What Really Happened to Adam and Eve, and Why It Matters for Your Life

In this episode of Gospel First, Joe Cirillo delves into the story of Adam and Eve, examining the fall and its profound effects on humanity. Through biblical references and insights from Latter-day Saint scriptures, the discussion explores why understanding the fall is crucial for realizing our need for Christ's salvation. Joe highlights the tricks used by Satan, the consequences of Adam and Eve's choices, and the blessings that came from their actions, emphasizing the plan of salvation and Jesus Christ's role in redeeming mankind.

Adam and Eve are two of the most well-known figures in the Bible, representing the first man and woman created by God. So what is the Fall of Adam and Eve, and what are its effects on our lives?

I love this quote from President Ezra Taft Benson: “Just as a man does not really desire air until he can’t breathe, so he does not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ.”

Now, no one adequately and properly knows why he needs Christ until he understands and accepts the doctrine of the Fall and its effect upon all mankind.

After God created the earth, Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden. They each had a body of flesh and bones that could not die.

While they were in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were married by the Lord. In the book of Moses 3:18 in the Pearl of Great Price we read, “God brought Adam and Eve together in marriage because ‘it was not good that the man should be alone.’ And in 1 Corinthians 11:11 “...neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.”

So we can see that when Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, they were not yet mortal. In this state, they would have had no children and would not experience death. They had physical life because their spirits were housed in physical bodies made from the dust of the earth. They had spiritual life because they were in the presence of God. To this point, they had not yet made a choice between good and evil.

Now, here’s where Adam and Eve were faced with a dilemma. God gave Adam and Eve two commandments after they were married in the Garden of Eden. God told them in Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 2:17; “...to have children and to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil because if they did partake of the fruit, they would die.”

Why were these commandments posing a dilemma for Adam and Eve? Because they couldn’t have children unless they became mortal, which could only happen if they disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit.

While Adam and Eve were puzzling over their dilemma, along came Lucifer. Remember, Lucifer had been cast out from the premortal existence because of his rebellion, and he became Satan, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men. He sought to destroy the world and the whole plan of salvation, so he tricked Adam and Eve into partaking of the forbidden fruit. But Satan (serpent), not knowing the mind of God (meaning that He didn’t understand that by Adam and Eve partaking of the forbidden fruit the plan of salvation would move forward, not backward) sought to destroy God’s plan and came to Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Satan succeeded in getting Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit and when she told Adam she had eaten some of the fruit, he knew she would have to leave the garden. So he ate some of the fruit, too, so they could stay together. This event (Adam and Eve partaking of the fruit) is what is meant by the Fall.

Take note: Satan lied to her. He knew full well that she would die. But then he told her a truth, that she would be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Doesn’t Satan often do that? He comes into our lives telling us half truths and then when we’re not on guard, he gets us to sin? Or should I say, we make wrong choices based on wrong information?

Let’s take a look at how Satan uses four tricks he used on Adam and Eve to deceive them and he uses those same tricks today.

Trick #1: Satan creates the illusion of restrictions: Satan wanted Eve to feel like God was restricting her by saying in Genesis 3:1, “Yea, hath God said—Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” We know that the gospel doesn’t restrict us, because in John 8:32 says: “And ye shall know that truth and the truth shall make you free.”

How does Satan try to get people to sin today by making them think they’ll be “more free” if they break commandments?

Trick #2: Satan downplays the consequences. Eve told Satan that if she ate of the fruit, she would die, and Satan lied, saying in Genesis 3:5, “Ye shall not surely die; for …ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” While it was true that Eve would be able to know good from evil if she ate the fruit, Satan lied and downplayed the consequences. How does Satan do the same thing today?

Trick #3: Satan uses rationalization and justification. Satan tried to get Eve to rationalize and justify that partaking of the forbidden fruit was okay. Notice in Genesis 3:6 how she says to herself “that the tree was good for food” and “pleasant to the eyes” and “to be desired to make her wise”. Nowhere in this verse does Eve mention that she should partake of the fruit so she can keep the commandment to have children. How does Satan try to get us to sin by rationalizing and justifying our breaking the commandments?

