This material is copyrighted.  Feel free to copy and distribute.  However, copy it only in it’s entirety. 

Kevin Kraut

MICHAEL/ADAM

Ogden Kraut

Table of Contents

“It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the character of God.”  –Joseph Smith

* * *

“There are but very few beings in the world who understand rightly the character of God.”  –Joseph Smith

 

PREFACE

There seems to be no end to the mysteries surrounding the creation of mankind, this and other worlds, and even the creation and identity of God Himself. The Prophet Joseph Smith once said:

We never can comprehend the things of God and of heaven, but by revelation. We may spiritualize and express opinions to all eternity; but that is no authority. (TPJS, p. 292)

For this reason, we need to look to the words of the prophets as well as personal revelation to help in understanding many of these mysteries. Without spiritual guidance we tend to follow the customs, traditions, and teachings of the world–a world with very little spiritual understanding.

The purpose of this book is to help in answering such questions as: Who created the spirits and bodies of mortals on this earth? When, how and why did we come here? Who is the God of this earth? With the Gospel restoration in these last days came important information on these subjects.

Available within these pages are the history and teachings of what has become known as the Adam-God Doctrine, as it was recorded by early leaders of the LDS Church and then evolved to its current stage of denial..

[7] Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION:

THE MYSTERY OF CREATION

Theologians, scientists, philosophers, in fact nearly all mortals, at some time, have wondered how mankind got on this earth. For many centuries various theories have been pro-pounded and discussed, but seldom have any of them carried the spirit of truth. Until the time of the Gospel Restoration in 1830, speculation and disputation had caused contention and division among religious sects and scientists alike. Most people still remember the famous “Monkey Trial” that was debated for several days in the courts–between Darwin’s theory and Biblical statements. Nothing was proved or resolved, and people remained in the same state of confusion as before.

With the restoration of the Gospel, the Lord said:

For I deign to reveal unto my church things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the dispensation of the fulness of times. (D & C. 124:41)

The great prophet, Joseph Smith, understood what the Lord was saying and he commented:

There are many things which belong to the powers of the Priesthood and the keys thereof, that have been kept hid from before the foundation of the [8] world; they are hid from the wise and prudent to be revealed in the last times. (DHC 4:209-210)

The restoration has brought a flood of light upon many hidden and lost truths. However, many more remain, as the Prophet Joseph said he could divulge only a very few of the things which the Lord had revealed to him. Brigham Young said the Prophet left the Elders of Israel in the dark on many mysteries because they were unable to receive the knowledge that God wanted them to understand. Joseph revealed a few of these mysteries in one of his last and greatest addresses called “The King Follett Discourse”. Other information was revealed by him to a few trusted friends–at least once concerning some of the mysteries of creation and the Godhead, part of which was later made public by President Brigham Young.

Still, in the world today, there exist many theories about God, man and animals, and the creation of this earth. Some are interesting, some are humorous, and others are figments of an active imagination. Very few come even close to the truth. Consider the following possibilities and theories for the origin of man:

1. Some scientists say that man “evolved” from a little bug that came creeping up out of a swamp and gradually grew legs and arms and stood upright to become a man. Evolution is perhaps the most popular belief and is even     taught as factual in public schools. However, science has never yet     produced the “missing link” in these evolutions. It is the wildest,     unscientific speculation ever published under the title of fact.

2. The Bible presents a few short sentences about the beginning of man by saying he was scooped up like an adobe, some special breathings were blown into it, and suddenly man popped up out of the mud to become a [9] real     live mortal. This has been taken literally by some, but at best it is     merely a figurative representation that Moses used for the rebellious     children of Israel.

3. So, too, the Bible makes a strange statement about the creation of woman: that a rib was taken out of the man’s side and was used as a crucible for the beginning of females. By some mysterious power this rib was added to,     molded, and breathed on to miraculously become a woman. This is certainly     an interesting story, but neither can it be taken literally–so the mystery     continues.

4. If God really did use mud and a rib for His method of propagation, it seems He would have continued to use such a method from then on. There would be no reason for adopting some other system. On the other hand, if propagation, as we see it in living things today, was the original method     of introducing man to the earth, there would be no reason to use mud and a     rib.

 

5. Some maintain a belief that a space ship came to this planet leaving some “garbage”, from which bacteria gradually evolved into all the living things on the earth.

 

6. Stories exist of how the embryos of man were hurled through space, perhaps in ice, and landed here to thaw and become mankind.
7. Some postulate that a space vehicle landed here and left a small colony of beings to populate this globe.

 

8. A popular belief exists that God came upon the earth to have a son called Adam and a daughter, Eve, who were to carry on the work of creation by propagation. But it is impossible for an immortal being to produce mortal     children.  [10]

These are just some of the assumptions and speculations, but none really reveals the mystery of man’s true beginning. To find the accurate account, we need to turn to the prophets of God who receive(d) revelation. Certainly for our dispensation the Prophet Joseph Smith and his successor, Brigham Young, should be the main prophets to look to for answers.

 

Even though the actual public announcement clarifying these mysteries came from Brigham Young, he undoubtedly learned the answers from Joseph Smith.

 

On April 9, 1852, Brigham Young delivered a sermon at a conference session in Salt Lake City. This discourse became the cause of more heated arguments, doctrinal controversy, and violent reaction from both member and non-member alike than any other oration ever delivered in the Church. Since then, Brigham Young has been the victim of more slander, ridicule, and derision than any other president of the Latter-day Saints. Such reactions and contempt were aroused when he taught the position of Adam to the human race. But, in spite of the furor against this Adam/God doctrine by those both in and out of the Church, many of the members acclaimed it to be one of the most important and disclosing revelations ever given to the Saints. In later years, some members would even be excommunicated for advocating it. The doctrine still stands as a classic in theological expose.

 

Because this doctrine is not incorporated into the Articles of Faith, nor is it now recognized as truth by the LDS Church, both the student of scripture and the lay member should, on his own, become acquainted with the history, the basis for, and the principles behind that doctrine–rather than just ignoring it or saying it never existed in the Church. History shows that it was publicly announced, published on [11] two continents, advocated by members of the First Presidency and most Apostles, and even taught by many missionaries. For this reason it cannot be concealed, especially in light of the fact that so many opponents of the Church today continue to expose this doctrine in their attempts to discredit the validity of the LDS Church and the teachings of Brigham Young.

 

 

[12] Chapter 2

THE GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT

 

In the same year that plural marriage was publicly announced, President Brigham Young introduced another new doctrine. It concerned the Godhead and was soon to be spoken of as the “Adam-God doctrine”.

 

Even though plural marriage had not been very well received, perhaps even fewer members accepted this new concept in regard to Adam’s deified sphere. This famous public announcement later became re-interpreted, declared a mystery, or a false theory, or was claimed to be a misquote–some even denying that it was ever taught by him.

 

Long an item of speculation, the existence and role of Adam has been misunderstood and de-emphasized by world religions. The National Council of Churches apparently considered Adam to be the least understood, if not the least respected of all the ancients. More on the facetious side, it was reported that–

 

A film on the fall of man that omits Eve and portrays Adam as getting the apple from a vending machine won a $300 prize for five high school students of St. James United Church of Christ, Havertown, PA., in a National Council of Churches film-making contest whose theme was “technology and human values.” (The Christian Herald, June 1972, p. 13)

 

[13] Several years ago at an Indian Convention in Salt Lake City, the Indians announced to the White people that Adam was created from red dirt.

 

Nearly all churches are just as confused in their assumptions concerning the mystery of Adam’s role in the creation and beginning of mortality on this earth.

 

When Brigham Young arose that day to deliver his sermon, he did it to clarify all of the ridiculous bewilderment and theories among modern-day theologians and scientists. In preparation for the “great announcement”, President Brigham Young advised the Saints at conference in Salt Lake City that–

 

Here is the place for you to teach great mysteries to your brethren, because here are those who can correct you. This fault the Elders of Israel do not fall into in this Tabernacle, although they may in private houses and neighborhoods. When a man is capable of correcting you, and of giving you light, and true doctrine, do not get up an altercation, but submit to be taught like little children, and strive with all your might to understand. (JD 1:47)

 

Brigham was then suggesting that anything mysterious, speculative, or controversial should be tried, tested, and corrected by the Church Presidency. He had been the closest associate of Joseph Smith, had learned many of the mysteries, and had received keys of detecting truth from error from him.

 

This was the commitment of the Lord to the Church–that new light and revelation would come, and it should come through the president of the Church. But this “new light” was not always very well accepted by the members, such as Brigham Young’s introduction of the true identity of God–using an approach that was anything but secretive or restricted:

 

[14] My next sermon will be to both Saint and sinner. One thing has remained a mystery in this kingdom up to this day. * * * Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and sinner! When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is Michael, the Archangel, the Ancient of Days, about whom holy men have written and spoken–He is our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do. Every man upon the earth, professing Christians or non-professing, must hear it, and will know it sooner or later. (JD 1:50, April 9, 1852)

 

Hosea Stout wrote in his journal that Brigham Young again taught this doctrine in another meeting on the same day:

 

Friday 9th April 1852: Another meeting this evening. President B. Young taught that Adam was the father of Jesus and the only God to us. That he came to this world in a resurrected body, etc. More here-after. (Hosea Stout Journal, Vol. 2:435)

 

Apostle Wilford Woodruff wrote in his journal some of Brigham Young’s teachings that day and quoted him as saying:

 

April 9, 1852: I will now preach to you another sermon. There is one great Father and head in all kingdoms; and so with us.

Our Father in heaven has a tabernacle. He created us in the likeness of his own image. The Son also has a tabernacle like the Father. The Holy Ghost is a minister to the people but has not a tabernacle.

Who begat the Son of God? Infidels say that Jesus was a bastard, but let me tell you the truth concerning that matter. Our Father begat all the spirits that were begotten before any tabernacles were made. When our Father came into the Garden, he came with his celestial body and brought one of his [15] wives with him, and ate of the fruit of the Garden until he could beget a tabernacle.

Adam is Michael or God and all the God that we have anything to do with. They ate of this fruit and formed the first tabernacle that was formed. And when the Virgin Mary was begotten with child, it was by the Father and in no other way, only like we are begotten.

I will tell you the truth as it is in God. The world does not know that Jesus Christ our Elder brother was begotten by our Father in heaven. It matters not if you are pleased. It will either seal the damnation or salvation of men. He was begotten by the Father and not by the Holy Ghost.

When you go to preach and believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Ghost, don’t lay hands upon the ladies and then give them the Holy Ghost lest it begets them with child. (Quoting Brigham Young, Journal of Wilford Woodruff, April 9, 1852)

 

Brigham Young’s wife, Eliza R. Snow, was one of those who accepted this new revelation to the Church, and she later assisted in publishing a book entitled Women of Mormondom, which mentions the importance of this announcement:

 

When Brigham Young proclaimed to the nations that Adam was our Father and God, and Eve, his partner, the Mother of a world–both in a mortal and celestial sense–he made the most important revelation ever oracled to the race since the days of Adam himself. (Women of Mormondom, Edward W. Tullidge, p. 196)

 

When Brigham Young’s sermon was recorded, it was sent to England for publication in Church books. It was first published in the Journal of Discourses, and later in the Millennial Star. (See photo-reprint on following two pages.)

 

Immediately after its publication in the Journals, President Samuel W. Richards, president of the mission in England and editor of the Millennial Star, commented:

 

[16]

The Latter-day Saints’

MILLENNIAL STAR

———–

HE THAT HATH AN EAR, LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT SAITH

UNTO THE CHURCHES–Rev. ii. 7.

——————————————————————————

No. 48.–Vol. XV.     Saturday, November 26, 1853.      Price One Penny.

——————————————————————————

 

ADAM, OUR FATHER AND GOD.

 

(From the Journal of Discourses.)

My next sermon will be to both Saint and sinner.  One thing has remained a mystery in this kingdom up to this day.  It is in regard to the character of the well-beloved Son of God, upon which subject the Elders of Israel have conflicting views.  Our God and Father in heaven, is a being of tabernacle, or, in other words, He has a body, with parts the same as you and I have; and is capable of showing forth His works to organized beings, as, for instance, in the world in which we live, it is the result of the knowledge and infinite wisdom that dwell in His organized body.  His son Jesus Christ has become a personage of tabernacle, and has a body like his father.  The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of the Lord, and issues forth from Himself, and may properly be called God’s minister to execute His will in immensity; being called to govern by His influence and power; but He is not a person of tabernacle as we are, and as our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ are.  The question has been, and is often, asked, who it was that begat the Son of the Virgin Mary.  The infidel world have concluded that if what the Apostles wrote about his father and mother be true, and the present marriage discipline acknowledged by Christendom be correct, then Christians must believe that God is the father of an illegitimate son, in the person of Jesus Christ!  The infidel fraternity teach that to their disciples.  I will tell you how it is.  Our Father in Heaven begat all the spirits that ever were, or ever will be, upon this earth; and they were born spirits in the eternal world.  Then the Lord by His power and wisdom organized the mortal tabernacle of man.  We were made first spiritual, and afterwards temporal.

Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile,  Saint and sinner!  When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him.  He helped to make and organize this world.  He is MICHAEL, the Archangel, the ANCIENT OF DAYS! about whom holy men have written and spoken–HE is our FATHER and our GOD, and the only God with whom WE have to do.  Every man upon the earth, professing Christians or non-professing, must hear it, and will know it sooner or later.  They came here, organized the raw material, and arranged in their order the herbs of the field, the trees, the apple, the peach, the plum, the pear, and every other fruit that is desirable and good for man; the seed was brought from another sphere, and planted in this earth.  The thistle, and thorn, the brier, and the obnoxious weed did not appear until after the earth was cursed.  When Adam and Eve had eaten of the forbidden fruit, their bodies became mortal from its effects, and therefore their offspring were mortal.  When the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father had begotten him [17] in his own likeness.  He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost.  And who is the Father?  He is the first of the human family; and when he took a tabernacle, it was begotten by his Father in heaven, after the same manner as the tabernacles of Cain, Abel, and the rest of the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve; from the fruits of the earth, the first earthly tabernacles were originated by the Father, and so on in succession.  I could tell you much more about this; but were I to tell you the whole truth, blasphemy would be nothing to it, in the estimation of the superstitious and over-righteous of mankind.  However, I have told you the truth as far as I have gone.  I have heard men preach upon the divinity of Christ, and exhaust all the wisdom they possessed.  All Scripturalists, and approved theologians who were considered exemplary for piety and education, have undertaken to expound on this subject, in every age of the Christian era; and after they have done all, they are obliged to conclude by exclaiming “great is the mystery of godliness,” and tell nothing.

It is true that the earth was organized by three distinct characters, namely, Eloheim, Yahovah, and Michael, these three forming a quorum, as in all heavenly bodies, and in organizing element, perfectly represented in the Deity, as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Again, they will try to tell how the divinity of Jesus is joined to his humanity, and exhaust all their mental faculties, and wind up with this profound language, as describing the soul of man, “it is an immaterial substance!”  What a learned idea!  Jesus, our elder brother, was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the garden of Eden, and who is our Father in Heaven.  Now, let all who may hear these doctrines, pause before they make light of them, or treat them with indifference, for they will prove their salvation or damnation.

I have given you a few leading items upon this subject, but a great deal more remains to be told.  Now remember from this time forth, and forever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost.  I will repeat a little anecdote.  I was in conversation with a certain learned professor upon this subject, when I replied, to this idea–“if the Son was begotten by the Holy Ghost, it would be very dangerous to baptize and confirm females, and give the Holy Ghost to them, lest he should beget children, to be palmed upon the Elders by the people, bringing the Elders into great difficulties.”

Treasure up these things in your hearts.  In the Bible, you have read the things I have told you to-night; but you have not known what you did read.  I have told you no more than you are conversant with; but what do the people in Christendom, with the Bible in their hands, know about this subject?  Comparatively nothing.

 

[18] OUR FATHER ADAM. The extract from the Journal of Discourses (Vol. 1:50) may startle some of our readers, but we would wish them to recollect that in this last dispensation God will send forth, by his servants, things new as well as old, until man is perfected in the truth. (Mill. Star 15:780)

 

The following note also appeared in the Millennial Star, referring to the conference which contained the teachings of the Adam-God announcement:

 

The elders and brethren assembled in the tabernacle, which was completely crowded. After the usual introductory exercises, President Young preached several sermons on various subjects, the Holy Ghost resting upon him in grand power, while he revealed some of the precious things of the kingdom. (Mill. Star 14:356)

 

A few weeks later, President Richards again referred to the doctrine:

 

Adam, the Father and God of the Human Family

The above sentiment appeared in Star No. 48, a little to the surprise of some of its readers; and while the sentiment may have appeared blasphemous to the ignorant, it has no doubt given rise to some serious reflections with the more candid and comprehensive mind. A few reasonable and scriptural ideas upon this subject may be profitable at the present time.

Then Adam is really God! And why not? If there are Lords many and Gods many, as the scriptures inform us, why should not our Father Adam be one of them? (Mill. Star 15:801)

 

Because of this unusual doctrinal announcement, it caused no end of correspondence, conversation, and trouble. In order to cope with this barrage of inquiry and commotion, President Richards continued to write in defense of the doctrine:

 

[19] It has been said that Adam is the God and Father of the human family, and persons are perhaps in fear and great trouble of mind, lest they have to acknowledge him as such in some future day. For our part we would much rather acknowledge Adam to be our Father than hunt for another and take up with the devil. Whoever is acknowledged Father must have the rights and honor that belong to him. No man may ever expect to attain to more than he is willing others should enjoy. If these things have power to disturb the pure mind, we apprehend that even greater troubles than these may arise before mankind learn all the particulars of Christ’s incarnation–how and by whom he was begotten; the character of the relationships formed by that act; the number of wives and children he had, and all other circumstances with which he was connected, and by which he was tried and tempted in all things like unto man. Whatever may prove to be the facts in the case, it certainly would exhibit a great degree of weakness on the part of anyone to indulge in fears and anxieties about that which he has no power to control. Facts still remain facts whether kept or revealed. If there is a way pointed out by which all beings who come into this world can lay the foundation for rule, and a never-ending increase of kingdoms and dominions, by which they can become Gods, we are as willing the Lord Jesus Christ should enjoy them all as any other being, and we believe the descendants of such a sire would glory in ascribing honor and power to him as their God. The Apostle informs us that those who are redeemed shall be like Jesus; not to say, however, that they shall be wifeless and childless, and without eternal affections.

It should be borne in mind that these wonderful mysteries, as they are supposed to be, are only mysteries because of the ignorance of men; and when men and women are troubled in spirit over those things which come to light through the proper channel of intelligence, they only betray their weakness, ignorance, and folly. (Mill. Star 15:825)

 

[20] In a diary kept by Joseph Lee Robinson, he noted his attendance at the conference where this subject was announced. He writes:

 

Attended conference. A very interesting conference; for at this meeting President Brigham Young said thus: That Adam and Eve were the names of the first man and woman of every earth that was ever organized. And that Adam and Eve were the natural Father and Mother of every spirit that comes to this planet or that receives tabernacles on this planet. Consequently we are brothers and sisters. And that Adam was God our Eternal Father.

This as Brother Heber remarked was letting the cat out of the bag. (J. L. Robinson Diary, pp. 102-03)

 

This “cat” was mentioned in the minutes of a Missionary Conference in England a year later:

 

Elder Thomas Caffall–

They are lacking faith on principle–the last “cat” that was let out of the bag. Polygamy has been got over pretty well; that cloud has vanished away, but they are troubled about Adam being our Father and God. There is a very intelligent person investigating our principles, and who has been a great help to the Saints; he has all the works, and can get along with everything else but the last “cat”, and as soon as he can see that clearly, he will become a “Mormon”. I instructed him to write to Liverpool upon it. (Mill. Star 16:482)

 

Elder Joseph Hall–

Relative to the principles recently revealed, we have not the least difficulty. If Adam’s being our Father and God cannot be proved by the Bible, it is all right. (Mill. Star 16:483)

 

Elder James A. Little–

I believe in the principle of obedience; and if I am told that Adam is our Father and our God, I just [21] believe it. Brethren, I feel well, and have felt well all the time. (Mill. Star 16:530)

 

Pres. Franklin D. Richards–

Concerning the item of doctrine alluded to by Elder Caffall and others, viz., that Adam is our Father and our God, I have to say, do not trouble yourselves, neither let the Saints be troubled about that matter. The Lord has told us in a revelation which he gave through the Prophet Joseph, Jan. 19, 1841–“I deign to reveal unto my Church things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the dispensation of the fullness of times.” (D & C. 124:41) I would like to know where you will find scriptures to prove those things by, which have never before been revealed. Some feel their bounded duty to prove everything which belongs to our faith from the Bible, but I do not, and I will excuse you from all obligation to prove this from the Old Scriptures, for you cannot, if you try. You may bring much collateral evidence from the Bible and other revelations that will dissipate objections, and serve to strengthen the position, but to directly and substantially prove it, as the world requires, and as we can first principles, it will puzzle you to do it, and from henceforth we may expect more and more of the word of the Lord giving us instructions which are nowhere written in the Old Scriptures. If we feel ourselves, and teach the Saints or the people generally, that we are only to believe that which can be proved from the scriptures, we shall never know much of the Lord ourselves, nor be able to teach the children of men to any very considerable extent. If, as Elder Caffall remarked, there are those who are waiting at the door of the Church for this objection to be removed, tell such, the Prophet and Apostle Brigham has declared it, and that is the word of the Lord. That is vastly stronger proof than Christendom can give for much that they profess to believe. Tell the Saints that if this stone does not seem to fit into the great building of their faith just now, to roll it aside. You can help them roll it out of their way, so that they will not stumble [22] against it while at their daily duties, and it will be but a short time till they will find a place in their building where no other stone will fit; then it will be on hand all right, and will come into its place in the building with the sound of hammer or chisel. (Mill. Star 16:534)

 

As editor of the Millennial Star and president of the European Mission, Samuel W. Richards, had the task of announcing, clarifying, and defending this Adam/God doctrine. When he had finished his labors in England and had returned to the Salt Lake Valley, he was given this written memorial in the Star:

 

Beloved President–It has fallen to your lot to preside over the British Saints at a time and under circumstances unparalleled in the history of the work in this country. The introduction of the Law of Celestial Marriage, which, in its operations, will revolutionize all our political, religious and domestic arrangements; and the announcement of the position which Adam, our great progenitor, occupies among the Gods; have marked your Presidency as a special epoch in the history of the British Mission. (Mill. Star 16:629)

 

That doctrine was not only written and preached by the leading elders and editors of the Church, but it was discussed in many meetings and schools–such as the School of the Prophets in Provo. From the minutes of that school came these views:

 

1. F. McDonald–

I thought I would speak briefly in relation to Adam being our God. Since the year 1852 when the President first spoke on this subject, I have frequently endeavored to reconcile what I have read with regard to this matter. I believe what the President says on the subject although it comes in contact with all our tradition. I have not any doubt in my mind but that [23] Adam is our God. Who his God and Father may be, I have no knowledge. President Kimball spoke on this question recently and very plainly illustrated the character and relationship of our Father and God.

 

Abraham Smoot–

I have heard President Young avow the truth of Adam being our Father and God, but have never heard him argue the question at all.

 

George G. Bywater–

When I first heard the doctrine of Adam being our Father and God, I was favorably impressed–enjoyed and hailed it as a new revelation. It appeared reasonable to me, as the Father of our spirits that he should introduce us here.

 

(Minutes of the School of the Prophets, Provo, Utah, June 8, 1868, pp. 37, 38, 39, 42; typescript copy)

 

There is little doubt that President Brigham Young and others had difficulty in teaching the doctrine. Three years after this announcement, he reflected upon the general disbelief of the people by saying:

 

Whether Adam is the personage that we should consider our heavenly Father, or not, is considerable of a mystery to a good many. (JD 4:217)

 

Again, in 1857–five years after the first announcement of the doctrine–President Young replied:

 

Some have grumbled because I believe our God to be so near to us as Father Adam. There are many who know that doctrine to be true. (JD 5:331)

 

Then again in 1873, which was 21 years after the first public announcement, President Young again commented on the unbelief of the Mormon people:

 

[24] How much unbelief exists in the minds of the Latter-day Saints in regard to one particular doctrine which I revealed to them, and which God revealed to me–namely that Adam is our Father and God. (Des. News, June 18, 1873)

 

It was this general disbelief among the Mormons themselves which caused Joseph Smith, as well as Brigham Young, so much apprehension and difficulty in teaching new doctrines.

 

When the principle of baptism for the dead was announced by Joseph Smith, the Mormons themselves seemed the most distraught. Once, plural marriage was hinted at in a sermon by Joseph Smith, and in the afternoon he had to modify it because of the pressures put upon him. It was this sort of mental reservation that caused the Prophet to remark:

 

There are a great many wise men, and women, too, in our midst, who are too wise to be taught; therefore, they must die in their ignorance, and in the resurrection they will find their mistake. (TPJS, p. 309)

 

. . . there has been a great difficulty in getting anything into the heads of this generation. It has been like splitting hemlock knots with a corn-dogger for a wedge, and a pumpkin for a beetle. Even the Saints are slow to understand. I have tried for a number of years to get the minds of the Saints prepared to receive the things of God; but we frequently see some of them after suffering all they have for the work of God, will fly to pieces like glass as soon as anything comes that is contrary to their traditions; they cannot stand the fire at all. (TPJS, p. 331)

 

When President Young made his first public announcement about the Adam-God doctrine, he must have felt this same disbelief and mental reservation in the people. He knew the restraints upon him, and three times during his discourse he inferred as much. Said he:

 

[25] I could tell you much more about this; but were I to tell you the whole truth, blasphemy would be nothing to it, in the estimation of the superstitious and over-righteous of mankind. However, I have told you the truth as far as I have gone. . . .

Treasure up these things in your hearts. In the Bible you have read the things I have told you tonight; but you have not known what you did read. I have told you no more than you are conversant with; but what do the people in Christendom, with the Bible in their hands, know about this subject? Comparatively nothing.

