This is a continuation on the basic tenets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, specifically the Articles of Faith. I will talk about my feelings on the 2nd Article of Faith, which reads:

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

Other religions and faiths look upon what happened in the Garden of Eden between Adam and Eve as the original sin. Let's recap. Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, placed there by our Heavenly Father. They were given everything they needed to be happy there. They had the privilege of talking with our Heavenly Father on a regular basis.  Yet, through all of this beauty, Adam and Eve knew not good from evil. The Lord commanded them that they should not partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for "... in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Moses 3:17).

We do not know how long Adam and Eve dwelled in Garden of Eden, but however long it was, they did as the Lord commanded, without questioning.

Satan knew of the tree and the fruit and tempted it with Eve. Listen to the dialogue:

And the woman said unto the serpent: We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden;

But of the fruit of the tree which thou beholdest in the midst of the garden, God hath said--Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

And the serpent said unto the woman: Ye shall not surely die;

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (Moses 4:8-11)

Did Satan tell Eve a falsehood? No. This, to me is a lesson of how Satan works to deceive. He can tell us half-truths. Satan knew of mortality and what would happen.; that their eyes would I fact be opened and they could see good and evil. The half-truth is that we would die. We would all infact die because our bodies become mortal and are subjected to all manner of infirmities. But, the underlying problem here is that Satan is telling Eve to do something which The Lord commanded them not to. The problem is disobedience.

Eve did partake of the fruit, and convinced Adam to do so also. After they did, they noticed their nakedness and hid when The Lord called out to them:

And I, the Lord God, called unto Adam, and said unto him: Where goest thou?

And he said: I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I beheld that I was naked, and I hid myself.

And I, the Lord God, said unto Adam: Who told thee thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat, if so thou shouldst surely die?

And the man said: The woman thou gavest me, and commandest that she should remain with me, she gave me of the fruit of the tree and I did eat.

And I, the Lord God, said unto the woman: What is this thing which thou hast done? And the woman said: The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. (Moses 4:15-19)

So, The Lord banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. The beautiful garden, and instead they were now subjected to noxious weeds and barren lands. Adam had to work, "..by the sweat of his brow". And Eve was, "...subject to multiplication of sorrow and conception...". In other words, they now lived a worldly life, like we do. It was not until a later time that we find the true meaning of all this:

And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.

And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.

And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters. (Moses 5:10-12)

If it were not for their disobedience and partaking of the fruit, they would have never known good and evil. It seems to me that the Lord knew it would be a matter of time that Adam and Eve would be beguiled by the serpent and "fall", or become mortal.  If not, then Adam and Eve would have stayed in a state of "limbo", where they would know no good from evil. And more importantly - we would not be on this earth.

We all sin and fall short from time to time. It is us that sin. We should not blame anyone else for our misdeeds. Thankfully, through Repentence, we can have those sins and shortcomings blotted out, so that The Lord, "...remembers them no more...". I am grateful for the plan of happiness and of repentance. I have done things, and will do things that cause stumbles in my path to progression. But I know that through complete Repentence, those things are washed away and I am clean once more.

I believe that I will be punished for my own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.

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