a long lost friend

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Wenzel Peter)

When we added devotional to our school so many years ago, we used a wonderful free program called Faith in Christ through the Book of Mormon. This topical approach was fabulous, as it taught doctrine in a way that even a young child could understand. Sadly, the website was removed upon the death of one member of the husband and wife team. It was as if I'd lost a friend never to be found again. Recently, I found that the authors put their work into three volumes long before the website.  Strangely, not a success, the book was shared free of charge until the husband died. Anyway...I found the books through inter-library loan. Happily, the content is exactly the same. So here I go with the writings of Robert and Sandra Hales. If I meet these generous people in heaven, I'll thank them for the help they gave me in my little school so many years ago.

"And I the Lord God, commanded the man saying: 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, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for int he day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Moses 3:16-17

Although free agency is one of the great gifts God gave to man, it can be heart breaking as we make poor choices. Here Heavenly Father's Pre-Mortal plan was put into practice. As is also the case with us, Adam and Eve were given physical bodies, a commandment, and a choice. The next part is hard to understand. In the Garden, there was no opposition, meaning no sadness or happiness, no good or evil, no death or birth. Everything stayed as it was created. Until...

"And I, Lehi, according to the things which I have read, must needs suppose that an angel of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that which was evil before God. And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind. Wherefore, he said unto Eve, yea, even that old serpent, who is the devil, who is the father of all lies, wherefore he said: Partake of the forbidden fruit, and ye shall not die, but ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. And after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit they were driven out of the garden of Eden, to till the earth. And they have brought forth children; yea, even the family of all the earth. And the days of the children of men were prolonged, according to the will of God, that they might repent while in the flesh; wherefore, their state became a state of probation, and their time was lengthened, according to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the children of men. For he gave commandment that all men must repent; for he showed unto all men that they were lost, because of the transgression of their parents. And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end. And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having nojoy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." 2 Nephi 2:17-25

The angel which Lehi speaks was none other than Satan, who is miserable and wants the same for all God's Children. He is miserable, because he became greedy and wanted God's glory for Himself. His plan was to force all the Children of God to choose right, making sure that we all make it back to Heaven. Part of what Satan told Eve was true: eating the fruit produced a knowledge of good and evil. The lie was that they would not die.

After they ate the forbidden fruit they were driven from the Garden. They began to farm, to have children, and to seek happiness amid sadness. Life is a state of probation, a test to see if men and women will choose righteousness over evil. If Satan can make us fail our test, he wins and we become miserable like him.

If Adam and Eve had not eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they would not have died, had any children, nor would they have had temptations for other sins.

When we come from the Pre-mortal existence to the earth to live, our spirit is joined to a physical body. This body is not perfect, and therefore can become sick, get hurt, or grow old. Our bodies will die at some point, but spirit never dies. Physical death is similar to taking off a glove. While the glove remains lifeless, the hand is still animated. The Fall of Adam produced physical death on the Earth. Spiritual death means separation from God.

"Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal, that is they were cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual death."Alma 42:9

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were actively and physically with God. after the fall, they were cast out, separated from God's physical presence. Likewise, in the pre-mortal life, our spirits dwelt in the presence of God. On Earth, we are separated from God physically. Both of these realities are called spiritual death or separation from God.