I have given you a few leading items upon this subject, but a great deal more remains to be told. (JD 1:50)

 

The doctrine of Adam-God was never very well received, nor was it firmly established among the accepted doctrines of the Church. As a whole, lay persons had either shrugged it off in disbelief, or coolly disregarded it as a speculative doctrine. A few of the leading elders in Israel accepted it, taught it, and believed it, but it was generally too controversial. As B. H. Roberts explained:

 

As a matter of fact, the “Mormon” Church does not teach that doctrine. A few men in the “Mormon” Church have held such views; and several of them quite prominent in the councils of the Church, . . . Brigham Young and others may have taught that doctrine. (Des. News, July 23, 1921)

 

But, according to B. H. Roberts, this doctrine should bring no shame to the Latter-Day Saints. He explained that–

 

Some of the sectarian ministers are saying that we “Mormons” are ashamed of the doctrine announced by President Brigham Young to the effect that Adam will thus be the God of this world. No, friends, it is not that we are ashamed of that doctrine. If you see any [26] change come over our countenances when this doctrine is named, it is surprise, astonishment, that anyone capable of grasping the largeness and extent of the universe–the grandeur of existence and the possibilities in man for growth, for progress–should be so lean of intellect as to call it in question at all. That is what our change of countenance means–not shame for the doctrine Brigham Young taught. (Mormon Doctrine of Deity, Roberts, p. 42)

 

1. H. Roberts also recorded two very interesting entries in his notebook, further substantiating this doctrine. They are reproduced in his original handwriting on the following page.

 

As mentioned in a previous quote, a “few men” in the Church did contribute additional testimonies to President Brigham Young’s teaching. Heber C. Kimball, first counselor to Brigham Young, bore his testimony about the doctrine by saying:

 

I have learned by experience that there is but one God that pertains to this people, and he is the God that pertains to this earth–the first man! That first man sent his own son to redeem the world. . . . (JD 4:1)

 

From an editor of the Millennial Star:

 

. . . every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that he is the God of the whole earth. Then will the words of the Prophet Brigham when speaking of Adam, be fully realized. “He is our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do.” (Mill. Star 17:195)

 

Songs published by Apostle F. D. Richards carried this same inclination:

 

[27] Two pages from the notebook of President B. H. Roberts concerning Adam:

 

[28] We believe in our God, the great Prince of his race,

The archangel, Michael, the Ancient of Days,

Our own Father Adam, earth’s Lord in his plane

Who’ll counsel and fight for his children again.

We believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, who in love

For his brothers and sisters, came down from above;

To die to redeem them from death, and to teach

To mortals and spirits the Gospel we preach.

 

(Sacred Hymns & Spiritual Songs for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1856, 11th ed., p. 375)

 

Franklin Richards continued to promote this doctrine:

 

Not only the Old and New Testaments, and other ancient and modern revelations through the Holy Priesthood assert the fact, but mankind of every grade, condition, and religion, whether Christian, Jew, Mohammedan, or pagan, all believe in leading personages or influences which are the sources of good and evil. One of these is God the Father, Michael or Adam, from whose loins the earth is peopled, and who is now labouring for the redemption of his children. (Mill. Star 17:785)

 

So the announcement had been made–the “cat was out of the bag”–and published in the Church papers, magazines, books, and in its sacred songs. But, it did not draw much enthusiasm, nor did its proclamation bring any particular rejoicing among the Saints. If anything resulted, it was a new search into the scriptures and doctrines of Deity, trying to understand this new revelation. Candles would burn a little longer–minds would reflect a little deeper–it was their God that was being discussed.

 

 

[29 Chapter 3

BLOOD AND MORTALITY

 

The basis of understanding the Adam-God doctrine consists of comprehending the nature of the fall. This doctrine simply explains the changing of an immortal body to a mortal body. When a resurrected immortal being partakes of the coarse and corporal elements of the earth, the fluid in their veins is induced with the seeds of mortality or death, which is in the blood. Blood is strictly a mortal fluid and its composition of mortal or temporal ingredients is obtained by eating earthly elements. When a person partakes of the tree of “good and evil,” he is partaking of the tree of mortality and death. Since the fruit and food of the earth come from vegetation, which is subject to only a few years of life, then any body which is charged with these properties will also become subject to death. Food from Mother Earth, in her present state, will produce blood within a mortal or immortal body.

 

Blood is a mortal or temporal fluid and therefore cannot be resurrected, for the Prophet Joseph Smith declared:

 

Flesh and blood cannot go there; but flesh and bones, quickened by the Spirit of God, can. (TPJS, p. 326)

 

When our flesh is quickened by the Spirit, there will be no blood in this tabernacle. (TPJS, p. 367)

 

[30] Paul, the Apostle, had declared the same when he said that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God”. (I Cor. 15:50).

 

This is the secret of the doctrine of immortality and mortality in the fall of Adam. While blood represents mortality, another substance flows in the veins of immortal beings. This was taught by Brigham Young, for he explained that such a transformation occurred during the death and resurrection of the Savior Jesus Christ.

 

The blood he spilled upon Mount Calvary he did not receive again into his veins. That was poured out, and when he was resurrected, another element took the place of the blood. It will be so with every person who receives a resurrection; the blood will not be resurrected with the body, being designed only to sustain the life of the present organization. When that is dissolved, and we again obtain our bodies by the power of the resurrection, that which we now call the life of the body, and which is formed from the food we eat and the water we drink will be supplanted by another element; for flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. (JD 7:163)

 

A Melchizedek priesthood manual in 1948 advocated this generally accepted doctrine of the Church:

There was no blood in his (Adam’s) body, but he had a spiritual body until it was changed by the fall. A spiritual body is one which is not quickened by blood, but by spirit. Before the fall, Adam had a physical, tangible body of flesh and bones, but it was not quickened by blood. (Church History and Modern Revelation, Vol. 2, p. 5)

 

This had also been taught in 1909 in the Liahona, or Elders Journal, an LDS Church publication:

 

[31] Question: As Adam was an immortal being when placed here on earth and commanded to multiply, would not his offspring have been immortal but for the fall? (M.P.F., Logan, Utah)

 

Answer: Yes. But they would have had spiritual bodies only and not bodies of flesh, blood and bone. When Adam and Eve were first placed in the Garden of Eden, they had resurrected bodies, in which there was no blood. A spiritual fluid or substance circulated in their veins instead of blood. Consequently, they had not power to beget children with tabernacles of flesh, such as human beings possess. The fall caused a change in their bodies, which, while it rendered them mortal, at the same time gave them power to create mortal bodies of flesh, blood and bone for their off-spring. This is a very brief explanation of a very important subject. (Liahona, Vol. 6:33)

 

It has been taught that God once had blood, then was resurrected to immortality without blood:

 

Man is the offspring of God. Who can fully realize this? Our Heavenly Father orders all things that pertain to this earth and to multitudes of worlds of which we are ignorant. We are as much the children of this great Being as we are the children of our mortal progenitors. We are flesh of his flesh, bone of his bone, and the same fluid that circulates in our bodies, called blood, once circulated in his veins as it does in ours. (Brigham Young, JD 9:283)

 

. . . shall we (by the atonement) be restored into the condition Adam was in before he fell? I answer, you will be. What condition was he in? He was an immortal being, and you will be restored to immortality, whether you be Saints or sinners. The decree has gone forth that every man is to be raised to immortality. Then you will be as Adam was in the Garden of Eden before he fell. (Orson Pratt, JD 7:257; compare JD 21:203)

 

[32] Understanding the nature of blood, in relation to man’s immortality, is necessary to comprehend the doctrine that Brigham Young was teaching.

 

The “forbidden tree,” says Brigham, contained in its fruit the elements of death, or the elements of mortality. By eating of it, blood was again infused into the tabernacles of beings who had become immortal. The basis of mortal generation is blood. Without blood no mortal can be born. Even could immortals have been conceived on earth, the trees of life had made but the paradise of a few; but mortal world was the object of creation then.

Eve partook of that supper of the Lord’s death first. She ate of that body and drank of that blood.

Be it to Adam’s eternal credit that he stood by and let our Mother–our ever blessed Mother Eve–partake of the sacrifice before himself. Adam followed the Mother’s example, for he was great and grand–a Father worthy indeed of a world. He was wise, too; for the blood of life is the stream of mortality. (Women of Mormondom, Tullidge, pp. 198-99)

 

We are taught that Adam possessed a “physical, tangible body of flesh and bones;” therefore, he must have been a resurrected being. A resurrected, celestialized body can propagate only spirit children. The problem at this point is to introduce the seeds of death into his body so that he might propagate mortal bodies for his spirit children. The human race needed a mortal father to initiate mortals here on earth. Since Adam did not possess the seeds of death, it was necessary for him to infuse them into his system; this could be accomplished only by partaking of the coarser elements of mortal food, thus materializing blood into his system. Mortal food was considered the “tree of good and evil,” but what would have been the result if he would have again partaken of the “tree of life” which is the celestial food of resurrected beings?

 

[33] . . . and now, lest he put forth his hand, and partake also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever; therefore, I, the Lord God, will send him forth from the Garden of Eden. (Gen. 3:28-29, Insp. Vers.)

 

Immortal beings who partake of mortal food for a long period of time will again become mortal. Conversely, all mortal or immortal beings who partake of the spiritual food from the “tree of life” will become immortalized or translated and not be subject to death. (Alma 42:5)

 

Adam’s mission was to step down into mortality for a thousand years and bear mortal children, and thus become the father of the human race. When his mission was fulfilled, it is said that he died; however, the scriptures also tell us that Moses died–but we read that he was probably “translated” and consequently avoided the grave. (Alma 45:19) Death in this instance meant “to depart,” which can be said of either entering the grave or being translated. Whether we be buried in a grave or enter paradise as Adam, Moses, Enoch or Elijah, it is a “death” to the continuation of mortality. As Adam completed his mission, he would again partake of the tree of life and return to his previous immortal state. President Heber C. Kimball infers that this is what happened to Adam:

 

I have been to the altar where Adam offered sacrifices and blessed his sons and then left them and went to heaven. (JD 12:188)

 

And Brigham Young said the same thing:

 

When Adam and Eve got through with their work in this earth, they did not lay their bodies down in the dust, but returned to the spirit world from whence they came. (L. John Nuttall Journal, 1:21)

 

If Adam was a mortal as we are, he would have gone to paradise until Christ was resurrected. This would not be so if [34] he were a celestial being. A celestial body cannot literally die, for it is not in the economy of heaven for such a celestial resurrected body to ever again enter a grave. Adam is accredited with just such a body:

 

When our father Adam came into the Garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, . . . (Brigham Young, JD 1:50)

Michael was a celestial, resurrected being, of another world. (Women of Mormondom, p. 179)

 

From a lecture prepared and delivered by the Apostle Joseph E. Taylor, in the Logan Temple, June 2, 1888, he said:

 

All that Father Adam did upon this earth, from the time that he took up his abode in the Garden of Eden, was done for His posterity’s sake and the success of His former mission as the Savior of a world, and afterwards, or now, as the Father of a world only added to the glory which he already possessed. If, as the Savior of a world, he had the power to lay down his life and take it up again, therefore as the Father of a world which is altogether an advanced condition, we necessarily conclude that the grave was powerless to hold him after that mission was completed. (Des. Weekly, Dec. 29, 1888)

 

Brigham Young exclaimed that the fall of Adam was a necessary part of the Gospel plan, and he knew all about it before he came to this earth:

 

In my fullest belief, it was the design of the Lord that Adam should partake of the forbidden fruit, and I believe that Adam knew all about it before he came to this earth. I believe there was no other way leading to thrones and dominions only for him to transgress, or take that position which transgression alone could place man in, to descend below all things, that they might ascend to thrones, principalities, and powers; for [35] they could not ascend to that eminence without first descending, nor upon any other principle. (JD 2:302)

 

The fall of Adam was neither an accident, nor a mistaken sin, but an integral part of the Gospel plan. This plan was proposed, designed, and enacted upon, previous to the foundation of this world; and since Jesus was appointed to become “the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8), it proves that the fall of Adam and the redemption of Christ were predestined.

 

Adam’s fall was the essential violation of the laws of health by introducing the elements of mortality into an immortal system. Blood would be supplanted in his veins, and with it would come the seeds of death and mortality. So Adam introduced death; Christ would introduce the resurrection. The blood of Adam provided mortality; the blood of Christ would purchase immortality.

 

 

[36]Chapter 4

THE LAW OF PROPAGATION

 

There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated–And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. (D & C 130:20-21)

 

The laws of mathematics, science, and of propagation are eternal in their nature. Shortcuts by disobedience cannot produce similar results in these or in any of the works of God.

 

But it is hard to get the people to believe that God is a scientific character, that He lives by science or strict law, that by this He is, and by law He was made what He is; and will remain to all eternity because of His faithful adherence to law. It is a most difficult thing to make the people believe that . . . He is their Author. Our Spirits are His; He begot them. We are his children; He set the machine in motion to produce our tabernacles. (Brigham Young, JD 13:306)

 

The law of propagation is not an exception, and all living things must come forth by the law of reproduction through the seed of its own type and kind. Plants, insects, fowls, animals, and man, must reproduce their own species through obedience to this eternal and unchangeable law. Paul the Apostle said:

 

And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain (seed); it may [37] chance of wheat, or of some other grain; but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh; but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. (I Cor. 15:37-39)

 

Species cannot be changed by interbreeding except by creating a mutation, freak or hybrid. The Prophet Joseph Smith agreed with this when he stated:

 

God has set many signs on the earth, as well as in the heavens; for instance, the oak of the forest, the fruit of the tree, the herb of the field, all bear a sign that seed hath been planted there; for it is a decree of the Lord that every tree, plant, and herb bearing seed should bring forth of its kind, and cannot come forth after any other law or principle. (TPJS, p. 198)

 

The footnote on this same page by Joseph Fielding Smith reads:

 

This very positive statement by the Prophet, that every tree, plant, and herb, and evidently every other creature, cannot produce except after its kind, is in harmony not only with the scriptures, but also with all known facts in the world. (TPJS, p. 198)

 

In his famous speech of 1852, Brigham Young also concurs that the origin of all vegetation upon the earth was by seed.

 

They (Adam and Eve) came here, organized the raw material and arranged in their order the herbs of the field, the trees, the apple, the peach, the plum, the pear, and every other fruit that is desirable and good for man; the seed was brought from another sphere, and planted in this earth. (JD 1:50)

 

[38] Brigham Young’s counselor, Heber C. Kimball, also agreed with this when he said:

 

Did you find the seed? No, you did not; the Lord found it; when He came here He brought it with Him, and He told His sons to sow it, and let it increase. (JD 2:160)

After the earth was made, then there was a garden spot selected, and the Lord commanded some of his associates to go and plant it, and to cause all kinds of vegetation to grow, and fruits of every description. Some suppose the Lord commanded all these things to come out of the earth. Yes, he did, after the seeds were put in the earth; and he blessed the earth, and the vegetation that was in the earth. When all these things were done, the garden was beautified, and made pure and clean and holy and sanctified; and then the next thing was to bring forth the animal creation; but the animals were not brought there until the vegetation was planted and grown. We often sing, “This earth was once a garden place,” where God our Father dwelt, and took possession and a stand that mankind will take who attain to that honour.

The religion of Jesus Christ, of angels, of Brigham, and of all good men is to take care of and improve and adorn the earth as Adam did. When he planted the garden, he planted it with seeds he brought with him; and he also brought the animals from the earth he lived upon, where his Father dwelt. (JD 8:243)

 

Did God produce us? He did, and every son and daughter of Adam upon this earth; and he produced us upon the same principle that we produce one another. And so it is with the fruit of creation. (JD 6:101)

 

President Brigham Young was positive of this, and he emphasized this law so that no one would mistake his meaning or intent:

 

[39] God has made His children like Himself to stand erect, and has endowed them with intelligence and power and dominion over all his works and given them the same attributes which He Himself possesses. He created man, as we create our children; for there is no other process of creation in heaven, on the earth, in the earth, or under the earth, or in all the eternities, that is, that were, or ever will be. (JD 11:122)

 

The Prophet Joseph Smith expounded this principle, also establishing man’s eternal conformity to his law of propagation:

 

If Abraham reasoned thus–If Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and John discovered that God the Father of Jesus Christ had a Father, you may suppose that He had a father also. Where was there ever a son without a father? And where was there ever a father without first being a son? Whenever did a tree or anything spring into existence without a progenitor? And everything comes in this way. (TPJS, p. 373)

 

Hugh Nibley, through his research and reasoning, came to the same conclusion:

 

. . . we find throughout the cosmos an infinity of dwelling places (topoi), either occupied or awaiting tenants. These are colonized by migrants from previously established “toposes” or worlds, all going back ultimately to a single original center. The colonizing process is called “planting”, and those spirits which bring their treasures to a new world are called “Plants”, more rarely “seeds”, of their father or “Planter” in another world. Every planting goes out from a Treasure-house, either as the essential material elements or as the colonizers themselves, who come from a sort of mustering-area called the “Treasure-house,” either as the essential material elements or as [40] the colonizers themselves, who come from a sort of mustering-area called the “Treasure-house of the Souls.”

With its “planting” completed, a new world is in business, a new Treasury has been established from which new Sparks may go forth in all directions to start the process anew in ever-new spaces; God wants every man to “plant a planting,” nay, “he has promised that those who keep his Law may also become creators of worlds.” But keeping that law requires following the divine pattern in every point; in taking the Treasure to a new world, the Sent One (who follows hard on the heels of the colonists) seeks nothing so much as complete identity with the One who sent him; hence, from first to last, one mind alone dominates the whole boundless complex. Because each planting is completely dependent on its Treasure-house or home-base, the system never breaks up into independent systems; in this patriarchal order all remains forever identified with the Father from whom all ultimately come forth. (Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless, Hugh Nibley, p. 60)

 

This principle strikes at the foundation of the brick-creation philosophy of Adam. The modern concept of religious thinking is willing to give Jesus a mother, but not a literal father; and under the same peculiar quirk they contribute a father to Adam, but not a mother! This famous sermon of President Brigham Young clearly announced that Adam had a mother and Jesus had a father. He was striking a preponderant blow at the traditions, superstitions, and hallowed famous tales of philosophizing on the subject of Adam’s beginning.

 

Brother Kimball quoted a saying of Joseph the Prophet, that he would not worship a God who had not a Father; and I do not know that he would if he had not a mother; the one would be as absurd as the other. (Brigham Young, JD 9:286)

 

[41] We have learned that God is our Father, and that we are his children, bonafide his children. Not in a spiritual sense alone, but when we say, “Our Father who art in Heaven,” we mean just what we say. (Daniel H. Wells, JD 16:127)

 

Thus you may continue and trace the human family back to Adam and Eve, and ask, “are we of the same species with Adam and Eve?” Yes, every person acknowledges this; this comes within the scope of our understanding.

But when we arrive at that point, a vail is dropt, and our knowledge is cut off. Were it not so, you could trace back your history to the Father of our spirits in the eternal world. He is a being of the same species as ourselves; He lives as we do, except the difference that we are earthly, and He is heavenly. He had been earthly, and is of precisely the same species of being that we are. (Brigham Young, JD 4:217)

 

Heber C. Kimball declared the work of governing and propagation were both essential to begin the work of organizing this world:

 

Every man that comes into this world is an independent being, upon the same principle that our Father and our God is independent, only He is independent to a greater degree, being further advanced in perfection. He came here, and helped to organize this earth; and having had an experience in organizing earths before He came here, He was capable, and had every principle necessary to create this earth and fill it with inhabitants. If there had not been a seat of government in Him, and all those powers and faculties necessary to propagate the human species, He never could have done that work. We are His sons and daughters. (H. C. Kimball, JD 4:334)

 

1. H. Roberts said that man is also subject to this invariable reproduction law that applies to all of nature’s species:

 

[42] The great law of nature is that every plant, herb, fish, fowl, beast and man produces his kind; though there may be slight variations from that law, those variations soon run out either by reverting to the original stock, or else by becoming incapable of producing offspring, and thus become extinct. (“Man’s Relationship to Deity,” Contributor 10:266)

 

And from President John Taylor:

 

The animal and vegetable creations are governed by certain laws, and are composed of certain elements peculiar to themselves. This applies to man, to beasts, fowls, fish, and creeping things, to the insects and to all animated nature; each one possessing its own distinct features; each requiring a specific sustenance, each having an organism and faculties governed by proscribed laws to perpetuate its own kind. (Mediation and Atonement, p. 154)

 

It was upon this basis that Brigham Young took such a bold stand against the philosophy of Adam’s formation from the dust of the ground, and he retorted:

 

You believe Adam was made of the dust of this earth. This I do not believe, though it is supposed that it is so written in the Bible; but it is not, to my understanding. You can write that information to the Stakes, if you please–that I have publicly declared that I do not believe that portion of the Bible as the Christian world do. I never did, and I never want to. What is the reason I do not? Because I have come to understanding, and banished from my mind all the baby stories my mother taught me when I was a child. (JD 2:6)

 

To him, this is one of the baby stories, similar to the stork-baby stories that we hear today. He explained the law of propagation as applicable to the origin of Adam:

 

[43] Adam was made from the dust of an earth, but not from the dust of this earth. He was made as you and I are made, and no person was ever made upon any other principle. (JD 3:319)

 

Four years later he emphatically continued to emphasize this realm of thought:

 

And here let me state to all philosophers of every class upon the earth; when you tell me that Father Adam was made as we make adobes from the earth, you tell me what I deem an idle tale. When you tell me that the beasts of the field were produced in that manner, you are speaking idle words devoid of meaning. There is no such thing in all the eternities where the Gods dwell. Mankind are here because they are the offspring of parents who were first brought here from another planet, and power was given them to propagate their species, and they were commanded to multiply and replenish the earth. (Brigham Young, JD 7:285)

 

The Apostles and Prophets, when speaking of our relationship to God, say that we are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone. . . . (Brigham Young, JD 11:262)

 

And again:

 

We have heard a great deal about Adam and Eve; how they were formed, etc. Some think that he was made like an adobe and the Lord breathed into him the breath of life; for we read: “From dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return.” Well, he was made from the dust of the earth but not of this earth. He was made just the same way you and I are made, but on another earth. (Brigham Young, L. John Nuttall Journal, 1:18)

 

1. H. Roberts referred to this procreation law of Adam’s creation on another world:

 

[44] We are informed that the Lord God made every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb before it grew on our planet. As vegetation was created or made to grow upon some older earth, so likewise man and his helpmate were brought from some other world to our own, to people it with their children. And though it is said that the “Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,”–it by no means follows that he was “formed” as one might form a brick, or from the dust of this earth. We are all “formed” of the dust of the ground, though instead of being molded as a brick we are brought forth by the natural laws of procreation; so also was Adam and his wife in some other world. And as for the story of the rib, under it I believe the mystery of procreation is hidden. (Contributor 10:265)

 

Other authorities have also taught the eternal law of procreation:

 

We believe that we are the literal descendants of our Eternal Father; that we are the offspring of Deity; that those aspirations which man has, and which cause Him to perform the mighty works that we see on every hand as we travel throughout the earth, are inherited from our Eternal Father, they come to us by descent, or, to use another phrase, they are hereditary. The doctrine of heredity is manifested in the works of man. We descend from this great Father who formed the earth, and who governs this universe. (George Q. Cannon, Des. Weekly News, 38:675)

 

We believe that we are the literal offspring of Deity. We have descended from the great Being who formed this earth, and from Him we have inherited the glorious aspirations to be like unto Him. . . . We believe in a God of revelation, who will give more and more light to us till we can become like Him. We worship the Being who has revealed Himself to us. It was necessary at the outset of this work to have a revelation from [45] Him. There were many erroneous ideas about God, and the first revelation to Joseph Smith was the appearance of the Father and the Son. I have heard that there are some among us who say that both are one person. This is a fallacy. There are two personages, the Father and the Son. God is the Being who walked in the Garden of Eden, and who talked with the Prophets. This revelation came to us in certainty. (George Q. Cannon, Mill. Star 51:278)

 

They were also instructed to plant every kind of vegetable, likewise the forest and the fruit trees, and they actually brought from heaven every variety of fruit, the seeds of flowers, and planted them in this earth on which we dwell. And I will say more, the spot chosen for the Garden of Eden was Jackson County, in the State of Missouri, where Independence now stands; it was occupied in the morn of creation by Adam and his associates who came with him for the express purpose of peopling this earth. Father Adam was instructed to multiply and replenish the earth, to make it beautiful. . . . I might say much more upon this subject, but I will ask, has it not been imitated before you in your holy endowments so that you might understand how things were in the beginning of creation and cultivation of this earth? God the Father made Adam the Lord of this creation in the beginning, and if we are the Lords of this creation under Adam, ought we not to take a course to imitate our Father in Heaven. . . . The Prophet Joseph frequently spoke of these things in the revelations which he gave, but the people generally did not understand them, but to those who did they were cheering, they had a tendency to gladden the heart and enlighten the mind. (H. C. Kimball, JD 10:235)

 

Again, from another early publication, was written:

 

Adam was not made out of a lump of clay, as we make a brick, nor was Eve taken as a rib–a bone–from his side. They came by generation. (Women of Mormondom, Tullidge, p. 179)

 

[46] Perhaps the most logical, philosophically sound, and reasonable aspect of this doctrine is penned by the third president of the Church, John Taylor:

 

. . . and if we take man, he is said to have been made in the image of God, and being His son, he is, of course, his offspring, an emanation from God, in whose likeness we are told he is made. He did not originate from a chaotic mass of matter, moving or inert, but came forth possessing, in an embryotic state, all the faculties and powers of a God. And when he shall be perfected, and have progressed to maturity he will be like his Father–a God, being indeed his offspring. As the horse, the ox, the sheep and every living creature, including man, propagates its own species and perpetuates its own kind, so does God perpetuate His. (Contributor 10:267)

 

If such a brick-man had actually been created in the literal sense of an adobe, President Young explained what would have been the result:

 

Look for instance at Adam. Listen, ye Latter-day Saints! Supposing that Adam was formed actually out of clay, out of the same kind of material from which bricks are formed; that with this matter God made the pattern of a man, and breathed into it the breath of life, and left it there, in that state of supposed perfection, he would have been an adobe to this day! (JD 2:6)

 

Hence, the “adobe-man, rib-woman” story was a symbolical interpretation to the law of procreation. It was a story written by Moses for the children of Israel. They could not understand the context of the true doctrine of the subject, nor grasp the full enormity of the creation story, much like most ecclesiastics today; therefore, Moses wrote it in this symbolical manner.

 

[47] Apostle Parley P. Pratt ridiculed such a literal translation of Genesis:

 

Man moulded from the earth, as a brick!

Woman, manufactured from a rib!

