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Pearl of Great Price Student Manual: http://www.ldsces.org/inst_manuals/pgp/manualindex.asp
Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual: http://www.ldsces.org/inst_manuals/doc-gosp/manualindex.asp
From Bruce R. McConkie's talk about Christ and Creation:
"As to the Fall itself we are told that the Lord planted “the tree of knowledge of good and evil” in the midst of the garden. (Moses 3:9.) To Adam and Eve the command came: “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Moses 3:16–17.) Again the account is speaking figuratively. What is meant by partaking of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is that our first parents complied with whatever laws were involved so that their bodies would change from their state of paradisiacal immortality to a state of natural mortality.
Moses 4 gives the actual account of the Fall. Adam and Eve partake of the forbidden fruit and the earth is cursed and begins to bring forth thorns and thistles; that is, the earth falls to its present natural state. Eve is identified as “the mother of all living” (Moses 4:26); and she and Adam begin to have “sons and daughters” (Moses 5:3).
Thus, man is created in such a way that he can fall. He falls and brings mortality and procreation and death into being so that he can be redeemed by the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he is ransomed from the temporal and spiritual death brought into the world by the Fall of Adam so that he can have immortality and eternal life. The Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement are bound together as one."
Important: More from Elder McConkie's talk:
Truly Christ is both the Creator and the Redeemer, as is portrayed by the marble reproduction of Thorvaldsen’s Christus that stands in the rotunda of the visitors’ center on Temple Square. There we see the Creator in majestic marble standing in the midst of eternity. On the domed ceiling and the encircling walls are paintings of the sidereal heavens with their endless orbs, all moving through an organized cosmos. And as we gaze upon what the hand of mere man has made, our minds are opened to see in a limited manner the miracle of creation.
Important: More from Elder McConkie's talk:
"These revealed verities about the creation of all things run counter to many of the speculations and theoretical postulates of the world. They are, however, what the inspired word sets forth, and we are duty bound to accept them. We are frank to admit that our knowledge of the creation of the universe, of this earth, of man, and of all living things is meager—perhaps almost miniscule—as compared to what there is to learn. But the Lord has revealed to us as much about the mystery of creation as is necessary for us in our probationary estate.
He has revealed to us the basic verities which enable us to understand the true doctrine of creation. This doctrine is that the Lord Jesus Christ is both the Creator and the Redeemer of this earth and all that on it is, save only man. It is that the Lord God himself, the Father of us all, came down and created man, male and female, in his own image and likeness. It is that the earth and all else were created in a paradisiacal state so there could be a fall. It is that the Great Creator became the Redeemer so he could ransom men from the effects of the Fall, thereby bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. It is that the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement are the three pillars of eternity. It is that all who accept him as both the Creator and the Redeemer have power to become joint-heirs with him and thereby inherit all that his Father hath.
There we also see the nail marks in those blessed hands, the hands that healed and blessed, and also in the feet that trod the dusty lanes of that earth which his hands had made. We see the gash in his pierced side from whence came the blood and water as a sign that the Atonement had been wrought. And our minds are opened, again in a limited manner, to see the miracle of redemption.
And as we ponder upon the wonder of it all, our gaze and thoughts dwell upon the beatific face and we feel the beckoning power of the outstretched arms. And the marvel in marble seems to breathe the breath of life and say: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6.) “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28.) Come unto me and ye shall be saved. Come, inherit the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world for all who accept me as the Creator and Redeemer. Come, be one with me; I am thy God."
Photo of the Christus from http://photosbygarth.com/photos/Art/Sculptures/060511_310r_7526.html
sidereal
–adjective Astronomy.
| 1. | determined by or from the stars: sidereal time. |
| 2. | of or pertaining to the stars. |
"The Man Adam" by Millet
From Brother Millet's talk:
President Joseph Fielding Smith said. “He partook of that fruit for one good reason, and that was to open the door to bring you and me and everyone else into this world, for Adam and Eve could have remained in the Garden of Eden; they could have been there to this day, if Eve hadn’t done something.” 8
(In Conference Report, Oct. 1967, p. 121.)
