{"id":42358,"date":"2021-12-29T13:05:30","date_gmt":"2021-12-29T18:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.timesandseasons.org\/?p=42358"},"modified":"2022-01-12T09:04:04","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T14:04:04","slug":"the-contradictory-commands-part-1-isnt-it-about-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2021\/12\/the-contradictory-commands-part-1-isnt-it-about-time\/","title":{"rendered":"The Contradictory Commands, Part 1: Isn’t It About … Time?"},"content":{"rendered":"

One Sunday while I was on my mission, I was asked to teach the Gospel Principles class. \u00a0The class was very small (just the missionaries and one part member family we\u2019d been teaching), and the subject was the Fall of Adam and Eve. \u00a0I remember this lesson, because I was explaining conditions in the Garden of Eden and the results of the Fall. \u00a0The manual summarizes the scriptures and doctrines by stating that: \u201cWhen Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, they were not yet mortal. In this state, \u2018they would have had no children\u2019 (2 Nephi 2:23). \u00a0There was no death.\u201d[1]<\/a> \u00a0Yet the very next paragraph taught that: \u201cGod commanded them to have children. He said, \u2018Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth\u2026\u2019 (Moses 2:28). God told them they could freely eat of every tree in the garden except one, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Of that tree God said, \u2018In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.\u2019 (Moses 3:17).\u201d[2]<\/a> \u00a0I did my best to explain these ideas, and one of the people in the class pointed out that these two things seem to contradict one another\u2014In the garden, they couldn\u2019t have children. God commanded them to have children but also commanded them to not do the thing that would allow them to have children\u2014partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. \u00a0I didn\u2019t have a good answer, and told them as such. \u00a0We sat there for a minute with puzzled expressions on our faces, shrugged, and then moved on with the rest of the lesson.<\/p>\n

Since that time, I have given the dilemma of the two contradictory commands God gave in Eden a lot of thought. \u00a0Through my study and thinking, I have come up with three possible answers to the dilemma. \u00a0I do not consider any of them completely satisfying, but they are worth consideration. The three are: (1) The issue was one of timing and obedience, (2) God wanted to give them a final chance to exercise their agency to decide if they would enter the harsh conditions of mortality<\/a>, and (3) The issue is based in the records through which we receive the story<\/a>. \u00a0I\u2019ll consider each of these in an individual post, starting with the timing and obedience one, since that one is one that is discussed less often.<\/p>\n

The essence of this view is that God gave them the two commands with the understanding that (at some point in the future) they could move beyond the command to not partake of the fruit to fulfill the command to multiply and fill the earth. \u00a0By choosing to partake of the fruit at Satan\u2019s request at a time where God\u2019s command was to not partake, Eve and Adam brought condemnation upon themselves.<\/p>\n

In our scriptures, one of Satan\u2019s greatest goals seems to be receiving the respect and worship that is due to God. \u00a0In the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, when Moses confronts Satan, the devil\u2019s opening barrage is: \u201cMoses, son of man, worship me\u201d (Moses 1:12), a refrain which is repeated throughout the encounter. \u00a0Elsewhere, we read that Lucifer offered to be the Savior in a time prior to mortal life on earth, saying: \u201cBehold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor<\/em>\u201d (Moses 4:1, emphasis added). Satan\u2019s goal, according to this same section, was to \u201cdestroy the agency of man . . . and also, that [God] should give unto him [God\u2019s] own power\u201d (Moses 4:3). \u00a0After being cast out, Satan \u201cbecame . . . the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto [God\u2019s] voice\u201d (Moses 4:4). \u00a0In all these situations, Satan is obsessed with receiving honor, worship, power, and control over humankind.<\/p>\n

Applying this insight to the Fall of Adam and Eve, a Religious Studies scholar from BYU named M. Catherine Thomas wrote that: \u201cWe have to learn something about the adversary\u2019s objectives. When the Lord gave Adam dominion over the earth, one of Lucifer\u2019s first designs was to wrest this power from Adam and his posterity.\u201d[3]<\/a> \u00a0As recorded in a revelation to Joseph Smith, Adam \u201cbecame subject to the will of the devil, because he yielded unto temptation\u201d (D&C 29:40). \u00a0Building on this idea, Thomas wrote that:<\/p>\n

I suggest one possibility concerning the way in which Eve was deceived. \u00a0Eve in the garden occupies a position similar to the Savior\u2019s in the wilderness when Satan tried to tempt him to turn the stones into bread. \u00a0The Savior recognized Satan and refused to do his bidding with the words: \u201cMan shall . . . live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God\u201d (Matthew 4:4). \u00a0Jesus refused Satan because to do what Satan bade him do would have put him in subjection to Satan, which consequence would have relieved him of his messiahship. \u00a0Eve apparently did not recognize Satan and may not have understood about subjection to him. \u00a0Their eating the fruit at his enticement nevertheless placed them in that subjection (see D&C 29:40). \u00a0Is it possible that the deception rested in the fact that Eve took it from the wrong hand, having listened to the wrong voice?[4]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although discussed in a different context, M. Catherine Thomas\u2019s insights apply to a discussion about contradictory commands. \u00a0Perhaps the problem with partaking of the forbidden fruit was that by doing so, Eve and Adam chose to follow Satan\u2019s commands rather than God\u2019s commands.<\/p>\n

