2

This question is about this section in Journal of Discourses, Vol 1, p.50 (approx. half-way down the page):

When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is Michael, the Archangel, the Ancient of Days! about whom holy men have written and spoken—He is our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do. Every man upon the earth, professing Christians or non-professing, must hear it, and will know it sooner or later. They came here, organized the raw material, and arranged in their order the herbs of the field, the trees, the apple, the peach, the plum, the pear, and every other fruit that is desirable and good for man; the seed was brought from another sphere, and planted in this earth. The thistle, the thorn, the brier, and the obnoxious weed did not appear until after the earth was cursed. When Adam and Eve had eaten of the forbidden fruit, their bodies became mortal from its effects, and therefore their offspring were mortal. When the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his own likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. And who is the Father? He is the first of the human family; and when he took a tabernacle, it was begotten by his Father in heaven, after the same manner as the tabernacles of Cain, Abel, and the rest of the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve

I chose to include a rather large section to show that the term "Father" is in the section used only about Adam. The question I have is however only about this part in above text:

When the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his own likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. And who is the Father? He is the first of the human family;

From other postings at this site (such as in the accepted answer to this question) I understand that the Mormon church does not officially view material in the Journal of Discourses as doctrine.

On another hand it looks like above section contains text that is currently viewed as part of the official doctrine, such as the concept that Adam is also Archangel Michael.

For this reason I wanted to ask about the statement, that seems to be made above, that Jesus was not begotten by the Holy Spirit but by Adam.

  1. Does the Mormon church currently believe that Adam made Mary pregnant?
  2. If this is the case, is Adam viewed as having been in the flesh or as a spirit being when he made Mary pregnant?
1

2 Answers 2

7

No, Mormons do not believe that.

The doctrine was never submitted to the councils of the Priesthood nor to the church for approval or ratification, and was never formally or otherwise accepted by the church. It is therefore in no sense binding upon the Church. Brigham Young's "bare mention" was "without indubitable evidence and authority being given of its truth." Only the scripture, the "accepted word of God," is the Church's standard.

—Joseph F. Smith, letter to A. Saxey, January 7, 1897, HDC.

The best we can figure, as far as I know, is that Brigham Young was misquoted or, at least, it was entirely his opinion. Today the LDS Church refutes it as false doctrine.

2

First off, you are correct. The Journal of Discourses is not canonized scripture and not considered doctrine:

The Journal of Discourses is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a compilation of sermons and other materials from the early years of the Church, which were transcribed and then published. It included some doctrinal instruction but also practical teaching, some of which is speculative in nature and some of which is only of historical interest.

Answer 1: Absolutely not. We believe the Biblical Account.

Answer 2: Irrelevant because the LDS church does not teach that.

Side note: Yes, the church does teach Adam is Michael the archangel, great job with a source directly from LDS.org.

2
  • Is there any way to support this claim (that Adam is Michael) by the Biblical account alone? Commented Jun 17, 2016 at 18:38
  • 1
    Biblically, I don't think I have seen anything. The only scriptural account I have seen is in The Doctrine and Covenants 107:54, Modern LDS scripture. lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/107.54?lang=eng#53
    – staples
    Commented Jun 20, 2016 at 14:31

You must log in to answer this question.