In Mormonism, how is the doctrine of Adam & Eve inability to have children prior to the Fall explained?

Question

Inspired by this answer to a previous question, in which the answerer stated:

"For example, the Book of Mormon adds the belief that Adam and Eve could not have children before the Fall."

Supported by quoting from 2 Nephi 2:22-23:

And now, behold, if 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 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.

This leads me to ask how could this be true, given that God told Adam and Eve to "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." {Genesis 1:28}

It would seem that this is a clear contradiction between the Book of Mormon and the Bible.

How does the LDS church address this apparently-blatant contradiction?

Answer 1

Mormons believe both passages,

1. That Adam and Eve were commanded to multiply (Genesis 1:28).

2. Unless these partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge Adam and Eve could not have children (2 Nephi 2:23).

Also,

3. God commanded them not to partake of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17).

So really, the contradiction in Mormon belief seems to be in the commandments God gives to them: multiply and don't eat...but you can't multiply until you eat.

God is forcing them into a situation in which they cannot follow his commandments. Is God the author of sin?

Other Christians don't face this contradiction because #2 is unique to Mormonism.

AFAIK, there isn't a direct, clear-cut answer to this in canon, but here are two scripturally-supported common explanations.

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Explanation 1: It was a transgression, not a sin

Mormons consider transgressions and sins differently.

A transgression is violating a law. A sin is violating a law, knowing it to be evil.

Joseph Fielding Smith, a President of the LDS Church said

I never speak of the part Eve took in this fall as a sin, nor do I accuse Adam of a sin...This was a transgression of the law, but not a sin...for it was something that Adam and Eve had to do!

Just as Mormons believe little children cannot sin (Moroni 8:8) they believe that Adam and Eve could not sin, as they did not know good from evil.

Thus, God's commandments were not a sadistic trap that forced them to sin. Instead, because they could not sin, he was offering a sin-free choice: live innocently in the garden forever without joy or pain, or leave the garden, know good and evil, and have posterity.

Eve chose the latter and Adam followed.

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Explanation 2: One commandment superceded the other (for now)

An example:

Mankind (according to Mormonism and many other Christian faiths) is still under the command to "multiply and replenish the earth".

However, my adult sister is not participating in this commandment. Why? Though she could physically bear children, she is not married, and God has forbidden adultery/fornication. So on the one hand, God commands her to multiply, but on the other hand, another of God's commandments prevents her, at least for now.

This is the situation that Adam and Eve faced. They were to multiply, but another commandment (temporarily) restricted them from doing that. Had Adam and Eve refrained from partaking of the fruit, circumstances would have changed, i.e. God lifts the restriction, they fulfill his commandment to multiply, without repercussion.

Of course, Adam and Eve chose to take the fruit anyway, and God knew they would, but God wasn't contradicting himself then, just as he isn't contradicting himself now.

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Additional notes

It is worth noting that rather than viewing the Fall of Adam and Eve as an unfortunate and evil accident, one which if it had not happened, everything would be perfect, Mormons see the Fall as necessary to the purpose of life on earth.

Life is an opportunity to learn to choose good over evil. This could not happen if there was not good or evil. (See 2 Nephi 2.)

The sacrifice of the Son of God was planned from "the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8). So also was the Fall -- which necessitated the sacrifice -- known from the beginning. Mormons often describe the Fall as a fall downward, but also forward.

Answer 2

This question deserves a more in-depth answer, but first, let me get something out of the way.

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I posted an answer to Are “sin” and “transgression” different in LDS terminology? that contradicts the regrettably popular opinion that sin and transgression are different. Various Church leaders over time have tried to make Adam and Eve something they were not: obedient. For some reason, they think that making our First Parents into something they weren't will give them greater honor or respect. This simply isn't true. Adam and Eve were without doubt amazing people, but they acted against a commandment of God, and that's a sin, for "sin is a transgression of the law." (1 John 3:4). For details, please click the link. Curiously, this entire issue has nothing to do with your question, but it was brought up as important by Paul Draper and so needed to be addressed.

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The relevant verse from the Book of Mormon is this one:

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. (2 Nephi 2:23, emphasis mine)

That's would, not could. Dogmatically there was no physiological condition preventing Adam and Eve from conceiving children in the Garden. So why wouldn't they? This verse explains that Adam and Eve were innocent. OK, what does that mean?

Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God. (D&C 93:38)¹

Considering that the LDS Church believes there was a council in heaven before the world was created during which Lucifer and a third of the host of heaven rebelled against the Father and were cast out, it's a head-scratcher as to why the Lord would tell Josph Smith that before birth into mortality, every spirit is innocent. The answer is a few verses earlier.

For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy; and when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy. (D&C 93:33-34)

Humanity is innocent of what it means to be mortal before birth into mortality, which includes the ability to procreate. And since disobedience had never before occured and the knowledge that there might be something other than saying "hi" that humans might do had not yet been introduced to the earth, they were stuck, innocent, doing a whole lot of nothing. Which is what we read from the preceeding verse in 2 Nephi.

And now, behold, if 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. (2 Nephi 2:22, emphasis mine)

These statements make some assumptions.

1. That Adam and Eve would never have been enticed of their own selves to sexual activity.

2. That Adam and Eve were not strong enough to avoid all temptation.

Earlier still in the same scriptural discourse we read:

Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other. (2 Nephi 2:16)

Here's where we finally start understanding the problem. Our Heavenly Father wants us to be free, but the only way to be free is to have the power to choose between good and evil, and that was something Adam and Eve did not yet know how to do. They didn't even know the difference between good and evil.

So, how does a mortal parent teach a 6-mo-old child that embezzlement is wrong? That's a mighty complex sin for a very innocent child. What they do, of course, is educate the child — a process that takes years.

Our Heavenly Father used the same process, He just didn't need that much time.

And I, Lehi, according to the things which I have read, must needs suppose that an angel of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that which was evil before God. And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind. Wherefore, he said unto Eve, yea, even that old serpent, who is the devil, who is the father of all lies, wherefore he said: Partake of the forbidden fruit, and ye shall not die, but ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. (2 Nephi 2:17-18)

To this we need to add one key concept that LDS members learn from the Temple endowent: the decision to let Lucifer tempt Adam and Eve was the Father's.

This is unbelievably important.

• The choice to eat the fruit was Adam's.
• The choice to let Adam be tempted was God's.

We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression. (Article of Faith #2)

50% of the reason for Jesus' atoning sacrifice is that being tempted wasn't Adam's fault. But the consequence of Adam's choice affected everybody. A balance had to be restored, and Jesus restored the balance.

The result is that everyone now has access to knowledge and are afflicted by temptation, granting us the privilege of choice, which includes the privilege of choosing to bring children into this world.

Regrettably, there is a component of "we don't know" that must be addressed

The astute observer will notice that I didn't address assumption #1, that Adam and Eve would never be enticed of themselves to sexual activity. And if we pay attention to what Jacob said, "would" vs. "could" doesn't actually matter because he's discussing a consequence of being in the state of perpetual innocence that they "must" have been in (2 Nephi 2:22-23). Grammatically, they couldn't have had children. But this not because of a physiological difference that we don't now a blooming thing about and can only assume or speculate, it's because of the innocence of spirits when first brought into a mortal body and are then left without influence (the influence of knowledge or temptation).

They didn't know how to procreate and there was no enticement to learn.

In other words, we simply do not know if Adam and Eve could have physiologically conceived children before the Fall and if they could, we do not know if (given the possibility of an infinite amount of time) whether or not they would have eventually discovered their sexuality.

About this aspect we do not know. From the perspective of fallen Man we simply don't have the perspective to answer that question. Our only point of reference is a laughing happy baby... which does not have any sexual proclivity.

We also don't worry about it as it isn't how events played out.

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_{¹ This is one of the two scriptural reasons why the LDS Church does not endorse infant baptism (the other being Moroni 8:5-8). Due to the atonment of Christ, all people born into the world are as innocent as Adam and Eve were before the Fall. And just as Adam and Eve had to learn (via the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil), all children must learn, and will not be held accountable until they have.}

Answer 3

First, Adam and Eve were also waiting for further light and Knowledge When Lucifer came tempting. We don't know what would have been provided.

Second, Lucifer was out of line for giving them the fruit using the excuse that he was only doing what was done elsewhere. It was not his place to do it. But it may be inferred that it was normal and expected for the fruit to be given at an an appropriate time by someone authorized to give it.

What if they would have eventually been given the fruit with proper preparation at the right time by an authorized party rather than yielding to temptation?

Answer 4

So, having been raised by LDS parents who have completely eaten up the theory that Adam and Eve (and Eve in particular) present morally upstanding behavior to emulate, I am pretty firm that LDS church leaders often get issues relating to the Fall very wrong. The issue of Adam and Eve being unable to have children is an interesting theological question, but I maintain that a person cannot make meaningful progress in understanding that issue, unless and until they understand and accept the basic underlying doctrines of the Fall, human nature, and the Atonement.