Thus, parents still would fain conceal from budding manhood the mysteries of procreation, or the sources of life’s ever-flowing river, by relating some childish tale of new born life, engendered in the hollow trunk of some old tree, or springing with spontaneous growth like mushrooms from out of the heaps of rubbish. O man! When wilt thou cease to be a child of knowledge? (Key to Theology, p. 56)

 

And behind the Biblical story of the creation of man is also found the spiritual creation:

 

For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. (Moses 3:5)

 

The scriptures abound with the doctrine of the pre-existence. It is believed by the greater portion of the earth’s inhabitants because it is so reasonable. However, pre-existence does not explain the origin of Adam’s body, because pre-existence implies spiritual creation. When Adam was in the Garden of Eden, he had a physical body–and we ask of what kind? From the learned Orson Pratt came this description:

 

. . . and you will fall asleep in peace, having made sure your salvation, and having done your duty well, like those whose funeral sermon we are preaching this morning; and thus you will fall asleep, with a full assurance that you will come up in the morning of the first resurrection, with an immortal body, like that which Adam had before he partook of the forbidden fruit. This is the promise to them that fall asleep in Jesus. (Masterful Discourses, p. 346)

 

[48] Now then, if their bodies were “immortal” and “like those that come up in the morning of the first resurrection,” it indicates that Adam must have previously had a resurrection.

 

In 1967-68 the elders of the Church were taught in their priesthood lesson that:

 

Adam and Eve, as immortal beings, were placed on earth and commanded to multiply and fill the earth with posterity. (“A Light unto the World,” Bruce R. McConkie, p. 4)

 

On a subsequent page of this manual, the definition of an immortal being is described as one who dwells in a resurrected state:

 

Accordingly, eternal life is not a name that has reference only to the unending duration of a future life: immortality is to live forever in the resurrected state, and by the grace of God all men will gain this unending continuance of life. (Ibid., p. 6)

 

Hence, Adam and Eve, as immortal beings, were placed in the Garden of Eden in a resurrected state. This is also substantiated by Samuel Richards:

 

Adam and Eve were made of the dust of the earth from which they came–they brought their bodies with them. They had lived and died and been resurrected before they came here and they came with immortal bodies, and had to partake of the fruit of this earth in order to bring forth mortal bodies, or natural bodies, that their seed might be of the dust of this earth as they were from the dust of the earth from which they came. (Journal I, Book 2, pp. 63-64)

 

And from Brigham Young:

 

[49] Things were first created spiritually; the Father actually begot the spirits, and they were brought forth and lived with Him. Then He commenced the work of creating earthly tabernacles, precisely as He had been created in the flesh Himself by partaking of the coarse material that was organized and composed this earth, until His system was charged with it; consequently the tabernacles of His children were organized from the coarse materials of this earth. (JD 4:218)

 

Here then is the story of the “Fall”. It is the doctrine of stepping from immortality into mortality. This would be the decline or the transgression of Adam, as it is called.

 

Continuing with this interpretation, the Apostle Orson Pratt said:

 

And what was the fullest extent of the penalty of Adam’s transgression? I will tell you. It was death. The death of what? The death of the immortal tabernacle–of that tabernacle where the seeds of death had not been, that was wisely framed, and pronounced very good; the seeds of death were introduced into it. How, and in what manner? Some say there was something in the nature of the fruit that introduced mortality. (Masterful Discourses, p. 336)

 

And again:

 

The father and mother were at length in their Garden of Eden. They came on purpose to fall. They fell “that man might be,” that he “might have joy.” They ate of the tree of mortal life, partook of the elements of this earth that they might again become mortal for their childrenÕs sake. They fell that another world might have a probation, redemption and resurrection. (Women of Mormondom, Tullidge, p. 179)

 

[50] Adam and Eve are the names of the fathers and mothers of worlds. . . . Perchance the scientist might hesitate to accept the Mormon ideals of the genesis of mortals and immortals, but Joseph and Brigham have very much improved on the Mosaic genesis of man. It is certainly not scientific to make Adam as a model adobe; the race has come by generation. The genesis of a hundred worlds of his family, since his day, does not suggest brickyards of mortality. The patriarchal economy of Mormonism is at least an improvement, and is decidedly epic in all its constructions and ideals.

A grand patriarchal line, then, down from the “eternities;” generations of worlds and generations of Gods; all one universal family. (Women of Mormondom, pp. 180-81)

 

This is consistent with reason, and it opens depth to the scriptures. We were taught by the Savior to pray to “Our Father” who is in heaven and thereby recognize the actuality of such a relationship.

 

In 1910 the Church published an article on man’s beginning which literally teaches such to be the doctrine we believe:

 

Man has descended from God: In fact, he is of the same race as the Gods. His descent has not been from a lower form of life; in other words, man is, in the most literal sense, a child of God. This is not only true of the spirit of man, but of his body also. (Priesthood Course of Study, 1910; subject: “The Creation of Man”)

 

Thus the doctrine advocated by Brigham Young exalts man’s relationship with God. Man has his roots in the creation–he is the spiritual and physical child of God. No other doctrine has ever brought the relationship between man and God any closer. No other doctrine ever revealed the condescen[51]sion of God for His children in a more beautiful and loving manner than through the fall of Adam.

 

This doctrine combines all the long-suffering and love of an eternal Father who was willing to endure the pain and sorrow of mortality to introduce the plan of salvation to all of His sons and daughters. Through birth in spirit and body, men became the sons of God by generation.

 

 

[52] Chapter 5

ADAM–

FATHER OF OUR SPIRITS

 

The fall of Adam was the transgression of a physical law of nature. His fall was from immortality to mortality–from the celestial to the earthly. With a celestial resurrected body, he had engendered spirit children–now he had incorporated blood into his body so that he could beget physical, mortal bodies for those spirits to possess. He descended to mortality so that his children would have the opportunity of ascending to immortality.

 

If Adam was an immortal, celestial, resurrected being, then he was an exalted man. Since resurrected beings can produce only spirit children, then Adam must have made an extreme condescension to become mortal. By partaking of the seeds of death through the fall, he was accomplishing a necessary venture to produce physical bodies for those spirit children born to him in the spirit world. The sermons by many of the leading elders of the Church declared that Adam was the father of both our spirit and mortal bodies, for example:

 

We have not the power in the flesh to create and bring forth or produce a spirit; but we have the power to produce a temporal body. The germ of this, God has placed within us. And when our spirits receive our bodies, and through our faithfulness we are worthy to be crowned, we will then receive authority to produce both spirit and body. (Brigham Young, JD 15:137)

 

[53] Adam and Eve, when they were placed on this earth, were immortal beings of flesh, bones, and sinues; but upon partaking of the fruits of the earth, while in the garden, and cultivating the ground, their bodies became changed from immortal to mortal beings, with blood coursing through their veins as the action of life. (Brigham Young, L. John Nuttall Journal, 1:20)

 

If Adam had a resurrected, celestial body when he came into the Garden of Eden, it means he had already been through mortality and was now an exalted man–a God! As a resurrected being, without blood in his veins, he would beget spirit children. This is one of the first functions of a man when he is exalted.

 

After men have got their exaltations, and their crowns, have become Gods, even the sons of Gods, are made King of kings and Lord of lords, they have the power then of propagating their species in spirit, and that is the first operation with regard to organizing a world. Power is then given to them to organize the elements, and then to commence the organization of tabernacles. How can they do it? Have they to go to that earth? Yes, an Adam will have to go there and he cannot go without Eve; he must have Eve to commence the work of generation, and they will go into the garden and continue to eat and drink of the fruits of the corporal world, until this grosser matter is diffused sufficiently through their celestial bodies, to enable them, according to the established laws to produce mortal tabernacles for their spiritual children. This is a key for you. (Brigham Young, JD 6:275)

 

Only a being who had dominion over “every living” thing would be considered a God. This would grant powers over Christ. From the Apocrypha it is written that–

 

[54] Shem and Seth were glorified among men; and above every living thing in creation is Adam. (Apocrypha, Ecclesiasticus 49:16, Rev. Ver.)

 

And more recent scripture records that the Lord God–

 

. . . hath appointed Michael your prince and established his feet, and set him upon high, and given unto him the keys of salvation. (D & C 78:16)

 

And an interesting Psalm reads:

 

I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. (Psalm 82:6-7)

 

Numerous declarations were made in the early days of the Church, that Adam and Eve were the parents of the spirits of all men. Mankind was spiritually born to these beings before they began their sojourn in the Garden of Eden:

 

Now brethren, you have got a spirit in you, and that spirit was created and organized–was born and begotten by our Father and our God before we ever took these bodies; and these bodies were formed by Him, and through Him, and of Him, just as much as the spirit was; for I will tell you, He commenced and brought forth spirits; and then, when he completed that work, He commenced and brought forth tabernacles for those spirits to dwell in. I came through Him, both spirit and body. (Heber C. Kimball, JD 6:31)

 

Adam and Eve are the names of the fathers and mothers of worlds. . . . These were father and mother of a world of spirits who had been born to them in heaven. (Women of Mormondom, p. 180)

Adam is our Father and God. He is the God of the earth. So says Brigham Young. . . . He is the Father of [55] our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ–the father of him who shall also come as Messiah to reign. He is the father of the spirits as well as the tabernacles of the sons and daughters of man. Adam! (Women of Mormondom, p. 179)

 

Adam and Eve are the parents of all pertaining to the flesh, and I would not say that they are not also the parents of our spirits. (Brigham Young, JD 7:290)

Some may think what I have said concerning Adam strange, but the period will come when the people will be willing to adopt Joseph Smith as their Prophet, Seer and Revelator and God! but not the father of their spirits, for that was our Father Adam. (Brigham Young, School of the Prophets, Dec. 11, 1869; Journal History of B.Y., p. 1313; also Journal of Wilford Woodruff, same date)

 

These are the sons and daughters of Adam–the Ancient of Days–the Father and God of the whole human family. These are the sons and daughters of Michael, who is Adam, the father of the spirits of all our race. (Women of Mormondom, p. 191)

 

1. John Nuttall, who was the private secretary to Brigham Young, was in a position to gain a very clear understanding of what Brigham Young was advocating, and he wrote in his journal:

 

Adam was an immortal being when he came on this earth. He had lived on an earth similar to ours, he had received the Priesthood and the keys thereof, and he had been faithful in all things and gained his resurrection and his exaltation and was crowned with glory, immortality and eternal lives and was numbered with the Gods, for such he became through his faithfulness. And he had begotten all the spirits that were to come to this earth. And Eve, our common mother, who is the mother of all living, bore these [56] spirits in the Celestial world, and then this earth was organized by Elohim, Jehovah, and Michael, who is Adam, our common Father. Adam and Eve had the privilege to continue the work of progression, consequently came to this earth and commenced the great work of forming tabernacles for those spirits to dwell in. (L. John Nuttall Journal, Feb. 7, 1877, 1:19)

 

In her poem entitled, “The Ultimatum of Human Life,” Eliza R. Snow tells the creation story according to these doctrines:

 

Adam, your God, like you on earth, has been

Subject to sorrow in a world of sin;

Through long gradation he arose to be

Cloth’d with the Godhead’s might and majesty.

And what to him in his probative sphere,

Whether a Bishop, Deacon, Priest, or Seer?

Whate’er his offices and callings were,

He magnified them with assiduous care;

 

By his obedience he obtain’d the place

Of God and Father of this human race.

Life’s ultimatum, unto those that live

As saints of God, and all my pow’rs receive;

Is still the onward, upward course to tread–

To stand as Adam and as Eve, the head

Of an inheritance, a new-form’d earth,

And to their spirit-race, give mortal birth–

 

Give them experience in a world like this;

Then lead them forth to everlasting bliss.

Crown’d with salvation and eternal joy

Where full perfection dwells, without alloy.

 

(Eliza R. Snow, An Immortal, pp. 188-89)

 

Adam and Eve are names or titles for the first parents of every earth in the creations. Therefore, there are millions upon millions of “Adams” in existence and the name itself may imply [57] more than one, for it is written that “. . . the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many,” (Moses 1:34) and in Genesis we read that “Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.” (Gen. 5:2)

 

Therefore, each earth has its Adam and Eve, a Savior and a Satan:

 

But the fact exists that the Father, the Divine Father, whom we serve, the God of the Universe, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father of our spirits, provided this sacrifice and sent his Son to die for us; and it is also a great fact that the Son came to do the will of the Father, and he has paid the debt, in fulfillment of the scripture which says, “He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world!” Is it so on any other earth? On every earth! *** Sin is upon every earth that was ever created. * * * Consequently every earth has its redeemer, and every earth has its tempter; and every earth, and the people thereof, in their turn and time, receive all that we receive, and pass through all the ordeals that we are passing through. (Brigham Young, JD 14:71-72)

 

Since there is a Lamb slain upon every earth, a Satan, and a plan of salvation, it follows that an Adam and Eve are also a part of those creations, and they provide the means of a “fall” and bearing mortal children.

 

Man is the offspring of the Gods. This is the supreme conception which gives to religion its very soul. Unless man’s divinity comes in somewhere, religion is the wretchedest humbug that ever deluded mortals.

But the sublime and most primitive conception of Mormonism is that man in his essential being is divine, that he is the offspring of God–that God is indeed his Father. (Women of Mormondom, p. 192)

 

[58] “The Law of Adoption” plays an important part in understanding the Godhead; and Prof. A. Carrington shed some light on this subject:

 

Some have said that I was very presumptuous to say that Brother Brigham was my God and Saviour, Bro. Joseph was his God, and one that gave Joseph the keys of the kingdom was his God which was Peter. Jesus Christ was his God and (the) Father of Jesus Christ was Adam. (Journal of Wilford Woodruff, Apr. 10, 1852)

 

The Prophet Joseph explained the chain of capacities and exaltations necessary for man to gain exaltation:

 

Here, then, is eternal life–to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power. (TPJS, pp. 346-47)

 

Along this same line, President Brigham Young said on December 11, 1869:

 

Man also will have to be sealed to man until the chain is united from Father Adam down to the last Saint. This will be the work of the Millennium and Joseph Smith will be the man to attend to it or to direct it. He will not administer in person. But he will receive the resurrected body and will dictate to those who dwell in the flesh and tell what is to be done for he is the Last Prophet who is called to lay the foundation of the great Last Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. (Journal of Wilford Woodruff, Dec. 11, 1869)

 

[59] In reality, each dispensation head, every prophet, and all the righteous men who ever held the Priesthood, act in the capacity of “Saviors on Mount Zion” for the salvation of others.

 

* * *

 

It is indeed a glorious plan–

 

1. God first created His children in the spirit; and then–
2. He created an earth as a place for them to work out their salvation; then–
3. He came down to earth to begin the cycle of mortality for all of His spirit children.

 

 

[60] Chapter 6

EVE–

MOTHER OF ALL LIVING

 

Few enough are the scriptural references to precious women, but among those mentioned, Eve should be the most honored–“the mother of all living” of a world–performing the mission assigned to her, with all the honor and dignity that could be ascribed to her. Brigham Young gives her more honor than just being the first woman upon the earth–for he spoke of her mission in the pre-existence:

 

And Eve, our common mother, who is the mother of all living, bore these spirits in the Celestial world, and then this earth was organized by Elohim, Jehovah, and Michael, who is Adam, our common Father.

Adam and Eve had the privilege to continue the work of progression, consequently came to this earth and commenced the great work of forming tabernacles for those spirits to dwell in. (Brigham Young, L. John Nuttall Journal, 1:19)

 

Surprising as this may sound, this doctrine solves a considerable mystery behind the very veil of creation. If Adam is the Father of our spirits and bodies, it is only reasonable that Eve is the mother.

 

And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. (Gen. 3:20)

 

[61] That she “was” the mother of all living was said of Eve before she had given birth to Cain and Abel, or other mortal children. If she was called the “mother of all living” before she had any mortal children, it could only have reference to all of her spirit children.

 

Chapter One of Genesis can apply only to the pre-existence, wherein Adam and Eve were told to “be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over every living thing upon the earth.” Eve was given the commandment to “replenish” the earth; therefore, she must have had children first in the spirit world in order to “replenish” the world. To plenish is to “stock up”, and to replenish is to fill up again. Eve plenished the spirit world with spirit children and then replenished the physical world with them once more as mortals.

 

Then again–

 

Unto the woman, he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. (Gen. 3:16)

 

How could her “sorrow” and “conception” be multiplied unless she had already experienced them? In order to multiply a thing, it must first exist. As a resurrected being and mother of spirit children, she would be acquainted with “sorrow” and “conception,” but in mortality she was told that it would be multiplied.

 

President Young confirmed this doctrine of Eve’s being the mother of our spirits. According to Nuttall–

 

Wed. 7, at temple. I officiated as Recorder at the font. . . . Pres. Young was filled with the spirit of God and revelation and said, when we got our washings and annointings under the hands of the Prophet Joseph [62] at Nauvoo, we had only one room to work in . . . he gave the key words, signs, tokens and penalties . . . these things of which I have been speaking are what are termed the mysteries of godliness, but they will enable you to understand the expression of Jesus, made while in Jerusalem. “This is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent.” . . . Adam was an immortal being when he came on this earth . . . and had begotten all the spirits that was (sic) to come to this earth, and Eve our common Mother who is the mother of all living, bore those spirits in the celestial world. (L. John Nuttall Journal, Vol 1:18-20)

 

Brigham Young taught that Eve was the mother of the spirits and introduced the physical bodies of “all living”. He made the following promise to mortal mothers:

 

Many of the sisters grieve because they are not blessed with offspring. You will see the time when you will have millions of children around you. If you are faithful to your covenants, you will become mothers of nations. You will become Eves to earths like this; and when you have assisted in peopling one earth, there are millions of earths still in the course of creation. And when they have endured a thousand million times longer than this earth, it is only as it were the beginning of your creations. Be faithful, and if you are not blessed with children in this time, you will hereafter. But I would not dare tell you all I know about these matters. (Brigham Young, JD 8:208)

 

Before me I see a house full of Eves. What a crowd of reflections the word Eve is calculated to bring up! Eve was the name or title conferred upon our first mother, because she was actually to be the mother of all the human beings who should live upon this earth. I am looking upon a congregation designed to be just such beings. (Brigham Young, Mill. Star, 31:267)

 

[63] If mortal woman can become “an Eve” to an “earth like this,” and after “peopling one earth”, there are millions of other earths to become an Eve upon, it is evident that the mother of those spirit children would often come to earth as an Eve. And who will be her Adam? Her husband, of course, who is an exalted man! Hence, they were a God and a Goddess.

 

Consequently, a faithful woman, who gains her celestial resurrection, will first bear spirit children. Then she will come down to an earth, charging her system with blood to bear mortal tabernacles for those spirit children. After she is the mother of “all living” in the spirit world, she descends to become an Eve in mortality, where she will replenish the earth with her children so they too may gain mortality–and an exaltation!

 

President Young continued to teach this doctrine to the women of the Church:

 

Now, taking the history of creation as given by Moses, let me ask the question–“Mother Eve, did you not partake of the forbidden fruit, as also did Adam, and thus bring sin and iniquity into the world?” “O, yes,” says Mother Eve. Then, why cannot you bear the affliction of it? Why not say, “If I was the cause of bringing evil into the world, I will firmly bear all that God puts upon me, and maintain His word and His law, and so work out my salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God working within me.” I ask this question of you, mother Eves, every one of you. If you are not sanctified and prepared, you ought to be sanctifying and preparing yourselves for the blessings in store for you when it will be said of you, this is Eve. Why? Because you are the mother of all living. You might as well prepare first as last. If you wish to be Eves and mothers of human families, you ought to bear the burden. (Brigham Young, JD 12:97)

 

[64] These were strong evidences that every woman who gained her exaltation would at some time become an Eve and her husband would become an Adam.

 

Eve–immortal Eve–came down to earth to become the Mother of a race. How become the Mother of a world of mortals except by herself again becoming mortal? How become mortal only by transgressing the laws of immortality? How only by “eating of the forbidden fruit”–by partaking of the elements of a mortal earth, in which the seed of death was every-where scattered?

All orthodox theologians believe Adam and Eve to have been at first immortal, and all acknowledge the great command, “Be fruitful and multiply.”

That they were not about to become the parents of a world of immortals is evident, for they were on a mortal earth. (Women of Mormondom, pp. 197-98)

 

Other quotations by Brigham Young further substantiate the doctrinal basis of Adam as God and Eve the goddess:

 

Our first parents . . . brought death into the world. . . . Through the death of Jesus Christ, life and immortality were introduced . . . that we may come forth with the same kind of body that Adam had before the fall, a body of immortal flesh and bones. Adam and Eve were immortal, the same as resurrected beings . . . after the redemption we will not only have the same kind of bodies that they possessed in the Garden of Eden before the Fall, but we will have a knowledge of good and evil through our experience. (JD 3:344)

 

There is only one Gospel sermon, . . . and the time that is required to preach it is from the day of the fall, or from the day when Adam and his wife Eve came here upon this planet. (JD 3:90)

When Father Adam came to assist in organizing the earth out of the crude material that was found, an earth was made upon which the children of men could [65] live. After the earth was prepared Father Adam came and stayed here, and there was a woman brought to him. Now I am telling you something that many of you know, it has been told to you, and the brethren and sisters should understand it. There was a certain woman brought to Father Adam whose name was Eve, because she was the first woman, and she was given to him to be his wife; I am not disposed to give any further knowledge concerning her at present. There is no doubt but he left many companions. The great and glorious doctrine that pertains to this I have not time to dwell upon; neither should I at present if I had time. He understood this whole machinery or system before he came to this earth; and I hope my brethren and sisters will profit by what I have told them. (JD 16:167)

 

In Tullidge’s Women of Mormondom, there is a beautiful eulogy to Eve:

 

The supreme Unitarian conception is her; the God-Father and the God-Mother! The grand unity of God is in them–in the divine Fatherhood and divine Motherhood–the very beginning and consummation of creation. Not in the God-Father and the God-Son can the unity of the heavens and the earths be worked out; neither with any logic of facts nor of idealities. In them the Masonic trinities; in the everlasting Fathers and the everlasting Mothers the unities of creations.

Our mother in heaven is decidedly a new revelation, as beautiful and delicate to the masculine sense of the race as it is just and exalting to the feminine. It is the woman’s own revelation of our Mother in heaven–co-existent and co-equal with the eternal Father. This was left, among the unrevealed truths, to the present age, when it would seem the woman is destined by Providence to become very much the oracle of a new and peculiar civilization.

The oracle of this last grand truth of woman’s divinity and of her eternal Mother as the partner with the Father in the creation of worlds, is none other than the Mormon Church. It was revealed in the glorious [66] theology of Joseph, and established by Brigham in the vast patriarchal system which he has made firm as the foundations of the earth, by proclaiming Adam as our Father and God. The Father is first in name and order, but the Mother is with him–these twain, one from the beginning. (Women of Mormondom, pp. 193-94)

 

Among the many new items of doctrine which were introduced to the Church by Brigham Young was the marriage of Adam. According to President Young, Adam had a plurality of wives:

 

Adam helped to make this earth; it was created expressly for him, and after it was made, he and his companion came here. He brought one of his wives with him, and she was called Eve, because she was the first woman upon the earth. (Des. News, June 18, 1873)

 

When our father Adam came into the Garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. (JD 1:50)

 

When Brigham Young said Adam came into the Garden of Eden “with one of his wives,” he proclaimed a marriage under the eternal covenant–an ordinance which could have been performed only on another earth. Spirits cannot marry and have mortal children. Adam and Eve were once mortal and sealed by powers of priesthood on some other earth under all of the covenants of marriage! Then as resurrected beings, they reproduced spirit children.

 

The fall is simple. Our immortal parents came down to fall; came down to transgress the laws of immortality; came down to give birth to mortal tabernacles for a world of spirits. * * * Eve, then, came down to be the mother of a world. Glorious Mother, capable of dying at the very beginning to give life to her offspring, that through mortality the eternal life of the [67] Gods might be given her sons and daughters. Motherhood the same from the beginning even to the end! The love of motherhood passing all understanding! Thus read our Mormon sisters of the fall of their mother. (Women of Mormondom, pp. 197-98)

 

Whatever twists of interpretation or misquotes may be ascribed to Brigham Young’s teachings about Adam, there certainly is no misunderstanding of his declaration of the office or title of Eve. When he told the Latter-day Saint women that they would “become Eves to earths like this,” he was fully explaining their mission as resurrected and exalted beings. He was saying that God descended to become an Adam, and his wife descended to become an Eve. The fall of Adam was also the fall of Eve. Their descension was to give birth to mortal tabernacles for their spirit children to possess!

 

Mother Eve is our Goddess of Heaven!

 

 

[68] Chapter 7

MICHAEL–THE CREATOR

 

If Adam (Michael) was an exalted being, it follows then that he was the creator of this earth–instructed by his God and assisted by his brethren. Brigham Young declared:

 

We say that Father Adam came here and helped to make an earth. Who is He? He is Michael, a great Prince, and it was said to him by Elohim, “Go ye and make an earth.” What is the great mystery about it? He came and formed the earth. * * * Adam came here and got it up in shape that would suit him to commence business. What is the great mystery about it? None that I have seen. The mystery in this, as with miracles, or anything else, is only to those who are ignorant. (Des. News 22:308)

 

Bishop Heber Bennion gives logical reason for this principle by saying:

 

It seems strange that people will believe that “as man now is, God once was, and that as God now is, man may be;” that “God is an exalted man” and still repudiate the doctrine of Adam-God. These incredulous people believe that Eloheim, Jehovah, and Michael (Adam) the “Father of all living” created the world and yet cannot believe that He is the God of this world. It seems presumptuous indeed for them to ever aspire to be the God of anything, if Adam cannot be the God of the world he created and peopled. If a man is not to become the God of his own posterity, what [69] will he be the God of? (Supplement to Gospel Problems, Bennion, pp. 8-9)

 

President Young explains the significance of the name of Adam and how he obtained his role in the creation:

 

Why was Adam called Adam? He was the first man on the earth, and its framer and maker. He, with the help of his brethren, brought it into existence. Then he said, “I want my children who are in the spirit world to come and live here. I once dwelt upon an earth something like this, in a mortal state. I was faithful, I received my crown and exaltation. I have the privilege of extending my work, and to its increase there will be no end.” (Des. News Weekly 22:308)

 

Brigham Young even states that Adam was the “chief manager” in the creation of this earth:

 

Though we have it in history that our father Adam was made of the dust of this earth, and that he knew nothing about his God previous to being made here, yet it is not so; and when we learn the truth, we shall see and understand that he helped to make this world, and was the chief manager in that operation. (JD 3:319)

 

Apostle Franklin D. Richards, President of the European Mission, explained the following scripture:

 

“And God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowls of the air; and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (Gen. 1:28)

If the Lord God has ever withdrawn from Father Adam the authority here bestowed upon him, He has not seen fit to make it known to the world. * * * Adam has continued to bear rule over the earth, and [70] control the destinies of his never-ending posterity. From the time he received his commission in the Garden of Eden, he has been laboring diligently to fulfill the instructions there given him by the Lord God concerning his dominions, and to bring them under subjection to his will. This will be fully accomplished when every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that he is the God of the whole earth. Then will the words of the Prophet Brigham, when speaking of Adam, be fully realized–He is our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do. (Mill. Star 17:195)

 

Brigham Young, in the following four references, declared that one of the first missions of resurrected, exalted beings is to begin the work of creating and peopling an earth and eventually acting as judge thereon:

 

When they receive their crowns, their dominions, they then will be prepared to frame earths like unto ours and to people them in the same manner as we have been brought forth by our parents, by our Father and our God. (JD 18:259)

 

Adam was an immortal being when he came to this earth. He had lived on an earth similar to ours. He had received the Priesthood and the keys thereof, and had been faithful in all things, and had gained resurrection, and his exaltation, and was crowned with glory, immortality and eternal lives, and was numbered with the Gods, for such he was through his faithfulness.

