I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when I was seventeen. As I have studied the church's doctrines for about 47 years I have also compared them to other Christian teachings. What are the differences and similarities as to how Christians understand their faith and Latter-day Saint teachings?
In the modern world, there are online forums with average believers. There are essays and videos provided by biblical professors and teachers. These websites and youtube channels give ample examples of mainstream Christian teachings and also provide erroneous narratives about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
One topic in particular that distinguishes Latter-day Saint theology from doctrines of traditional or mainstream Christianity is how we understand the Fall of Adam and Eve. We also teach and believe that the doctrine of Christ is eternal in nature which I will explain. We also believe that Adam and Eve and all the prophets of God that followed after them believed that Jesus Christ would be their Savior.
Through the errors and omissions of men this significant truth was lost from the teachings of Christendom for almost 2000 years. The great Jehovah of the Old Testament was and is Jesus Christ. He was the Messiah that the apostate Jews rejected. Even so, he performed his mission and completed the will of his Father, the Father of us all.
To begin to understand the Bible and its teachings about salvation, understanding what took place in foundational chapters is essential to knowing how Christ would be our Savior. Mainstream Christian theologians and philosophers have speculated that Adam and Eve should have lived in the Garden of Eden for ever. They generally all agree that partaking of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was a serious mistake. This conclusion, however, would seem erroneous in view of the fact the we must be here because of God's will. If not His, then whose?
From what I've observed, most Christians believe that Jesus was the Lamb of God, slain from before the foundation of the world? The Bible teaches this. I can't see where they understand this concept. If love was the reason this sacrifice was planned and implemented according to God's foreknowledge, at what time did the souls of every human being come into consideration for salvation or for that matter, damnation?
There are two basic theological considerations as to which place would truly be a heaven of a glorious nature. One is living forever in the Garden of Eden as naive innocent immortal beings, alone with Satan tempting them for all of eternity with occasional visits from God. There would be no children as the narrative indicates they were naked and unaware of the nature of their bodies, and child bearing isn't mentioned until after eating from the tree of knowledge.
The other possible destination is the heaven spoken of by Jesus Christ. The redemption and salvation provided by His atonement only applies to fallen beings. He described heaven as a place with many mansions. Mainstream Christian theologians overlook the fact that the immortal bodies of Adam and Eve in the Garden were still corruptible. As evidenced by the fall, their corruptible nature was that they could still die. The resurrected bodies promised by Christ would be incorruptible, glorious and could never die.
Would true Christian theology teach that the Garden of Eden was a better choice, or that the fall should not have occurred? Why is it a common conclusion among Christian theologians that the Fall was a serious mistake? Because they fail to see the eternal nature of Christianity. Mainstream theology sees the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a temporary solution to the problem of the Fall, and according to them only a limited number of people will be "saved".
If Jesus was foreordained from before the foundation of the world to be our Savior, wouldn't it to stand reason that Adam and Eve were also foreordained to fall and would therefore become the world's first people to be taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ and therefore its first Christians?
God's intent for creation surely was to bless all of his children, not just Adam and Eve. Many people seem to think the Garden narrative is about two people behaving badly. It isn't.
Would true Christian theology teach that the Garden of Eden was a better choice, or that the fall should not have occurred? Why is it a common conclusion among Christian theologians that the Fall was a serious mistake? Because they fail to see the eternal nature of Christianity. Mainstream theology sees the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a temporary solution to the problem of the Fall, and according to them only a limited number of people will be "saved".
Traditional teachings view our current state of living as a punishment and curse and make Adam's posterity guilty along with Adam and Eve. On the other hand LDS see that the earth was "cursed for our sake" after partaking of the tree. Only then did Adam and Eve understand the mandate to multiply and replenish the earth which would allow for the existence of the souls of God's children. There is obviously a conflict in reasoning if one believes Eden was intended as an eternal residence for only two people. What then of the souls of the rest of us if there was no fall?
Was it really God's intent that they forgo the risks, the suffering, and death pertaining to mortality and remain static innocent souls living with the devil? How can a place be paradise if Satan is a resident? Based on the staging of the Garden of Eden, with the tree in the midst and the tempter allowed to enter, God orchestrated the fall, not Satan.
If Jesus was foreordained from before the foundation of the world to be our Savior, wouldn't it to stand reason that Adam and Eve were also foreordained to fall and would therefore become the world's first people to be taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ and therefore its first Christians?
From modern revelation in the Pearl of Great Price in the book of Moses we read that after partaking of the fruit, Adam and Eve were taught about their Savior, Jesus Christ and to have faith in him.
Moses 6: 57 Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must arepent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no bunclean thing can dwell there, or cdwell in his dpresence; for, in the language of Adam, eMan of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the fSon of Man, even gJesus Christ, a righteous hJudge, who shall come in the meridian of time.
59 That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the aspirit, which I have made, and so became of bdust a living soul, even so ye must be cborn again into the kingdom of heaven, of dwater, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and eenjoy the fwords of geternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal hglory;
This narrative ends with Adam's baptism.
Here are some examples where we see the powerful witness of the Book of Mormon as a testament of Jesus Christ and how he was known to be the Savior to those that lived under the law of Moses.
Jacob 4:4 For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we aknew of Christ, and we had a hope of his bglory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy cprophets which were before us.
Jacob 7:10 And I said unto him: Believest thou the scriptures? And he said, Yea.
11 And I said unto him: Then ye do not understand them; for they truly testify of Christ. Behold, I say unto you that none of the aprophets have written, nor bprophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ.
2 Nephi 9:6 For as adeath hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful bplan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of cresurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the dfall; and the fall came by reason of etransgression; and because man became fallen they were fcut off from the gpresence of the Lord.
