Tag: Adam and Eve

My Kingdom

I was asked an interesting question.  I thought the question and answer might be worth posting.

Question:

  
“In 3 Nephi 28, the 9 disciples are promised that when they die they will go to “my Kingdom” meaning Christ’s.  However, the other 3 who tarry are promised to go to the “Kingdom of my Father.” Are they different? They must be, but how? In what way? Different levels of Exaltation? This same thing is discussed in D&C 7. Peter is promised “My Kingdom” while John is promised the greater blessing. I’m assuming it’s “my Father’s Kingdom” like the 3 Nephite disciples.”
Answer: 
I’ve written about this in Beloved Enos. The offer is extended to all those whose calling and election is confirmed.  The 9 chose to move into the post-mortal inheritance at their death. That is, they would not be required to return here for anything else, but would be judged, crowned and exalted upon death. Because this is a blessing conferred by the Son, it is “His Kingdom” into which they will move. When the work is at last completed and delivered to the Father –at the end of the earth’s temporal existence– it becomes the Father’s at that point. The 3 will be awaiting that moment to receive that inheritance. The 9 will enter into the “Son’s” until then, and will likewise be among those who are received by the Father, in the due order of things. 

[My answer provoked a follow up question:]

  
“But doesn’t Peter, James and John have the earthly role of teaching Adam and Eve (us) further light and knowledge as shown in the temple? Do they send ministering angels or maybe even John since Peter and James don’t come to earth anymore?”
I answered:
Peter, James, and John were added to the endowment by Brigham Young, but weren’t part of what Joseph originally portrayed. They were added to remove required narration. When added, they are a “type,” and not intended to be the personalities or individuals. Much like Elias is a “title” and not a name. Peter, James, and John are in the endowment types, or “titles” – not intended to be the actual persons who were known by those names while in mortality.

The endowment used to include the words, “You should consider yourselves respectively as if Adam and Eve.  …This is simply figurative so far as the man and woman are concerned.” The same could be said about other roles – which all represent truths, but the truths are not tied to personal identities. You are Adam. The endowment is about your life. Those true ministers who are sent are explained in D&C 130: 5, which include those who do (i.e. currently living individuals who have gained a message from the Father and Son to be delivered) or have (i.e., those who have left mortality and are returning as angelic, or resurrected, or translated individuals, who have gained a message from the Father and Son to be delivered) belonged to this earth.

 
 I should add: Without ministering of angels there is no longer any faith, as Moroni explained.  (Moro. 7: 37.) Only a fool would take their own message and portray it as coming from God. As Joseph Smith put it, “only fools trifle with the souls of men.” [I’ve noted, however, an endless abundance of fools here. The Historic Christian religions are filled with them.  …Unfortunately, they’ve crept into the restored faith, as well.] 
 
P.S.  A reminder – I do answer questions from time to time.  However, before you ask me a question, read or review the books I have written (there are 6 of them). Much of what is written in the books following The Second Comforter is written because of the questions I am asked most often. Therefore, I suspect you’ll find things in what I’ve already written which make it unnecessary to ask.

Isaiah 53:9 – 10

“And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.”

He died among two thieves, as a common criminal, along the road leading into Jerusalem.  He would have been regarded as a criminal, worthy of the death He suffered, by any passer-by.  His grave came as it would to any “wicked” and convicted criminal.

It was a rich man, member of the Sanhedrin, who begged for the body and buried it in a new tomb.  His death was common, terrible, and worthy of the lowest member of society, but His burial would be in an honorable tomb worthy of the rich.  His honorable burial was testament to the fact He had done no violence, nor had there been any deceit come from Him.  Those wishing for a sign to confirm His honor will find it in the juxtaposition of the death He suffered and the burial He was given.
Isaiah 53: 10 says:

“Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”

