Gospel Topics

The Creation

When we lived as spirit children with our heavenly parents, our Heavenly Father told us about his plan for us to become more like him. We shouted for joy when we heard his plan (see Job 38:7). We were eager for new experiences. In order for these things to happen, we needed to leave our Father�s presence and receive mortal bodies. We needed another place to live where we could prepare to become like him. Our new home was called earth.

Who Created the Earth for Us?

Jesus Christ (Jehovah) created this world and everything in it. He also created many other worlds. He did so through the power of the priesthood, under the direction of our Heavenly Father. God the Father said, �Worlds without number have I created; . . . and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten� -(Moses 1:33).

Carrying Out the Creation

The earth and everything on it were created spiritually before they were created physically (see Moses 3:5). In planning to create the physical earth, Christ said to those who were with him, �We will go down, for there is space there, . . . and we will make an earth whereon these [the spirit children of our Father in Heaven] may dwell� -(Abraham 3:24).

Under the direction of the Father, Christ formed and organized the earth. He divided light from darkness to make day and night. He formed the sun, moon, and stars. He divided the waters from the dry land to make seas, rivers, and lakes. He made the earth beautiful and productive. He made grass, trees, flowers, and other plants of all kinds. These plants contained seeds from which new plants could grow.

Then he created the animals�fish, cattle, insects, and birds of all kinds. These animals had the ability to reproduce their own kind.

Now the earth was ready for the greatest creation of all� mankind. Our spirits would be given bodies of flesh and blood so they could live on earth. �And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and it was so� -(Moses 2:26). And so the first man, Adam, aand the first woman, Eve, were formed and given bodies that resembled those of our heavenly parents. �In the image of God created he him; male and female created he them� -(Genesis 1:27).

When the Lord finished his creations, he was pleased and knew that his work was good, and he rested for a time.

God�s Creations Show His Love

We are now living in this beautiful world. Think of the sun, which gives us warmth and light. Think of the rain, which makes plants grow and makes the world feel clean and fresh. Think of how good it is to hear a bird singing or a friend laughing. Think of how wonderful our bodies are�how we can work and play and rest. When we consider all of these creations, we begin to understand what wise, powerful, and loving beings Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father are.

They have shown great love for us by providing for all of our needs. Plant life and animal life were also made to give us joy. The Lord said, �Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul� (D&C 59:18�19).

Even though God�s creations are many, he knows and loves them all. He said, �All things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them� (Moses 1:35).

Adam and Eve Were the First to Come to Earth

God prepared this earth as a home for his children. Adam and Eve were chosen to be the first people to live on the earth. Their part in our Father�s plan was to bring mortality into the world. They were to be the first parents.

Adam and Eve Were Valiant Spirits

Adam and Eve were among our Father�s noblest children. In the spirit world Adam was called Michael -(see Jude 1:9). He was chosen by our Heavenly Father to lead the righteous in the battle against Satan.

Adam and Eve were foreordained to become the parents of the human race. The Lord promised Adam great blessings: �I have set thee to be at the head; a multitude of nations shall come of thee, and thou art a prince over them forever�.

Although the scriptures do not tell us anything about Eve before she came to earth, she must have been a choice daughter of God. She was called Eve because she was the mother of all living (see Moses 4:26). She was given to Adam because God said �it was not good that the man should be alone� (Moses 3:18). She shared Adam�s responsibility and will also share his eternal blessings.

The Garden of Eden

When Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, they were not yet mortal. They were not able to have children. There was no death. They had physical life because their spirits were housed in physical bodies made from the dust of the earth. They had spiritual life because they were in the presence of God. They had not yet made a choice between good and evil.

God commanded them to have children and to learn to control the earth. He said, �Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over . . . every living thing that moveth upon the earth� (Moses 2:28). God told them they could freely eat of every tree in the garden except one, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Of that tree God said, �In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die� (Moses 3:17).

Satan, not knowing the mind of God but seeking to destroy God�s plan, came to Eve in the Garden of Eden. He tempted her to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He assured her that she and Adam would not die, but that they would �be as gods, knowing good and evil� (Moses 4:11). Eve yielded to the temptation and ate the fruit. When Adam learned what had happened, he chose to partake also. The changes that came upon Adam and Eve because they ate the fruit are called the Fall.

Adam and Eve�s Separation from God

Because Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the Lord sent them out of the Garden of Eden into the world as we now know it. Their physical condition changed as a result of their eating the forbidden fruit. As God had promised, they became mortal. They were able to have children. They and their children would experience sickness, pain, and physical death.

Because of their transgression, Adam and Eve also suffered spiritual death. This meant they and their children could not walk and talk face to face with God. Because Satan had introduced evil into the world, Adam and Eve and their children were separated from God both physically and spiritually.

Great Blessings Resulted from the Transgression

Some people believe Adam and Eve committed a serious sin when they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. However, latter-day scriptures help us understand that their fall was a necessary step in the plan of life and a great blessing to all of us. Because of the Fall, we are blessed with physical bodies, the right to choose between good and evil, and the opportunity to gain eternal life. None of these privileges would have been ours had Adam and Eve remained in the garden.

After the Fall, Eve said, �Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed [children], 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� -(Moses 5:11).

The prophet Lehi explained: �And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen [been cut off from the presence of God], 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 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. �But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy� (2 Nephi 2:22�25).