On my mission I heard a very insightful talk from Elder Bruce R. McConkie that he gave at BYU called The Three Pillars of Eternity. In it he said that the 3 most important acts in all of eternity are the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. As I continue my exploration of the Plan of Salvation, I will address the first 2 today.
What we refer to as the creation of the world is recorded in multiple places in the scriptures, first in Genesis in the Old Testament, and also in the books of Moses and Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price. However, the word "creation" itself is not entirely accurate. Most Christians believe that God created the world, and mankind, "Ex Nihilo", or "out of nothing". However, we understand from modern revelation that "Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be" (D&C 93:29), and that the earth was "organized" and "formed," not created (Abr. 4:1).
Another common misconception about the creation is the timeline of events. Although we don't really know exactly how long it took to create the world as we measure time, we can place things in a certain order. The record in Genesis is somewhat confusing because, after detailing what happened each "day" of the week, Gen. 2:1 says, "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." But then later in the same chapter it says that God then created all of these things. Was everything created twice? Yes. In Moses 3:5 we read, "For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth." Thus, the first part of the account is the planning of the creation, and the second part is the execution. This is also shown in the account in Abraham (Abr 5:3-5).
Another point to be aware of regarding the creation is the various participants involved. In one of the more famous scriptures in our day, we read "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:1–3).
From this we learn that Jesus Christ was the main agent in the creation of the world, acting under the direction of God the Father (see also Moses 2:1).
In addition to Jesus Christ, others helped to form the earth. Abraham was given a vision of the pre-existence:
"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;...
And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;"
(Abr. 3:22,24)
Again, Christ is shown to be the one in control of the creation, or organization, of the earth, but there were other "noble and great ones" who helped.
To provide a transition from the Creation to the Fall, I would like to mention the problem of evil. If God is perfect and holy, and He is, then how could he create something evil like the devil? This is a conundrum facing many Christian theologians. However, we have a greater understanding of the pre-existence and the role of agency. God created all men equally, or, as it says in Alma, "in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren" (Alma 13:5). Satan used his agency to purposefully rebel against God. Then when Adam and Eve ran into Satan in the Garden of Eden, he was acting of his own accord, and not because God forced him to be evil.
However, because God is omniscient, he knew that Adam and Eve would succumb to temptation. In fact, this was part of the plan all along. Many Christians today blame Adam and Eve, and especially Eve, for partaking of the forbidden fruit. They say that if they had not done so, we would all be in a state of paradise today. Sadly, these people lack the full perspective of the plan of salvation. The purpose of this life was not to provide us with a paradisaical place to live. We already had that when we lived in the presence of God as spirits. The reason we are here is to gain a body and experience, and ultimately return to live with God, not in the same state as when we left, but enabled to become like Him and experience a fulness of joy. If Adam and Eve had not eaten of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they would have been stuck.
The prophet Lehi expounds the doctrine of the Fall very clearly. I would encourage everyone to read all of 2 Nephi 2, but here are some excerpts.
"Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other" (2 Nephi 2:16).
In other words, for us to have agency and actually have the chance to express it, we must be faced with choices.
"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 no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin" (2 Nephi 2:22–23).
Another reason we cannot blame Adam and Eve for taking the forbidden fruit; we wouldn't be here!
How did Adam and Eve feel about all of this?
"...because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.
And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient" (Moses 5:10–11).
They both understood what had been lost when they fell, but more importantly, they understood what they and their posterity stood to gain.
Certainly we are not in a great position in mortality. As Abinadi taught:
"For they [man] are carnal and devilish, and the devil has power over them; yea, even that old serpent that did beguile our first parents, which was the cause of their fall; which was the cause of all mankind becoming carnal, sensual, devilish, knowing evil from good, subjecting themselves to the devil.
Thus all mankind were lost; and behold, they would have been endlessly lost were it not that God redeemed his people from their lost and fallen state" (Mosiah 16:3–4).
That last line is so important. Jesus Christ has redeemed us from our lost and fallen state. If any one of the 3 pillars of eternity did not exist, the plan of salvation would be frustrated.
Paul also shows how the Fall and Atonement are related.
"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
(1 Cor. 15:21–22)
But I don't want to get ahead of myself. The Atonement of Jesus Christ deserves a discussion all on its own. Suffice it that I summarize with the words of Moroni:
"Behold, [God] created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man" (Mormon 9:12).
Both the Creation and the Fall were absolutely necessary parts of God's plan of salvation. It was not a mistake that led Adam and Eve to be driven out of the garden. We should not look upon Adam and Eve with dislike for what they did, but rather venerate them as the head of the human family on the earth. As we understand these principles, we will be more able to see our place in the world, and make the exercise of our agency count for something.
Some of you may have noticed that I did not mention evolution at all. This is because I believe science and religion are trying to answer different questions; science answers "what?" and "how?", and religion answers "who?" and "why?". If one attempts to answer the questions of the other, you can be sure people will begin to argue. For those who are interested, the First Presidency of the church released a document titled "The Origin of Man" in the early 1900s that addressed some questions that members had about evolution. It has been recently republished in the Feb 2002 Ensign. If enough people still want me to write about evolution, I will.
