But as things have not vanished away, as there are real existences, the whole series of things for which he contends are verities. "For there is a God," he declares, "and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them is; both things to act, and things to be acted upon."
After arriving at this conclusion, Lehi, proceeding from the general to the particular, deals with the introduction of this universal antimony into our world as follows:
"To bring about his [God's] eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, * * * * * it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter; "Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore man could not act for himself, save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.[B] And I, Lehi, according to the things which I have read, must needs suppose, that an angel of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from heaven; wherefore he became a devil, having sought that which was evil before God. And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable for ever he said unto Eve, yea, even that old serpent, who is the devil, who is the father of all lies; wherefore he said, Partake of the forbidden fruit, and ye shall not die, but ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. And after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit, they were driven out of the garden of Eden, to till the earth. And they have brought forth children; yea, even the family of all the earth. And the days of the children of men were prolonged, according to the will of God, that they might repent while in the flesh; wherefore, their state became a state of probation, and their time was lengthened, according to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the children of men. For he gave commandment that all men must repent; for he showed unto all men that they were lost, because of the transgression of their parents. And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed, he would not have fallen; but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created, must have remained in the same state in which they were, after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end. And they would have had no children; wherefore, they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.
[Footnote B: On such a proposition Dr. Jacob Cooper, of Rutgers College, at the head of an article on "Theodicy," the justification of the divine providence by the attempt to reconcile the existence of evil with the goodness and sovereignty of God, says (August, 1903), "There must be an alternative to any line of conduct, in order to give it a moral quality. We have to deal with, not an imaginary, but a real world; not with a state of things wholly different from those by which character is developed. If there are to be such qualities as righteousnesss, virtue, merit, as the result of good action, there must be a condition by which these things are possible. And this can only be where there is an alternative which may be embraced by a free choice. If the work of man on earth is to build up character, if his experience is disciplinary, by which he constantly becomes better fitted for greater good and a wider sphere of action, then he must have the responsibility of choosing for himself a course different from one which appeals to the lower qualities in his nature.">[
LESSON XI.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
THE ADAMIC DISPENSATION—V.
| ANALYSIS. | REFERENCES. |
| I. The Family of Adam. 1. Descendants of Cain. 2. Descendants of Seth. | Gen. iv:1, 2. Book of Moses ch. v:1-3. Josephus Antiquities Bk. I, Sec. ii and iii. Book of Moses ch. vi:1-16 Notes 1, 2, 3, 4. |
| II. The Commandment to offer Sacrifice. | Book of Moses, ch. v:4, 5. Gen. iv:4-6. |
| III. Explanation of the Sacrifice. | Book of Moses, ch. v:6-8. |
| IV. A Gospel Dispensation Given to Adam. | Book of Moses, ch. vi:48-69. Note 5. |
NOTES.
1. The Descendants of Adam: The account of the family of Adam in the Book of Genesis is painfully brief and gives no idea of the number of sons and daughters born to him. During the first one hundred and thirty years it gives an account of but three sons; Cain, Abel, and Seth. "And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years, and he beget sons and daughters." (Gen. 5:3). Before the account of the birth of Cain is given, however, the sacred historian says: "And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living." (Gen. 3:20). In the Book of Moses (P. G. P.) there is an account of sons and daughters being born to the pair sometime before the birth of Cain, and even an account of their beginning to divide two and two and to till the land and to tend flocks; "and they also begot sons and daughters," all this previous to the birth of Cain. (Book of Moses, ch. 5:2, 3). Even in the Genesis' account of Cain's birth there seems to be something of an inference that sons and daughters had been born to Adam and Eve preceding Cain's birth, because some special hope seems to attach to the birth of Cain, Eve saying, when she bore him, "I have gotten a man from the Lord;" and the Book of Moses adds this conclusion to her words, "Wherefore he may not reject his (the Lord's) words." But alas! how that mother's hopes were to be blighted, for the record just quoted says, "But behold, Cain hearkened not." (Book of Moses, ch. 5:16). And the final result of his rejection of God's counsels are perhaps the saddest of all history.