And he had begotten all of the spirits that were to come to this earth. (L. John Nuttall Journal, 1:18)

 

If you look at things spiritually, and then naturally, and see how they appear together, you will understand that when you have the privilege of commencing the work that Adam commenced on this earth, you will have all your children come and report to you of their sayings and acts; and you will hold [71] every son and daughter of yours responsible when you get the privilege of being an Adam on earth. . . . (JD 4:271)

 

They (the Twelve Tribes) will come up tribe by tribe, and the Ancient of Days, He who led Abraham, and talked to Noah, Enoch, Isaac, and Jacob, that very Being will come and judge the Twelve tribes of Israel. (JD 11:326)

 

* * *

 

Hence, all men who gain the crown of exaltation will bear spirit children and create an earth like this for them. They will then become an Adam upon their earthly creation and, together with their Eve, produce mortal tabernacles so that those children may follow the laws of progression as their Father has done before them. The glory of God is manifest in bringing to pass the eternal life of his children so that His creations may continue to roll on through the eternities, gaining an increase of dominions, power, and glory forever. The plan of salvation consists of a never-ending creation of earths and an ever-growing family of children.

 

 

[72] Chapter 8

JESUS–

THE SON OF ADAM

 

If Adam is the God of this world, he would, of necessity, have to send his own son to “redeem” all men from the “fall”. Jesus, therefore, would be the son of Adam (Michael) if the Adam-God doctrine be true. Brigham Young had already explained this point, even within his first announcement of the Adam-God doctrine:

 

Jesus, our elder Brother, was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the Garden of Eden, and who is our Father in Heaven. (JD 1:50)

 

Up to the year of his death, President Young continued to advocate this filial relationship:

 

The Savior comes to the Father, the Ancient of Days, and presents to the Father the kingdoms of this world all in a saved condition–except the sons of perdition. And he says, “Here, Father; here they are, and I with them.” Then he is prepared to go forth and fill up his kingdom, and so he goes on. (Brigham Young in St. George, L. John Nuttall, 1877)

 

Other writers and speakers in the Church also advocated this point of doctrine to be true, for example:

 

[73] Adam is the great archangel of this creation. He is Michael. He is the Ancient of Days. He is the father of our elder brother, Jesus Christ–the father of him who shall also come as Messiah to reign. He is the father of the spirits as well as the tabernacles of the sons and daughters of man–Adam. . . (Women of Mormondom, p. 179)

 

Not only does Brigham Young accredit Jesus to be the son of Adam in the flesh, but also that Adam (Michael) is His father in the pre-existent spirit world:

 

Father Adam’s oldest son, “Jesus the Savior,” who is the heir of the family, is Father Adam’s first begotten in the spirit world, who according to the flesh is the only begotten as it is written.

In his divinity, he having gone back into the spirit world, and come in the spirit to Mary, and she conceived; for when Adam and Eve got through with their work in this earth, they did not lay their bodies down in the dust, but returned to the spirit world from whence they come. (L. John Nuttall Journal, 1:21)

 

President Young further explained this relationship between God and Mary by saying that–

 

. . . The man Joseph, the husband of Mary, did not, that we know of, have more than one wife, but Mary the wife of Joseph had another husband. . . . That very babe that was cradled in the manger, was begotten, not by Joseph, the husband of Mary, but by another Being. Do you inquire by whom? He was begotten by God our heavenly Father. (JD 11:268)

 

An interesting account of this incomplete but sacred history was elaborated in the writings of the Apostle Orson Pratt:

 

[74] If none but Gods will be permitted to multiply immortal children, it follows that each God must have one or more wives. God, the Father of our spirits, became the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh. Hence, the Father saith concerning him, “Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.” We are informed in the first chapter of Luke, that Mary was chosen by the Father as a choice virgin, through whom He begat Jesus. The angel said unto the Virgin Mary, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore, also, that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” After the power of the Highest had overshadowed Mary, and she had by that means conceived, she related the circumstance to her cousin Elizabeth in the following words: “He that is Mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is His name.” It seems from this relation that the Holy Ghost accompanied “the Highest” when He overshadowed the Virgin Mary and begat Jesus; and from this circumstance some have supposed that the body of Jesus was begotten of the Holy Ghost without the instrumentality of the immediate presence of the Father. There is no doubt that the Holy Ghost came upon Mary to sanctify her, and make her holy, and prepare her to endure the glorious presence of “the Highest,” that when “He” should “overshadow” her, she might conceive, being filled with the Holy Ghost; hence the angel said, as recorded in Matthew, “That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost;” that is, the Holy Ghost gave her strength to abide the presence of the Father without being consumed; but it was the personage of the Father who begat the body of Jesus; and for this reason Jesus is called “the Only Begotten of the Father;” that is, the only one in this world whose fleshly body was begotten by the Father. There were millions of sons and daughters whom He begat before the foundation of this world, but they were spirits, and not bodies of flesh and bones; whereas, both the spirit and body of Jesus were begotten by the Father–the spirit having been begotten in heaven many ages before the tabernacle was begotten upon the earth.

[75] The fleshly body of Jesus required a Mother as well as a Father. Therefore, the Father and Mother of Jesus, according to the flesh, must have been associated together in the capacity of Husband and Wife; hence the Virgin Mary must have been, for the time being, the lawful wife of God the Father; we use the term lawful Wife, because it would be blasphemous in the highest degree to say that He overshadowed her or begat the Saviour unlawfully. It would have been unlawful for any man to have interfered with Mary, who was already espoused to Joseph; for such a heinous crime would have subjected both the guilty parties to death, according to the law of Moses. But God having created all men and women, had the most perfect right to do with His own creation, according to His holy will and pleasure; He had a lawful right to overshadow the Virgin Mary in the capacity of a husband, and beget a Son, although she was espoused to another; for the law which He gave to govern men and women was not intended to govern Himself, or to prescribe rules for his own conduct. It was also lawful in Him, after having thus dealt with Mary, to give her to Joseph her espoused husband. Whether God the Father gave Mary to Joseph for time only, or for time and eternity, we are not informed. Inasmuch as God was the first husband to her, it may be that He only gave her to be the wife of Joseph while in this mortal state, and that He intended after the resurrection to again take her as one of his own wives to raise up immortal spirits in eternity.

As God the Father begat the fleshly body of Jesus, so He, before the world began, begat his spirit. As the body required an earthly Mother, so his spirit required a heavenly Mother. As God associated in the capacity of a husband with the earthly mother, so likewise He associated in the same capacity with the heavenly one. Earthly things being in the likeness of heavenly things. (The Seer, pp. 158-59)

 

[76] On February 22, 1888, Apostle Abraham Cannon and his father, George Q. Cannon, were returning from a conference, and Abraham related their conversation in his diary:

 

. . . Father told me that all his success in life was due to his zeal for the work of God. Men gave him credit for much more ability than he possessed, but whatever talents he did possess he had tried to use to the glory of God. In his speaking he had never desired to be sensational but to be sound in doctrine. He asked me what I understood concerning Mary conceiving the Savior, and as I found no answer, he asked what was to prevent Father Adam from visiting and over-shadowing the mother of Jesus. “Then,” said he, “And though Christ is said to have been the `first fruits’ of them that slept, yet the Savior said he did nothing but what he had seen His Father do, for He had power to lay down his life and take it up again. Adam, though made of dust, was made, as President Young said, of the dust of another planet than this.” I was very much instructed by the conversation and this day’s services. (Diary of Abraham H. Cannon, Vol. 10:178-79)

 

Believing that Adam was the father of Jesus might throw a sectarian minister into a fit of hysteria; blasphemy would be only the beginning of his shrieks. Nevertheless, the mystery of the fall of Adam, and mystery birth of Jesus, was fully explained by Brigham Young in his first announcement of the Adam-God doctrine. Everyone can or should be able to recognize that Jesus was indeed the “Son of God”.

 

Christian ministers proclaim Jesus as “the son of God”, but then say he was begotten by the Holy Ghost. Jesus always gave tribute to God as “Father”–not the Holy Ghost.

 

In the beginning of time, God came down to provide mortality for His children. In the meridian of time, he again descended to become the Father of their Redeemer.

 

 

[77] Chapter 9

CELESTIAL BODIES

AND CELESTIAL KEYS

 

There is only one definition of a celestial body–one that has received a glorious resurrection. A celestial body is resurrected to an estate much higher and more glorious than a terrestrial or telestial body. Only a celestial personage has the right to wives or the power of propagation. Adam had this kind of body.

 

Before Adam fell he was a resurrected man; that is, his physical body had been disorganized, and then reorganized. * * * Between the time of Adam’s resurrection and his fall afterwards, he must have enjoyed a season of rest and peace. (Contributor 8:218)

 

In the pre-existent state there are celestial spirits–but not bodies. Bodies are the purpose and accomplishment of mortality; and a celestial body is the result and reward of a most righteous mortal existence. We can assume that Adam’s physical body was a celestial body, because he walked and talked with his God. A terrestrial or telestial body cannot ordinarily withstand the presence of the Father; yet Adam walked and talked with his God in a physical body–hence, evidence of its celestial or resurrected status.

 

Another factor to consider in determining whether or not Adam had an immortal body, is the extended life span of his [78] mortal existence. A celestial body, which becomes saturated with mortal blood, would still reflect, as it were, the immortal characteristics of that kind of body. Our earth has experienced similar physical changes. Today, all of our “modern” and “scientific” methods of combatting diseases and ailments, with the greatly advanced methods of processing, handling, and using foods and medicines are supposed to be greater than ever before. Yet we live in an era where the normal life span is about 65 to 80 years. Adam lived nearly 15 times that long! His physical health propensity was apparently disseminated into his children and even their children, as most of them lived approximately the same length of time. Is not a thousand-year life span an evidence of a much more perfect body?

 

Some scientific philosophers claim we descend back to the smallest living thing; others say we are traced back to the mud-man in the Garden of Eden. At least the so-called scientists are willing to start us with some kind of life form, rather than a glob of mud! But we read in the scriptures that our genealogy traces us to God:

 

. . . and a genealogy was kept of the children of God. And this was the book of the generations of Adam. (Moses 6:8)

 

When we refer to the fall of Adam, it should actually be called the fall of Michael. Michael stands as one in the Council of Gods that began the creation; and when he partook of the forbidden fruit, he entered mortality to become Adam, or the first man. The fall was from Michael to Adam.

 

Michael, as well as Adam, is called the “father of all living.” He was, according to Abraham’s record, in the Council of the Gods.

 

The Priesthood was first given to Adam; he obtained the First Presidency, and held the keys of it [79] from generation to generation. He obtained it in the Creation, before the world was formed, as in Genesis 1:26-28. He had dominion given him over every living creature. He is Michael the Archangel, spoken of in the scriptures. (Joseph Smith, D.H.C. 3:385-86)

 

We would normally presume that Jesus held the priesthood keys “first,” but it was Adam! So when Michael came to earth, he already possessed the Priesthood–a distinction which no other mortal person has ever had. Priesthood must be conferred.

 

There is only one way to receive the Priesthood and that is by the laying on of hands. This is one of the unalterable and unchangeable ordinances of the Gospel. Even Jesus had to have it conferred upon Him:

 

Ordinances instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed. All must be saved on the same principles. * * * If a man gets a fullness of the priesthood of God, he has to get it in the same way that Jesus Christ obtained it, and that was by keeping all the commandments and obeying all the ordinances of the house of the Lord. (TPJS, p. 308)

 

Only Adam had obtained a celestial body and had already had the Priesthood conferred upon him on his mortal earth, before he came to this earth.

 

In a Priesthood capacity, Michael is also called the “Arch-angel,” or the greatest of all. Orson Pratt gave an interesting description of the nature of angels:

 

Now, how are the angels of God after the resurrection? According to the revelations which God has given, there are different classes of angels. Some [80] angels are God, and still possess the lower office called angels. Adam is called an Archangel, yet he is a God.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, no doubt, have the right to officiate in the capacity of angels if they choose, but still they have ascended to their exaltation, to a higher state than that of angels–namely, to thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, to reign over kingdoms and to hold the everlasting Priesthood. Then there is another order of angels who never have ascended to these powers and dignities, to this greatness and exaltation in the presence of God. Who are they? Those who never received the everlasting covenant of marriage for eternity; those who have not continued in nor received that law with all their hearts, or who, perhaps, have fought against it. They become angels. They have no power to increase and extend forth to kingdoms. (JD 13:187)

 

Also read of the “Battle of the Great God,” yet it is “Michael’s” battle! Michael is the leader and the victor. (See D & C 88:114-115.)

 

But, behold, verily I say unto you, before the earth shall pass away, Michael, mine Archangel, shall sound his trump, and then shall the dead awake, for their graves shall be opened, and they shall come forthÑyea, even all. (D & C 29:26)

From the foregoing we are enabled to draw important conclusions, that before the coming of the Lord Jesus in the clouds of heaven, to take the reins of government upon the earth, Adam comes and gathers around him all that have ever held keys of power under him upon the earth, in any of the dispensations thereof to man; he calls forth the dead from their graves, at the sound of his trump, he brings them to judgment, and they render unto him an account of their several stewardships; the books are opened that a righteous judgment may be rendered by him who now sits upon his throne, not only as the Father, but the Judge of men; and in that capacity thousands minister unto him. An august assemblage is now gathered in one [81] grand council around the great Patriarch of all Patriarchs, consisting of his sons, who have been faithful in that which was committed to them; and all this preparatory to that great event, when the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven should be given to the Saints of the Most High. Daniel saw that the Saints possessed the kingdom, by virtue of which Adam was once more in possession of the dominion given unto him before the fall, which was over every living thing that moved upon the earth which rendered him the Universal Sovereign and Lord of All. (Mill. Star 15:801)

 

Heber C. Kimball asserted that the gatekeeper of the Celestial City was Adam:

 

If we do not unite our efforts in this direction, we shall never pass through the strait gate that is spoken of in the Scriptures, or what I will call the narrow gate. It is the gate that will only admit one man at a time. We are not going in all in confusion, as the sectarians suppose.

This brings to my mind the vision that Joseph Smith had, when he saw Adam open the gate of the Celestial City and admit the people one by one. He then saw father Adam conduct them to the throne one by one, when they were crowned Kings and Priests of God. (JD 9:41)

 

The keys and power committed to Adam surpass all other keys given in any dispensation, because Adam directs the keys of each dispensation in every age. Note the beauty, harmony with scripture, and the reasoning that Samuel W. Richards attributes to the glorious events of the grand summation of the human family and their Creator:

 

There are two grand principles, by virtue of which all intelligent beings have a legitimate right to govern and hold dominion; these are by begetting children from their own loins, and by winning the hearts of [82] others to voluntarily desire their righteous exercise of power extended over them.

We can conceive, from Scripture, principle, and analogy, that Adam’s watch-care is ever over man-kind; that by his own approbation and direction Gospel dispensations have been revealed from heaven to earth in different ages of the world; that he was the first that ever held the keys of Gospel power upon the earth, and by his supervision they have been handed down from age to age, whenever they have been among men; that under his direction a Deluge once swept the earth of the wickedness which was upon it, and laws were given to Israel, as a nation, to lead them to Christ; and that he will in the end call men to judgment for the privileges which have been extended to them in this world.

At this important period, when Adam is reinstated with full power upon the earth, seated upon his throne, as Daniel saw him–a glorious and an immortal God, one like the Son of Man, comes in the clouds of Heaven (as oftimes represented by the Apostles) to the Ancient of Days, and receives from him dominion, glory, and a kingdom; or in other words, Michael, having accomplished the work committed to him, pertaining to this world, delivers up an account of his stewardship over the same, to that character represented as Yahovah in the creation of the world, who reigns in unison with those upon the earth, until his work is fully accomplished–till the last great contest with the enemy, who has been released for a little season, is won; then he in turn delivers up the kingdom to the great Eloheim, that in the language of the Apostle, “God may be all in all.”

This final surrender, we are to bear in mind, does not detract from the Godlike power and dominion of our first Parent, nor of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Patriarchal order of government, each and every ruler is independent in his sphere, his rule extending to those below, and not to those above him, in the same order. While the God of unnumbered worlds is acknowledged to be his God and Father, Adam still maintains his exalted position at the head of all those who are saved from among the whole family of man; and he will be [83] God over all those who are made Gods from among men. Each and every God will be honoured and adored by those over whom he reigns as a God, without any violation of the laws of heaven–without any encroachment upon that command which saith, “thou shalt have no other Gods before me,” for the glory and honour of all true Gods constitute the glory, honour, power, and dominion of the great Eloheim, according to His own order of government.

What a glorious system of order is here portrayed–one in which an innumerable succession of Gods, Patriarchs, and rulers, can reign forever in the greatest possible harmony that can be comprehended by intelligences, while each is independent in his position, as is all intelligence. As the great Eloheim is supreme and Almighty over all His children and kingdoms, so is Adam as great a ruler, or God, in his sphere, over his children, and the kingdom which they possess. The earth and all things upon it were created for Adam, and it was given to him of his Father to have dominion over it. In that dominion he will be sustained throughout all eternity. (Mill. Star 15:802-04)

 

Orson Pratt also gives Adam this high and exalted position, for he wrote that–

 

One of these is God the Father, Michael or Adam, from whose loins the earth is peopled, and who is now laboring for the redemption of his children. The great captain of evil is Satan, formerly Lucifer, but now a fallen “Son of the Morning”, who with his followers are diligently laboring to destroy the works of God by reducing them to a like condition with themselves. (Mill. Star 17:785)

 

Every man who conforms his life to the principles of salvation, honors the priesthood, and gains exaltation, will possess the keys and powers of creation. As men are perfected, they will become creators of spirit children, organizers of earths, and Gods in a celestial and eternal glory forever!

 

 

[84] Chapter 10

ORIGIN OF THE

ADAM-GOD DOCTRINE

 

The world cries for originality; but when a prophet comes among them, they persecute him for not conforming to their standards and traditions. Every true prophet has met with opposition when he introduced truth to the world. Mankind have always rejected true prophets and exalted the false ones. The Prophet Joseph Smith had difficulty proclaiming nearly every doctrine which was not commonly believed in; and because of this, many principles were restrained from the public eye. Joseph knew more than he could reveal–even to the Saints, for he said:

 

I have tried for a number of years to get the minds of the Saints prepared to receive the things of God; but we frequently see some of them, after suffering all they have for the work of God, will fly to pieces like glass as soon as anything comes that is contrary to their tradition; they cannot stand the fire at all. (DHC 6:184)

 

Brother Brigham, if I was to reveal to this people what the Lord has revealed to me, there is not a man or a woman would stay with me. (Brigham Young quoting Joseph Smith, JD 9:294)

 

Brigham Young also knew the struggle the Prophet Joseph had in revealing new spiritual truths–

 

[85] There is too much covetousness in the Church, and too much disposition amongst the brethren to seek after power, and has been from the beginning; but this failing is diminishing and the brethren begin to know better. In consequence of such feelings Joseph left the people in the dark on many subjects of importance and they still remain in the dark. We have got to rid such principles from our hearts. (DHC 7:545)

 

Joseph Smith Originates the Doctrine

 

The Prophet Joseph Smith could reveal only certain things to his closest and most trusted friends. In fact, all of the doctrines of the Church can be traced directly back to Joseph Smith. It was not Brigham Young who was first to teach the Adam-God doctrine. It can be clearly documented that Joseph Smith was the originator of that doctrine, and that Brigham Young only made it public knowledge. Brigham Young declared as much when he said:

 

Our Father Adam is the man who stands at the gate and holds the keys of everlasting life and salvation to all his children who have or who ever will come upon the earth. * * * I could not find any man on the earth who could tell me this, although it is one of the simplest things in the world, until I met and talked with Joseph Smith. (Des. News, 6-18-73)

 

1. H. Roberts, assistant Church Historian, traced this doctrine back to the Prophet Joseph:

 

It is generally supposed that Brigham Young was the author of the doctrine which places Adam as the patriarchal head of the human race, and ascribes to him the dignity of future presidency over this earth and its inhabitants, when the work of redemption shall have been completed. Those who read the Prophet’s treatise on the Priesthood in the text above will have their opinions corrected upon this subject, for clearly it [86] is the word of the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith which established that doctrine. The utterances of President Brigham Young but repeat and expound the doctrine which the Prophet here sets forth. (DHC 3:388, footnote)

 

Adam was the patriarchal head of all men, and held the presidency over all the earth’s inhabitants, as well as being the father of man in mortality. Joseph Smith said that–

 

He (Adam) is the father of the human family, and presides over the spirits of all men. . . . (DHC 3:387)

 

Adam could not preside over the spirits of men unless he were the father of those spirits. No other explanation would give him such authority. Because Adam presides over the spirits of all men, this would also include Jesus Christ. Joseph gives this key, also:

 

Everlasting covenant was made between three personages before the organization of this earth, and relates to their dispensation of things to men on the earth; these personages, according to Abraham’s record, are called God the first, the Creator; God the second, the Redeemer; and God the third, the Witness or Testator. (TPJS, p. 190)

 

Here the Prophet establishes the “first dispensation” upon the earth as that belonging to God the First, the Creator. We are informed that this is Adam’s dispensation–the two become synonymous. Also the Prophet establishes him as “God the First,” above “God the second, the Redeemer.”

 

He (Joseph Smith) taught us that God was the great head of the human procreation–was really and truly the father of both our spirits and our bodies. (Letter from Benjamin F. Johnson to George S. Gibbs)

 

[87] There is little doubt as to the Prophet Joseph’s convictions and teachings corresponding with those of President Brigham Young’s, and some people have even acknowledged in writing that the Adam-God doctrine came from the teachings of the Prophet himself. Consider the following:

 

When this earth was prepared for mankind, Michael as Adam, came down. He brought with him one of his wives, and he called her name Eve. . . . The grand patriarchal economy, with Adam, as a resurrected being, who brought his wife Eve from another world, has been very finely elaborated by Brigham, from the patriarchal genesis which Joseph conceived. (Women of Mormondom, pp. 179, 181)

 

Validity of Brigham Young’s Teachings

 

To strengthen a belief in the Adam-God Doctrine, we should consider Brigham Young and the authenticity of his position as a valid and qualified teacher.

 

When the Prophet Joseph’s life had so abruptly come to an end, leaving the Church without a president and prophet, there existed the vast uncertainty of who should take his place. The people who knew the power and exalted position of their leader, Joseph, wanted a man similar. It was necessary, under such trying times, that it should devolve upon the strongest spiritual man within the Church, for they needed spiritual guidance more than ever before. At this critical juncture, in this perilous time of the Church, they turned to God to fulfill that vacancy for them. Accordingly, God gave them His choice–by a powerful manifestation so that they would know who was mostly akin to their great Prophet Joseph Smith. By God’s own approval and choice, He gave them a revelation to show the nearness of these two men–Joseph Smith and [88] Brigham Young. The mantle of Joseph fell upon Brigham, and the Saints witnessed it with their own eyes.

 

If Joseph had arisen from the dead and again spoke in their hearing, the effect could not have been more startling than it was to many present at that meeting; it was the voice of Joseph himself; and not only was it the voice of Joseph which was heard, but it seemed in the eyes of the people as if it were the very person of Joseph which stood before them. A more wonderful and miraculous event than was wrought that day in the presence of that congregation we never heard of. The Lord gave his people a testimony that left no room for doubt as to who was the man chosen to lead them. (Life of Brigham Young, Tullidge, 1877, p. 115)

 

If I had not seen him with my own eyes, there is no one that could have convinced me that it was not Joseph Smith, and anyone can testify to this who was acquainted with these two men. (Wilford Woodruff, Des. News, Mar. 12, 1892)

 

Both Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball had received the assurance from God that they would never fall from their station. From the commencement of the Church these two were protected and guided by the Lord. There never were two more faithful men to the Prophet Joseph than Heber and Brigham. Said the Prophet:

 

Of the Twelve Apostles chosen in Kirtland, and ordained under the hands of Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and myself, there have been but two but what have lifted their heel against me, namely Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball. (DHC 5:412, May 28, 1843)

 

The history of these two men was connected with the foundation and rise of the Church itself, and their integrity and [89] truthfulness stand as an example for all men. Heber C. Kimball testified to the integrity of Brigham Young:

 

Do you suppose that he (B. Young) is so unwise to say a thing which he does not know to be true? He understands what he speaks, and he looks before he jumps, and God Almighty will lead him straight, and he will never stumble–no, never, from this time forth. (JD 5:32)

 

On another occasion Apostle Kimball said:

 

Just think of your position; you have heard the teachings and instructions of President Young, and his instructions are the word of God to us, and I know that every man and woman in this Church who rejects his testimony, and the testimony of those that he sends, rejects the testimony of God his Father. I know that, just as well as I know that I see your faces today. (JD 4:2)

 

Brigham Young explained the source and influence of his teachings and the manner in which he taught:

 

In my doctrinal teachings I have taught many things not written in any book, ancient or modern, and yet, notwithstanding the many things I have told the people, I have never looked into the Bible, Book of Mormon, or the Doctrine and Covenants, or any of our Church works to see whether they agreed with them or not. When I have spoken by the power of God and the Holy Ghost, it is truth, it is scripture, and I have no fears but that it will agree with all that has been revealed in every particular. (Des. News, June 6, 1877)

 

The Lord promised this influence to these early and faithful leaders:

 

[90] And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation. (D & C 68:4)

 

Acceptance or rejection of the testimony of President Brigham Young is a good basis for the truth of Mormonism. If Brigham Young was wrong in his doctrines, who then can we be sure is correct? If the founders of the faith are in error, then nothing since has the assurance of being valid. If Brother Brigham is right, if his doctrines are correct, and his testimony is true, then we can easily detect everything else that is in error.