From Latter-day revelation and scripture we learn that Satan was a prominent influencer in the pre-mortal life and sought to eliminate the risk and suffering of mortality. He claimed he could save all souls without risk by taking away our agency. He sought the glory of the Father for himself and to eliminate the need for the sacrifice, suffering, and death of Jesus Christ. He sought to make himself a savior contrary to the principles of heaven.
Because of his rebellion, a war in heaven resulted and he was cast out with a significant one third of the hosts of heaven at the time. Now we see him operate with a certain vengeance to destroy the family of Adam and Eve, even the family of God. Would Eden really be paradise with the devil coming and going as he pleased?
While suffering comes about because of the influence of Lucifer's pride and ambition, certain bounds are drawn around his abilities to tempt and destroy. God obviously used his prideful character to incline Eve's thoughts to the tree. He lied about death but not about the knowledge it offered. Eve surely pondered the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth. How could that occur if all their needs were met?
God confirmed the truth that Satan told her when he said "behold, the man has become as one of us to know good and evil. From that point on life become a test to see if we will choose good over evil and repent of our sins. With this knowledge Adam and Eve's eyes were opened to the power of procreation and the human family, God's family, started to come to earth to learn and apply the gospel of Jesus Christ. We were first taught his gospel before coming to the earth when Jesus was foreordained as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
The scriptures are clear, there is only one way eternal salvation and exaltation occurs. It is God's work and glory to offer exaltation to his children, and that can happen only through the atonement of Jesus Christ. This requires creation, mortality, the risks of freedom with accountability, and death. Our life here with all of its uncertainties is clearly God's will or we would not be here.
The fall had to occur according to principles of free will and agency. This is why Satan was allowed in the Garden. It was given to Adam and Eve to choose according to their own free will to undergo certain consequences (death and sin) and not to have them forced upon them. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
It is not possible to have free will without alternative choices. In Adam's case it was to stay in the Garden and live or to eat the fruit and die. In other words, there must be opposition in all things.
The scriptures are clear, there is only one way eternal salvation and exaltation occurs. It is God's work and glory to offer exaltation to his children, and that can happen only through the atonement of Jesus Christ. This requires creation, mortality, the risks of freedom with accountability, and death. Our life here with all of its uncertainties is clearly God's will or we would not be here.
The fall had to occur according to principles of free will and agency. This is why Satan was allowed in the Garden. It was given to Adam and Eve to choose according to their own free will to undergo certain consequences (death and sin) and not to have them forced upon them. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
It is not possible to have free will without alternative choices. In Adam's case it was to stay in the Garden and live or to eat the fruit and die. In other words, there must be opposition in all things.
Some Christian philosophers did realize that the fall was necessary. C. S. Lewis said, “Redeemed humanity is to be something more glorious than unfallen humanity would have been, more glorious than any unfallen race now is.”
The Fall was a necessary step to bring about the more glorious possibilities God had planned for his children. This could not happen in Eden.
If Adam and Eve had never left the Garden, they would have been without posterity and would have remained in a state of static spirituality without progressing. Only the Fall put them into a spiritual position of being dependent on Jesus Christ and this made possible their progress as well as for the rest of humankind.
What glory was Satan seeking for himself that caused to be cast out of heaven? He sought to eliminate the risk and suffering of mortality and to somehow save us without the sacrifice, suffering, and death of Jesus Christ. He sought to make himself a savior contrary to the principles of heaven and to have glory for himself.
The scriptures teach clearly that there is only one-way eternal salvation is granted, and that is through Jesus Christ. This requires creation, freedom, life, and death and redemption.
It was given to Adam and Eve to choose according to their own free will to undergo certain consequences and not to have them forced upon them. God chose the consequences he needed to implement his plan.
The scriptures teach clearly that there is only one-way eternal salvation is granted, and that is through Jesus Christ. This requires creation, freedom, life, and death and redemption.
It was given to Adam and Eve to choose according to their own free will to undergo certain consequences and not to have them forced upon them. God chose the consequences he needed to implement his plan.
The clarity of these doctrinal teachings are found the Book of Mormon. The Fall was a necessary step to bring about more glorious possibilities that could not occur in the Garden of Eden. At the time of Joseph Smith, this idea was in direct opposition to the vast majority of Christian beliefs. It truly is evidence of his his calling as a prophet to bear witness of Jesus Christ and the eternal nature of the Gospel.
Two key points of doctrine I mentioned that aren't clear in the Bible but are taught in the Book of Mormon are that Adam and Eve “would have had no children” in the Garden of Eden. (2 Nephi 2: 23). The other corrects the misunderstanding that Adam and Eve lived in a state of unparalleled bliss while in the Garden. They actually lived "in a state of innocence", meaning that they had limited knowledge, having no joy, for they knew no misery” (2 Nephi 2: 23).
Mainstream Christian scholars and believers also miss the fact that Adam and Eve's bodies in the Garden, though immortal at the time, were corruptible. They could and did die with those bodies. The incorruptible and glorious bodies necessary for exaltation only come through the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I have witnessed the love of God that sent his Son Jesus Christ as His Only Begotten Son in the flesh to overcome all of the effects of the fall. Sin and death have been overcome. We can know and feel their love through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Adam and Eve were the world's first Christians. They were the first to accept Jesus Christ and be spiritually begotten and adopted children of Christ. They gave us all the opportunity to seek the power and mercy of our Redeemer if we will choose it. Such is the testimony of all the prophets that have lived, both before, and after the Savior's mortal life.
Adam and Eve were the world's first Christians. They were the first to accept Jesus Christ and be spiritually begotten and adopted children of Christ. They gave us all the opportunity to seek the power and mercy of our Redeemer if we will choose it. Such is the testimony of all the prophets that have lived, both before, and after the Savior's mortal life.
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