Trick #4: Satan tries to get us to Hide the Sin. After Adam and Eve partook of the fruit, Satan tried to get them to hide from God from their actions and cover up their transgression. In Genesis 3:8 it says: “... Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.”

So, what happened after Adam and Eve fell? Two things happened. First, they were cast out of the presence of God in the Garden of Eden and second, they became mortal and can now have children. These two things are known as Spiritual and Physical death.

Some people believe Adam and Eve committed a serious sin when they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. However, latter-day scriptures help us understand that their Fall was a necessary step in the plan of life and a great blessing to all of us.

Although the Fall of Adam and Eve may seem tragic to some, it was actually a great blessing because it moved the plan of salvation forward.

The Fall is an integral part of Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation. It has a twofold direction—downward yet forward. In addition to introducing physical and spiritual death, it gave us the opportunity to be born on the earth and to learn and progress.

The scriptures say that Eve was even “glad” about their fallen condition. She said in Moses 5:11 “...Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil,...”

Let’s take a look at why Eve was so happy and what the Fall has to do with us.

We get to be born and have a body. We might not realize it, but without the fall we would not be here.

Our spirits enjoy having a physical body so much that when we are dead and separated from our physical body, it will be a bondage.

The scriptures teach in Doctrine and Covenants 45:17: “For as ye have looked upon the long absence of your spirits from your bodies to be a bondage, …”

So next time you do something physical, or touch and feel something, or use your physical body in any way that brings you joy to your life, thank Adam and Eve for falling.

Another blessing that comes because of the Fall is that, in the words of Adam, our eyes are opened, and according to Eve, we have known good and evil. In other words, because of the Fall we have opposition, we know good from evil, and we can use our agency.

Think of living with no opposition, in a boring and neutral world. 2 Nephi 2:23 says: “...having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.” Without the fall there would be no opposition, but, since they did fall, we do have opposition, and therefore we understand opposites.

Because of the Fall, we are born and are mortal—but unfortunately that means we will also die. As a result of the fall, we can sin and become unclean and unworthy to live with God.

Although we don’t inherit Adam and Eve’s transgression, we do inherit their fallen condition, and “we are unworthy before God; Ether 3:2 says, “that because of the fall our natures have become evil continually”. As mortals, we have to battle to overcome the lusts of the flesh like being lazy, selfish, mean, rude, and immortal.

Mosiah in The Book of Mormon teaches in Mosiah 3:19 that “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man …”

Not only that, because of the Fall of Adam and Eve, we get sick, get tired, get hurt, feel pain, and get old. All of these things are a natural, though difficult, part of our fallen condition. Instead of getting angry or crying when we are sick, tired, hurt, or aching, we should say to ourselves, “Oh, this reminds me that I am fallen and I need a Redeemer.”

Perhaps the greatest way the Fall of Adam and Eve affects us is that because of spiritual and physical death, Christ covenanted in Moses 4:1, to come to earth to “redeem all mankind.”

Jesus’ Atonement overcomes all of the effects of the Fall of Adam and Eve, and can bring us back to God’s presence and help us become like Him. Jesus Christ can cleanse us of sin, and rescue and resurrect us from death.

Moroni in the Book of Mormon summarized the entire plan of salvation in Mormon 9:12 this way: “Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man. Because of the Fall of Adam we need a redeemer, and because of Jesus Christ we can be redeemed if we will but come unto Him.

We have now have completed the lessons in ACT 1. It's now time to shift our focus to ACT 2 of the 3 ACT play. In lesson 1 of ACT 2, we will explore the topic of “The purpose of life.”

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• The Fullness of the Gospel: The Fall of Adam and Eve

• The Man Adam: Robert L. Millet

• What Modern Revelation Teaches About Adam: Arthur A. Bailey

• Moses 3:18

• 1 Corinthians 11:11

• Genesis 1:28

• Genesis 2:17

• Genesis 3:4-5

• Genesis 3:1

• John 8:32

• Genesis 3:5

• Genesis 3:8

• Moses 5:11

• Doctrine and Covenants 130:22

• Doctrine and Covenants 45:17

• 2 Nephi 2:23

• Ether 3:2

• Mosiah 3:19

• Mormon 9:12

Meet The Missionaries

Read: The Bible, The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price.