 

Brigham Young gives us this testimony of God, and the key by which we may obtain the true knowledge of our God:

 

Tell me that you do not know anything about God! I will tell you one thing, it would better become you to lay your hands upon your mouths and them in the dust, and cry, “unclean, unclean.” Whether you receive these things or not, I tell you them in simplicity. I lay them before you like a child, because they are perfectly simple. If you see and understand these things, it will be by the Spirit of God; you will receive them by no other spirit. (By the same token no one can reject them with the spirit of the Lord.) No matter whether they are told to you like the thunderings of the Almighty or by simple conversation; if you enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, it will tell you whether they are right or not. I am acquainted with my Father. I am as confident that I understand in part, see in part, and know and am acquainted with Him in part, as I am that I was acquainted with my earthly father who died in Quincy, Illinois, after we were driven from Missouri. * * * I know my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, and this is eternal life. (JD 4:218)

 

[91] Popular or unpopular as a prophet may be, his words must be honored. There is one sure way to have the Lord refuse further light and knowledge to a people, and that is for them to reject truths which have already been revealed. If Brigham Young was unsure or mistaken in any of his teachings, he would have acknowledged and corrected them. But his stand was thus:

 

I know just as well what to teach this people and just what to say to them and what to do in order to bring them into the Celestial Kingdom as I know the road to my office. It is just as plain and easy. The Lord is in our midst. He teaches the people continually. I have never yet preached a sermon and sent it out to the children of men, that they may not call it scripture. (Des. News, Jan. 29, 1880)

 

And again he said:

 

I say now when they (my sermons) are copied and approved by me, they are as good as scripture as is couched in this Bible, and if you want to read revelation, read the sayings of him who knows the mind of God. (JD 13:264)

 

The reason Brigham Young spoke with such assurity, was because of the revelations which he had received. If he preached his own opinions or theories, he would have been cautious about sending it out as doctrine. But whatever God revealed to him, there was no hesitancy in his testimony concerning the matter. In his own words, he explained it this way:

 

Where is the divine who knows the least thing about that Being who is the Father of our Spirits and the author of our bodies? If we know something about him, is there any harm in it? Not a bit. The world of mankind are infidels. We should all be infidel to every [92] false principles. I am infidel in regard to many things, but to the truth, wherever found, I am no infidel. The Christian world is infidel to the truth in a great degree. Why? Because they know so little of the mind and will of God. Step outside of this kingdom, and who can tell us the first process towards covering the earth with the knowledge of God? Who is there that can tell us anything about that angel whom John saw coming with the everlasting Gospel as recorded in John’s Revelations? I never found anyone who could till I saw Joseph Smith. He could tell me what I had so much desired to learn. What do the Christian divines know about it even at the present day? If they do know anything about it, I wish they would tell us. But if they do not know and will not receive the things of God from those who do know, does not this make them infidels to the truth?

I have had many revelations; I have seen and heard for myself, and know these things are true, and nobody on earth can disprove them. The eye, the ear, the hand, all the senses may be deceived, but the Spirit of God cannot be deceived; and when inspired with that Spirit, the whole man is filled with knowledge, he can see with a spiritual eye, and he knows that which is beyond the power of man to controvert. What I know concerning God, concerning the earth, concerning government, I have received from the heavens, not alone through my natural ability, and I give God the glory and the praise. (JD 16:46)

 

Heber C. Kimball testified that he knew of the source and means through which Brigham Young received these revelations for the Church:

 

Has Brother Brigham got the Urim and Thummim? Yes, he has everything that is necessary for him to receive the will and mind of God to this people. Do I know it? Yes, I know all about it. . . . (JD 2:111)

 

[93] Rarely, if ever, was Brigham Young guilty of teaching any errors, and the only guilt he ever felt was teaching too much truth about God:

 

And I will say, as I have before said, if guilt before my God and my brethren rests upon me, in the least, it is in this one thing that I have revealed too much concerning God and His kingdom, and the designs of our Father in heaven. If my skirts are stained in the least with wrong, it is because I have been too free in telling what God is, how he lives, the nature of his providences and designs in creating the world, and in bringing forth the human family on the earth, his designs concerning them, etc. If I had like Paul said, “But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant,” perhaps it would have been better for the people. (JD 8:58)

 

Brigham Young was careful, not only in his own teachings, but he instructed the same of the elders:

 

But I will give a caution to my brethren the Elders–never undertake to teach a thing that you do not understand. Such things will come into your minds; but without launching out on such subjects, questions may be asked and answered, and we gain knowledge from each other. There is plenty within the scope of our own brains that, by the assistance of the Spirit of the Lord, will enable us to tell many things–more than the world or even more than the Saints can receive. Suppose a man should come here and tell you the very nature of our Father Adam–tell precisely how he was organized, his height, his proportions, the extent of his knowledge, tell you the agreement that was entered into, the amount of knowledge he had to forget to reduce himself to the capacity of a corruptible being! Suppose this could all be told to the congregations of the Saints, what would they know about it? Very little. There may be some minds which could grasp some things pertaining to it, but others could not. The [94] spirit of revelation can reveal these things to the people, but unless they live so as to have the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ, they will remain a mystery, for there is a veil before the minds of the people, and they cannot be understood. Some of these principles have been taught to the Latter-day Saints, but who can understand them? (JD 13:263)

 

Brigham Young was a man unconcerned with the acceptance, rejection, popularity, or disapproval of the world–he spoke as he was inspired. His tenacity for defense of the Gospel is without parallel, and pure inspiration is evident in all of his teachings.

 

Brigham Young served as President of the Church longer than any other president. His teachings, his labors, and his accomplishments are unparalleled in the history of the Church. The powers of God, manifest through him, are among the most notable of any other president since his time. To better acquaint ourselves with the influence the Lord had upon Brigham Young, we need only turn to the history of the Church itself. Consider how Joseph, in a vision, saw Brigham Young “standing in the far south and west, in a desert place,” preaching with “the angel of God standing above his head.” (DHC 2:381) At another time while journeying on board ship, a storm arose causing turbulent waves and vigorous winds, but Brigham Young did “command the wind and the waves to cease, and permit them to proceed on their journey in safety.” (DHC 4:23) Among the gifts bestowed upon Brigham Young was the gift to speak in the language of Adam. Some members disputed it to be “of the devil” but the Prophet Joseph “told them it was the pure Adamic language,” or “language of God.” (Mill. Star 25:439; see also DHC 1:296, 2:428, and 7:558)

 

Brigham Young’s apostleship was known even before he was considered for the appointment. (See DHC 2:181.) Read [95] the rare tribute of his faithfulness to the Prophet Joseph in DHC 5:412) Also at the first meeting of Joseph and Brigham, the Prophet Joseph knew that Brigham Young would become president of the Church at some future day. (See L.D.S. Biographical Encyclopedia 1:9.)

 

(May 14, 1876) Br. Levi W. Hancock bore his testimony to the living oracles of God. Said in the early rise of the church he lived two years with the Prophet Joseph, and one day he was chopping a Beech log with Joseph and saw Br. Brigham for the first time. Joseph remarked to him before Brigham came within hearing, “There is the greatest man that ever lived to teach redemption to the world and will yet lead this people.” Bore a powerful testimony to the power of God being with Br. Brigham in leading his people. Said that the mantle of Joseph had fell upon him. (Charles Walker Jrnl., 1:422)

 

And when the time came for Brigham Young to be president of the Church, there were many of the leading elders of Israel who heard the audible voice of God make that selection. (See Appendix for this rare account.)

 

President Young gives a key to the knowledge he obtained:

 

From the first time I saw the Prophet Joseph I never lost a word that came from him concerning the kingdom. And this is the key of knowledge that I have today, that I did hearken to the words of Joseph, and treasured them up in my heart, laid them away, asking my Father in the name of his Son Jesus to bring them to my mind when needed. I treasured up the things of God, and this is the key that I hold today. I was anxious to learn from Joseph and the spirit of God. The spirit of revelation that was given to me has revealed to me many things which have been done. If you, my brethren, are quick to comprehend, and if you love the [96] truth, you will treasure up these things and ponder upon them in your hearts, and when you are asked with regard to them they will be revealed to you. (Des. News, June 6, 1877)

 

This may be an important key to everyone. If they wish to know more of the things of God, as taught by Brigham Young, let them ponder upon them in their hearts, and they “will be revealed.”

 

To recount the faithfulness of Brigham Young to the Prophet Joseph is a most remarkable story.

 

It is hard to tell which was the more dominant in his life–Joseph Smith’s personality or Joseph Smith’s ideas. During the thirty-three years of his leadership of the Mormons, Brigham Young’s greatest anxiety was to make his life and work conform to the pattern laid down by the Prophet. Every idea, every expression of that idea in whatever form, had to square with what Joseph Smith had said on the subject.

And even when the great pioneer came to die, his practical genius concentrated on his early “file leader”–the man who had been in his grave thirty-three years and from whose hands he had accepted as a sacred trust the leadership of a great organization. Looking up and out, the glaze of death gathering in his eyes, Brigham exclaimed feebly, “Joseph! Joseph! Joseph!” (Joseph Smith, An American Prophet, John Henry Evans, p. 213)

 

This stands as evidence that the teachings of Brigham Young, throughout his life, stood accepted and approved by the Prophet Joseph Smith. To reject, disapprove, or contradict President Brigham Young’s teachings, is to also cast a shadow of doubt upon the validity of the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

 

[97]

Joseph Smith’s Teachings on Adam

 

Because of the unbelief that existed among many Saints, as well as the precarious times during his leadership, the Prophet Joseph could not present the Adam-God doctrine nor plural marriage with the vehemency that Brigham Young did. However, the Prophet Joseph was familiar with Adam, as John Taylor affirms:

 

If you were to ask Joseph what sort of a looking man Adam was, he would tell you at once; he would tell you his size and appearance and all about him. (JD 18:326)

 

Joseph Smith described Adam’s authority and power in a language that could be attributed only to a God. He said that Adam possessed the “First Presidency in the Creation” and “obtained the priesthood keys in the creation;” and that “those keys are revealed by him” because he “has dominion over every living creature;” and more than this–he also “presides over the spirits of all men.” (TPJS, p. 157)

 

The Prophet also said that Adam was the “first to hold spiritual blessings,” and the “first to know gospel ordinances;” also that Adam “holds the keys of all dispensations.” (TPJS, p. 167)

 

As mentioned previously in this chapter, the Prophet Joseph Smith also declared that God had a dispensation upon the earth–it was the first dispensation.

 

But one of the most astounding statements by Joseph Smith was that “Christ is revealed through the authority of Adam.” (TPJS, p. 167) This places Adam’s authority over Christ–yet no one but God has greater authority than Christ. Adam would then be the father and God to Jesus Christ.

 

[98] These words by the Prophet Joseph Smith clearly indicate that he was familiar with the doctrine publicly announced by Brigham Young. Words can hardly convey any greater power and authority than that which the Prophet Joseph attributed to Adam, for they clearly depict him as the Great Progenitor and Creator of the earth who presides over “the spirits” of all men.

 

Protestant scholars recognize that Michael is the name of the God of this earth. This recognition is based upon Daniel’s vision of the supreme authority and power endowed by Michael. One writer states:

 

In vision Daniel witnessed the enactment of a drama of magnificent splendor as the Mighty God, to whom the title of the Ancient of Days is given, presents to His Son, Jesus Christ, a Kingdom so that all people, nations and languages may serve Him.

“The Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.” (Dan. 7:9)

Continuing to recount the happenings of the awe-inspiring scene he saw, the prophet speaks of the thousand times ten thousands who minister unto Him–the heavenly hosts who do His bidding. He then sees the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven and presenting Himself before the Ancient of Days to receive His Kingdom: “And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all nations, and languages, shall serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” (Dan. 7:14) The Ancient of Days is now taking His seat in judgment and aspects of His wrath are beginning to manifest themselves on the earth. Soon His Son Jesus Christ will return in the clouds of heaven and in righteousness He will judge and make war against all evil. (Destiny Magazine, Dec. 1953, Vol. 24, No. 12)

 

[99] Also referring to Daniel, the Prophet Joseph Smith alludes to the Ancient of Days as being none other than Adam!

 

Commencing with Adam, who was the first man, who is spoken of in Daniel as being the “Ancient of Days,” or in other words, the first and oldest of all, the great, grand progenitor of whom it is said in another place he is Michael, because he was the first and father of all, not only by progeny, but the first to hold the spiritual blessings, to whom was made known the plan of ordinances for the salvation of his posterity unto the end, and to whom Christ was first revealed, and through whom Christ has been revealed from heaven, and will continue to be revealed from henceforth. (TPJS, p. 167)

 

Therefore, according to both the scriptures and Joseph Smith, Adam is Michael and Michael is God–the father of all!

 

[100] “I saw Adam in the Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman. He called together his children and blessed them with a patriarchal blessing. The Lord appeared in their midst and he (Adam) blessed them all, and foretold what should befall them to the latest generation.”

–Joseph Smith

 

(picture)

The Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman

 

(picture)

Spring Hill at Adam-ondi-Ahman

 

The Prophet Joseph Smith found the remains of an ancient Nephite tower. This was also the spot where Adam offered sacrifices.

 

 

[101] Chapter 11

CHRONOLOGY OF THE DOCTRINE

 

I have given you a few leading items upon this subject, but a great deal more remains to be told. (Brigham Young, JD 1:51)

 

There seems to be no end to the number of different gods proclaimed by their worshippers. Yet Jesus said, “And this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.” (John 17:3)

 

Knowing and understanding the identity of God is one of the first principles of the Gospel, yet it is one of the great theological mysteries. But even when some of these mysteries are revealed and explained to mankind, they have generally been rejected. It is no wonder that Joseph Smith and Brigham Young had such difficulty teaching these truths to both Mormons and non-Mormons.

 

Many of those who followed Brigham Young in Church leadership positions experienced great difficulty with his teachings pertaining to the identity of God. They were explained away, misinterpreted, covered over, and even denied. On more than one occasion they were even labeled as false doctrine. It has frequently been said that Brigham Young never taught such things, or that he was misquoted.

 

[102] However, the following selection of references by Brigham Young, as well as some of his contemporaries, demonstrates that he continued throughout his life to teach the same doctrine that he did in the famous sermon of 1852. It is important to note the consistency and frequency of these remarks regarding Adam and his unique position over this earth.

 

April 9, 1852

Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and sinner! When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is Michael, the Archangel, the Ancient of Days! about whom holy men have written and spoken–He is our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do. Every man upon the earth, professing Christians or non-professing, must hear it, and will know it sooner or later. (Brigham Young, JD 1:50)

 

 

April 16, 1852

Adam came to earth with a celestial body. (Jrnl. of Samuel H. Rogers)

 

October 3, 1852

The Father of Jesus Christ was Adam. (Jrnl. of William Clayton)

 

October 23, 1853

Supposing that Adam was formed actually out of clay; out of the same material from which bricks are formed; that with this matter God made the pattern of a man, and breathed into it the breath of life, and left it there, in that state of supposed perfection, he would have been an adobe to this day. He would not have known anything. (Brigham Young, JD 2:6)

 

[103]

December 10, 1853

Adam, the Father and God of the human family. The above sentiment appeared in Star No. 48, a little to the surprise of some of its readers; and while the sentiment may have appeared blasphemous to the ignorant, it has no doubt given rise to some serious reflections with the more candid and comprehensive mind. * * * It is upon this foundation that the throne of Michael is established as Father, Patriarch, God; and it is for all his children who come into this world, to learn and fully understand the eternity of that relationship. (Mill. Star 15:801, 802)

 

February 19, 1854

He <Brigham> said that our God was Father Adam. He was the Father of the Savior Jesus Christ. Our God was no more or less than Adam, Michael, the Archangel. (Wilford Woodruff’s Journal)

 

September 17, 1854

Brother Pratt also thought that Adam was made of the dust of the earth. Could not believe that Adam was our God or the Father of Jesus Christ. President Young said that He was, that He came from another world & made this. Brought Eve with him partook of the fruits of the earth begat children & they were earthly & had mortal bodies & if we were faithful we should become Gods as He was. (W. Woodruff’s Journal)

 

October 8, 1854

Adam came from another world and brought Eve. They were the parents of every spirit on this earth. (Jrnl. of Joseph Lee Robinson)

 

There is always an Adam & Eve as the 1st man and woman to earths. Adam & Eve were mortals and resurrected before this earth. (Samuel Richards’ Journal)

 

[104]

May 6, 1855

Adam and Eve had lived upon another earth. Were immortal when they came here. Adam assisted in forming this earth & agreed to fall when He came here & He fell that man might be. * * * So as soon as they began to eat of the fruit of the earth, they received into their system the seeds of mortality & of death. So their children were mortal & subject to death, sorrow, pain & wo. (W. Woodruff’s Journal)

 

March 11, 1856

Orson Pratt does not understand how Adam could be God. (Hist. of Samuel W. Richards, p. 15)

 

April 20, 1856

He <Adam> was the person who brought the animals and the seeds from other planets to this world, and brought a wife with him and stayed here. You may read and believe what you please as to what is found written in the Bible. Adam was made from the dust of an earth, but not from the dust of this earth. He was made as you and I are made, and no person was ever made upon any other principle. (Brigham Young, JD 3:319)

 

June 29, 1856

. . . there is but one God that pertains to this people, and He is the God that pertains to this earth–the first man. That first man sent his own Son to redeem the world. . . . (Heber C. Kimball, JD 4:1)

 

February 8, 1857

He <Adam> is a being of the same species as ourselves; He lives as we do, except the difference that we are earthly, and He is heavenly. He has been earthly, and is of precisely the same species of being that we are. Whether Adam is the personage that we should consider our heavenly Father, or [105] not, is considerable of a mystery to a good many. I do not care for one moment how that is; . . . (Brigham Young, JD 4:217-18)

 

October 7, 1857

Some have grumbled because I believe our God to be so near to us as Father Adam. There are many who know that doctrine to be true. * * * when you at length meet Father Adam, how strange it will appear to your present notions. If we can pass Joseph and have him say, “Here; you have been faithful, good boys: I hold the keys of this dispensation; I will let you pass;” then we shall be very glad to see the white locks of Father Adam. (Brigham Young, JD 5:331, 332)

 

March 24, 1858

Orson Pratt promises not to oppose Brigham YoungÕs doctrine that Adam is our God. (W. Woodruff’s Journal)

 

June 19, 1859

The Apostles and Prophets, when speaking of our relationship to God, say that we are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone. God is our Father, and Jesus Christ is our Elder Brother, and both are our everlasting friends. This is Bible doctrine. (Brigham Young, JD 6:332)

 

October 9, 1859

When you tell me that father Adam was made as we make adobes from the earth, you tell me what I deem an idle tale. When you tell me that the beasts of the field were produced in that manner, you are speaking idle words devoid of meaning. There is no such thing in all the eternities where the Gods dwell. Mankind are here because they are the offspring of parents who were first brought here from another planet, and power was given them to propagate their species, and they were commanded to multiply and replenish the earth. (Brigham Young, JD 7:285)

 

[106]

May 20, 1860

I have been too free in telling who and what God is. (Brigham Young, Des. News)

 

June 12, 1860

“This earth was once a garden place,” where God our Father dwelt, and took possession and a stand that mankind will take who attain to that honour. (Heber C. Kimball, JD 8:243)

 

September 4, 1860

Brother Cannon said there was a learned doctor that wanted to be baptized. * * * He is satisfied that the doctrine of the plurality of God and that Adam is our Father is a true doctrine revealed from God to Joseph & Brigham. For this same doctrine is taught in some of the old Jewish records which have never been in print, and I know Joseph Smith nor Brigham Young have never had access to, and the Lord has revealed this doctrine unto them or they could not have taught it. (W. Woodruff’s Journal)

 

October 14, 1860

Many of the sisters grieve because they are not blessed with offspring. You will see the time when you will have millions of children around you. If you are faithful to your covenants, you will be mothers of nations. You will become Eves to earths like this; and when you have assisted in peopling one earth, there are millions of earths still in the course of creation. (Brigham Young, JD 8:208)

 

October 8, 1861

I will give you a few words of doctrine, upon which there has been much inquiry, and with regard to which considerable ignorance exists. Br. Watt will write it, but it is not my intention to have it published, therefore pay good attention, [107] and store it up in your memories. Some years ago, I advanced a doctrine with regard to Adam being our Father and God, that will be a cause <curse> to many Elders of Israel because of their folly. With regard to it they yet grovel in darkness and will. It is one of the most glorious revealments of the economy of heaven, yet the world holds it <in> derision. (Brigham Young, manuscript entitled “A Few Words of Doctrine”, Brigham Young Collection, Church Archives)

 

February 23, 1862

Man is the offspring of God. * * * We are as much the children of this great Being as we are the children of our mortal progenitors. We are flesh of his flesh, bone of his bone, and the same fluid that circulates in our bodies, called blood, once circulated in his veins as it does in ours. (Brigham Young, JD 9:283)

 

April 30, 1862

The Lord told me that Adam was my father and that He was the God and Father of all the inhabitants of this earth. (Heber C. Kimball, Memorandum, Sacred History, Solomon F. Kimball, Church Archives)

 

April/May 1863

. . . the land where our heavenly Father made his appearance and planted the Garden of Eden. This land is choice above all other lands upon the face of the earth. (Brigham Young, JD 10:222)

 

January 8, 1865

One of the prophets describes the Father of us all, saying, “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool; his throne was like the fiery flame,” etc. (Brigham Young, JD 11:41-42)

 

[108]

June 18, 1865

God has made His children like Himself, . . . He created man, as we create our children; . . . As the Apostle Paul has expressed it, “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being.” “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, . . .” I am quite satisfied to be made aware by the scriptures, and by the Spirit of God, that He (Adam) is not only the God and Father of Jesus Christ, but is also the Father of our spirits and the Creator of our bodies, . . (Brigham Young, JD 11:122-123)

 

August 12, 1866

The kingdoms he possesses and rules over are his own progeny. * * * Our Father and God rules over his own children. (Brigham Young, JD 11:262)

 

February 10, 1867

They <Israel> will come up tribe by tribe, and the Ancient of Days, He who led Abraham, and talked to Noah, Enoch, Isaac, and Jacob, that very Being will come and judge the twelve tribes of Israel. (Brigham Young, JD 11:327)

 

June 30, 1867

I ask this question of you, mother Eves, every one of you. If you are not sanctified and prepared, you ought to be sanctifying and preparing yourselves for the blessings in store for you when it will be said of you, this is Eve. Why? Because you are the mother of all living. You might as well prepare first as last. If you wish to be Eves and mothers of human families, you ought to bear the burden. (Brigham Young, JD 12:97)

 

December 16, 1867

Adam is Michael the Archangel and he is the Father of Jesus Christ and is our God and Joseph taught this principle. (Brigham Young, W. Woodruff Jrnl.)

 

[109]

June 8, 1868

. . . Adam is our God. Who his God and Father may be I have no knowledge. (A. F. MacDonald, Minutes of the Provo School of the Prophets)

 

December 11, 1869

Some have thought it strange what I have said concerning Adam. But the period will come when this people, if faithful, will be willing to adopt Joseph Smith as their Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and God, but not the Father of their spirits, for that was our Father Adam. (Brigham Young, W. Woodruff Jrnl.)

 

September 25, 1870

He is our Father; He is our God, the Father of our spirits; He is the framer of our bodies, and set the machine in successful operation to bring forth these tabernacles that I now look upon in this building, and all that ever did or ever will live on the face of the whole earth.

This is the doctrine taught by the ancients, taught by the prophets, taught by Jesus, taught by his Apostles, taught by Joseph Smith, . . . (Brigham Young, JD 13:250)

 

May 7, 1871

Do you not all know that you are the sons and daughters of the Almighty? If you do not I will inform you this morning that there is not a man or woman on the earth that is not a son or daughter of Adam and Eve. We all belong to the races which have sprung from father Adam and mother Eve; and every son and daughter of Adam and Eve is a son and daughter of that God we serve, who organized this earth and millions of others, and who holds them in existence by law. (Brigham Young, JD 14:111)

 

[110]

May 21, 1871

He <God> organized it <this world>, and brought forth the inhabitants upon it. We are his children, literally, spiritually, naturally, and in every respect. We are the children of our Father. . . . (Brigham Young, JD 14:136)

 

May 18, 1873

I never saw any one, until I met Joseph Smith, who could tell me anything about the character, personality and dwelling-place of God, anything satisfactory about angels, or the relationship of man to his Maker. * * * We know more about God and the heavens than we care to tell. * * * Where is the divine who knows the least thing about that Being who is the Father of our Spirits and the author of our bodies? * * * What I know concerning God, concerning the earth, concerning government, I have received from the heavens, not alone through my natural ability, and I give God the glory and the praise. * * * but it is all by the power of God, and by intelligence received from him. (Brigham Young, JD 16:46)

 

June 18, 1873

How much unbelief exists in the minds of the Latter-day Saints in regard to one particular doctrine which I revealed to them, and which God revealed to me–namely that Adam is our father and God–I do not know, I do not inquire, I care nothing about it. Our Father Adam helped to make this earth, it was created expressly for him, and after it was made he and his companions came here. (Brigham Young, Deseret Weekly News 22:308-309)

 

August 31, 1873

When Father Adam came to assist in organizing the earth out of the crude material that was found, an earth was made upon which the children of men could live. After the earth was prepared Father Adam came and stayed here, and [111] there was a woman brought to him. Now I am telling you something that many of you know, it has been told to you, and the brethren and sisters should understand it. There was a certain woman brought to Father Adam whose name was Eve, because she was the first woman, and she was given to him to be his wife; I am not disposed to give any further knowledge concerning her at present. There is no doubt but that he left many companions. The great and glorious doctrine that pertains to this I have not time to dwell upon; neither should I at present if I had time. He understood this whole machinery or system before he came to this earth; and I hope my brethren and sisters will profit by what I have told them. (Brigham Young, JD 16:167)

 

July 19, 1874

We shall go on from one step to another, reaching forth into the eternities until we become like the Gods, and shall be able to frame for ourselves, by the behest and command of the Almighty. All those who are counted worthy to be exalted and to become Gods, even the sons of God, will go forth and have earths and worlds like those who framed this and millions on millions of others. This is our home, built expressly for us by the Father of our spirits, who is the Father, maker, framer and producer of these mortal bodies that we now inherit, and which go back to mother earth. (Brigham Young, JD 17:143)

 

May 14, 1876

Is there in the heaven of heavens a leader? Yes, and we cannot do without one and that being the case, whoever this is may be called God. Joseph said that Adam was our Father and God. (Brigham Young, Journal History, Church Archives)

 

February 7, 1877

Adam was an immortal being when he came to this earth. He had lived on an earth similar to ours. He had received the [112] Priesthood and the keys thereof, and had been faithful in all things, and had gained his resurrection, and his exaltation and was crowned with glory, immortality and eternal lives, and was numbered with the Gods, for such he was through his faithfulness.

