Adam & Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
The plan of salvation to which both Adam and Jesus subscribed in the premortal world was being worked out in the world of Adam’s posterity. Each had fulfilled his foreordained part, and now the two principals were together as Jesus triumphed over sin and mortality. The next day Jesus would die upon the cross, and three days later he would rise from the grave, totally triumphant, not only over the death of the body but also over the death of the spirit-which is alienation from God.” – Joseph Fielding McConkie, Robert L. Millett
Galatians 3:13-14 “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
…Cursed is he who hangs on a tree…
Where in the Garden of Gethsemane did Jesus hang from the Cross made of a tree?
Where is the altar of sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemane?
If the atonement was met and taken care of in the Garden of Gethsemane what does John 18:11 mean to the Mormon? “Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?”
Dead people don’t visit the earth as angels and Adam was a man who had died. His appearance in the Garden of Gethsemane would have amounted to a form of necromancy which God forbids. Jesus told us that dead people can’t visit or speak with the living – Luke 16:19-31.
And since we’re in this passage of the Bible where Mormons take each word literally, let’s take a look at what it literally says.
Luke 22:43-44
An angel appeared before Him…
For a time Jesus became lower than the angels (Heb 2:7) and here we see that while in deep agony He took comfort from an angel.
Jesus could’ve called on a legion of angels to rescue Him, but here He accepted the encouragement of just one. He was suffering because of the work ahead of Him and God intervened at that moment.
What encouragement could Adam have given? Adam was the reason Jesus was in the situation He faced! Does it sound reasonable he’d make an appearance before Jesus at that specific time even if he could?
Are there any other scriptures backing the claim that Adam visited Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane?
Are there any other verses in scripture confirming that Jesus paid for sins in the Garden of Gethsemane?
He sweated…
Think upon this for a moment…it’s late at night after dark and it’s probably chilly if not downright cold outside and our Lord is sweating. It’s the cool of the season and He was praying on the cold ground in the nighttime and sweating.
The stress of what He must have gone through isn’t fathomable to my finite mind. Not only did He have the crucifixion ahead of Him, as if that wasn’t bad enough, but He became separated from God to become my sin.
There have been many scholars through the years who’ve argued this is where Jesus began the process of atoning for man’s sin by sweating great drops “like” blood. They’ve given physiological reasons why the fluid that emanated from the Lord could have been mixed with blood by citing reports of others who under great duress have experienced such an event.
No matter, the cross wasn’t in the Garden, and the cross is where Jesus died for His friends (John 15:13).
The other issues Mr. McConkie tries to defend with the Church are indefensible and quite frankly when we look at the text, evaluation of what they have said seems unnecessary, but that’s how the Church got to where they’re at today.
Adam didn’t take part in God’s plan of salvation.
Adam wasn’t in the pre-existence with God the Father and Jesus.
Their stance on this scenario is reprehensible. We’re re-posting this Mormon Dilemma from 2013 today because of a request we received from a dear Christian friend who’s been in discussions with a Mormon they know. They’ve asked if we could re-post it for when their Mormon friend comes to visit them again.
We pray Mormons will look at the Bible, and study what it says instead of relying on presuppositions of what Bruce McConkie’s son (Joseph Fielding McConkie), and Robert Millet have come up with! At one time they were both professors at BYU.
With Love in Christ;
Michelle