I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes erroneously called the “Mormon” church). I was reading in The Book of Mormon, which is another testament of Jesus Christ and a record of His ministry in ancient America, when I came across a section of scripture that made me sit back and think. It was 2 Nephi 2:18-27. It talks about how Adam and Eve fell, and the consequences of their actions. It is summed up in verses 23 and 25: “And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.… Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”
The Fall of Adam and Eve allowed all of us to come to the earth.
This scripture is inspirational and comforting. It teaches us that the Fall of Man was necessary for the progression of man. If Adam and Eve had never partaken of the fruit, we would never be alive because they couldn’t procreate. The verse also explains joy and misery, and how you can’t know one without knowing the other. We cannot know the difference between two things until we have experienced them. You can’t experience heartbreak without first being in love. This is the same way with Adam and Eve, except that they could not really experience anything. The Fall actually saved them from their ignorance. In the verse before, in explains that nothing would have an end, because there would be no death. Here again, we see that the Fall allowed for man to progress in his quest to become like Heavenly Father.
In my religion class at BYU, we study The Book of Mormon to extrapolate meaning in the doctrine it teaches us. We learn from things that aren’t usually noticed by the casual reader. It teaches us to pay attention to the little details. This passage is one that bears witness of the plan that Heavenly Father has for us, and how we can progress on our path towards righteousness. This Plan of Salvation explains who we are and where we’re going. The Fall was an essential part of this plan, and so we must appreciate all that has been done for us.
This post was written by Alex D., a student at Brigham Young University and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Additional Resources:
Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon
Read/watch/listen to “Lessons From Eve” by a Mormon Apostle
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