To me, the first place to start is to acknowledge that each of the canonized standard works proclaims that Adam and Eve acted wrongfully, and that their wrongful conduct tells us something about our own human natures. Here's a sampling:

Old Testament

• "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." Genesis 3:13.

Pearl of Great Price

• "And Satan . . . sought also to beguile Eve . . . ." Moses 4:6.
• "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." Moses 4:19.

New Testament

• "[T]he serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety . . . ." 2 Corinthians 11:3.
• "[T]he woman being deceived was in . . . transgression." 1 Timothy 2:14.

Book of Mormon

• "[T]he devil . . . is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents . . . ." Ether 8:25.
• "[A]ll men [are] lost, because of the transgression of their parents." 2 Nephi 2:21.
• "And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents . . . ." 2 Nephi 9:9.
• "[B]ehold, . . . his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam . . . . 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 enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord . . . ." Mosiah 3:11-12, 19.
• "[T]hey are carnal and devilish, and the devil has power over them; yea, even that old serpent that did beguile our first parents, which was the cause of their fall; which was the cause of all mankind becoming carnal, sensual, devilish, knowing evil from good, subjecting themselves to the devil. Thus all mankind were lost; and behold, they would have been endlessly lost were it not that God redeemed his people from their lost and fallen state. But remember that he that persists in his own carnal nature, and goes on in the ways of sin and rebellion against God, remaineth in his fallen state and the devil hath all power over him. . . . [H]e is as though there was no redemption made, being an enemy to God . . . ." Mosiah 16:3-5.

Doctrine and Covenants

• "There is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting . . . he created man, male and female . . . and gave unto them commandments that they should love and serve him, the only living and true God, . . . [b]ut by the transgression of these holy laws man became sensual and devilish, and became fallen man. Wherefore, the Almighty God gave his Only Begotten Son . . . ." Doctrine and Covenants 20:17-21.

And, finally, directly out of God's own mouth:

• "Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, the Great I AM, whose arm of mercy hath atoned for your sins . . . . Behold, I gave unto [Adam, your father, whom I created,] that he should be an agent unto himself; and I gave unto him commandment . . . . And it came to pass that Adam, being tempted of the devil . . . partook of the forbidden fruit and transgressed the commandment, wherein he became subject to the will of the devil, because he yielded unto temptation. Wherefore, I, the Lord God, caused that he should be cast out . . . from my presence, because of his transgression, wherein he became spiritually dead . . . ." Doctrine & Covenants 29: 1, 35-36, 40-41.

It seems pretty clear to me that in modern revelation, canonized as part of the standard works, stated in Jesus Christ's own voice, God directly tells us that Adam yielded unto temptation. By this transgression, he became spiritually dead. By this transgression, he became subject to the will of the devil. And by this transgression, he fundamentally failed in loving and serving God - the first and greatest commandment.

It seems to me that this statement from God himself is a far more authoritative statement than any other commentary contained in the standard works, or any other theological musings from any particular member or leader. Adam and Eve yielded to temptation. Adam and Eve were deceived, beguiled. Adam and Eve became devilish, fallen, carnal, sensual . . . spiritually dead. They did not act virtuously. They did not act with heightened knowledge and awareness of God's greater power and purposes. They erred. They erred to such an extent that they became spiritually dead. (See 1 John 5:17 ("All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death."); see also 1 John 5:16 ("There is a sin unto death")) Adam and Eve, in the Fall, do not present us with a model of behavior to strive for. Any argument that the doctrine of the Church is or should be to the contrary (i.e., that Adam and Eve do present us with a morally appropriate, or otherwise acceptable, model of behavior), seems directly opposed to God’s direct language, and even to the doctrine of the atonement more generally.

To be frank, I don't see any realistic way that theories that Adam and Eve acted virtuously, innocently, or only erred in a de mimimis manner, can be reconciled with scripture or fundamental doctrines about the Fall, human nature, and the Atonement. There are other ways to understand and teach 2 Nephi 2 which prioritize an emphasis on the atonement, and which I think would be more spiritually uplifting, and more conducive to the development of Christlike attributes.

• On a side note, I observe that the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants, rather than trying to say Eve acted rightfully, lump Adam in to the transgression to expressly state that he also erred.