And he had begotten all of the spirits that were to come to this earth. And Eve, our common mother, who is the mother of all living, bore those spirits in the Celestial world, and then this earth was organized by Elohim, Jehovah and Michael, who is Adam, our common Father. * * *

Father Adam’s oldest son (Jesus the Saviour) who is the heir of the family, is Father Adam’s first begotten in the spirit world, who according to the flesh is the only begotten as it is written.

In his divinity, he (Adam) having gone back into the spirit world, and came in the spirit to Mary, and she conceived. For when Adam and Eve got through with their work in this earth, they did not lay their bodies down in the dust, but returned to the spirit world from whence they came. (L. John Nuttall Journal, see 1:18-21.)

* * *

From Brigham Young’s first announcement in 1852 right up to the year of his death (1877), he, as well as other Church leaders, continued to teach and defend the doctrine that Adam occupied the office and honored the title of God of this earth. However, those teachings were met with both acceptance and rejection throughout those 25 years. And for over a century since Brigham’s death, the controversy has continued–with both advocates and dissenters continuing to preach and write on this controversial Adam-God doctrine.

 

But after considering the compilation of statements in this chapter, the evidence is clear that Brigham Young continuously taught this doctrine throughout his administration as Church president.

 

 

[113] Chapter 12

SELECTED SERMONS

 

The preceding chapter included isolated statements by Brigham Young (along with other 19th century Church leaders) supporting the Adam-God doctrine. But there were also occasions when larger portions of his sermons were devoted to that subject.

 

Five more extensive references will be included in this chapter, so it cannot be said that Brigham Young’s statements have been taken out of context.

 

1. Sermon by Brigham Young, Oct. 8, 1854, General Conference, Salt Lake Valley.

 

After hearing this sermon, Wilford Woodruff wrote in his journal:

 

President Young preached to a congregation of several thousand, out of doors, and I believe that he preached the greatest sermon that ever was delivered to the Latter Day Saints since they have been a people. Elder Watt reported. I also took minutes. (W. Woodruff Jrnl. 4:290)

 

The Deseret News reported:

 

At 2 p.m. an immense congregation were comfortably seated in the open air. While the emblems were [114] being passed, President Brigham Young delivered a highly interesting discourse, which held the vast audience as it were spellbound. (Des. News 4:112)

 

*** I may say things this afternoon that does (sic) not belong to the world. What if I do? I know the Lord is able to close up every person’s mind who have (sic) eyes but see not, hearts but do not understand; so I may say what I please with regard to the Kingdom of God on the Earth, for there is a veil over the wicked that they cannot understand the things which are for their peace.

Jesus said at one time, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread and give it to dogs.” This saying applies to all the dispensations that has (sic) been brought forth to the children of men from the days of Adam until now. ***

I wish to speak a few words about the Bible as I have hinted at it. The ordinances of the Kingdom of God on the earth are the same to the children of Adam from the commencement to the end of his posterity pertaining to the carnal state on this earth, and the winding up scene of this mortality. With regard to the Bible we frequently say, we believe the Bible, but circumstances alter cases, for what is now required of the people may not be required of a people that may live a hundred years hence. But I wish you to understand, with regard to the ordinances of God’s House to save the people in the Celestial Kingdom of our God, there is no change from the days of Adam to the present time, neither will there be until the last of his posterity is gathered into the Kingdom of God.

Those who are not acquainted with our doctrine are astonished, and say, “That is strange indeed; we thought no such thing as preaching faith, repentance, and baptism was practiced in ancient or Old Testament times.” I can tell you that no man from the days of Adam, no woman from the days of Eve to this day, who have lived, and who are now living upon the earth will go into the Kingdom of their Father and [115] God, to be crowned with Jesus Christ, without passing through the same ordinances of the House of God, you and I have obeyed. I wish you distinctly to understand that.

There are many duties and callings spoken of in the scriptures, and there are many not written, those for instance which are handed out to you by your President as circumstances require. Those imposed by the President of the Church of God, or by the president of any portion of it, are duties as necessary to be observed as though they were written in the Bible; but these requirements, duties, callings, etc., change with the circumstances that surround the people of God. But when you speak of the system of salvation to bring back the children of Adam and Eve into the presence of our Father and God, it is the same in all ages, among all people, and under all circumstances worlds without end. Amen.

I think these preliminaries will satisfy me, and I feel prepared to take my text; . . . I tell you my text is in the Bible and reads as follows: “And this is Life Eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” I will now put another text with this and then offer a few remarks; it is one of the sayings of the Apostle Paul. “For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven, or in earth (as there be gods many and lords many), but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” This God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Father of our spirits. I feel inclined here to make a little scripture. * * * This God is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ precisely as He is our Father varying from mortality to immortality, from corruptible to incorruptible, and that is all the difference. He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, both body and spirit; and He is the Father of our spirits, and the Father of our flesh in the beginning. You will not dispute the words of the Apostle, that He is actually the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [116] the Father of our spirits. You may add these words to it, or let it alone; it is all the same to me, that He is not only the Father of our spirits, but also of our flesh, He being the founder of that natural machinery through which we have all obtained our bodies.

Do you wish me to simplify it? Could you have a father without having a grandfather; or a grandfather without having a great grandfather? I never heard of <but> one circumstance that varied from this rule, and that was a son of the Emerald Isle who said he was born of one of his aunts. Does this unlock to your understandings how the Lord Almighty is our natural Father; He set the great machine to working. If you cannot see this truth now, you will if you are faithful and patient.

I will now quote another scripture. “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the Earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitations.” From these words we understand that God has made of one blood all the inhabitants that are upon the Earth <–all> that has been, and that will be in the future will be of the same blood as those that have been. Do you believe that scripture? I do with all my heart. I believe we are all of one flesh, blood, and bones. We are made of the same matter, the same elements, we have sprung from one mother, Earth. Matter was brought together from the vast eternity of it that exists, and this terra firma upon which we stand was organized, then comes the world of mankind, the beasts, fishes, fowls, and every living thing to dwell upon the Earth after its kind; and vegetation of every kind to support the animal life upon it, until the organization of this world was perfected in all its variety; being brought from the eternity of matter, and prepared for intelligent beings to dwell upon, wherein to prepare themselves to dwell eternally in the presence of their Father and God. Those who keep this their second estate, and do honor to their being, and answer the [117] design of their creation, shall be exalted to inhabit the Earth, and live upon it when it shall be Celestial, and brought back into the presence of God, there to dwell forever and ever.

Before I proceed any further, I will ask a question. And I would like you men, and women of intelligence, to understand and watch well, to see if I keep the thread of truth, whether I preach to you according to the law, and the testimony, according to the words of the Prophets, of Jesus Christ and His Apostles, and according to the words of angels. Mark ye well my sayings, and see if you can pick any flaw in them. If you think you can so do, when you come to the proper place to be corrected, you may then receive instructions that will do you good. The question I wish to ask is simply this; and I put it to all the Elders of Israel, and to all the men and women of intelligence in Israel which pertains to the Kingdom of God on Earth; and if the whole world were before me I would ask them the same question. Can any man, or set of men officiate in dispensing the laws, and administering the ordinances of the Kingdom of God, or of the kingdoms and governments of the world legally, without first obeying those laws, and submitting to those ordinances themselves. Do you understand me? If a foreigner wishes to become a citizen of the United States, he must first become subject to this government; must you not first acknowledge and obey the laws of this government? Certainly you must.

Then, to apply this to the Kingdom of God on Earth, and ask yourselves if any man has the power, the influence, the right, the authority, to go forth and preach this gospel, and baptize for the remission of sins unless he himself has, in the first place, been baptized, ordained and legally called to that office? What would the Elders of Israel and every other sensible man say to this? They would all decide at once with me, that no man can lawfully officiate in any office in the Kingdom of God, or in the governments of men, he has not been called to, and the authority of which has not been [118] bestowed upon him. I am not going to talk a thousand things to you, but I wish to tell you a few, and desire you to understand them, and connect them together. * * *

Now if you believe what you have heard me say you will believe there is <sic> lords many, and gods many; and you will believe that unto us, the inhabitants of this Earth, there is but one God with whom we have to do; and according to the tenor of the Bible, we believe there are many, very many who have entered into power, glory, might, and dominion, and are gathering around them thrones, and have power to organize elements, and make worlds, and bring into existence intelligent beings in all their variety, who if they are faithful and obedient to their calling and creation will in their turn be exalted in eternal kingdoms of the Gods. Do you believe that? You and I have only one God to whom we are accountable, so we will let the rest alone, and search after the one we have to do with; let us seek diligently after Him, the very being who commenced this creation.

We will now make our inquiries with regard to our position with the God with whom we have to do. You will please recollect, all ye Elders in Israel, for I want you to be instructed, by my remarks, that you may not fall into errors, that you have tested the question in your own minds with regard to the rights of officiating in ordinances. Now I wish to ask you if you have any conception or idea as to the creation of the world? “Oh yes,” you reply, “A great many of us have a tolerable idea of it, but still there are mysteries we do not understand; there are some things in the Bible about the creation that seem to be dark; we have learned some things in this Kingdom we do not understand, and that do not correspond with the reading of the Bible.” Let me open the eyes of your understanding.

There has never been a time when the creations of worlds commenced; they are from eternity to eternity in their creations and redemption. After they are organized they [119] experience the good and the evil; the light and the dark, the bitter and the sweet, as you and I do. There never was a time when there were not worlds in existence as this world is, and they pass through similar changes in abiding their creation preparatory to exaltation. Worlds have always been in progress, and eternally will be.

Every world has had an Adam and an Eve, named so simply because the first man is always called Adam, and the first woman Eve; and the oldest son has always had the privilege of being ordained, appointed, and called to be the heir of the family, if he does not rebel against the Father, and he is the Saviour of the family. Every world that has been created has been created upon the same principle. They may vary in their varieties, yet the eternity is one; it is one eternal round. These are things that scarcely belong to the best of this congregation. There are items of doctrine and principles, in the bosom of eternity that the best of the Latter-day Saints are unworthy to receive. If the visions of their minds were opened to look into the vast creations, and gaze upon the power and glory and goodness and exaltation of the Gods, they would exclaim, “Wo is me, I am undone, I am of unclean lips.”

But we will look at it a little. Do any of you know anything about the creation of the world? “Oh yes, we understand a good deal about it from the account given in the Bible.” So you read in the Bible of there being three persons in one god; many religionists in the world believe in a three <in> one god, however, I do not wish to spend time to deliberate upon the notions adopted by the sectarians; the world is full of them. There are lords many and gods many according to the Bible; it does not contradict the doctrine, neither can you find a single passage that does away with that idea.

But let us turn our attention to the God with which we have to do. I tell you simply, He is our Father; the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father of our spirits. [120] Can that be possible? Yes, it is possible. He is the Father of all the spirits of the human family.

All things are first made spiritual, and brought forth into His kingdom. The spirits of all the human family were begotten by one Father. Now be watchful, for if I have time, and feel able, I shall communicate something in connection with this you are not expecting. Yes, every son and daughter of Adam according to the flesh can claim one parentage; the heathen and the Christian, the Jew and the Gentile, the high and the low, the king and the beggar, the black and the white, all who have sprung from Adam and Eve have one father. “Then you make it out we are brethren and sisters.” Certainly for the whole human family are made of one blood of the same material; they are all begotten and brought forth by one parentage, and from one generation to another they are of one flesh and blood, and of one kindred. The God and Father <of> our Lord Jesus Christ is the Father of our spirits.

I began at the end, and shall probably finish at the beginning of my discourse; but it is no matter which end a man begins at, for the first shall be last, and the last first; which proves it is one eternal round; it is one eternity. Eloheim looks round upon the eternity of matter, and said to His associates, and those that He was pleased to call upon at that time for His counselors, with regard to the elements, worlds, planets, kingdoms and thrones; said He, “Yahovah Michael, see that eternal matter on all sides, this way and that way; we have already created worlds upon worlds, shall we create another world? Yes, go and organize the elements yonder in space”; not empty space for there is no such thing, once in a while, earthquakes, and the extensive destruction of combustible matter by fire will come nigh making empty space for perhaps the millionth part of a second. “Yahovah Michael, go and create a world, make it, organize it, form it; and then put upon it everything in all the variety that you have seen, that you have been in the habit of being associated with in [121] other worlds, of beasts, birds, fowls, fish, and every insect, and creeping thing, and finally, <when> the whole eternity of element is full of life, bring it together and make of it living creatures.”

Yahovah Michael goes and does as he is told. What I am now going to tell you will no doubt astonish the whole of you. When Yahovah Michael had organized the world, and brought from another kingdom the beasts, fish, fowls, and insects, and every tree, and plant with which we are acquainted, and thousands that we never saw, when He had filled the Earth with animal and vegetable life, Michael or Adam goes down to the new made world, and there he stays.

Do you suppose he went there alone? Moses made the Bible to say his wife was taken out of his side, was made of one of his ribs. I do not know anything to the contrary of my ribs being equal on both sides. The Lord knows if I had lost a rib for each wife I have, I should have had none left long ago. Some try to say how many wives the Governor of Utah has, but if they can tell, they can tell more than I can, for I do not know how many I have; I have not counted them up for many years. I did not know how many I had before I left the United States I had so many. I heard that I had ninety. Why bless your souls, ninety is not a beginning. You might ask me if I have ever seen them all; I answer no; I see a few of them I pick up myself here. I have lots and scores I never see nor shall not until the morning of the resurrection.

Now about the rib. As for the Lord taking a rib out of Adam’s side to make a woman of, He took one out of my side just as much.

“But, Brother Brigham, would you make it appear that Moses did not tell the truth?”

No, not a particle more than I would that your mother did not tell the truth, when she told you that little Billy came from a hollow toadstool. I would not accuse your mother of lying any more than I would Moses; the people in the days of [122] Moses wanted to know things that was (sic) not for them, the same as your children do when they want to know where their little brother came from, and he answered them according to their folly, the same as you did your children.

Now some will be ready to say, “We always heard these Mormons did not believe the Bible.” I believe all the truth that is there and that is enough for me and for you to believe.

“Then the Lord did not make Adam out of the dust of the earth?”

Yes he did, but I have not got to that part of my discourse yet. Adam was made of the dust of the earth.

“Was he made of the dust of this earth?”

No, but of the dust of the earth whereon he was born in the flesh; that is the way he was made; he was made of dust.

“Did the Lord put into him his spirit?”

Yes, as the Lord put into you your spirit; he was begotten of a father, and brought forth as you and I were; and so are all intelligent beings brought forth from eternity to eternity. Man was not made the same as you make an adobe to put in a wall. Moses said Adam was made of the dust of the ground, but he did not say of what ground. I say he was not made of the dust of the ground of this Earth, but he was made of the dust of the earth where he lived, where he honored his calling, believed in his Saviour, or Elder Brother, and by his faithfulness, was redeemed, and got a glorious resurrection. All creatures that dwell upon this Earth are made of the elements that compose it; which are organized to see if they will abide their creation, and be counted worthy to receive a resurrection. “What, every flesh?”

Yes, every flesh, for all flesh pertaining to this world is made of the dust of this Earth; it is all made from the same material, according to the will and pleasure of Him who dictates all things. Our bodies are composed of the same material that composes this Earth; they are composed of the [123] water, air, and solid earth, either of which will resolve back to their native fountain.

How many elements are there I do not know anymore than you. They have never all been classified by science, though scientific gentlemen have tried to do it.

I tell you more, Adam is the Father of our spirits. He lived upon an earth; he did abide his creation, and did honor to his calling and Priesthood; and obeyed his Master or Lord, and probably many of his wives did the same, and they lived and died upon an earth, and then were resurrected again to immortality and eternal life.

“Did he resurrect himself?” you inquire. I want to throw out a few hints upon the resurrection as it seems to come within the circuit of my ideas whether it ought to come within the circuit of my remarks or not. I believe we have already acknowledged the truth established that no person can officiate in any office he has not been subject to himself and been legally appointed to fill. That no person in this Kingdom can officiate in any ordinance he himself has not obeyed; consequently no being who has not been resurrected possesses the keys of the power of resurrection. That you have been told often. Adam therefore was resurrected by someone who had been resurrected.

I will go a little further with this lest some of you will be querying, doubting, and philosophizing this away. It is true, Jesus said, “I lay down my life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” I do not doubt the power of Christ; but did he prove that in his resurrection? No. But it is proved that an angel came and rolled away the stone from the door of the sepulchre, and did resurrect the body of the Son of God.

“What angel was this?”

It is not for me to say. I do not know him. If I ever did know him, it is so long since, I have entirely forgotten who it [124] was. That Jesus had power to lay down his life, and power to take it up again, I do not dispute. Neither do I dispute but what an angel came that was sent by the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to roll away the stone from the sepulchre, and resurrect the Son of God. Suffice it to say that he was some character who had himself been resurrected. * * * [The only person who had been resurrected before Christ was God the Father, who was Adam.]

Now, many inquiries will be made about the Saviour, such as, “Who is he? Is he the Father of Adam? Is he the God of Adam?” When Christ has finished his labor and presented it to his father, then he, Adam, will receive a fullness. That is all easily understood by me. He cannot receive a fullness of the kingdoms He has organized until they are completed. If He sends His servants off to the right and to the left to perform a certain labor, His kingdom is not complete until His ministers have accomplished everything to make His kingdom complete and returned home again.

Many inquire, who is this Saviour? I will tell you what I think about it, and as the <Southerners> say I reckon, and as the Yankees say I guess; but I will tell you what I reckon. I reckon that Father Adam was a resurrected being, with his wives and posterity, and in the Celestial Kingdom they were crowned with glory, immortality and eternal lives, with thrones, principalities and powers; and it was said to him, “It is your right to organize the elements; and to your creations and posterity there shall be no end, but you shall add kingdom to kingdom, and throne to throne, and still behold the vast eternity of unorganized matter.”

Adam then was a resurrected being; and I reckon our spirits and the spirits of all the human family were begotten by Adam and born of Eve.

“How are we going to know this?”

I reckon it.

[125] And I reckon that Adam came into the Garden of Eden, and did actually eat of the fruit that he himself planted; and I reckon there was a previous understanding, and the whole plan was previously calculated, before the Garden of Eden was made, that he would reduce his posterity to sin, misery, darkness, wickedness, wretchedness, and to the power of the Devil, that they might be prepared for an exaltation, for without this they could not receive one. * * *

The inquiry will arise, among those who are strenuous, and tenacious for the account given by Moses, as to Adam.

“Did not Adam die?”

Yes, he died.

“Does not the Bible say he died?”

I do not know nor care, but I think it would be hard to find where he died; or where Moses died, though I have no doubt Moses died, and Adam also; how? Just as you and I have to die, and be laid away in the bowels of Mother Earth; that, however, Moses did not see fit to tell us.

Adam planted the Garden of Eden, and he with his wife Eve partook of the fruit of this Earth, until their systems were charged with the nature of Earth, and then they could beget bodies for their spiritual children. If the spirit does not enter into the embryo man that is forming in the womb of the woman, the result will be false conception, a living, intelligent being cannot be produced. Adam and Eve begat the first mortal bodies on this Earth, and from that commencement every spirit that was begotten in eternity for this Earth will enter bodies thus prepared for them here, until the winding up scene, and that will not be until the last of these spirits enters an earthly tabernacle.

Then I reckon that the children of Adam and Eve married each other; this is speaking to the point. I believe in sisters marrying brothers, and brothers having their sisters for wives. Why? Because we cannot do otherwise. There are none others for me to marry but my sisters.

[126] “But you would not pretend to say you would marry your father<‘s> and mother’s daughter.”

If I did not I would marry another of my sisters that lives over in another garden; the material of which they are organized is just the same; there is no difference between them and those who live in this garden. Our spirits are all brothers and sisters, and so are our bodies; and the opposite idea to this has resulted from the ignorant and foolish traditions of the nations of the Earth. They have corrupted themselves with each other, and I want them to understand that they have corrupted their own flesh, blood, and bones; for they are of the same flesh, blood, and bones as all the family of the Earth.

I am approaching the subject of our marriage relations Brother Hyde lectured upon, but I shall not have time or strength to say much about this. But, I reckon that Father Adam and Mother Eve had the children of the human family prepared to come here and take bodies; and when they come to take bodies, they enter into the bodies prepared for them, and that body gets an exaltation with the spirit, when they are prepared to be crowned in Father’s Kingdom.

“What, into Adam’s Kingdom?” Yes.

As to my talking what I want to say at this time, I shall not do it. I am exhausting myself; I have to speak loud, and it is hard labor.

I tell you, when you see your Father in the Heavens, you will see Adam; when you see your Mother that bore your spirit, you will see Mother Eve. And when you see yourselves there, you have gained your exaltation; you have honored your calling here on the Earth; your body has returned to its mother Earth; and somebody has broken the chains of death that bound you, and given you a resurrection.

How are you going to get your resurrection? You will get it by the President of the Resurrection pertaining to this generation, and that is Joseph Smith Junior. Hear it all ye ends [127] of the Earth; if ever you enter into the Kingdom of God it is because Joseph Smith let you go there. This will apply to Jews and Gentiles, to the bond and free; to friends and foes; no man or woman in this generation will get a resurrection and be crowned without Joseph Smith says so. The man who was martyred in Carthage Jail <in the> State of Illinois holds the keys of life and death to this generation. He is the President of the Resurrection in this dispensation, and he will be the first to rise from the dead. When he has passed through it, then I reckon the keys of the resurrection will be committed to him. Then he will call up his apostles. You know I told you last conference I was an Apostle of Joseph Smith; and if faithful enough I expect Joseph will resurrect the Apostles; and when they have passed through the change, and received their blessings, I expect he will commit to them the keys of the resurrection, and they will go on resurrecting the Saints, every man in his own order.

I want to say a little more about marriage relations, so that you may understand what my views are. When you get your resurrection, you are not yet exalted; but by and by, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Elder Brother, the Saviour of the world, the Heir of the Family; when he has put down Satan, and destroyed death; then he will say, come let us go home into the presence of the Father.

What will become of the world then? It will be baptized with fire. It has been baptized with water, and it will then be cleansed by fire, and become like a sea of glass, and be made Celestial; and Jesus Christ our Elder Brother will take the whole Earth, with all the Saints and go with them to the Father even to Adam; and you will continue to receive more and more intelligence, glory, exaltation, and power.

I want to tell you a thing with regard to parents, wives, brothers and sisters, etc. The time will come when it will be told where this man, and that woman shall be placed; the real blood of Joseph will be selected out from among the tribes of [128] Israel, and every man and woman will be put in their places, and stand in their order where the Lord designs them to be. When you get back into the presence of God, and the Lord should say, “Who have you brought with you?” your reply would be, “My wife and children;” but in reality you have only with you your brothers and sisters. The Father would say, “These are my children.” When you meet your Father in Heaven, you will know Him, and realize that you have lived with Him, and rested in His bosom for ages gone passed, and He will hail you as His sons and daughters, and embrace you, and you will embrace Him, and “Hallelujah, thank God I have come to Father again; I have got back home,” will resound through the Heavens. There are ten thousand things connected with these ideas. You see the human family of every shade of color between black and white. I could stand here and tell you what I reckon but it would take an age for me to tell you all there is about it.

We have all come from one father even Adam, both the black and the white, the grizzled and the gray; the noble and the ignoble; and the time will come when they will all come back again into His presence. When they have behaved themselves, and proved faithful to their calling, and to their God, the curse will be removed from every class and nation of men that desires to work the work of God. This <has> been told you, that saviours would come upon Mount Zion and judge the Mount of Esau. Let me read it for you, “There shall saviours come upon Mount Zion and save the Mount of Esau.” What does gentile signify? Disobedience. What does Israel signify? Obedience. What is the name of the first man? Adam, which signifies first man, and Eve signifies first woman. And when Michael the Archangel shall sound his trump and the Ancient of Days shall come, all things that we have once been familiar with will come back again to our memory. (For this entire sermon, refer to Teachings of Brigham Young, compiled by Fred Collier, pp. 343-368.)

 

[129]

2. Sermon by Brigham Young, Apr. 25, 1855, Church Archives

 

President Brigham delivered a lengthy and interesting lecture on theology, which was listened to with profound attention by the audience. (Des. News, May 2, 1855)

 

“This is eternal life, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” Well, how can we learn by reading the history of Adam and Eve to know the Lord? If you were to hear the footsteps of the Lord, would you know from the history of Adam and Eve that it was the Lord coming? They knew his voice and his footsteps for they had lived with him. And what I have upon this subject I now say; Adam had been with the Lord and had lived with him upon an earth like this and had been faithful and overcome, and had received his body and was resurrected and was well acquainted with the Lord and was one of his mess mates. He had eaten and drank with him and had lived with him from generation to generation and in many worlds, probably while many had come into and gone out of existence. And he helped to make this earth and brought the seeds with him that you see springing up spontaneously, and when he called, the elements came rolling together.

Well, you see from this that when you and I have been with and lived with the Lord, we shall know his voice. If father Adam were to come into this house and you were to see him go back and forth, would you know him? No, you would never mistrust it was him unless he revealed himself. But by the time that you have lived with him as long as Adam had before he came here, you will know him and recognize his footsteps, but reading the history will not teach you these things. Consequently I come right down to ourselves and say we cannot know the only wise God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. No man can have this knowledge but those to whom God [130] reveals it. Has he revealed it to you, who he is, what he has to do with this world and the relationship that he sustains to it? You must not be astonished when I tell you that the whole world, with the exception of the Latter-day Saints, for they do know something about God, but the whole world besides are as far from that knowledge as the east is from the west. Though they read it in the Bible, yet it never enters into their hearts that the apostle told the truth when he says, “There is but one living and true God, the father of our spirits.” Well now, who is the father of our spirits?

