His trials, His condemnation, then the unspeakable pain of His death on the cross, followed by His burial in Joseph’s tomb and the triumphant coming forth in the Resurrection. He, the lowly babe of Bethlehem who two millennia ago walked the dusty roads of the Holy Land, became the Lord Omnipotent, the King of kings, the Giver of salvation to all. None can fully comprehend the splendor of His life, the majesty of His death, the universality of His gift to humankind. We unequivocally declare with the centurion who said at His death, “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39).”

The part that caught my attention the most in that paragraph is “the unspeakable pain of His death on the cross”.  I am totally convinced the only reason they “can’t speak of it” is because they don’t believe it. What that front page of their new site doesn’t say is that they believe Jesus paid for your sin and mine in the Garden of Gethsemane!

I’m no theologian, but after studying the Bible for the past fifteen years I would imagine the pain Jesus felt wasn’t just physical while He hung so willingly upon that cursed tree.

John chapter eleven contains the shortest verse in the Bible.  (As my pastor said last week, “It’s every AWANA kid’s favorite verse”.)  For those of us who’ve read it in context we see how much Jesus hurts for those of us who grieve for our loved ones that have died.  John 11:35; “Jesus wept”.  This is merely one of a myriad of verses in the gospels that tell us of His grief and agony over our pathetic condition.

His pain on the cross was physically painful; it is undoubtedly the most painful death known to mankind.  However, let’s not lose focus of why Jesus was hanging there to begin with.  Putting the Roman trials and Pharasitical charges aside, there’s a bigger picture that cannot be overlooked, much to the chagrin of the LDS Church.  If we go to the place of why to begin with, we must literally go back to the beginning – Adam, Eve and the Garden of Eden.  For those who have never heard, this is officially what is known as “the curse”. Genesis 3:15.

Adam and Eve chose to become an enemy of God by partaking of the tree of knowledge.  God gave them a choice and they blew it.  Contrary to what the Mormon Church teaches, no where in the Bible does it say that if they hadn’t partaken of it they wouldn’t have had children.  On the contrary here is the sequence of events in Genesis.

Now before we go there – the average Mormon is going to tell you that they only believe the Bible “as far as it is translated correctly” (8th Article of Faith).  Meaning they’ve been taught to believe that it’s corrupted.  As we know this is a lie.  My biggest concern is that if you truly believe this teaching, then why pray tell do you use the Bible at all?  Nevertheless, let’s see the sequence of events that takes place in Genesis;

Genesis 2:24-26; 3:6; “And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.  23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.  24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.  3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

Where in that sequence of events did God tell those two they must sin?  Where did it say that if or when they did sin they wouldn’t have kids?  God created woman for man for a number of reasons, but one of the reasons is so they would multiply.

What kind of god would set his creation up to trick them?  The God of the Bible, the God I worship, would do no such thing.  If you’re a mom or dad, is this what you do to your kids?  Don’t you love them fiercely and want only the best for them?  I know that’s the type of love I have for my own children and would never set them up to fail.

Just as I cannot fathom the pain Jesus felt on that cross, I am also certain I cannot imagine the pain it cost our Heavenly Father’s heart to see Adam and Eve sin.  Because of their sin God knew that all of mankind, Adam’s future generations, would be subject to having a sin nature.  Just as you’ll one day hand down your great-grandfather’s photo album or your color of hair to your own children, we’ve received our inheritance from Adam.  Every rude thought, vile deed and evil sin you and I have committed in life stems from that one act in the Garden of Eden.  That’s not to say we can blame our behavioral problems on Adam, God forbid!  But friends, this one act from the beginning of time is why Jesus hung on that cursed tree.

Jesus wouldn’t have wept at the grief of his friends’ loss of Lazarus for no good reason.  He hates death, as it is the consequence of sin.  Paul tells us of the fulfilled promise of God in Ephesians 2:14-16;

 “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.”

Why would God contradict Himself regarding the place where atonement must take place?  Why would it suddenly and rather randomly, change from sacrifices being performed outside the city walls to inside the city walls, which is where the Garden of Gethsemane is found?  And why is the story about original sin different for the Mormons than it is for the Christians and Jews?

The Church can try to dress up their own gospel message in new innovative ways all they want, but if it doesn’t line up with biblical orthodoxy we must throw out their reasoning and pretty presentations.

Think about it.

With Love in Christ;

Michelle Grim

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3 Responses to “Adam and Eve’s Sin”

  1. shematwater May 12, 2011 at 4:19 am #

    I am not going to get into the whole Adam thing, as it is simply rediculous, and if you actualy understood LDS doctrine you see this fact for yourself.

    However, concerning your comments about how the LDS don’t believe in the pain he suffered on the cross, and how it was more than just physical, on these I will make a few comments.

