Shawn McCraney discusses the biblical account of Adam and Eve, emphasizing that God created Adam from the dust and breathed life into him, while Eve was made from Adam's rib, to exist together in a state described as heavenly, free from suffering. He contrasts this biblical teaching with Mormon doctrines, highlighting the original state of humanity in the Garden of Eden where they could choose to love and honor God without coercion, or alternatively, pursue their path based on personal ideas.
In Shawn's teaching, Adam and Eve, despite being given everything by God, chose to disobey because they were tempted by the serpent, resulting in humanity's fall from paradise and an existence marked by pain and separation from God. Their actions reflect the tension between following God's commands for ultimate blessings and succumbing to worldly temptations, leading to adverse consequences like shame and death.
Shawn critiques Mormon beliefs about Adam and Eve, highlighting how they deviate from traditional Christian teachings by asserting that Adam was originally the archangel Michael and played a significant role in creation, contrary to biblical accounts. He also points out that Mormonism attributes the title "Ancient of Days" to Adam and believes that Adam and Eve were given contradictory commandments, a concept Shawn argues undermines the biblical narrative and portrays God as deceitful.
Mormon doctrine asserts that Old Testament prophets and figures like Adam and Eve were fully aware of the LDS plan of salvation from the beginning, which contradicts biblical teachings of progressive revelation as stated in Romans 16 and Ephesians. According to LDS beliefs, Adam and Eve’s “transgressions” were necessary steps for mankind’s existence and joy, and their actions were not considered sin but a required transgression to fulfill God’s plan—this contrasts with Christian teachings on sin and redemption, illustrating significant theological divergence and complexity.
The teaching by Shawn asserts that the LDS (Latter-day Saints) view of Adam and Eve's actions as commendable is a contradiction to biblical teachings, which clearly define their actions as disobedience and origin of sin according to scripture. The LDS theology of Adam and Eve being praised for their choices is challenged by emphasizing that God's intention was never to endorse sin and suffering, hence questioning the motives behind Satan's temptation if their actions were supposedly necessary for God's plan.
Shawn emphasizes the importance of actively listening and speaking with intention to cultivate meaningful communication, encouraging individuals to seek understanding and align their words with their values and purpose. He advises that expressing oneself thoughtfully and authentically can lead to deeper connections and a more positive impact in personal and professional relationships.
- Heart of the Matter: Biblical Christianity Meets Mormonism
Heart of the Matter: Biblical Christianity Meets Mormonism
Welcome to Heart of the Matter
LIVE! From the “Mecca of Mormonism,” Salt Lake City, Utah – THIS is Heart of the MatterTGNN’s original show where Shawn McCraney deconstructed religion and developed fulfilled theology., “Where Mormonism Meets Biblical Christianity Face to Face.” Show 1: Adam and Eve. January 5th, 2010.
And I’m Shawn McCraneyFounder of TGNN and developer of the fulfilled perspective—calling people to faith outside of religion., your host. If you have family or friends who cannot get Heart through television, give them a call and tell them to go to www.hotm.tv and they can watch through streaming video from anywhere in the world!
We want to greet all of you to this new year of Heart of the Matter and we thank you for watching. Hello out there in TV land! Hi, YouTubers! God bless you, Live streaming people. And thanks for tuning in, archivers. We’re really excited to get into the topics for this year.
“I was a Born-Again Mormon.” We made the manuscript available online through a downloadable PDF. Go to www.hotm.tv and you can have the book in your hands within minutes.
How about starting the year off right and taking an hour a week to study the Word verse by verseTGNN’s Bible teaching series—book-by-book, through the lens of fulfillment and spiritual liberty.? Join us at CAMPUS every Sunday in either Utah State in Logan or UofU in Salt Lake City. Go to www.calvarycampus.com for more information like times and directions.
And with that, let’s have a prayer.
Adam and Eve
And so we begin with a year-long look—in alphabetical order—of LDS topics—what Mormon doctrine teaches and what the Bible has to say about them. So the first topic for the year?
(DRUM ROLL) Adam and Eve.
Interestingly enough, the Bible doesn’t really say all that much about Adam and Eve. There are maybe 30 verses that speak of them directly and another twenty or so that speak of them inferentially. What do we, as Bible-believing Christians say about Adam and Eve? We say what the Word says:
Genesis 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” This Spirit that God breathed into Adam kick-started all human life that descended out of our first parents physically. Then God took the Man and put him in a garden called Eden, the location somewhere near Iraq in the Middle East.
Ge 2:16 And the Jehovah Elohim commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Then . . . the Jehovah Elohim said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.” God then brought the animals he had created to Adam and Adam had the full mental capacity to name them all.
Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
The Biblical Account of Creation
That is the biblical account, friends, of the origins of Adam and Eve. A simple and beautiful way. God’s way. Without suffering, deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God., pain, and evil. Adam himself stated the whole plan for the human race to come! Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. He understood that there in the Garden, they could exist with God in their presence, and they could procreate, and live forever in a state that we would today describe as heaven. This was God’s offering to Humanity.