I will tell you what I think about some who will have something to do with us by and by. When Michael blows his trumpet and calls the world together, we shall then be before him and we shall be perfectly satisfied that he can pass all the judgment that we shall want, and that the dominions of the wicked will want, and I have no doubt but the Saints that live and have lived from the days of Adam will be satisfied that he can give them kingdoms and power, thrones and dominions and influence in eternity. And when they get all that he can give, they will be satisfied and say it is enough. If we can get to him, the Ancient of Days, whose hair is like wool, a man of age, a man of experience, and can learn of him to understand “I am that I am,” we shall then hear him say, “I am your father and leader. I will be your front and your rearward. I understand what this world is. I understand all about it. I have the government of the world in my hands, although to a certain extent my opposer, my enemy, has gained a certain influence in the world.” You will hear him say, “I am in the whirlwind at my pleasure. I ride upon the storms and I govern worlds. I set up one king and put another down and organize empires and overthrow them at my pleasure. I the Lord do all these things.” When we come to that great and wise and glorious being that the children of Israel were afraid of, whose countenance shone so that they could not look upon him, I say when we get to him whom they could not look upon, to [131] that man, that is I conclude he was a man for it says that he had hands and you know men have hands, and it says that he put his hands out before Moses in the cleft of the rock until his glory passed by and would not suffer Moses to see his face but his <back> parts only. Seeing then that he had parts, I conclude that he was a man. When we can see that very character and talk and live with him in our tabernacles, if we are so fortunate as to get there into his society, then we can say that to us there is but one living and true God and he is the father of our Lord Jesus Christ and of our spirits. And when we get back to him and learn that he is actually our father, we shall not feel any anxiety to call upon anybody else for the blessings we are in need of. It is a subject I am aware that does not appear so clear to our understandings at present as we could wish it or as it will some day, and it is one that should not trouble us at all. All such things will become more clear to your minds by and by.

I tell you this as my belief about that person-age who is called the Ancient of Days, the Prince and so on, but I do not tell it because that I wish it to be established in the minds of others, though to me this is as clear as the sun, it is as plain as my alphabet. I understand it as I do the path to go home. I did not understand so until my mind became enlightened with the Spirit and by the revelations of God, neither will you understand until our Father in Heaven reveals all these things unto you. To my mind and to my feelings those matters are all plain and easy to be understood.

 

3. Sermon by Brigham Young, June 18, 1873, Deseret Weekly News 22:308-309

 

I wanted to make a few remarks upon the subject touched upon by my brother, but I shall not have the time. I frequently think, in my meditations, how glad we should be to [132] instruct the world with regard to the things of God, if they would hear and receive our teachings in good and honest hearts and profit by them. I have been found fault with a great many times for casting reflections upon men of science, and especially upon theologians, because of the little knowledge they possess about man being on the earth, about the earth itself, about our Father in heaven, his Son Jesus Christ, the order of heavenly things, the laws by which angels exist, by which the worlds were created and are held in existence, etc. How pleased we would be to place these things before the people if they would receive them! How much unbelief exists in the minds of the Latter-day Saints in regard to one particular doctrine which I revealed to them, and which God revealed to me–namely that Adam is our father and God–I do not know, I do not inquire, I care nothing about it. Our Father Adam helped to make this earth, it was created expressly for him, and after it was made, he and his companions came here. He brought one of his wives with him, and she was called Eve, because she was the first woman upon the earth. Our Father Adam is the man who stands at the gate and holds the keys of everlasting life and salvation to all his children who have or who ever will come upon the earth. I have been found fault with by the ministers of religion because I have said that they were ignorant. But I could not find any man on the earth who could tell me this, although it is one of the simplest things in the world, until I met and talked with Joseph Smith. Is it a great mystery that the earth exists? Is it a great mystery that the world cannot solve, that man is on the earth? Yes, it is; but to whom? To the ignorant–those who know nothing about it. It is no mystery to those who understand. Is it a mystery to the Christian world that Jesus is the Son of God, and still the son of man? Yes it is, it is hidden from them, and this fulfills the Scripture–“If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost,” who have no faith, and who pay no attention to the Spirit of God. These things are called [133] mysteries by the people because they know nothing about them, just like laying hands on the sick. Is it a mystery that fever should be rebuked and the sick healed by the laying on of the hands of a man who is endowed with authority from God and has been ordained to that gift? “Oh yes,” say the ignorant, “we know nothing about it.” That is true, but where is the mystery? Will the ignorant receive the truth when they hear it? No, they will not, and this is their condemnation, that light has come into the world, and they choose darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. That is the fact in the case. What is the mystery about it? They do not understand invisible things. Ask the wicked, “Do you know anything about the laying on of hands?” “Oh yes, such a man”–a man who is wicked in his whole life–“has the art of laying on of hands for curing the toothache, fevers, wounds,” etc.; and now, in fulfillment of the words of the ancient prophet, thousands of people seek unto “wizards who peep and mutter,” etc., but they will not seek unto the living God. I can say to all the inhabitants of the earth that before what is called spiritualism was ever known in America, I told the people that if they would not believe the revelations that God had given, he would suffer the devil to give revelations that they–priests and people–would follow after. Where did I declare this? In the cities of New York, Albany, Boston, throughout the United States and in England. Have I seen this fulfilled? I have. I told the people that as true as God lived, if they would not have truth, they would have error sent unto them, and they would believe it. What is the mystery of it?

The Christian world read of, and think much about, St. Paul, also St. Peter, the chief of the Apostles. These men were faithful to and magnified the priesthood while on the earth. Now, where will be the mystery, after they have passed through all the ordeals, and have been crowned and exalted, and receive their inheritances in the eternal worlds of glory, for [134] them to be sent forth, as the Gods have been for ever and ever, with the command–“Make yourselves an earth, and people it with your own children?” Do you think the starry heavens are going to fall? Do the Christian world or the heathen world think that all things are going to be wrapped up, consumed, and annihilated in eternal flames? Oh fools, and slow of heart to believe the great things that God has purposed in his own mind!

My brother said that God is as we are. He did not mean those words to be literally understood. He meant simply, that in our organization we have all the properties in embryo in our bodies that our Father has in his, and that literally, morally, socially, by the spirit and by the flesh we are his children.

Do you think that God, who holds the eternities in his hands and can do all things at his pleasure, is not capable of sending forth his own children, and forming this flesh for his own offspring? Where is the mystery in this? We say that Father Adam came here and helped to make the earth. Who is he? He is Michael, a great prince, and it was said to him by Eloheim, “Go ye and make an earth.” What is the great mystery about it? He came and formed the earth. Geologists tell us that it was here millions of years ago. How do they know? They know nothing about it. But suppose it was here, what of it? Adam found it in a state of chaos, unorganized and incomplete. Philosophers, again, in talking of the development of the products of the earth, for instance, in the vegetable kingdom, say the little fibres grew first, then the larger vegetation. When this preparatory stage was completed then came the various orders of the animal creation; and finally man appeared. No matter whether these notions are true or not, they are more or less speculative. Adam came here and got it up in a shape that would suit him to commence business. What is the great mystery about it? None, that I have seen. The mystery in this, as with miracles, or anything else, is only to those who are ignorant. Father Adam came here, and then they brought his [135] wife. “Well,” says one, “why was Adam called Adam?” He was the first man on the earth, and its framer and maker. He, with the help of his brethren, brought it into existence. Then he said, “I want my children who are in the spirit world to come and live here. I once dwelt upon an earth something like this, in a mortal state. I was faithful, I received my crown and exaltation. I have the privilege of extending my work, and to its increase there will be no end. I want my children that were born to me in the spirit world to come here and take tabernacles of flesh, that their spirits may have a house, a tabernacle or a dwelling place as mine has, and where is the mystery?”

Now for mother Eve. The evil principle always has and always will exist. Well, a certain character came along, and said to Mother Eve, “The Lord has told you that you must not do so and so, for if you do you shall surely die. But I tell you that if you do not do this, you will never know good from evil, your eyes will never be opened, and you may live on the earth forever and ever, and you will never know what the Gods know.” The devil told the truth, what is the mystery about it? He is doing it today. He is telling one or two truths and mixing them with a thousand errors to get the people to swallow them. I do not blame Mother Eve; I would not have had her miss eating the forbidden fruit for anything in the world. I would not give a groat if I could not understand light from darkness. I can understand the bitter from the sweet, so can you. Here is intelligence, but bind it up and make machines of its possessors, and where is the glory or exaltation? There is none. They must pass through the same ordeals as the Gods, that they may know good from evil, how to succor the tempted, tried and weak, and how to reach down the hand of mercy to save the falling sinner. The Lord has revealed his gospel and instituted its ordinances that the inhabitants of the earth may be put in possession of eternal life. But few of them, however, will accept it. I have preached it to many thousands [136] of them who are naturally just as honest as I am, but through tradition there is an overwhelming prejudice in their minds which debars them of that liberty I have in my heart. They would be glad to know the ways of God, and to know who Jesus is, and to reap the reward of the faithful, if they had the stamina, I will call it, the independence of mind necessary to embrace the truth to say, “I know this is true, and if there is no other person on the face of this earth who will defend it, I will to the last.” But this is not in their hearts, it is not in their organization, consequently they do not manifest it. What mystery is there about it? None whatever. What is the mystery in Jesus being the Son of God and at the same time the son of the Virgin Mary? You know what the infidels say about this, but their words are no worse than the practice of many in the Christian world.

I do not want to be found fault with, but if I am it is all the same to me. There is no mystery to me in what God has revealed to me, or in what I have learned, whether it has been through Joseph, an angel, the voice of the Spirit, the Holy Ghost or the Spirit of the Lord; no matter how I have learned a thing, if I understand it perfectly it is no mystery to me. It is like making one of these pulpits, or a house like this. This is no mystery to me, I dictated it, and a great many say it is a great piece of architecture to have a single span, so large as this roof and composed of wood that will sustain itself. But it is no mystery to me. I know the strength of the materials and how to place them together. It is no mystery to me to build a temple or a common house. But you take a gentleman or lady who was never beyond the confines of a densely populated city, who never saw wheat grow, and who never saw cattle in the fields, and it is a great mystery to them to see them. Why? Because they never saw such things before, and they know nothing about them, but it is no mystery to those who know all about such things. Do you think it any mystery to angels to know how the various organizations are brought on earth? Not [137] the least in the world. There is no mystery in all this to the Gods, no mystery in them to the prophets and apostles whom they send, and to whom they reveal them; it is all plain, every day, common sense, just as much so with anything else in the world–we understand it.

Some may say to me, “Why, Brother Brigham, you seem to know it all.” I say, Oh no, I know but very little, but I have an eternity of knowledge before me, and I never expect to see the time when I shall cease to learn, never, no never, but I expect to keep on learning forever and ever, going on from exaltation to exaltation, glory to glory, power to power, ever pressing forward to greater and higher attainments, as the Gods do. That is an idea that drowns the entire Christian world in a moment. Let them try to entertain it and they are out of sight of land without a ship, and if they had a ship it would have neither sail, rudder nor compass. “What,” say they, “God progress?” Now, do not lariat the God that I serve and say that he cannot learn any more; I do not believe in such a character. “Why,” say they, “does not the Lord know it all?” Well, if he does, he must know an immense amount. No matter about that, the mind of man does not reach that any more than it comprehends the heaven beyond the bounds of time and space in which the Christians expect to sit and sing themselves away to everlasting bliss, and where they say they shall live forever and forever.

If we look forward, we can actually comprehend a little of the idea that we shall live forever and ever; but you take a rearsight, and try and contemplate and meditate upon the fact that there never was a beginning and you are lost at once. The present and the future we can comprehend some little about, but the past is all a blank, and it is right and reasonable that it should be so. But if we are faithful in the things of God, they will open up, open up, open up; our minds will expand, reach forth and receive more and more, and by and by we can begin to see that the Gods have been forever and forever.

 

[138]

4. Lecture at the Veil by Brigham Young, Feb. 7, 1877, L. John Nuttall Jrnl. 1:18-21

 

Works in the Temple being under consideration, Prest. Young was filled with the spirit of God and revelation and said:

* * * In the creation the Gods entered into an agreement about forming this earth and putting Michael or Adam upon it. These things of which I have been speaking <the Temple Endowment> are what are termed the mysteries of godliness, but they will enable you to understand the expression of Jesus, made while in Jerusalem: “This is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.”

We were once acquainted with the Gods, and lived with them. But we had the privilege of taking upon us flesh, that the spirit might have a house to dwell in. We did so and forgot all, and came into the world not recollecting anything of that which we had previously learned.

We have learned a great deal about Adam and Eve, how they were formed, etc. Some think that he was made like an adobe and the Lord breathed into him the breath of life; for we read, “from dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.” Well, he was made from the dust of the earth, but not of this earth. He was made just the same way you and I are made, but on another earth.

Adam was an immortal being when he came to this earth. He had lived on an earth similar to ours. He had received the Priesthood and the keys thereof, and had been faithful in all things, and had gained his resurrection, and his exaltation and was crowned with glory, immortality and eternal lives, and was numbered with the Gods, for such he was through his faithfulness.

And he had begotten all of the spirits that were to come to this earth. And Eve, our common mother who is the mother of all living, bore those spirits in the Celes-[139]tial world, and then this earth was organized by Elohim, Jehovah and Michael, who is Adam, our common Father.

Adam and Eve had the privilege to continue the work of progression, consequently came to this earth and commenced the great work of forming tabernacles for those spirits to dwell in. And when Adam and those that assisted him had completed this kingdom–our earth–he came to it and slept and forgot all and became like an infant child.

It is said by the historian Moses that the Lord caused a deep sleep to come upon Adam, and took from his side a rib, and formed the woman that Adam called Eve. This should be interpreted that the Man Adam like all other men had the seed within him to propagate his species, but the woman did not. She conceives the seed but she does not produce it. Consequently, she was taken from the side or bowels of her father. This explains the mystery of Moses’ dark sayings in regard to Adam and Eve.

Adam and Eve, when they were placed on this earth, were immortal beings of flesh, bones and sinews. But upon partaking of the fruits of the earth while in the garden and cultivating the ground, their bodies became changed from immortal to mortal beings, with blood coursing through their veins as the action of life. Adam was not under transgression until after he partook of the forbidden fruit. This was necessary that they might be together, that man might be. The woman was found in transgression, not the man.

Now in the law of sacrifice we have the promise of a Savior. And man had the privilege, and showed forth his obedience by offering the fruits of the earth and the firstlings of the flocks. This showing that Jesus would come and shed his blood.

Father Adam’s oldest son (Jesus the Saviour) who is the heir of the family, is Father Adam’s first begotten in the spirit world, who according to the flesh is the only begotten as it is written.

[140] In his divinity, he <Adam> having gone back into the spirit world, and came in the spirit to Mary, and she conceived. For when Adam and Eve got through with their work in this earth, they did not lay their bodies down in the dust, but returned to the spirit world from whence they came.

 

5. Comments by Brigham Young were included in Tullidge’s Women of Mormondom (1877), and pages 196-200 are included here as an appropriate conclusion to this chapter.

 

When Brigham Young proclaimed to the nations that Adam was our Father and God, and Eve, his partner, the Mother of a world–both in a mortal and a celestial sense–he made the most important revelation ever oracled to the race since the days of Adam himself.

This grand patriarchal revelation is the very keystone of the “new creation” of the heavens and the earth. It gives new meaning to the whole economy of salvation as to the economy of creation. By the understanding of the works of the Father, the works of the Son are illumined.

The revelation was the “Let their be light” again pronounced. “And there was light!”

“And God created man in his own image; in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

“And God blessed them; and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.”

Here is the very object of man and woman’s creation exposed in the primitive command. The first words of their genesis are, “Be fruitful and multiply.”

So far, it is of but trifling moment how our first “parents” were created; whether like a brick, with the spittle of the Creator and the dust of the earth, or by the more intelligible method of generation. The prime object of man and woman’s creation was for the purposes of creation.

[141] “Be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it,” by countless millions of your offspring.

Thus opened creation, and the womb of everlasting motherhood throbbed with divine ecstasy.

It is the divine command still. All other may be dark as a fable, of the genesis of the race, but this is not dark. Motherhood to this hour leaps for joy at this word of God, “Be fruitful;” and motherhood is sanctified as by the holiest sacrament of nature.

We shall prefer Brigham’s expounding of the dark passages of Genesis.

Our first parents were not made up like mortal bricks. They came to be the Mother and the Father of a new creation of souls.

We say Mother now, first, for we are tracing this everlasting theme of motherhood, in the Mormon economy, without which nothing of the woman part of the divine scheme can be known–next to nothing of patriarchal marriage, to which we are traveling, be expounded.

Eve–immortal Eve–came down to earth to become the Mother of a race.

How become the Mother of a world of mortals except by herself again becoming mortal? How become mortal only by transgressing the laws of immortality? How only by “eating of the forbidden fruit”–by partaking of the elements of a mortal earth, in which the seed of death was everywhere scattered?

All orthodox theologians believe Adam and Eve to have been at first immortal, and all acknowledge the great command, “Be fruitful and multiply.”

That they were not about to become the parents of a world of immortals is evident, for they were on a mortal earth. That the earth was mortal all nature here today shows. The earth was to be subdued by teeming millions of mankind–the dying earth actually eaten, in a sense, a score of times, by the children of these grand parents.

[142] The fall is simple. Our immortal parents came down to fall; came down to transgress the laws of immortality; came down to give birth to mortal tabernacles for a world of spirits.

The “forbidden tree,” says Brigham, contained in its fruit the elements of death, or the elements of mortality. By eating of it, blood was again infused into the tabernacles of beings who had become immortal. The basis of mortal generation is blood. Without blood no mortal can be born. Even could immortals have been conceived on earth, the trees of life had made but the paradise of a few; but a mortal world was the object of creation then.

Eve, then, came down to be the Mother of a world.

Glorious Mother, capable of dying at the very beginning to give life to her offspring, that through mortality the eternal life of the Gods might be given to her sons and daughters.

Motherhood the same from the beginning even to the end! The love of motherhood passing all understanding! Thus read our Mormon sisters the fall of their Mother.

And the serpent tempted the woman with the forbidden fruit.

Did woman hesitate a moment then? Did motherhood refuse the cup for her own sake, or did she, with infinite love, take it and drink for her children’s sake? The Mother had plunged down, from the pinnacle of her celestial throne, to earth, to taste of death that her children might have everlasting life.

What! should Eve ask Adam to partake of the elements of death first, in such a sacrament! ‘Twould have outraged motherhood!

Eve partook of that supper of the Lord’s death first. She ate of that body and drank of that blood.

Be it to Adam’s eternal credit that he stood by and let our Mother–our ever blessed Mother Eve–partake of the sacrifice before himself. Adam followed the Mother’s example, for he was great and grand–a Father worthy indeed of a world. [143] He was wise, too; for the blood of life is the stream of mortality.

What a psalm of everlasting praise to woman, that Eve fell first!

A Goddess came down from her mansions of glory to bring the spirits of her children down after her, in their myriads of branches and their hundreds of generations!

She was again a mortal Mother now. The first person in the trinity of Mothers.

The Mormon sisterhood take up their themes of religion with their Mother Eve, and consent with her, at the very threshold of the temple, to bear the cross. Eve is ever with her daughters in the temple of the Lord their God.

The Mormon daughters of Eve have also in this eleventh hour come down to earth, like her, to magnify the divine office of motherhood. She came down from her resurrected, they from their spirit, estate. Here, with her, in the divine providence of maternity, they begin to ascend the ladder to heaven, and to their exaltation in the courts of their Father and Mother God.

Who shall number the blasphemies of the sectarian churches against our first grand parents? Ten thousand priests of the serpent have thundered anathemas upon the head of “accursed Adam.” Appalling, oftentimes, their pious rage. And Eve–the holiest, grandest of Mothers–has been made a very by-word to offset the frailties of the most wicked and abandoned.

Very different is Mormon theology! The Mormons exalt the grand parents of our race. Not even is the name of Christ more sacred to them than the names of Adam and Eve. It was to them the poetess and high priestess addressed her hymn of invocation; and Brigham’s proclamation that Adam is our Father and God is like a hallelujah chorus to their everlasting names. The very earth shall yet take it up; all the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve shall yet shout it for joy, to the ends of the earth, in every tongue!

* * *

[144] In spite of the clarity of these and other sermons on the subject of Adam-God, it continued to be an issue of long-standing controversy. Some leaders and members hailed it as a vitally important new revelation, while others apostatized because of it.

 

 

[145] Chapter 13

VOICES OF OPPOSITION

 

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

 

It appears that the controversy over the true God is as much an issue in our dispensation as it was in the days of Moses, Elijah, or Christ. Thus, President Brigham Young had difficulty in teaching the true identity of God to the Saints. Since many members refused to accept the Adam-God doctrine, it was never firmly established as a tenet of the Church. Although Brigham Young was the president, prophet, seer and revelator to the Church, he met continual rebellion against this doctrine–even from some of his own apostles. The most prominent opponent, at least for a while, was Apostle Orson Pratt. Elder Samuel Richards wrote:

 

Evening with the Regency in the upper room of the President’s office, examining the spelling for the new books in the D. Alphabet. A very serious conversation took place between President B. Young and Orson Pratt upon doctrine. O. P. was directly opposed to the President’s views and very freely expressed his entire disbelief in them after being told by the President that things were so and so in the name of the Lord. He was firm in the position that the President’s word in the name of the Lord, was not the word of the Lord to him. The President did not believe that Orson Pratt would ever be Adam, to learn by experience the facts discussed, but that every person in the room would be if [146] they lived faithful. (History of Samuel W. Richards, March 11, 1856, p. 15)

 

Other members of the Church noted the difference of opinion between President Young and Apostle Pratt on the Adam-God doctrine; and Joseph Lee Robinson wrote in his journal:

 

. . . there were some that did not believe the sayings of the Prophet Brigham. Even our beloved Brother Orson Pratt told me that he did not believe it. He said he could prove by the scriptures it was not correct. I felt sorry to hear Professor Pratt say that. I fear lest he should apostatize. (Diary of Joseph Lee Robinson, pp. 102-103)

 

This doctrinal controversy within the general presidency was noticed and discussed many places in the Church. In Provo it was recorded into the minutes of the School of the Prophets that Apostle Lyman also disbelieved it.

 

The doctrine preached by President Young a few years back wherein he says that Adam is our God, the God we worship–that most of the people believe this. Some believe it because the President says so; others because they can find testimony in the Book of Mormon and Book of Doctrine and Covenants. Amasa Lyman stumbled on this; he does not believe it. He did not believe in the Atonement of Jesus. Orson Pratt has also told the President that he does not believe it. This is not the way to act. (Abraham O. Smoot; Minutes, School of the Prophets, June 18, 1868, Provo, Utah)

 

Opposition to this doctrine began to grow much stronger after the death of Brigham Young. Towards the end of the century the first public discourses against this doctrine began to appear. At first the opponents of the doctrine began a resistance in the form of aversion, thus avoiding contentions and arguments. Gradually, however, it grew into open hostility [147] through the years, as shown by the following statements–beginning with 1892 and continuing to the present day:

 

1892

 

Pres. <George Q.> Cannon said that it was not necessary that we should endorse the doctrine that some men taught that Adam was the Father of Jesus Christ. (Charles Walker Jrnl. 2:741)

 

1895

 

How much longer I shall talk to this people I do not know; but I want to say this to all Israel: Cease troubling yourselves about who God is; who Adam is, who Christ is, who Jehovah is. For heaven’s sake, let these things alone. Why trouble yourselves about these things? God has revealed himself and when the 121st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants is fulfilled, whether there be one God or many Gods, they will be revealed to the children of men, as well as all thrones and dominions, principalities, and powers. Then why trouble yourselves about these things? God is God. Christ is Christ. The Holy Ghost is the Holy Ghost. That should be enough for you and me to know. If we want to know any more, wait till we get where God is in person. I say this because we are troubled every little while with inquiries from Elders anxious to know who God is, who Christ is, and who Adam is. I say to the Elders of Israel, stop this. (Wilford Woodruff, Mill. Star 57:355, April 7, 1895)

 

1898

 

Concerning the doctrine in regard to Adam and the Savior, the Prophet Brigham Young taught some things concerning that; but the First Presidency and the Twelve do not think it wise to advocate these matters. It is sufficient to know we [148] have a Father–God the Eternal Father, who reveals Himself by His Holy Spirit unto those who seek Him; and that Jesus Christ is His Son, our Redeemer, the Savior of the World. (First Sunday School Convention, 1898, p. 88)

 

Apparently about this time a change in the temple instructions were made, because of the unbelief and disagreements that were caused over this doctrine. One elder records the following in his journal:

 

Brother Horne and I chatted again tonight about the Gospel and the Adam-God Doctrine, as we have done many times before. Brother Horne, who grew up in Salt Lake City and was the son of Richard Horne and grandson of Joseph Horne, said–in reference to the Adam-God Doctrine–that when he first went through the Temple (Salt Lake) for his endowment in 1902 before going on his mission he was surprised to hear the teachings during the temple ceremony that “Adam was our God” and that “He came here with Eve, one of His wives.” Also, it was taught that “Eve bore our spirits” (i.e., the spirits of all men). He asked his father about it but he declined to give any opinion about it. After Brother Horne returned from his mission a few years later, in 1905, he noted these teachings had been removed from the temple ceremony. He feels that they were left over from Brigham Young’s influence, but that he himself (Brother Horne) couldn’t believe such doctrine. He thinks perhaps Brigham just got off in his speculation. (From C. Jess Groesbeck’s Elders Journal, Vol. 1, p. 291)

 

Other changes, though very small, began their slow, but sure dissolving powers upon that doctrine. In a regularly sung hymn the words once read:

 

Sons of MICHAEL, he approaches!

Rise; THE ETERNAL FATHER greet;

Bow ye thousands, low before him;

Minister before his feet; . . .

[149](Sacred Hymns for Church of J.C. of L.D.S., 20th ed., 1891, pp. 375, 376)

 

This song sometime later was changed to read:

 

Sons of Michael, he approaches!