God will be “pleased” at the Messiah’s suffering.  His grief will be joyful to the courts of heaven.  As odd as the comment may seem, it was nevertheless the case.  We have a witness who was there, and saw the rejoicing for Christ’s suffering.  Enoch reported:
“And it came to pass that Enoch looked; and from Noah, he beheld all the families of the earth; and he cried unto the Lord, saying: When shall the day of the Lord come? When shall the blood of the Righteous be shed, that all they that mourn may be sanctified and have eternal life?  And the Lord said: It shall be in the meridian of time, in the days of wickedness and vengeance. And behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced, saying: The Righteous is lifted up, and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world; and through faith I am in the bosom of the Father, and behold, Zion is with me. (Moses 7: 45-47.)
Christ’s death and suffering caused Enoch to “rejoice” at what He had accomplished.  It was joyful.  It was triumphant.  It was the victory that would make it possible for Zion and Enoch to be redeemed.  Therefore it did please God to bruise Christ, to put Him to grief.  And the pleasure of God was in the fruits of that suffering.  It was necessary to garner the victory over the fall of mankind.  It was holy.  It was cause for great joy.
His “seed” include all mankind.  For in His triumph all who die have part.  Victory over death means resurrection will come as the shared inheritance of all those who are descendants of Adam and Eve.  As in Adam all die, even so in Christ are all made alive again.

Eternal life and the covenant marriage

“Eternal life” requires a couple who can have increase, or bear children.  The requirement is that through the continuation of the marriage covenant men and women become exalted.  And without that, they remain separate and single, saved, but not exalted.  D&C 132 explains:
 

  15 Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word, and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world. 
 

  16 Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory. 
 

  17 For these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity; and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God forever and ever. 
 

  18 And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife, and make a covenant with her for time and for all eternity, if that covenant is not by me or by my word, which is my law, and is not sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, through him whom I have anointed and appointed unto this power, then it is not valid neither of force when they are out of the world, because they are not joined by me, saith the Lord, neither by my word; when they are out of the world it cannot be received there, because the angels and the gods are appointed there, by whom they cannot pass; they cannot, therefore, inherit my glory; for my house is a house of order, saith the Lord God.

The Celestial Kingdom has three heavens or degrees within it.  To attain the highest, which is the only one in which the marriage covenant exists and continues, a person must have entered into a marriage and been sealed by the holy spirit of promise.  As D&C 131 explains:
 
  1 In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; 
 

  2 And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]; 
 

  3 And if he does not, he cannot obtain it. 
 

  4 He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase. 
Exaltation is tied to the marriage covenant and without an eternal marriage there cannot be exaltation.
 
However, (I point out hesitantly) that all these verses are phrased in the masculine.  In most cases the masculine does not matter because the commandment applies to both the man and woman.  That is, when mankind is referred to collectively, it is referred to in the masculine.  For example, the first couple are sometimes referred to collectively as “Adam” when what is meant is Adam and Eve.  Therefore, what I’m going to say is not a universal truism and cannot be applied without regard to context.  Here, however, it can be applied.  Because in this instance, the male’s right to exaltation is utterly dependent upon his successful completion of this requirement as part of this probation.  
 
Women, on the other hand, who would be otherwise worthy (and that involves a great number beyond those who are parties to sealed and worthy marriage), are among those who D&C 137 describes:
 
  7. …All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; 
 

  8 Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom; 
 

  9 For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desires of their hearts.
 
Women have, throughout history, borne their obligation of motherhood and submission to husbands with considerable success.  It is rare, however, when men have been able to retain priesthood.  Apostasy is a male failing, not a female failing.  Nor are the women of the Church responsible for the lack of “power” within the priesthood discussed by Elder Packer in last General Conference.  This is a male failing.  Therefore, when the first two quotes are read above, the significance of the masculine phrasing ought not be overlooked.  The whole subject is tied to a man’s completion of a task required of him in mortality.
 
Women who are good mothers, worthy wives and who keep the faith will suffer no loss because of a failing husband.  HOWEVER, women are required to minister in love and righteousness even to a difficult husband, as did Abigail.  Marriage to a “churlish” man did not stop her from showing her own nobility.  Therefore, it is not enough for a woman to determine her husband is not likely to survive the judgment, give up on him, and await the next life to learn to serve in love and patience.  She has an obligation to begin that service here and now.  Indeed, the worse the man, the greater the opportunity to show Christ-like devotion.  There is no man whose behavior is more offensive than those for whom Christ suffered.  To be like Him, and to live where He lives requires a similar capacity to forgive, love, bless, serve and elevate.