Being the Good and Holy God that He is, and not a despot, God was not going to force Adam and Eve to love and honor Him. If they wanted they could disobey Him and go their own way, by their own thinking, and their own ideas. So God…
The Temptation and Fall of Man
God also placed a tree in the garden that gave Adam and Eve the opportunity to reject God’s gifts and presence. And He told Adam:
“You can eat from any tree . . . but thou shalt NOT eat of the one called the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil!”
That was a direct command from God to Adam.
Now the first seven verses of Genesis chapter three tell us what “our first parents” did with the choice God gave them – they followed Satan and his enticements for them to DISOBEY God and His commands. Beginning at verse one Genesis 3 says
“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Jehovah Elohim had made. And he (the serpent) said unto the woman,
“Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
And the woman said unto the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”
And the serpent said unto the woman, “Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
And when . . . and when . . . and when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked (they were ashamed); and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons (created the first man-made religion).
The Consequences of Choice
These passages frankly and simply show that at the heart of Eve was the decision to take matters into her own hands, to discount all that God said and done for them, to listen to Satan and trust His promises, and to in the end believe that she knew better than God Himself . . . that she and Adam could benefit from the food of the tree, because it was easy on the eyes, and could make them wise (to the ways of the world) – and so she took it and ate it.
The tension was between God’s will and ways and plans – and the blessings thereof – and Satan’s will and ways and plans – and the blessings and cursings thereof.
Get it?
And Eve and Adam chose the latter – by disobeying God.
We’re they rewarded? In a sense, yes. They received the things of this world that they sought. But these things brought with them a terrible, horrible, dreadful result – a fall.
And the paradise God gave was lost.
God's Response to Disobedience
Now, was God pleased with Adam and Eve’s choice to disregard His commands?
Genesis three beginning at verse eight:
“And they (Adam and Eve) heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Jehovah Elohim amongst the trees of the garden. And Jehovah Elohim called unto Adam, and said unto him, “Where art thou?”
And he said, “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked (shamed); and I hid myself.”
And he said, ”Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?”
And the man(passing the buck), said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.”
And the LORD God said unto the woman, “What is this that thou hast done?”
And the woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”
And then what did God do because of their actions?
He cursed them and cast them out of His presence, out of the garden, and into an existence of pain, sorrow, and death. And the title deed to this earth was handed over to Satan, who entices all offspring of Adam and Eve with the very same things he enticed Eve –
As the Apostle John wrote:
“with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.”
Theological Differences: Adam and Eve
“horrific pain, sorrow, and death.”
Listen, every time a child or woman is raped, mutilated, or beaten, every time cancer and aids and disease takes the life of someone we love, whenever there is a war, or when healthy people are paralyzed or maimed, it is the DIRECT RESULT of ADAM AND EVE’S CHOICE.
I cannot comprehend a God who would want His creations to experience such horrors . . . but this is the very thing Mormonism teaches relative to Adam and Eve and the Fall.
Now, let me pause here and say something important:
I love and respect all people as my earthly brothers and sisters – LDS people included. So when I go after their beliefs, I am not – AM NOT – attacking them. I am convicted of the unequivocal Christian demand to love all people – all. And I generally do.
However, even in this pluralistic and relativistic age of “respect everyone’s religious beliefs” where it is not at all popular to criticize people and their faith, Mormonism claims to be not only Christian, they also to be the only TRUE Christian faith on earth are worthy of all scrutiny and criticism relative to what the Bible teaches.
LDS Teachings on Adam and Eve
In the story of Adam and Eve, Mormonism blatantly reveals a horribly TWISTED perspective. I’m not even going to talk about Brigham Young’s teachings that Adam was God himself and that Eve was one of his many wives.
You can discover those teachings yourself by going to HYPERLINK "http://www.utlm.org" www.utlm.org
But what do the LDS teach about our first parents and their role in what we commonly call the Fall?
I am going to break their twistianity down into several large categories – all of which defy what the Bible, and biblical Christians, know to be true.
Latter-day Saints teach that Adam was actually Michael, an archangel, before becoming the earth’s first man. I don’t need to prove this teaching as it is foundational to the religion. However, Paul makes Adam’s origins clear when he writes in 1st Corinthians 15:47: “The first man (Adam) is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.”
Secondly, Adam, as Michael the archangel, played a significant role in creating the earth. Again, a huge departure from the biblical view that Adam was created by God from the dust and given life by His breath. It is also a significant departure from the sound biblical teaching that angels and men are of a different order from each other. But this is for another day.
Third, Latter-Day Saints teach that the title, Ancient of Days, used in Daniel chapter seven is a reference to Adam! This is founded in a direct revelation Joseph Smith claims to have had in 1838 which is included in Doctrine and Covenants 116:1 and supported by Smith who said: “Daniel, is his seventh chapter speaks of the Ancient of Days; he means the oldest man, our father Adam, Michael.” This is one of the laughable and lamentable mistakes of Joseph Smith because the Bible is clear that this revelation refers to deity, namely, and uniquely, first to the Father, and then the Son – not Adam.