Rise; the ANCIENT Father greet; . . .

 

1902

 

Men had ridiculed the elders for believing that Adam was a God. We are not ashamed of this doctrine. Jesus said in speaking to the Jews in relation to Abraham, that they were Gods unto whom the word of God comes. But though we look upon Adam as a God, we worship the same God that Adam worshipped in the Garden of Eden. (Anton H. Lund, Mill. Star 64:742)

 

What is called the Adam-God doctrine may properly be classed among the mysteries. The full truth concerning it has not been revealed to us; and until it is revealed, all wild speculations, sweeping assertions and dogmatic declarations relative thereto, are out of place and improper. We disapprove of them and especially the public expression of such views. (Joseph F. Smith, Joseph F. Smith Personal Letterbook, pp. 26-27)

 

1903

 

There has been much discussion in Mutual Improvement Associations, and in theological classes of the Sunday Schools, over the exact status of “the first man Adam” in the doctrines of our church. Some remarks concerning him by President Brigham Young, in a discourse delivered in this city many years ago, have been commented upon, added to, and sometimes misinterpreted in a manner that has led to considerable confusion and misunderstanding. (Charles W. Penrose, Imp. Era 5:873)

 

[150]

1910

 

Whether the mortal bodies of men evolved in natural processes to present perfection, through the direction and power of God; whether the first parents of our generation, Adam and Eve, were transplanted from another sphere, with immortal tabernacles, which became corrupted through sin and the partaking of natural foods, in the process of time; whether they were born here in mortality, as other mortals have been, are questions not fully answered in the revealed word of God. (Joseph F. Smith, Imp. Era, 13:570)

 

1912

 

Speculations as to the career of Adam before he came to the earth are of no real value. We learn by revelation that he was Michael, the archangel, and that he stands at the head of his posterity on earth. Dogmatic assertions do not take the place of revelation, and we should be satisfied with that which is accepted as doctrine, and not discuss matters that, after all disputes, are merely matters of theory. (Joseph F. Smith, Anthon H. Lund, Charles W. Penrose, Imp. Era 15:417)

 

1916

 

There still remains, I can tell by the letters I have alluded to, an idea among some of the people that Adam was and is the Almighty and Eternal God. . . . The notion has taken hold of some of our brethren that Adam is the being that we should worship. . . . I am sorry that has not been rectified long ago, because plain answers have been given to brethren and sisters who write and desire to know about it, and yet it still lingers, and contentions arise in regard to it, and there should be no contentions among Latter-day Saints. . .

Who was the person Adam prayed to? Adam prayed to God. . . . So Adam was neither the Father, nor the Son, nor the Holy Ghost, was he? Then who was he? Why, we are told he was Michael in his first [151] estate, and as Adam he will stand at the head of his race. . . .

Jesus of Nazareth, born of the virgin Mary, was literally and truly the Son of the Father, the Eternal God, not of Adam. (Charles W. Penrose, Conf. Rept. April 1916, pp. 16-17, 23)

 

1921

 

As a matter of fact the “Mormon” Church does not teach that doctrine. A few men in the “Mormon” Church have held such views, and several of them quite prominent in the councils of the Church, but the Church has made announcement of no such doctrine, nor has the Church propounded it to the world or accepted it by any article of its faith. Here I invoke the principles laid down in the early part of my remarks, viz., that the Church may only rightly be charged with those doctrines which may be adduced from the official documents she herself set forth as the sources of her doctrine, the very revelations of God that she has officially accepted; and from these sources the above may not be proven. Brigham Young and others may have taught that doctrine, but it has never been accepted by the Church as her doctrine, and she is not in any way responsible for it. (B.H. Roberts, July 10, 1921, Des. News July 23, 1921)

 

1925

 

Those who peddle the well-worn Adam-God myth, usually charge the Latter-day Saints with believing that: (1) Our Father in Heaven, the Supreme God, to whom we pray, is Adam, the first man; and (2) Adam was the father of Jesus Christ. A long series of absurd and false deductions are made from these propositions. (John A. Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliation, p. 68)

 

Brigham Young’s much discussed sermon says that “Jesus was begotten in the flesh by the same [152] character that was in the Garden of Eden, and who is our Father in heaven.” Enemies of the Church, or stupid people, reading also that Adam is “our father and our God,” have heralded far and wide that the Mormons believe that Jesus Christ was begotten of Adam. Yet, the rational reading of the whole sermon reveals the falsity of such a doctrine. It is explained that God the Father was in the Garden of Eden before Adam, that he was the Father of Adam, and that this same personage, God the Father, who was in the Garden of Eden before Adam, was the Father of Jesus Christ, when the Son took upon himself a mortal body. That is, the same personage was the Father of Adam and of Jesus Christ. In the numerous published sermons of Brigham Young this is the doctrine that appears; none other. The assertion is repeatedly made that Jesus Christ was begotten by God, the Father, distinct by any stretch of imagination from Adam. This is a well-established Latter-day Saint doctrine. (Ibid., one-vol. ed., pp. 56-57)

 

1931

 

If what is meant is that Adam had passed on to celestial glory through a resurrection before he came here, and that afterwards he was appointed to this earth to die again, the second time becoming mortal, then it is not scriptural or according to the truth. (Heber J. Grant, Mess. of 1st Pres. 5:290, Feb. 26, 1931)

 

1939

 

Relationship of Elohim, Jehovah, and Michael. If the enemies of the Church who quote this wished to be honest, they could not help seeing that President Brigham Young definitely declares that Adam is Michael, the Archangel, the Ancient of Days, which indicates definitely that Adam is not Elohim, or the God whom we worship, who is the Father of Jesus Christ. * * * In all probability the sermon was [153] erroneously transcribed. (Joseph Fldg. Smith, Doc. of Sal. 1:96, April 15, 1939)

 

1949

 

Lashing out at persons who expound the belief that Adam is the God of this world, Elder Hunter stated that such doctrine is false and impossible and must be destroyed. “The idea that Adam is the God of this world or that he was transplanted here from another planet is false and misleading,” he declared. (Milton R. Hunter, Provo Daily Herald, Mar. 22, 1949, p. 9)

 

1958

 

Cultists and other enemies of the restored truth, for their own nefarious purposes, sometimes try to make it appear that Latter-day Saints worship Adam as their Father in Heaven. In support of their false assumptions, they quote such statements as that of President Brigham Young to the effect that Adam is our father and our God and the only God with whom we have to do. There is no mystery about this doctrine except that which persons ignorant of the great principles of exaltation and unfriendly to the cause of righteousness have attempted to make. (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 1st ed., pp. 17-18)

 

1972

 

Adam is not the Father of Jesus Christ.

Question: In the Journal of Discourses Brigham Young is quoted as saying, “Jesus, our elder brother, was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the Garden of Eden, and who is our Father in heaven.” I am unable to harmonize this with your statement that Adam is not “the father of Jesus Christ. . . .” Will you please clarify this discrepancy of opinion?

Answer: . . . The expression that he was the same character that was in the Garden of Eden has led to [154] misunderstanding because of the implication which many place upon it that it had reference to Adam. . . . I maintain that President Young was NOT referring to Adam, but to God the Father, who created Adam, for he was in the Garden of Eden, and according to Mormon doctrine, Adam was in his presence constantly. . . .

. . . President Brigham Young did not believe and did not teach, that Jesus Christ was begotten by Adam. (Joseph Fldg. Smith, Ans. to Gospel Ques., Priesthood manual, 1972-73, pp. 20-22)

 

1976

 

We warn you against the dissemination of doctrines which are not according to the scriptures and which are alleged to have been taught by some of the General Authorities of past generations. Such for instance the Adam-God theory. We denounce that theory and hope that everyone will be cautioned against this and other kinds of false doctrines. (Spencer W. Kimball, Des. News, Oct. 9, 1976)

* * *

 

Criticism of the Adam-God doctrine seemed to be the strongest from the thundering and dramatic pen of Bruce R. McConkie, who wrote:

 

This so-called Adam-God theory is false and contrary to all the body of revealed truth. It negates the essential features of the whole plan of salvation; belittles God, and makes mockery of the atonement of his Son, and postulates the utterly absurd notion that Christ, his Son, had to work out an atoning sacrifice which would bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of God the Father. . . . (“Criticism of Factions,” Bruce R. McConkie)

 

Jesse B. Stone sarcastically answers these remarks of Elder McConkie and states that all of these attacks against the Adam-God doctrine are directed against the early leaders and their teachings:

 

[155] We not only compliment Elder McConkie for writing the above, but also marvel at his courage. By disposing of the Adam-God theory, he also destroys the doctrinal teachings of the early Church prophets, such as Brigham Young, and a large portion of the temple endowment services as well (“The Dilemmas of Mormonism,” Stone, p. 9)

 

However, there always have been a few who continued to believe in this doctrine as advocated by Brigham Young; and in 1921 there were still divisions of thought among the Church leaders concerning Adam’s relationship to Deity.

 

I am going to assume responsibility for making this statement, that man came here, was placed here as an immortal, glorified, resurrected being. I want to make myself clear, because these lectures are going to the brethren, and if they want to correct them, they can. I believe it was that fruit that changed and modified Adam’s resurrected body, and again made it subject to death. Is that clear? At least, I want you to get my idea and may I say the Church does not teach this as doctrine. Many of the authorities do. Others teach that a body was prepared in some way for Adam and Eve. (John M. Whitaker, Seminary Lectures, B.Y.U., Lecture 10, June 24, 1921)

 

The Adam-God doctrine was actually taught by Brigham Young and many others for a period of over 50 years, but the defenses for that doctrine gradually diminished. Critics against this doctrine have used the arguments of misquoted, misinterpreted, misunderstood, and various other attacks to sink the doctrine out of existence. However, Brigham Young’s persistent teaching cannot be easily disputed.

Professor Rodney Turner of Brigham Young University wrote his excellent master’s thesis on the subject of Adam and the Adam-God doctrine. This thesis undoubtedly has excelled [156] in creating more interest and research in Church doctrine than any other thesis at B.Y.U. Prof. Turner acknowledged that there can be no reasonable justification for anyone to misinterpret the meaning or subterfuge the actuality of Brigham Young’s teachings on this subject. Said he:

 

A careful, detached study of his available statements, as found in the official publications of the Church, will admit of no other conclusion than the identification of Adam with God the Father by President Brigham Young as an irrefutable fact. . . . We cannot ignore or subvert those of his ideas which were expressed in undeniably specific terms, in order to justify and sustain uncertain interpretations of his intent in general ones. (Rodney Turner, “Position of Adam in L.D.S. Scripture and Theology,” August 1953)

 

A few individuals continued to refer to or teach this doctrine, but the increasing voices of opposition soon quieted those of the mainstream advocates. About 1937-1939 the first threats of excommunication were made to those advocating that doctrine. In some stakes excommunication occurred nearly as quickly as for any other unacceptable belief or deed.

 

On the other hand, a hundred years ago feelings ran so high in support of this doctrine that on at least one occasion a man was excommunicated for NOT believing that Adam was our God. President of the European Mission, Apostle Francis M. Lyman, said:

 

. . . While we are in the Church we are apt to think that we are pure and holy, and that every brother or sister who does not come up to the mark which we have imagined to be the right one must be wrong. Well, is this right? There is not, perhaps, anybody in the Church who feels and thinks exactly as I do. Must I therefore conclude they are all wrong? Among the people you are going to try and save are [157] those who are honest and those who are dishonest–those who are pure and those who are impure. Cultivate, therefore, charity and wisdom to deal with all as their circumstances may demand, and ever remember your business is to do them good. Persons sometimes say that they have enjoyed the spirit of the work as much since they were cut off as while they were in the Church. Have they enjoyed the Spirit? Yes. Why? Simply because they were wrongfully cut off. They were cut off in such a way that it did not take the Spirit of God from them. And the reason why they were cut off was because they did not come up to the particular standard of perfection of those who dealt with them, or they did not come up to their feelings. I have heard of a man who was cut off because he would not believe that Adam was our Father and God. “Well, but was it not so?” Its being so does not change the fact that we are sinners and need salvation, and such preaching does not help men and women to repent of their sins. I call all that preaching senseless which cannot be applied. When we get where such things are needed, we shall be better able to understand them. We want men to be sober, temperate, just, honest, virtuous, and pure, always doing right, rising in progressive intelligence, and helping their fellows to rise also; and to accomplish this we must teach them to be so–teach them principles which they can comprehend and apply. When men know so much that they cannot preach from things on the earth, but have to go to heaven for them, I would as soon they would stop preaching and go home. Men have tried to preach how the resurrection was going to be brought about, and all those great things, a knowledge of which is so much sought after by some individuals. Such preaching will not redeem mankind, nor make them wiser and happier. As for believing that Adam was our God, I do not know but that we are gods; only, if it is so, we are very young yet. But could we ever feel that we are the children of a God who watches over us with more care and solicitude than we can bestow upon the little ones who call us fathers here on the earth, would not our desires and object be to [158] win the continued love of such a Parent by leaving off everything wrong, while we would seek to fill up the whole aggregate of our judgments with knowledge that is pure and holy, that we might become like that Father and be prepared to dwell with him. Then it is well to think that God is our Father; and whether it be Adam or anyone else, ever struggle upwards, upwards; always keep your hearts and faces upwards, and let every struggle you make be to carry you to the harbour of rest, the haven of peace, where you may enjoy the felicity awaiting the faithful children of our God. May the Lord bless you. Amen. (Francis M. Lyman, Mill. Star 24:99-100, Feb. 15, 1862)

 

How ironic that a man was excommunicated for NOT believing that Adam was God–and then a hundred years later some were excommunicated FOR believing that he was. Perhaps the action of those stake presidents, both a hundred years ago and those of the present, could be traced to overenthusiasm. If there should be any excommunications at all concerning the doctrine of Adam’s identity, they perhaps ought to be against those who believe in evolution–for they deny the existence of Adam altogether!

 

The scriptures positively identify Adam’s existence. The Old and New Testaments, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price and the voices of all our modern-day prophets declare that there was an Adam on the earth. Whether Adam is a son of God or the son of a God, may be a technicality with some speculation; but for Christian people, in or out of the Church, to deny Adam’s existence and believe in a theory of evolution, is absolutely anti-scriptural. Excommunication should be reserved for those who refute the scriptures!

 

But compulsion for belief was never a part of Joseph Smith’s principles, for he said:

 

[159] I will not seek to compel any man to believe as I do, only by the force of reasoning, for truth will cut its own way. (TPJS, p. 313)

 

Nevertheless, since the April Conference of 1852, many Latter-day Saints felt the problem of Adam’s fall had finally been clarified. To others, however, Brigham Young’s teaching presented only greater perplexities and theological frustrations.

 

Showing the existing confusion, Dr. Culley Christensen made the following observations:

 

Those who disbelieve the doctrine, yet hold to the belief that the church is true, do so by adhering to one or more of the following proposals:

1. That Brigham Young did not teach the Adam-God doctrine but was in fact misinterpreted, misrepresented or misrecorded.
2. That Brigham did teach the Adam-God doctrine and was wrong, but that these teachings were not church doctrine.
3. That Brigham Young did teach the Adam-God doctrine and was wrong, but he was merely expressing a personal opinion or idea.
4. That Brigham did teach the Adam-God doctrine and was wrong, but while enunciating these teachings he was not acting within the purview of his prophetic calling.
5. That Brigham Young did teach the Adam-God doctrine and was wrong but Brigham was doing God’s bidding as the Lord wanted the saints, at that point in their progression, to believe false doctrine.
6. That Brigham did teach the Adam-God doctrine which was then true but is no longer true today.
7. That Brigham, knowing that true sheep always recognize their master’s voice, deliberately advanced false doctrine as a means of separating the wheat from the tares.

[160] 8. That Brigham Young did teach the Adam-God doctrine and was wrong, but God has tolerance for the mortal mistakes of men whether they be a prophet or not. In other words, a prophet can make a mistake and still remain a prophet.

The varied nature of the above hypotheses underscores the difficulty modern theorists have in harmonizing the past with the present. (The Adam-God Maze, Christensen, pp. 106-107)

 

* * *

 

We may conclude by saying that the mysteries of God have never been easily explained, nor readily accepted, whenever they have been taught. For this reason, many great truths, in history and doctrine, have been purposely withheld by God from the general masses of mankind.

 

[161] Chapter 14

CONCLUSION:

ELECT HEIRS

 

Many important truths were to be revealed in this last dispensation, for the Lord has said:

 

. . . I deign to reveal unto my church things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the dispensation of the fulness of times. (D & C 124:41)

 

New truths, never before revealed, would be of course very difficult to substantiate from ancient scripture. The Adam-God doctrine would be one of the mysteries of God revealed in this last dispensation of time.

 

The gospel, as recorded in the New Testament, contains a very minor portion of the words and deeds of Christ. (John 21:21-25) Also the Gospel that Jesus taught to the Nephites, as recorded in the Book of Mormon, contains only a “lesser part” of His teachings:

 

And now there cannot be written in this book even a hundredth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach unto the people; . . . and these things have I written, which are a lesser part of the things which he taught the people. (3 Nephi 26:6, 8)

 

Mormon continues his narrative and explains why so many teachings have been kept back from his record:

 

[162] Behold, I was about to write them, all which were engraven upon the plates of Nephi, but the Lord forbade it, saying, I will try the faith of my people. (3 Nephi 26:11)

 

The Lord requires faith from His people. They must search, study, and inquire, receiving “line upon line and precept upon precept,” until they come to a perfect knowledge. Said the Prophet Joseph Smith:

 

The things of God are of deep import; and time, and experience and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out. (TPJS, p. 137)

We never can comprehend the things of God and of heaven, but by revelation. We may spiritualize and express opinions to all eternity; but that is no authority. (TPJS, p. 292)

There are but a very few beings in the world who understand rightly the character of God. (TPJS, p. 343)

 

To “understand rightly” the character and works of God, it becomes necessary to gain a more sure knowledge of them than is revealed in the scriptures. There is much more danger in disbelieving doctrines than in believing them, for the Prophet said:

 

I never hear of a man being damned for believing too much, but they are damned for unbelief. (TPJS, p. 374)

 

Hence, the danger and difficulty of the restored Gospel has never been in “believing too much” but rather for “believing too little,” especially in matters that pertain to the Godhead.

 

Man should gain the same knowledge and testimony that others have gained and this proposes a serious question–a question which the Prophet Joseph also asked:

 

[163] I want to ask this congregation, every man, woman and child, to answer the question in their own heart, what kind of a being God is? Ask yourselves: turn your thought into your hearts, and say if any of you have seen, heard, or communed with Him. This is a question that may occupy your attention for a long time. I again repeat the question–What kind of a being is God? Does any man or woman know? Have any of you seen him, heard him, or communed with him? (TPJS, p. 343)

 

The Prophet infers that man could hear, commune with, and see God. If the Saints could achieve this experience and testimony, there would no longer remain any mystery or confusion into the identity of their God. The Lord himself directs this course to pursue. (See D & C 93:1, 19)

 

When man attains to this knowledge of God, he has obtained more than the “Second Comforter;” however, it is through the Second Comforter (Christ), that the Father is revealed. From experience, the Prophet explains–

 

Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter: that when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. (TPJS, p. 151)

 

The Saints have been encouraged by all of the Prophets to seek for this knowledge and testimony, for it is with this knowledge that we may obtain eternal life.

 

[164] A critical warning came from the Lord against those who “profess to know God” but do not:

 

Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord. And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord; First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord. (D & C 112:24-26)

 

Such an indictment is either directed to those who believe in the doctrine of God being the Adam to this earth, or else it is a judgment against those who have openly opposed it. Hence, the certainty of such a knowledge is of eternal consequence upon those who profess to know God and claim that they are His servants.

 

Only until a man can step forward with this positive knowledge, he will remain susceptible to opinion, uncertainty, and disputation. Anything less than this revelation of God will subject man to question and doubt; but having this grand testimony of God, a man can, at least for himself, end the controversy.

 

The Adam-God doctrine as taught by Brigham Young has been, and will continue to be, a controversial issue. Every serious student of Church history will discover it in the pages of the past. Every elder proclaiming the Gospel in the missionfield will encounter Protestant ministers who will refute it. Seminary leaders, Gospel doctrine teachers, and most officials of stakes and wards are often confronted with this doctrine. Perhaps if it had been a subject taught outside the [165] Church, or a doctrine originating with apostates, the issue could be easily discarded. But these principles were taught and advocated by the First Presidency of the Church for many years. To disbelieve that doctrine is to cast aspersions upon the reliability of President Brigham Young–second prophet, seer and revelator of the Church–and others who were his counselors and apostles.

 

Today there are a few Latter-day Saint teachers and educators who advocate the Darwin theory of evolution, and thus proclaim no belief in Adam’s mission at all. Some other members believe in the “brick-Adam, rib-Eve” creation. Also there are proponents of the theory that Adam was a son of God, the same as everyone else on earth, but by some peculiar twist of fate he was born with a physical body which became mortalized. Finally, there is a comparatively small portion of members who believe in this doctrine taught by Brigham Young. Hence, Mormons believe in various doctrines pertaining to the creation of the earth and the beginning of man–such as that they came from an ape or a clump of mud. Few there are who believe that they are truly the sons and daughters of God, spiritually and physically.

 

This Adam-God doctrine is logical and doctrinally sound, and when one reasons it out to its full measure, it renders a deeper and closer respect for the Father and His condescending fall for His children.

 

The Apostle George Q. Cannon captivated the spirit of the doctrine by alluding to the nearness that these teachings bring man to God:

 

President Young, in the foregoing passages, while substantiating the fact of the union of man’s pre-existing spirit with a bodily product of the “dust of the ground,” enters more particularly into the modus [166] operandi of that union. He unmistakably declares man’s origin to be altogether of a celestial character–that not only is his spirit of heavenly descent, but his bodily organization, too–that the latter is not taken from the lower animals, but from the originally celestial body of the great Father of humanity.

Taking the doctrine of man’s origin as seen from this higher point of view, and comparing it with the low assumptive theories of uninspired men, such as those we have alluded to, how great the contrast appears! “Look on this picture”–Man, the offspring of an ape! “And on this”–Man, the image of God, his Father! How wide the contrast! And how different the feelings produced in the breast! In the one case, we instinctively shrink with dread at the bare insinuation; while in the other, the heart beats with higher and warmer and stronger emotions of love, of adoration, and praise; the soul is cheered and invigorated in its daily struggles to emancipate itself from the thraldom of surrounding evils and darkness pertaining to this lower sphere of existence, and is animated with a purer and nobler zeal in its onward and upward journey to that Divine Presence whence it originally came. (Mill. Star 23:654)

 

Eclipse of the Adam-God Doctrine

 

In summary, from 1852 until his death in 1877, President Brigham Young publicly advocated the following principles of the Adam-God doctrine:

 

1. Adam was not created as an adobe brick, nor did Eve literally evolve from Adam’s disconnected rib.

 

2. Mankind and all other life was not originated by any other principle than by the propagation of species, through seed of its own kind.

 

3. Adam and Eve came into the Garden of Eden with physical, tangible, immortal bodies–not spirits.

 

[167] 4. Those bodies were of a celestial perfection before the fall.

 

5. Adam possessed an immortal, celestial, physical body in a resurrected state.

 

6. Resurrected beings in the celestial kingdom, which propagate their species are exalted beings–Gods and Goddesses.

 

7. Resurrected, exalted beings can produce only spirit children.

 

8. When Adam and Eve partook of mortal food, their bodies became filled with the seeds of death, which was blood. With blood in their systems, all children born to them would be physical and mortal and subject to death.

 

9. The “fall” of Adam and Eve was actually the changing of the spiritual fluid in their systems to the mortal fluid called blood. Thus the “fall” was from immortality to mortality.

 

10.Michael was the principle Creator of this world, later to be called Adam.

 

11.Every woman, who remains faithful to the gospel, will become an Eve to other earths similar to this one.

 

12.Eve was one of Adam’s wives.

 

13.Adam, or Michael, is the literal father of the spirits of all men.

 

14.Adam, or Michael, is the literal and spiritual father of the Savior.

 

[168] 15.Brigham Young said this doctrine was revealed to him from heaven.

 

* * *

 

Those few individuals who believe in the Adam-God doctrine feel that they can hold their heads high with dignity, for they can claim a close filial relationship to their God. While some attribute their beginning to monkeys, or mud, those who believe in the teachings of President Brigham Young, and Joseph Smith claim to be the elect heirs of heaven and earth, because they are the literal “children of God.”

 

 

[169] Appendix

 

In the month of February, 1848, the Twelve Apostles met at Hyde Park, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, where a small branch of the Church was established; . . . . We were in prayer and council, communing together; and what took place on that occasion? The voice of God came from on high, and spake to the Council. Every latent feeling was aroused, and every heart melted. What did it say unto us? “Let my servant Brigham step forth and receive the full power of the presiding Priesthood in my Church and kingdom.” This was the voice of the Almighty unto us at Council Bluffs, before I removed to what was called Kanesville. It has been said by some that Brigham was appointed by the people, and not by the voice of God. I do not know that this testimony has often, if ever, been given to the masses of the people before; but I am one that was present, and there are others here that were also present on that occasion, and did hear and feel the voice from heaven, and we were filled with the power of God. This is my testimony; these are my declarations unto the Saints–unto the members of the kingdom of God in the last days, and to all people.

 

We said nothing about the matter in those times, but kept it still. (After seating myself in the stand, I was reminded of one circumstance that occurred, which I omitted in my discourse. Men, women, and children came running together where we were, and asked us what was the matter. They said that their houses shook, and the ground trembled, and they did not know but that there was an earthquake. We told them [170] that there was nothing the matter–not to be alarmed; the Lord was only whispering to us a little, and that He was probably not very far off. We felt no shaking of the earth or of the house, but were filled with the exceeding power and goodness of God.) We knew and realized that we had the testimony of God within us. On the 6th day of April following, at our Annual Conference, held in the Log Tabernacle at Kanesville, the propriety of choosing a man to preside over the Church was investigated. In a very few minutes it was agreed to, and Brigham Young was chosen to fill that place without a dissenting voice, the people not knowing that there had been any revelation touching the matter. They ignorantly seconded the voice of the Lord from on high in his appointment. . . .

 

Some persons say that Brigham does not give revelations as did Joseph Smith. But let me tell you, that Brigham’s voice has been the voice of God from the time he was chosen to preside, and even before. (Orson Hyde, JD 8:233-234)