Gerald Lund writes that one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted doctrines in all of Christianity is the doctrine of the fall of Adam. Elder James E. Talmage said,
It has become a common practice with mankind to heap reproaches upon the progenitors of the family, and to picture the supposedly blessed state in which we would be living but for the fall; whereas our first parents are entitled to our deepest gratitude for their legacy to posterity--the means of winning title to glory, exaltation and eternal lives. (Articles of Faith, p. 70)
Lehi’s great blessing to his son Jacob is so full of doctrine and profound meaning on the “fall of man” (2 Nephi 2:4) that virtually every sentence and, in some cases, every word takes on great significance. In this regard, Lehi’s speech, although doctrinal, takes on the added effect of being a literary proof of the Book of Mormon. An explanation is in order not only because of this speech’s succinctness, but because it’s ordered reasoning explains the fall in a manner even many Latter-day Saints fail to comprehend.
According to Lund, Lehi first outlines 5 important points that must be understood before he can discuss the Fall and the redemption of man.
Fundamental 1: “The Spirit is the same, yesterday, today, and forever” (2 Nephi 2:4). This is a significant point, especially for the so-called Christian world. It means the Atonement is retroactive, or omni-directional, that it doesn’t matter when one is born, the redemptive power works in one’s behalf.
Fundamental 2: “The way is prepared from the fall of man” (2 Nephi 2:4). Lehi reminds his son that the plan to redeem men from the Fall was laid from the very beginning (see D&C 124:33, 41; 128:5; 130:20). It implies a pre-existence. When Adam fell there was not a mad scramble in heaven to determine what to do.
Fundamental 3: “Salvation is free” (2 Nephi 2:4). Such a profound statement in three simple words.
Fundamental 4: “Men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil” (2 Nephi 2:5) Moroni, citing the words of his father, Mormon, said,
For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God (Moroni 7:16).
Fundamental 5: “By the law no flesh is justified” (2 Nephi 2:5). In this simple statement lies the primary reason that there must be a redeemer. According to the law of justice, for every obedience to the law there is a blessing; however for every violation of the law there is a punishment. Because all men sin, they must be “cut off” temporally and must “perish” spiritually.
Principle of Redemption: “Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah” (2 Nephi 2:6) The five principles lead the reader to a principle, which stands apart. Very simply put, Lehi states that men are condemned by the law but redeemed by the Messiah. Lehi’s qualifying statement about the Messiah is interesting in and of itself; he adds “for he is full of grace and truth.” In the LDS Bible Dictionary we find the following definition for “grace”:
The main idea of the word is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ… . This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts. (p. 697)
Lehi’s point is that if Christ were not full of this grace or “enabling power,” he could not possibly redeem man.
Lehi’s next statement is that the Holy Messiah offers himself as “a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law” (2 Nephi 2:7). Going back to the law of justice, one could say that there are only two ways to satisfy the demands of that law. The first is to keep the law perfectly, the second would be to pay the penalty for any violations of it. Christ kept the law perfectly. Not once in his entire mortal life did Jesus violate the law in any way. But Christ did more than this. Adding to what his father taught, Jacob declares in 2 Nephi 9:21: “Behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam.” Thus Christ satisfied the law of justice in both dimensions.
Lehi also indicates in verse 7 that the sacrifice answered the ends of the law only for those who have “a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” Then he added, “unto none else” will that be done. To better understand why Lehi makes this statement and what it fully means for us, let us examine the doctrine of grace and works.
Protestants, especially Evangelical Christians, cite several references from the writings of Paul to indicate that a man is saved by grace (see Acts 16:31; Romans 3:28; 10:13; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9). In order to counter this argument, many Mormons have reasoned as follows. On the cross, the Savior gave up his life and overcame physical death through the resurrection, which gift he gives freely to all, an unconditional blessing which explains how we are “saved by grace” without any works on our part. But there is a second spiritual part of the redemption which was done in the Garden of Gethsemane. Here the Savior took upon himself the sins of the world and suffered for all mankind. This suffering redeems the soul from hell, but this gift is not unconditional. Here men must do certain things to have this redemption operate in their behalf--thus exaltation by our works. Thus, one is saved (resurrected) by grace but we are exalted (redeemed) by our works.
According to Lund, the only problem with the above argument is that it contains four major doctrinal errors:
(1) The first error lies in the assumption that somehow salvation is different from exaltation. With very few exceptions, the scriptures almost always use the word salvation as synonymous with exaltation (see D&C 6:13 for example). To imply that salvation means only resurrection cannot be supported by scripture.
(2) The second doctrinal error lies in the idea that the suffering and death on the cross covered only the effects of physical death, and that the suffering in the Garden covered only the effects of spiritual death. Such an explanation is not justified by scripture either, nowhere do we find even any indications. The agony in the Garden and the suffering on the cross were both integral parts of the atoning sacrifice.
(3) The third error is that our works exalt us. One of Lehi’s fundamental points is that no man can be justified, or saved, on the basis of works alone. It is by the merits, mercy and grace of the Holy Messiah (see 2 Nephi 2:8) that we are saved. We are exalted by righteous works, but they are the Savior’s works, not our own. This is what Nephi meant when he said “for we know that it is by grace [which quality the Messiah is filled with--see 2 Nephi 2:6] we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23).