This isn’t easy.  Wasn’t meant to be.  Do you really think any of us are worthy to be called “gods” without first descending below all things so as to be qualified to rise above all things?  Christ is not merely our Savior, He is our example.  We must “follow Him” if we want to be where He is.

Creation Accounts

All ancient accounts of the creation of life here came through a presentation intended either as an initiation or an ordinance.  The various accounts we have are also from such settings.  Genesis is the ritual account given through Moses.  The words “God said” should better be rendered “the Gods shall say” (meaning that this is telling the players what to do).  Similarly, the Abraham account saying that one “like unto the Son” or “like unto God” is describing the player’s role.  It is a dramatic presentation.
There is no need to read into any of the various texts something which isn’t there.  Hence the earlier post dealing with the creation accounts and how Eve was left out of the original statement of the commandment regarding the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  The account sets it out with the commandment coming before Eve’s creation in all but the current Endowment presentation.  Our version has been changed from time to time to accomplish various efficiencies as we have adopted filming, and other innovations to make the Endowment fit within new formats and time constraints.

Just the commandments

According to the Moses account of the creation, at the time the commandment was given to “not eat of” the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the woman had not been created.  (Moses 3: 15-17.)  It was after giving Adam this commandment that the woman was created.  (Moses 3: 21-23.)
 
Eve’s knowledge of the commandment came from Adam, not from God. 

God’s commandment to Adam was: “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.”  The restriction placed on Adam was to “NOT EAT” of the fruit of that tree.

 
Adam’s explanation to Eve was different.  Eve explained her understanding to the serpent when the serpent tempted her: “God hath said–Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”  (Moses 4: 9.)  Eve’s understanding of the commandment varied from what had been given to Adam by the addition of the words: “NEITHER SHALL YE TOUCH OF IT.”
 
Adam added to the Lord’s commandment.  This additional precaution was the error which set the transgression in motion.  For when Eve saw the serpent touching the fruit and not dying, it lent credibility to the assertion that “ye shall not surely die.”  (Moses 4: 10.)  Being innocent, and therefore vulnerable to deception, Eve could not know she was confronting a lie.  Instead she saw with her own eyes that the commandment “not to touch” clearly did not result in death. 
 
One of the great lessons of the Moses account is that adding to the commandments of God, no matter how well intentioned, is going to lead to error if not tragedy.  We do as He asks.  Without adding to, nor subtracting from what He has bid us to do, we should follow what we are asked by Him.
 
We cannot improve on His commandments.  We cannot build a fence around His commandments by adding other precautions, gestures, supplements, or restrictions.  When we do that we produce excess, rigidity, unintended consequences and error.  We teach for doctrines the commandments of men.  Inevitably leading to a form of godliness without any power.  It’s an historic path to failure, diminishing power in the priesthood until it is gone altogether.  Detracting from our spiritual as well as physical health.  Removing our strength.  Corrupting our posterity, as they are distracted from what they should receive as they seek for what they cannot attain by “some other way.”
 
I rather like Moses’ account.

Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve could not have children while they were in the Garden of Eden.  They lacked the capacity to bear children in the innocent state in which they then existed.  See 2 Ne. 2: 23. 
 
They had been given the gift of childbearing as an endowment from God.  The endowment of the capacity did not mean they had the means or understanding at the time to act upon it.  Without the fall, they would not have been able to act on the endowment.  They were like little children who are born male and female with the capacity to one day become parents, but who are immature and innocent, and therefore unable to bear children.
 
The great offense was in Satan’s control of the timing.  Had they remained in the Garden throughout the Sabbath day of rest then they would have received the commandment to partake of the fruit in the Lord’s timing. At this point they would have moved from their innocent state into a condition not unlike the Millennial day.  The “fall” would have transitioned to a Terrestrial state, rather than a Telestial state.