A Rational Theology, as Taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints — John Shaqi
A Rational Theology, as Taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day SaintsWidtsoe, John Andreas
Religion
A Rational Theology, as Taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Widtsoe, John Andreas
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- Doctrines; Latter Day Saint churches -- Doctrines; Theology
**The Coming of Man.** The earth at last was finished. Adam, the
first man, and his wife, Eve, then appeared on earth. The statement
that man was made from the dust of the earth is merely figurative, and
means that he was made of universal materials, as is the earth.
Likewise, the statement that God breathed into man the breath of life
is only a figure of the existence of the spirit within the body. The
exact process whereby man was placed upon earth is not known with
certainty, nor is it vital to a clear understanding of the plan of
salvation. We may rest assured that the first man and the first woman
were eternal beings, who subjected themselves to life on this earth,
so that the process of clothing eternal spirits with mortal bodies
might begin on the earth. Adam and Eve, in view of the great
sacrifices they made to make the Great Plan a reality, are the great
hero and heroine of human history.
**The "Fall."** Biblical lore and traditions among all of the races
of man, tell of the "fall" of the first parents from the grace of God.
An event called the fall did occur, but it was a necessary part of the
Great Plan. Adam and Eve were eternal beings, and were not under the
ban of mortal death. Subject to death they must become, however, if
their posterity should inherit corruptible bodies. The fall then was
simply a deliberate use of a law, by which act Adam and Eve became
mortal, and could beget mortal children. The exact nature of this
event or the exact manner in which the law was used is not understood.
The Bible account is, undoubtedly, only figurative. There was no
essential sin in the fall, except that the violation of any law,
whether deliberately or otherwise, is always followed by an effect.
The "fall" of Adam and Eve was necessary, for without it, there would
have been no begetting on the earth of spirits with mortal bodies, and
the Plan proposed and confirmed in the Great Council would have
remained inoperative. "Adam fell that man might be."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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