Lecture 1: 1 | 2-9 | 10-11 | 12-17 | 18-24
Lecture 2: 1-4 | 5-12
After discussing the original, paradisaical state of mankind, and the knowledge they had, "We shall next proceed to examine the account given of his fall, and
of his being driven out of the garden of Eden, and from the presence of
the Lord." (p. 12)
"Moses proceeds: 'And they [Adam and Eve] heard the voice of the Lord God as they were walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where are you going? And he said, I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I beheld that I was naked, and I hid myself.'"
A tangent: Moses uses the name "The Lord God" three times in this paragraph alone, and multiple times in the verses ahead. Could this mean "The Head God," or similar to "Lord of Lords?" And does it mean that, when the verses don't use the phrase "The Lord God," it means another of the Eloheim? (Check the last post for clarification of the "Eloheim" which Joseph taught)
"'And the Lord God said unto Adam, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree whereof I told you that you should not eat? If so, you should surely die? And the man said, The woman whom you gave me, and commanded that she should remain with me, gave me of the fruit of the tree, and I did eat.
"'And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this which you have done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
"'And again, the Lord said unto the woman, I will greatly multiply your sorrow, and your conception: in sorrow you shall bring forth children; and your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.'"
Again, a tangent: We Gentiles read the phrase "rule over you" and immediately think of the "phenomenal cosmic power" we get to wield against others; we think we get to put ourselves over others. And because this "ruling" must by definition be despotic and cruel, God must be saying women are inferior to men. Therefore, this must not be from God, since men and women are equally able to connect with God directly (2 Nephi 26: 33, with many examples throughout the scriptures).
Think about this, though: Who is prescribing man to "rule" over the woman? How does the One prescribing the "rule," rule His subjects? Does the Sermon on the Mount, or D&C 121's direction of persuasion through gentleness and meekness, or King Benjamin's "rule" over his subjects, reflect how He who commanded this "rule" would desire that men rule?
How does the King of Kings wish for his Kings and Queens to rule over others?
How easy is it for us to "set up stakes for the Almighty," to say what God must and must not do? (TPJS, pg. 320-321, 327)
Continuing, "'And the Lord God said unto Adam, because you have hearkened unto the voice of your wife [rather than God's; this isn't saying men should never listen to their wives, but rather saying that God should be at the head], and have eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it! cursed shall be the ground for your sake: in sorrow you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth to you: and you shall eat the herb of the field. By the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, until you shall return unto the ground—for you shall surely die—for out of it you were taken; for dust you were, and unto dust you shall return.' This was immediately followed by the fulfillment of what we previously said: Man was driven, or sent out of Eden.
"Two important items are shown from the former quotations: First, After man was created, he was not left without intelligence, or understanding, to wander in darkness, and spend an existence in ignorance and doubt—on the great and important point which effected his happiness—as to the real fact by whom he was created, or unto whom he was amenable for his conduct. God conversed with him face to face: in his presence he was permitted to stand, and from his own mouth he was permitted to receive instruction—he heard his voice, walked before him, and gazed upon his glory—while intelligence burst upon his understanding, and enabled him to give names to the vast assemblage of his Maker's works."
I got ahead of myself in the last post, talking about the Knowledge which Adam had received from God. That's what Joseph is saying here. Adam did not need to doubt or wander in ignorance about whether God truly existed; he Knew. He Knew who created him, whom he was accountable to, whom he had talked to, and whom he had learned from.
"Secondly, we have seen, that though man did transgress, his transgression did not deprive him of the previous knowledge with which he was endowed, relative to the existence and glory of his Creator; for no sooner did he hear his voice, than he sought to hide himself from his presence."
Here's where that Knowledge comes into play: what Adam and Eve had learned and experienced, they still knew, and they knew that even after partaking of the fruit they weren't supposed to take.
"Having shown, then, in the first instance, that God began to converse with man, immediately after he "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life," and that he did not cease to manifest himself to him, even after his fall, we shall next proceed to show, that, though he was cast out from the garden of Eden, his knowledge of the existence of God was not lost, neither did God cease to manifest his will unto him.
"We next proceed to present the account of the direct revelation which man received, after he was cast out of Eden, and further copy from the new translation:
"'After Adam had been driven out of the garden, he began to till the earth, and to have dominion over all the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, as I, the Lord had commanded him: and he called upon the name of the Lord, and so did Eve his wife also. And they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the garden of Eden, speaking unto them; and they saw him not, for they were shut out from his presence: but he gave unto them commandments that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandment.