A connected idea that helps make sense of this approach is that the two commands were conditional on time and situation. \u00a0A comparison is that we are still told that \u201cGod\u2019s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.\u201d[5]<\/a> \u00a0Yet, according to The Family: A Proclamation to the World, \u201cGod has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.\u201d[6]<\/a> \u00a0For individuals who are not married, these two commands would be contradictory in a similar way to how the two commands given to Adam and Eve were contradictory\u2014you are supposed to have children, but you can only do so by using the powers of procreation that are restricted to marriage. \u00a0When the timing is right, however, these individuals can be married and fulfill both commandments. \u00a0There would, by extension, be some way in which Adam and Eve could move beyond the state where they could not have children while still respecting the command to not partake of the fruit.<\/p>\n

One possibility is that God would have eventually given the command to partake of the fruit or acted in some other way to allow Adam and Eve to experience mortal life and have children. \u00a0Elder James E. Talmage suggested that: \u201cIf it can be supposed that our first parents had not fallen surely some other means would have been employed to initiate the conditions of mortality on earth.\u201d[7]<\/a> \u00a0In this hypothetical scenario, the two commands were both intended to be fulfilled in the way and time God wanted. \u00a0For the time being, they were supposed to stay in the garden and not partake of the fruit, but when the time was ripe, God would have provided the way for them to move forward.<\/p>\n

All of this, however, is extremely speculative. \u00a0There is no indication in the scriptures that God was planning on doing something to allow Adam and Eve to enter mortality later on. \u00a0Actually, Lehi indicates that \u201cif Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end\u201d (2 Nephi 2:22). There are also no conditions listed in which Adam and Eve would have been allowed to partake of the forbidden fruit. \u00a0This makes the comparison to procreation being restricted to marriage somewhat of a stretch, because there is an obvious, known solution to resolve the contradiction\u2014single individuals can get married and then have children (though this is easier said than done sometimes on both fronts). \u00a0With the records that we have, there is no comparable resolution to the contradiction of commands to not partake of the fruit and to also have children. \u00a0Hence, this solution is still not completely satisfying from an intellectual perspective.<\/p>\n

While not completely sufficient, this idea does have some positive aspects to it. \u00a0It allows for Satan\u2019s deception of an ignorant Adam and Eve and explains why God seems frustrated when He talks with them after they eat the fruit, even though it still fit into His plan. \u00a0It provides an important lesson to us (and to Eve and Adam) about Satan\u2019s goals and what happens when we listen to his voice rather than God\u2019s voice. There may be truth to it, but there are areas of this theory that we just don\u2019t know enough to speak with any certainty.<\/p>\n

Next time, we\u2019ll discuss the approach that has been most favorably discussed in the Church.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Footnotes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Gospel Principles <\/em>(Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2009), <\/em>28.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Gospel Principles<\/em>, 28.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> M. Catherine Thomas, Selected Writings of M. Catherine Thomas <\/em>(Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 2000), 229.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> M Catherine Thomas, Spiritual Lightening<\/em> (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1996), 53.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> The Family: A Proclamation to the World.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> The Family: A Proclamation to the World.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> James E. Talmage, Sunday Night Talks by Radio<\/em>, 2nd<\/sup> ed. (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1931), 69.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One Sunday while I was on my mission, I was asked to teach the Gospel Principles class. \u00a0The class was very small (just the missionaries and one part member family we\u2019d been teaching), and the subject was the Fall of Adam and Eve. \u00a0I remember this lesson, because I was explaining conditions in the Garden of Eden and the results of the Fall. \u00a0The manual summarizes the scriptures and doctrines by stating that: \u201cWhen Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, they were not yet mortal. In this state, \u2018they would have had no children\u2019 (2 Nephi 2:23). \u00a0There was no death.\u201d[1] \u00a0Yet the very next paragraph taught that: \u201cGod commanded them to have children. He said, \u2018Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth\u2026\u2019 (Moses 2:28). God told them they could freely eat of every tree in the garden except one, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Of that tree God said, \u2018In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.\u2019 (Moses 3:17).\u201d[2] \u00a0I did my best to explain these ideas, and one of the people in the class pointed out that these two things seem to contradict one another\u2014In the garden, they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10397,"featured_media":42364,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2895,18,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-come-follow-me-currculum","category-general-doctrine","category-scriptures"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/4XARRFXX6NFDLBD76SA6SVAE6Y.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10397"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42358"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42398,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42358\/revisions\/42398"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}