(4) The fourth error is the idea that coming back into the presence of God (overcoming spiritual death) is conditional upon how we live. If men are to be “punished for their own sins and not for Adam’s transgression” (2nd Article of Faith), and if our separation from God was originally caused by the fall of Adam, then we can’t be punished (or separated from God) according to how we live.
The fall of Adam did bring two deaths into the world--physical death and spiritual death. But as far as it applies to Adam’s fall, Christ’s redemption is unconditional and applies to all. In other words, since we did nothing to be under the effects of the Fall, except come through the lineage of Adam, it is not just that we should have to meet any condition to have those effects taken away from us. Accordingly, in verse 10, Lehi says, “And because of [Christ’s] intercession for all, all men come unto God; wherefore, they stand in the presence of him, to be judged of him according to the truth and holiness which is in him”
So now we must reconsider Lehi’s fourth fundamental point, that all men “are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil” (v. 5). If we know good from evil and then sin, then we must talk about a second fall. This is not the fall of Adam. This is one’s own personal fall. Once a person reaches the age of accountability and sins, unless something happens to change him, when he is brought back into God’s presence at the judgment, he will not be allowed to stay. This is what Lehi meant when he said that the sacrifice which the Messiah offered to satisfy the ends of the law is viable only for those with “a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (v. 7). This condition comes through faith and godly sorrow (see 2 Corinthians 7:9-10) and is called repentance. It brings one to participate in the redemptive covenant ordinances--baptism, confirmation, receiving the priesthood and the temple ordinances. Those who refuse to make this “new sacrifice” (3 Nephi 9:20) are characterized in the scriptures as having hard hearts and proud spirits. These are conditions that lead some to reject the workings of the covenant ordinances, even though, in some cases, the outward ordinances may have been performed.
According to the illustration (see chart below) those who do meet the conditions of a broken heart and a contrite spirit are eligible for the “mediation” and “intercession” (2 Nephi 2:9-10, 27) of the Messiah. In Lehi’s words, Christ’s life and death serve as a “sacrifice for sin” (see v. 7). Thus the demands of the law are met and justice is paid--not robbed (see Alma 42:25). For those who do not meet the basic requirement of having broken hearts and contrite spirits, Christ’s redemption becomes inoperative. They must pay the price themselves (see D&C 19:4, 15-17).
Principle of the Fall: So why the Fall? Lehi proceeds to answer this question with a marvelous chain of logical reasoning. His linchpin argument is summarized in 2 Nephi 2:11: "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. The rest of verse 11 and all of verses 12-15 explain the reason there must needs be opposition (see illustration below). In summary, God could not bring about his purposes with mankind (their immortality and eternal life) without opposition or opposing alternatives, for without them, there would be no accountability. So opposition is necessary to man’s progression, but God could not create it. Lehi explains how this was resolved:
1. Opposition is necessary for man’s progression (v. 11).
2. The Lord set up opposing choices (v. 15).
3. He gave man his agency (v. 16).
4. In order to make that agency operative, both choices had to be enticing (v. 16; see also D&C 29:39).
5. God allowed Satan to operate in the Garden and in this world to allow the negative option to be enticing in opposition to the positive one (vv. 17-18).
When Lehi had established the reason for the Fall, he discussed the results of it for us. He pointed out that once the Fall had taken place and men were born into the world under its effects, this life became a state of probation or a time for man to prove themselves. He indicated that the days of the children of men were prolonged so they might repent and thus begin to bring into operation the plan of redemption (12 Nephi 2:21). As he did this, Lehi further emphasized the importance of the Fall by pointing out what would have happened had the Fall never taken place (see vv. 22-23). When one examines the conditions that resulted from the Fall, it becomes evident that all of them are necessary for the progression of mankind toward Godhood, for them to prove themselves and to become accountable before God.
Lehi ends by noting that all alternatives for man boil down to one simple ultimate choice:
Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil (2 Nephi 2:27). Lehi witnesses that he has “chosen the good part” (v. 30).
[Gerald N. Lund, “The Fall of Man and His Redemption,” in The Book of Mormon: Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure, pp. 83-106]
2 Nephi 2:4 The way is prepared from the fall of man ([Illustration] #1): He Offereth Himself unto Those with a Broken Heart. [Gerald N. Lund, “The Fall of Man and His Redemption,” in The Book of Mormon: Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure, p. 98]
2 Nephi 2:4 The way is prepared from the fall of man ([Illustration] #2): Lehi’s Chain of Reasoning. [Gerald N. Lund, “The Fall of Man and His Redemption,” in The Book of Mormon: Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure, pp. 100-101]
2 Nephi 2:8 How Great the Importance to Make These Things Known unto the Inhabitants of the Earth:
According to Robert Matthews, it is interesting that of the blessings Lehi gave to his sons, that which he gave to Jacob is the most philosophical in content (2 Nephi 2). The blessing fits the mind and disposition of Jacob. Jacob is the outstanding doctrinal teacher of the Book of Mormon. He well follows the admonition given to him by his father Lehi, “how great the importance to make these things known unto the children of the earth” (2 Nephi 2:8). [Robert J. Matthews, Who’s Who in the Book of Mormon, p. 63]