What we refer to as the creation of the world is recorded in multiple places in the scriptures, first in Genesis in the Old Testament, and also in the books of Moses and Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price. However, the word "creation" itself is not entirely accurate. Most Christians believe that God created the world, and mankind, "Ex Nihilo", or "out of nothing". However, we understand from modern revelation that "Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be" (D&C 93:29), and that the earth was "organized" and "formed," not created (Abr. 4:1).
Another common misconception about the creation is the timeline of events. Although we don't really know exactly how long it took to create the world as we measure time, we can place things in a certain order. The record in Genesis is somewhat confusing because, after detailing what happened each "day" of the week, Gen. 2:1 says, "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." But then later in the same chapter it says that God then created all of these things. Was everything created twice? Yes. In Moses 3:5 we read, "For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth." Thus, the first part of the account is the planning of the creation, and the second part is the execution. This is also shown in the account in Abraham (Abr 5:3-5).
Another point to be aware of regarding the creation is the various participants involved. In one of the more famous scriptures in our day, we read "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:1–3).
From this we learn that Jesus Christ was the main agent in the creation of the world, acting under the direction of God the Father (see also Moses 2:1).
In addition to Jesus Christ, others helped to form the earth. Abraham was given a vision of the pre-existence:
"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;...
And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;"
(Abr. 3:22,24)
Again, Christ is shown to be the one in control of the creation, or organization, of the earth, but there were other "noble and great ones" who helped.
To provide a transition from the Creation to the Fall, I would like to mention the problem of evil. If God is perfect and holy, and He is, then how could he create something evil like the devil? This is a conundrum facing many Christian theologians. However, we have a greater understanding of the pre-existence and the role of agency. God created all men equally, or, as it says in Alma, "in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren" (Alma 13:5). Satan used his agency to purposefully rebel against God. Then when Adam and Eve ran into Satan in the Garden of Eden, he was acting of his own accord, and not because God forced him to be evil.
However, because God is omniscient, he knew that Adam and Eve would succumb to temptation. In fact, this was part of the plan all along. Many Christians today blame Adam and Eve, and especially Eve, for partaking of the forbidden fruit. They say that if they had not done so, we would all be in a state of paradise today. Sadly, these people lack the full perspective of the plan of salvation. The purpose of this life was not to provide us with a paradisaical place to live. We already had that when we lived in the presence of God as spirits. The reason we are here is to gain a body and experience, and ultimately return to live with God, not in the same state as when we left, but enabled to become like Him and experience a fulness of joy. If Adam and Eve had not eaten of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they would have been stuck.
The prophet Lehi expounds the doctrine of the Fall very clearly. I would encourage everyone to read all of 2 Nephi 2, but here are some excerpts.
"Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other" (2 Nephi 2:16).
In other words, for us to have agency and actually have the chance to express it, we must be faced with choices.
"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 no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin" (2 Nephi 2:22–23).
Another reason we cannot blame Adam and Eve for taking the forbidden fruit; we wouldn't be here!
How did Adam and Eve feel about all of this?
"...because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.
And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient" (Moses 5:10–11).
They both understood what had been lost when they fell, but more importantly, they understood what they and their posterity stood to gain.
Certainly we are not in a great position in mortality. As Abinadi taught:
"For they [man] are carnal and devilish, and the devil has power over them; yea, even that old serpent that did beguile our first parents, which was the cause of their fall; which was the cause of all mankind becoming carnal, sensual, devilish, knowing evil from good, subjecting themselves to the devil.
Thus all mankind were lost; and behold, they would have been endlessly lost were it not that God redeemed his people from their lost and fallen state" (Mosiah 16:3–4).
That last line is so important. Jesus Christ has redeemed us from our lost and fallen state. If any one of the 3 pillars of eternity did not exist, the plan of salvation would be frustrated.
Paul also shows how the Fall and Atonement are related.
"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
(1 Cor. 15:21–22)
But I don't want to get ahead of myself. The Atonement of Jesus Christ deserves a discussion all on its own. Suffice it that I summarize with the words of Moroni:
"Behold, [God] created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man" (Mormon 9:12).
Both the Creation and the Fall were absolutely necessary parts of God's plan of salvation. It was not a mistake that led Adam and Eve to be driven out of the garden. We should not look upon Adam and Eve with dislike for what they did, but rather venerate them as the head of the human family on the earth. As we understand these principles, we will be more able to see our place in the world, and make the exercise of our agency count for something.
Some of you may have noticed that I did not mention evolution at all. This is because I believe science and religion are trying to answer different questions; science answers "what?" and "how?", and religion answers "who?" and "why?". If one attempts to answer the questions of the other, you can be sure people will begin to argue. For those who are interested, the First Presidency of the church released a document titled "The Origin of Man" in the early 1900s that addressed some questions that members had about evolution. It has been recently republished in the Feb 2002 Ensign. If enough people still want me to write about evolution, I will.
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