Temple Insights - The Fall
On my last trip to the temple I had an insight that really helped me understand more about the fall of Adam. We know that Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden and Moses 3:16-17 tells us they were given the commandment, "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 in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
My question has always been, "why did God command Adam and Even not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil?" It seemed like an arbitrary commandment, like "well, if they are going to fall, they have to break some commandment, I I better given them one that they can break, oh look a tree..." I never understood what the significance of the tree being forbidden was until this most recent temple trip. Adam and Eve were commanded to not partake of the fruit, so let's first start by reviewing what a commandment is. A commandment is a directive given by God in order to protect us from pain and suffering. God actually tells Adam and Eve "in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." The consequences for eating the fruit were banishment to mortality, pain, suffering, and ultimately death. God gave the commandment to Adam and Eve so that they could avoid that punishment. All God's commandments are meant to keep us safe, and this one was no different, even if the only way to move the progression forward was for them to eat the fruit and fall. If the tree had been in the garden and Adam and Eve hadn't been warned, they would have eaten if unknowingly and fallen, there's no justice in that, that violates the concept of moral agency. But if there hadn't have been a tree then the fall wouldn't have been possible, so there had to be something that they could choose if they wanted to.
Basically, my insight was that the commandment to not eat the fruit was given to protect Adam and Eve from the pain and death that comes from mortality, because that's what commandments do, they protect us. God, of course, is all knowing, so he knew what they would do and made a glorious plan of salvation around it. This is a very powerful example of God's ability to make something glorious out of death, beauty for ashes.
I don't know if that makes sense or is insightful to anyone else, but I found it most interesting and profitable.
My question has always been, "why did God command Adam and Even not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil?" It seemed like an arbitrary commandment, like "well, if they are going to fall, they have to break some commandment, I I better given them one that they can break, oh look a tree..." I never understood what the significance of the tree being forbidden was until this most recent temple trip. Adam and Eve were commanded to not partake of the fruit, so let's first start by reviewing what a commandment is. A commandment is a directive given by God in order to protect us from pain and suffering. God actually tells Adam and Eve "in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." The consequences for eating the fruit were banishment to mortality, pain, suffering, and ultimately death. God gave the commandment to Adam and Eve so that they could avoid that punishment. All God's commandments are meant to keep us safe, and this one was no different, even if the only way to move the progression forward was for them to eat the fruit and fall. If the tree had been in the garden and Adam and Eve hadn't been warned, they would have eaten if unknowingly and fallen, there's no justice in that, that violates the concept of moral agency. But if there hadn't have been a tree then the fall wouldn't have been possible, so there had to be something that they could choose if they wanted to.
Basically, my insight was that the commandment to not eat the fruit was given to protect Adam and Eve from the pain and death that comes from mortality, because that's what commandments do, they protect us. God, of course, is all knowing, so he knew what they would do and made a glorious plan of salvation around it. This is a very powerful example of God's ability to make something glorious out of death, beauty for ashes.
I don't know if that makes sense or is insightful to anyone else, but I found it most interesting and profitable.
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