"'And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying, why do you offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him, I know not; but the Lord commanded me to offer sacrifices.
"'And the angel said unto him, This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, who is full of grace and truth. And you shall do all that you do in the name of the Son: and you shall repent and call upon God in his name forever. In that day the Holy Spirit fell upon Adam, and bore record of the Father and the Son.'"
Again, temple-goers ought to recognize this. These verses from Moses, beginning at "and after many days," were put into the Endowment ceremony word-for-word. Not only was Joseph's Biblical corrections important enough to use in the Lectures on Faith, they were also important enough to be used in the temple Endowment itself. So again, we're dealing with important stuff here.
Continuing to Joseph's explanation, "This last quotation, or summary, shows this important fact, that though our first parents were driven out of the garden of Eden, and were even separated from the presence of God, by a vail, they still retained a knowledge of his existence, and that sufficiently to move them to call upon him. And further, that no sooner was the plan of redemption revealed to man, and he began to call upon God, than the Holy Spirit was given, bearing record of the Father and Son."
So even being driven out of the Garden of Eden, with a vail separating their view of God's presence, didn't cover up their memory and knowledge. They remembered God and called out to Him. And it says the angel came to teach Adam and Eve "after many days." This isn't a specific time period. However, given the context in the next verses of Moses 5, this would be decades, if not a century, of dutiful and obedient sacrifices, without the complete knowledge of why they were doing this sacrifice. Really puts into perspective our "trials" of waiting for months or a couple years before receiving answers, doesn't it?
(And, third tangent: it's true that the verses only directly name Adam as the one conversing with the angel. But if you look at Moses 5: 11, Eve "heard all these things" and spoke with great Wisdom immediately after Adam had finished prophesying. So, is it impossible to claim that Adam and Eve were both there offering sacrifice? Could this have been a decade-long effort for both parties, where both received this Gift of the Holy Ghost? Is it possible that, in many cases when Adam is named, Eve is also there since they were "one flesh," and it is not good for Adam to be alone (Moses 3: 18 & 24)? Could Moses have only named Adam "to be short in writing"?)
This has been looking into Adam and Eve's experience thus far. In the next post, Joseph gets into what happens when they pass their knowledge on to their posterity.
"Moses proceeds: 'And they [Adam and Eve] heard the voice of the Lord God as they were walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where are you going? And he said, I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I beheld that I was naked, and I hid myself.'"
A tangent: Moses uses the name "The Lord God" three times in this paragraph alone, and multiple times in the verses ahead. Could this mean "The Head God," or similar to "Lord of Lords?" And does it mean that, when the verses don't use the phrase "The Lord God," it means another of the Eloheim? (Check the last post for clarification of the "Eloheim" which Joseph taught)
"'And the Lord God said unto Adam, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree whereof I told you that you should not eat? If so, you should surely die? And the man said, The woman whom you gave me, and commanded that she should remain with me, gave me of the fruit of the tree, and I did eat.
"'And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this which you have done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
"'And again, the Lord said unto the woman, I will greatly multiply your sorrow, and your conception: in sorrow you shall bring forth children; and your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.'"
Again, a tangent: We Gentiles read the phrase "rule over you" and immediately think of the "phenomenal cosmic power" we get to wield against others; we think we get to put ourselves over others. And because this "ruling" must by definition be despotic and cruel, God must be saying women are inferior to men. Therefore, this must not be from God, since men and women are equally able to connect with God directly (2 Nephi 26: 33, with many examples throughout the scriptures).
Think about this, though: Who is prescribing man to "rule" over the woman? How does the One prescribing the "rule," rule His subjects? Does the Sermon on the Mount, or D&C 121's direction of persuasion through gentleness and meekness, or King Benjamin's "rule" over his subjects, reflect how He who commanded this "rule" would desire that men rule?
How does the King of Kings wish for his Kings and Queens to rule over others?
How easy is it for us to "set up stakes for the Almighty," to say what God must and must not do? (TPJS, pg. 320-321, 327)
Continuing, "'And the Lord God said unto Adam, because you have hearkened unto the voice of your wife [rather than God's; this isn't saying men should never listen to their wives, but rather saying that God should be at the head], and have eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it! cursed shall be the ground for your sake: in sorrow you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth to you: and you shall eat the herb of the field. By the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, until you shall return unto the ground—for you shall surely die—for out of it you were taken; for dust you were, and unto dust you shall return.' This was immediately followed by the fulfillment of what we previously said: Man was driven, or sent out of Eden.