    First, no one ever denied the pain he felt, we only admit that we lack sufficient understanding to fully grasp it. To say we do not believe in it is false.
    As to more than physical, of course it was more than physical. It was also emotional at seeing the affect it had on others (such as his mother). It was also spiritual, as the presence of the Father had withdrawn from him (“My God, My God. Why hast thou forsaken me?”).
    We recognize and believe in pain he felt on the cross, and no one who understands LDS doctrine will deny that the last stages of the Atonement were performed on the cross (at least the mortal parts).

    However, we, unlike most others, also recognize the great pain he was in while in the Garden, for it was at this time that he was in such agony that he sweat blood (Luke 22: 44) and begged the Father to relieve him of the pain (Luke 22: 42), for which an angel came to strengthen him (Luke 22: 43).
    We see that the suffering he endured was not only on the cross, but began in the Garden on the day of the first feast of the Passover, and continued after his arrest until he was crucified six days later (the day before the last feast of the passover). We do not single out one day and claim that everything was done then, but believe in a great torture and torment he fealt in both body and spirit as endure the most gruesome and painful actions that could be inflicted on a man.

  2. lifeafterministry May 13, 2011 at 6:47 pm #

    Shem –

    We understand Mormonism more than you realize right now. I was a 6th generation Mormon from Utah and in the Church for 30 years. One of my volunteers, Melissa, was a temple worthy very active Mormon and in the Church for 13 years. She too is well aware of Mormon theology and she’s the one you’ve been corresponding with here on this blog.
    You keep saying we don’t understand Mormonism and I can assure you nothing could be further from the truth; we know it inside and out.

    1. It is impossible for any sacrifice for sin to take place within the walls of Jerusalem. Thus, the Mormon theory that Jesus paid for man’s sin in the Garden of Gethsemane is erroneous.
    John 18:11 says; “Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?”
    Why would Jesus say this if He had paid the price for sin already?
    2. Luke 22:41-44 says; “And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
    Where in that passage does it say He had paid the price for man’s sin?
    3. Mark 10:45 says; “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
    Jesus did not give His life in the Garden of Gethsemane, but on the Cross of Calvary.
    4. You said; “…no one who understands LDS doctrine will deny that the last stages of the Atonement were performed on the cross (at least the mortal parts).”
    ????????? What do you mean by “at least the mortal parts”?????
    5. By not believing man was born with a sin nature and that Jesus only died for Adam’s transgression is a gross misunderstanding of the entire Bible. The 2nd Article of Faith in Mormonism clearly describes and defines for us that man will be punished for his own sins. Clearly, this is diametrically opposed to why Jesus even came here to die for man.
    6. Lastly, read the Bible for accurate timelines of what took place in the last week of Jesus’ life.
    He wasn’t crucified 6 days after His arrest. He was arrested on a Wednesday, sent to trial that night and the following day and was crucified on Friday, thus the Christian observance of Good Friday. Luke 22:54-23:33. Also see our article about this here:
    http://lifeafterministry.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/joseph-smith-and-jesus-compared

  3. shematwater May 16, 2011 at 7:15 pm #

    I really don’t care how long you have been members, or how many generations of your family have been members.

    1. The Garden of Gethsemane is not within the walls of Jerusalem. It is east of Jerusalem. So your complaint is unfounded. I would also like to know where you get the idea it couldn’t have been done in Jerusalem.

    2. Where does it say he didn’t? Where does it say he did so on the Cross? It doesn’t. We have Paul using the cross as a symbol on occasion, but never a statement that it was no the cross that sin was paid for. In all actuality no where in the Bible does it identify a specific time of location in which sin was paid for.

    3. Yes, he gave his life on the Cross, but he ministered in the Garden, which was the second part of what he was to do according to Mark.

    4. I think you know what I mean, at least you should if you understand LDS doctrine as you claim to.

    5. This has absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand. We are discussing where and when Jesus atoned for sins, not what sins he atoned for. Please stick to the topic instead of trying to divert it in an attempt to confuse the issue.

    6. Time line: The last supper was the first feast of the passover. It was that same night that Christ went out to the Garden and thus that night that he was arrested (Matthew 26: 30-31).
    We also know that it was the day before the second feast that he was crucified (Luke 23: 54-56).
    Now, considering that the Passover lasted seven days and that the first and last day was considered a sabbath, and that on them feasts were held, we can say that the first feast (the last supper) was a sabbath, and that the day they buried him was the day before the next sabbath. This gives a six day time line in which the rest of the events occurred, for which there is no definite time line.
    Please don’t lecture me on the Bible.

    As to atoning for sin, I never actually said that he did or didn’t do so in the garden. I simply said that the claim that the LDS do not recognize the pain he suffered on the cross is an inaccurate portrayal of our doctrine, and it is.
    Please, if you want to actually prove me wrong provide one case in which an LDS leader denied the pain of the cross. Not the effect of the cross, because I was not actually discussing this, but the pain he felt.

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