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This question is about the following explanation from this page at lds.org:

“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.

“And [Adam and Eve] 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.

And the passage in Genesis 3:16 (NIV) records the following statement from God to Eve after the "fall":

To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

The question is: why would God make Eve's childbearing severe and painful after the fall, if the fall was needed for them to accomplish God's plan?

(I would have thought the verbal expression from God in this case should then have been something along the lines of "Yesss! Congrats! You chose well, both of you. Now go forth and multiply.")

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  • The scripture you quote "And [Adam and Eve] would have had no children" is the basis for the Mormon doctrine that, without the Fall, Eve would not have born any children in the first place. So I think a question that is equivalent to yours is: "Why did God make child bearing painful?"
    – NeutronStar
    Jun 13, 2017 at 13:14
  • I think if you're going to ask LDS questions, you should probably use the same Bible translation the LDS read from; the KJV. LDS don't accept the NIV as a correct translation. the KJV reads: "16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."
    – ShemSeger
    Jun 14, 2017 at 2:17
  • @ShemSeger's comment is a bit of an oversimplification. The LDS Church accepts the Bible as far as it is translated correctly, and uses the KJV because it has been found to have the most correct translation overall. That doesn't necessarily mean it has the most correct translation for this particular verse, though the differences in translation are interesting. See christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/57290/…
    – NeutronStar
    Jun 15, 2017 at 13:39
  • Does any other Christian religion have a specific doctrine on why childbearing is painful?
    – depperm
    Jun 15, 2017 at 13:40
  • @depperm, according to Jehovah's Witnesses it seems to be as a consequence of Eve's sin. Their thought is that the birth process would have been painless if she had not sinned. See e.g. the first two paragraphs in this article. The JW view is that there was nothing positive in the consequences pronounced on Adam and Eve after their sin, that their sin actually worked against God's purpose (which was for the entire earth to be a paradise inhabited by perfect humans), and that it was not necessary for them to sin for this to be accomplished.
    – x457812
    Jun 15, 2017 at 16:26

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While there may not be a direct answer, that is specifically answered in LDS (Mormons) doctrine, there are a few that together may provide an answer. The LDS have a strong belief in opposites.

2 Nephi 2:11

For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.

The LDS also believe in having children and that they are a blessing. Elder Neil L. Anderson said:

It is a crowning privilege of a husband and wife who are able to bear children to provide mortal bodies for these spirit children of God. We believe in families, and we believe in children.1

The LDS understand that pain is part of being mortal2.

But like everything pain has it's opposite: joy, happiness, etc (which come later). (in my words)

On intense pain Elder Robert D. Hales said:

In the past two years, I have waited upon the Lord for mortal lessons to be taught me through periods of physical pain, mental anguish, and pondering. I learned that constant, intense pain is a great consecrating purifier that humbles us and draws us closer to God’s Spirit.3

See also:

The Family - A Proclamation to the World

Opposition in All Things

1 https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/children?lang=eng

2 https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2005/10/the-sanctity-of-the-body?lang=eng

3 https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1998/10/healing-soul-and-body?lang=eng

Emphasis added by me

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