Mormon Dilemmas and False Prophecies of Joseph Smith
Original Sin
Melissa is writing an article on this subject for the site so be watching out for that because it’s going to be good! For now I wanted to point out a few things for the Mormons and their loved ones to think about. I’ve listed this in both the Mormon Dilemmas section and Joseph Smith’s False Prophecies.
The teachings of Mormonism is known as dualism. Think of it as a yin-yang type of thing. They believe God is absolutely perfect, but couldn’t have instituted His plans without Adam and Eve committing sin.
Mormons also don’t believe that man is born with a sin nature (2nd Article of Faith) so this too goes against what the Bible teaches – Romans 3:23, 5:12.
Notice what Smith wrote in the Book of Mormon and see for yourself that it doesn’t line up with biblical Christianity.
Alma 12:31; “Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to things which were temporal, and becoming as Gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good.”
Genesis 3:5, 24; “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”
God did not give a commandment to Adam to sin and become as gods.
The Lord explicitly told Adam NOT to eat from the tree of knowledge. The other problem in this passage is that the sin Adam and Eve committed didn’t have just temporal punishments, but eternal as well! They became separated from God- thus the whole need for the sacrificing thing…
How is it Eve would rejoice because she sinned? Do you rejoice when you sin? When was the last time you praised your child for lying or stealing?
Moses 5:10-11; “And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for 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. 11 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.”
2 Nephi 2:23-25; “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. 24 But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. 25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”
I see no dilemma or contradiction in any of these verses you site.
God commanded them not to eat of the tree, and none of the verses you give say otherwise.
Eating of the tree was a transgression of that commandment, and none of the verses you give say otherwise.
The result of eating of the tree was that they became like God, knowing good and evil, which is confirmed by the verses you site.
This transgression was a fall and separation from God, holding both temporal (physical death) and eternal (spiritual death) consequences.
Nowhere is any of this contradicted in the Book of Mormon or the Book of Moses, so I see no problem.
To say the need for the fall is a dilemma is only really true if you don’t accept that God knew from the beginning what was going to happen. However, if you accept that he knew they would eat, and that in knowing this he set it up for such an occurrence, it is perfectly logically to conclude that he must have wanted them to, or he would have set it up in a different way.