Adam and Eve’s Transgression

The Second Article of Faith – Our sins, not Adam and Eve’s transgression

We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression. (Articles of Faith 1:2)

The Garden of Eden

Adam and Eve were created and placed into the Garden of Eden. They were told to take care of the garden, including the animals. A promise was made that they would receive more information later. Before leaving, God said, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). What does “die” mean in this context? I believe that God meant that Adam and Eve would no longer be allowed to live in the Garden of Eden, nor be able to live in the presence of God. The death would be a separation from both.

Adam and Eve were still innocent at this point and susceptible to influences other than God’s. Satan appears to Eve and tempts her to eat of the fruit. She weighs the options and determines that for her and her children, eating the fruit is the right thing to do. After she eats, she takes the fruit to Adam and persuades him to eat as well. Adam, I believe, was not deceived into eating the fruit. I believe that Eve made arguments that helped him see that eating the fruit was necessary for their progression.

This is then the transgression of Adam and Eve. They ate fruit from a tree that they were told not to eat of. They made a choice based on arguments and influences around them.

Transgression Consequences

God returns to the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve “hide” from Him. He calls out to them, and they come out of hiding. They tell God that they hid because they were naked. I also believe they were feeling remorse for the transgression they had committed. God, instead of making an accusation, asks who told them they were naked and if they had eaten of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam admits that Eve gave him the fruit to eat. Eve then informs God that she was beguiled by the Devil. She admits to eating the fruit. God then turns to Satan and learns that Satan has been influencing Adam and Eve to transgress God’s law.

The consequences of these actions are:

1. Satan is cursed so that he can cause problems to Christ and God’s plan, but that Christ has ultimate power over him
2. Adam and Eve will have to work for their food going forward. Not everything will just grow as it did in the Garden of Eden
3. Adam and Eve have to leave the Garden
4. The Tree of Life is put under guard (Cherubim and a Flaming Sword) so that man cannot eat and live forever in their sins

There are benefits resulting from the transgression:

1. Adam and Eve can have children and teach them
2. The agency of man is reinforced, along with the consequences of choices
3. Adam and Eve (and their posterity) are responsible for their own choices
4. Satan can tempt, but not control man on this earth

The Burden Stays with Adam and Eve

Some believe that everyone born on this earth has to be forgiven for Adam’s transgression. Latter-day Saints do not believe this. I believe that one of Jesus’s miracles bears this out. In John chapter nine, we read the story of a blind man healed by Jesus. Before Jesus heals him, His disciples ask: “Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered them: “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (John 9: 2-3).

I believe that Jesus is teaching that we are not responsible for obtaining forgiveness for our parents’ sins. Each of us must repent for the mistakes we personally make. We can ask that God forgive others, but we do not have to seek forgiveness for others’ choices.

Think of it another way. What if you had to be forgiven for all the sins that your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on? Think about all the ancestry you have and what a burden it would be if they had not obtained forgiveness for sins and you then inherited them. A merciful, loving, and compassionate Father in Heaven would NOT place such a burden on you. It only makes sense that a just God would require recompense from the offender, not the offender’s posterity.

One more point to make here. If it were true that men were to be punished for Adam’s transgression, would not Christ have the same punishment? We know Christ was the only perfect man to walk this earth. He was without sin. How could that be if He, by being born of a mortal mother, was to be punished for Adam and Eve’s transgression?

It is liberating to know that I will not be held responsible for the sins of my parents. That includes Father Adam and Mother Eve. I have to worry about my own transgressions and sins. It’s hard enough to repent of those because of the feelings of guilt and remorse they bring.

Why Do I Believe this Article of Faith?

As I look to the scriptures, pray to God, and receive confirmation from the Holy Ghost, I believe that we are not punished for Adam’s transgression. First, it’s logical. Why would God put everyone under condemnation for one or two people’s choices? Who would devise a just law stating that if you have an ancestor who committed “X” crime, you would be punished for it? It makes no logical sense.

Second, in my prayers, I have asked (see We Believe in God…) God to know if I am responsible to be forgiven for Adam’s transgression. The Holy Ghost has confirmed to me that I am not. It was also confirmed to me that even though I am not responsible, the consequences of Adam and Eve’s transgression do affect me. However, I believe that the benefits of the transgression outweigh the consequences. I don’t mind working hard to have things in this life. I don’t mind being responsible for my actions. I understand that consequences for my choices exist and that I will have to endure (or, in the case of right choices, prosper in) them.

Consequences can feel like a punishment. However, transgressing God’s laws requires repentance. There could be a punishment from God for my choices. I can live with those.