Adam and the Veil
The veil separating Adam from the immediate presence of the Eternal Father did not, however, remove Adam’s memory of life in Eden. As Joseph Smith clarified, Adam’s transgression “did not deprive him of the previous [Edenic] knowledge with which he was endowed relative to the existence and glory of his Creator. … Though he was cast out from the garden of Eden, his knowledge of the existence of God was not lost, neither did God cease to manifest his will unto him.” 10 President John Taylor asked: “How did Adam get his information of the things of God?” He then answered: “He got it through the gospel of Jesus Christ. … God came to him in the garden and talked with him … ; and he was the first man upon this earth that had the gospel and the holy priesthood; and if he had it not, he could not have known anything about God or his revelations.” 11
Sister Adams' talk -- http://deseretbook.com/item/9999990/Our_Glorious_Mother_Eve
http://www.kenningtons.com/kennington/campbell.htm (BY BEVERLY CAMPBELL Beverly Campbell is director of International Affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her work is with diplomats and ambassadors in Washington, D.C., at the United Nations in New York City, and with leaders of countries around the world. This address was given April 2, 1993, at the 11th annual conference of Collegium Aesculapium in Salt Lake City, Utah.) also at http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/basic/bible/eve.html
Quotes from church leaders:
http://speakupfortruth.blogspot.com/2005/03/mother-eve-and-choice-in-eden.html
Elder Oaks -- The Great Plan of Happiness http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&sourceId=3c4b425e0848b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD
Young Women's -- Talk by Elder Faust http://www.ywconnection.com/Lesson%20Help/pageM2L12whatitmeanstobeadaughterofGod.html
Millet:
"There is one other occasion in which Michael as a disembodied spirit may have played a particularly significant role in the plan of our Father. Luke records that on the night of Atonement, following the Last Supper, Jesus bowed in awful alienation and grief in the Garden of Gethsemane beneath the load of the world’s sins. He uttered his soul-cry: “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.“And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” (Luke 22:42–43.) An angel sent from the courts of glory. An angel sent to assist, to support, to sustain the sinless Son of Man in the depths of his greatest agony. “The angelic ministrant is not named,” Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote. “If we might indulge in speculation, we would suggest that the angel who came into this second Eden was the same person who dwelt in the first Eden. At least Adam, who is Michael, the archangel—the head of the whole heavenly hierarchy of angelic ministrants—seems the logical one to give aid and comfort to his Lord on such a solemn occasion. Adam fell, and Christ redeemed men from the fall; theirs was a joint enterprise, both parts of which were essential for the salvation of the Father’s children.” 21
Near the end of this same article by Brother Millet:
But to misunderstand Adam is to misunderstand our own identity as well as our relationship to the Lord and his plan.
“Adam . . . was not deceived; on the contrary he deliberately decided to do as Eve desired, that he might carry out the purposes of his Maker” (James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith [1960], 69–70).
Read Alma 12:21–37; 42:2–28 and find reasons the Lord said He kept Adam and Eve from eating the fruit of the tree of life shortly after eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
2nd Nephi 2:23
23 And they would have had no achildren; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no bjoy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no csin.
BIBLE DICTIONARY
Fall of Adam
The process by which mankind became mortal on this earth. The event is recorded in Gen. 2, 3, 4; and Moses 3, 4. The fall of Adam is one of the most important occurrences in the history of man. Before the fall, Adam and Eve had physical bodies but no blood. There was no sin, no death, and no children among any of the earthly creations. With the eating of the “forbidden fruit,” Adam and Eve became mortal, sin entered, blood formed in their bodies, and death became a part of life. Adam became the “first flesh” upon the earth (Moses 3: 7), meaning that he and Eve were the first to become mortal. After Adam fell, the whole creation fell and became mortal. Adam’s fall brought both physical and spiritual death into the world upon all mankind (Hel. 14: 16-17).
The fall was no surprise to the Lord. It was a necessary step in the progress of man, and provisions for a Savior had been made even before the fall had occurred. Jesus Christ came to atone for the fall of Adam and also for man’s individual sins.
Latter-day revelation supports the biblical account of the fall, showing that it was a historical event that literally occurred in the history of man. Many points in latter-day revelation are also clarified that are not discernible from the Bible. Among other things it makes clear that the fall is a blessing, and that Adam and Eve should be honored in their station as the first parents of the earth. Significant references are 2 Ne. 2: 15-16; 2 Ne. 9: 6-21; Mosiah 3: 11-16; Alma 22: 12-14; Alma 42: 2-15; D&C 29: 34-44; Moses 5: 9-13.
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