The LDS "Articles of Faith" (Jesus Christ, ritual, Latter-Day Saints)

[jonny]

Originally Posted by bible truth

Hey Nutshell,

That's a very solid answer. I will need to get a more detailed doctrinal statement from the LDS church to continue on the subject. This is a very significant topic that changes the gospel. For instance, what was actually lost in the fall, in regards to free will, man's ability or inability, our relationship to God at birth, etc. Do you have additional official LDS doctrine that you can post as a link regarding Adam and point 2? - BT

I answered this question over and over again in our debate. I had a feeling that you were not reading the answers...

[DeepShadow]

Let's let BT go in whatever order he wants. As we're rebutting his arguments, it makes sense he gets to control the direction. We just need to keep this logically solid and Biblically sound.

[Bishka]

Originally Posted by DeepShadow

Let's let BT go in whatever order he wants. As we're rebutting his arguments, it makes sense he gets to control the direction. We just need to keep this logically solid and Biblically sound.

Whatever He's ignoring me anyway, so I could say something and he wouldn't even know! You guys do what you want, I was actually trying to to get Bible Truth to stick to something that was started, but I don't think that's possible.

[FFH]

Article of Faith

2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.

Bible Truth,

This is probably the least understood article of faith, and thus the reason why the aggrevation felt by most of us when challenged to try and explain this belief.

Personally I have been pondering this Article of Faith for the last month or two for some reason, maybe because God wants us to understand this part of our belief better.

The thought that keeps coming to my mind over and over may sound silly to most...

Let's look at the punishment affixed to Adam as a result of partaking of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

1) He was now subject to death and sin
2) He would now eat bread by the sweat of his brow

Article of Faith number 2 suggests we don't have to suffer from this transgression committed by Adam.

However if we sin against God's laws we will suffer the same consequences as Adam...

We will be subject to death and sin and will have to eat bread by the sweat of our brow.

If we keep all the commandmetns (do not sin against any of God's laws) we could be spared death, sin and toil...

If you think this is not so, then why was Enoch and his whole city translated?

God in his mercy could not withhold the blessings of heaven and took the city of Enoch unto himself and they were spared the daily toils of this life, were instantly resurrected (being no longer subject to death) and were also no longer subject to sin, because they were in the presence of God.

They were no longer subject to death (first curse broken), no longer subject to sin/temptations, being in the presence of God (second curse broken) and finally they were at rest (third cuse broken).

And of course no more sorrow in conception (Eve's curse)

The curse of Adam's transgression was also taken from Elijah when he was translated and the same can be said to all else who were taken from this life without dying and even those who have died prematurely have been spared a lifetime of toil and sorrow, death (old age) and sin.

A more standard answer might be that we can be spared the curse of Adam by repenting and excercising faith in Christ unto salvation...

A resurrected body is a free gift to all, but escape from sin and the toils of this life take effort on our part.

God requires a willing and obedient heart for the curse of sin and the toils of this life to be taken from our lives..

[quadrophenic_9]

Good answer, I never thought of it that way.

[Comprehend]

Original Sin
Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1-4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan, 1992),, p.1052-152,1052


While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that the transgression of Adam and Eve brought death into the world and made all mortals subject to temptation, suffering, and weakness, it denies that any culpability is automatically transmitted to Adam and Eve's offspring. All mortals commit sin, but they will be punished "for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression" (A of F 2).

IN OTHER FAITHS. The doctrine of original sin as taught traditionally states that, due to the Fall of Adam, infants are born tainted with actual sin, resulting in the "privation of sanctifying grace"; this dogma "does not attribute to the children of Adam any properly so-called responsibility for the act of their father," nor is it a voluntary sin "in the strict sense of the word," yet it is a "real sin" (S. Harent, "Original Sin," in Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 ed., Vol. 11, p. 315). All people, according to this doctrine, except the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ, inherit an actual, existing personal guilt (see Immaculate Conception). A corollary of this belief is the doctrine of infant baptism, holding that infants are to be baptized to remove this sin because those who die without baptism remain unsanctified and forever excluded from heaven and the presence of God.