"Two important items are shown from the former quotations: First, After man was created, he was not left without intelligence, or understanding, to wander in darkness, and spend an existence in ignorance and doubt—on the great and important point which effected his happiness—as to the real fact by whom he was created, or unto whom he was amenable for his conduct. God conversed with him face to face: in his presence he was permitted to stand, and from his own mouth he was permitted to receive instruction—he heard his voice, walked before him, and gazed upon his glory—while intelligence burst upon his understanding, and enabled him to give names to the vast assemblage of his Maker's works."
I got ahead of myself in the last post, talking about the Knowledge which Adam had received from God. That's what Joseph is saying here. Adam did not need to doubt or wander in ignorance about whether God truly existed; he Knew. He Knew who created him, whom he was accountable to, whom he had talked to, and whom he had learned from.
"Secondly, we have seen, that though man did transgress, his transgression did not deprive him of the previous knowledge with which he was endowed, relative to the existence and glory of his Creator; for no sooner did he hear his voice, than he sought to hide himself from his presence."
Here's where that Knowledge comes into play: what Adam and Eve had learned and experienced, they still knew, and they knew that even after partaking of the fruit they weren't supposed to take.
"Having shown, then, in the first instance, that God began to converse with man, immediately after he "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life," and that he did not cease to manifest himself to him, even after his fall, we shall next proceed to show, that, though he was cast out from the garden of Eden, his knowledge of the existence of God was not lost, neither did God cease to manifest his will unto him.
"We next proceed to present the account of the direct revelation which man received, after he was cast out of Eden, and further copy from the new translation:
"'After Adam had been driven out of the garden, he began to till the earth, and to have dominion over all the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, as I, the Lord had commanded him: and he called upon the name of the Lord, and so did Eve his wife also. And they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the garden of Eden, speaking unto them; and they saw him not, for they were shut out from his presence: but he gave unto them commandments that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandment.
"'And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying, why do you offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him, I know not; but the Lord commanded me to offer sacrifices.
"'And the angel said unto him, This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, who is full of grace and truth. And you shall do all that you do in the name of the Son: and you shall repent and call upon God in his name forever. In that day the Holy Spirit fell upon Adam, and bore record of the Father and the Son.'"
Again, temple-goers ought to recognize this. These verses from Moses, beginning at "and after many days," were put into the Endowment ceremony word-for-word. Not only was Joseph's Biblical corrections important enough to use in the Lectures on Faith, they were also important enough to be used in the temple Endowment itself. So again, we're dealing with important stuff here.
Continuing to Joseph's explanation, "This last quotation, or summary, shows this important fact, that though our first parents were driven out of the garden of Eden, and were even separated from the presence of God, by a vail, they still retained a knowledge of his existence, and that sufficiently to move them to call upon him. And further, that no sooner was the plan of redemption revealed to man, and he began to call upon God, than the Holy Spirit was given, bearing record of the Father and Son."
So even being driven out of the Garden of Eden, with a vail separating their view of God's presence, didn't cover up their memory and knowledge. They remembered God and called out to Him. And it says the angel came to teach Adam and Eve "after many days." This isn't a specific time period. However, given the context in the next verses of Moses 5, this would be decades, if not a century, of dutiful and obedient sacrifices, without the complete knowledge of why they were doing this sacrifice. Really puts into perspective our "trials" of waiting for months or a couple years before receiving answers, doesn't it?
(And, third tangent: it's true that the verses only directly name Adam as the one conversing with the angel. But if you look at Moses 5: 11, Eve "heard all these things" and spoke with great Wisdom immediately after Adam had finished prophesying. So, is it impossible to claim that Adam and Eve were both there offering sacrifice? Could this have been a decade-long effort for both parties, where both received this Gift of the Holy Ghost? Is it possible that, in many cases when Adam is named, Eve is also there since they were "one flesh," and it is not good for Adam to be alone (Moses 3: 18 & 24)? Could Moses have only named Adam "to be short in writing"?)
This has been looking into Adam and Eve's experience thus far. In the next post, Joseph gets into what happens when they pass their knowledge on to their posterity.
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