The doctrine of original sin derives from an interpretation given to the writings of Paul, particularly Romans 5:12-21, by some theologians of the second and third centuries. More than any other, Augustine in the fifth century transformed Paul's teachings on the Fall into the doctrine of original sin. His views were adopted as doctrine and formally canonized by the decrees of the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century. According to this view, Adam's sin is considered "original" because it arose with the "origin" of man.
Protestantism largely accepts this doctrine. John Calvin stated: "We believe that all the posterity of Adam is in bondage to original sin, which is a hereditary evil" (R. Reed, The Gospel as Taught by Calvin [Grand Rapids, Mich., 1979], p. 33). Protestant views emphasize the inherited nature of the sin, reflecting the German word for "original sin," Erbsunde (literally "inherited sin"). Rabbinic Judaism teaches of two inclinations, one evil and one good; and some Jews consider "circumcision as a means of escaping damnation" (Samuel Cohon, Essays in Jewish Theology [Cincinnati, Ohio, 1987], p. 265).

IN LDS DOCTRINE. Latter-day Saints believe that infants inherit certain effects of the Fall, but not the responsibility for any sin as a result of Adam's or Eve's transgression. From the foundation of the world, the Atonement of Jesus Christ makes amends "for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam" (Mosiah 3:11). Therefore, baptism is not needed until children reach a state of accountability, generally at the age of eight years, for little children cannot sin and are innocent (see Children: Salvation of Children). They are redeemed from the beginning by the grace of Jesus Christ (D&C 29:46-47), whose Atonement cleanses them of the effects of the Fall (D&C 137:10). The Prophet Mormon wrote the following words of Christ: "Little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them" (Moro. 8:8).

In one account in the Pearl of Great Price, Adam learned that he had been forgiven for his transgression in the Garden of Eden, and that "the Son of God hath atoned for original guilt, wherein the sins of the parents cannot be answered upon the heads of the children" (Moses 6:54). However, as a consequence of the Fall, evil is present in the world and all "children are conceived in sin, [and] so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good" (Moses 6:55). Begetting children in marriage is not a sin (cf. Heb. 13:4), but the propensity for sin is inherited.

No mortal person bears the burden of repenting for Adam's transgression. Nevertheless, all inherit the effects of the Fall: All leave the presence of God at birth, all are subject to physical death, and all will sin in some measure. From the moment of conception, the body inherits the seed of mortality that will eventually result in death, but only as a person becomes accountable and chooses evil over good do personal sins result in further separation from God. Thus Adam was counseled: "Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there" (Moses 5:57).

[FFH]

Originally Posted by quadrophenic_9

Good answer, I never thought of it that way.

Also if you think about it many of us today have already partially or completely broken the curse of Adam, in that we don't have to sweat from day to day in order to eat..

WIth each new invention and discovery, which makes our lives a little bit easier, we are further breaking the curse of Adam, although we are not living in paradise yet, we can make our lives as comfortable and as easy as possible, and God of course is not opposed to this, otherwise there would be no such thing as paradise..

Many of us are even financially set and don't need to work at all, at least for someone else...

This happened to me for a over a year but I blew it and went back to a pattern of fear and sin...

Faith (opposite of fear) and righteousness (obviously the opposite of sin) keeps a person somewhat free of the curses of Adam.

Faith and righteousness shieldd us from being subject to the curse of sin and can bring enough riches/blessings that would allow us the luxury of retiring early...

Although it is a commandment that we labor 6 days a week, we could do this in other ways, such as church service, instead of working for someone else or working for ourselves in our own businesses.

I have an uncle who is a millionaire and he has spent much of his time working for the church...his business being run by his children...

Bottom line...we don't have to toil and sweat as Adam did, especially in today's modern society.

We also need not be subject to sin...

James 4: 7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

As far as death goes, well most of us will get old and die, unless Christ comes in our lifetime, which is entirely possible at this point in Biblical history...

All three curses of Adam can be broken in our lives if we were righteous enough, no matter what circumstances we may be facing.

Of this I am convinced...

[quadrophenic_9]

Well that was thorough, and documented too!