Fourth, LDS doctrine teach that Adam and Eve were presented by God with two opposing commands: “To multiply and replenish the earth” AND to “not eat of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil;” the idea being that Adam and Eve were incapable of “multiplying and replenishing the earth,” without first having a “knowledge of good and evil” – or the knowledge on how to reproduce. All of this is built on man-made pre-supposition and a kind-of strange notion that God is a God of tricks and games. It supposes that Adam and Eve could not have learned to multiply or, if they had had questions on how that they couldn’t have asked God on how to go about it.
Eve's Role in LDS Doctrine
- This brings us to a Fifth difference between Mormonism and biblical Christianity relative to our first parents.
In the temple film, it is Eve who actually understands that there is a conflict between the commands that God has given them, and she makes what the LDS consider “a noble decision to break one command (to “not eat the fruit”) in order to therefore be obedient to the greater command (which was “to multiply and replenish the earth”).
Part of what allowed Eve to see “the need to break one command in order to be obedient to the other” presents us with the Sixth LDS twist on Adam.
LDS Interpretation of Adam and Eve
and Eve, which states that they were fully aware of the whole LDS plan of Salvation from beginning to the end. In fact, Mormonism teaches that all of the Old Testament prophets were fully aware of the LDS gospel plan from the beginning of time. This is in plain conflict with biblical teachings which state that God revealed his ways progressively. Speaking of the Gospel Paul writes in Romans 16 that it was
. . . kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest . . . .
And then in a letter to the Ephesians it reads, referring to the Gospel that
“. . . in other ages it was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.”
LDS Doctrine on the Fall of Adam and Eve
Back to Eve and Adam’s fall being noble – the Seventh Twist. Christianity teaches that God’s creations (called humanity) started when God breathed into the nostrils of Adam and he became a living soul. Mormonism teaches something wholly different but very present in Greek mythology – that all human beings existed as spirit beings in a pre-mortal existence, that Adam and Eve were the first to come to earth and obtain bodies, and that they had the obligation to start bringing these spirit children down to earth through procreation. But according to Mormon doctrine, they wouldn’t know how to procreate until they ate of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, so in ORDER to get God’s true plan going, they had to eat the fruit . . . the fruit God Himelf commanded not to eat and then punished them for their disobedience to His will.
LDS scripture testifies of this twisted position over and over again: In the Book of Mormon, it reads:
“Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy.”
LDS Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith said:
“Let us thank the Lord, when we pray, for Adam. If it had not been for Adam, I would not be here; you would not be here, we would be waiting in the heavens as spirits pleading for somebody . . . to pass through a certain condition that brought upon us mortality.”
LDS scripture in their Pearl of Great Price has the audacity to personally quote Eve as saying:
“Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.”
There is so much convoluted thinking here, I really don’t know where to start! First of all, Eve states:
“If it wasn’t for our transgression, we would never have known the joy of our redemption!”
In other words, she is saying, “I am so glad I sinned so I could then experience Jesus saving me from sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace..” Forget about the price He paid for the sin. Forget about the pain HE endured or the crimes sin is against God in the first place. Instead, Joseph Smith has Eve rejoicing in her transgression because she could now rejoice in the solution to it!
Analysis of LDS Interpretation
Understand, the environment that Adam and Eve lived in in the Garden was akin to the condition we long to return to once this life is through! They lived in heaven, so to speak, with God present, and them in a paradise! But here in the LDS Pearl of Great Price, Eve is saying that it is great they left heaven, in order to then appreciate that they then have the chance to get back to it.
Then Eve continues to say that unless they transgressed, they would not
“know the joy of eternal life which God gives to all the obedient.”
Do you hear the absolute irrationality of this comment? Joseph Smith has Eve saying that it is only because they disobeyed that they can now understand the joy of eternal life that comes . . . only to those who obey? I mean, we’re talking about twist, twist, twist here, friends. Twisting the Good News, twisting the whole of God’s biblical revelation!
Now notice a word that is used to describe Eve’s and Adam’s actions against God:
“Transgression.”
LDS View on Transgression
This leads us to the eighth twist: Mormon doctrine claims Adam and Eve did not sin, they, “ah-transgressed!” LDS Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith said:
“This was a transgression of the law, but not a sin in the strict sense, for it was something that Adam and Eve had to do!”
In the Discourses of Marion G. Romney, and LDS apostle, he wrote:
“I do not look upon Adam’s
Contradictions Regarding Adam and Eve
"I think it was a deliberate act of free agency. He chose to do that which had to be done to further the purposes of God." Herein lies a point-blank contradiction of the Bible, my friends.
What do we know from God’s account of Adam and Eve’s actions? God told them they could eat of all the trees He had given them EXCEPT one. And that one He COMMANDED them not to eat it. If the LDS commend the eating of it, they commend Eve and Adam for following Satan’s advice. And the rewards? All that is in the world! The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. This is serious schnit, friends.
Biblical Perspective on Sin
The Bible tells us that God did what when Adam and Eve transgressed? Did He commend them or condemn them? What is the fruit of their partaking of the fruit? Goodness, kindness, love, or evil, darkness, suffering, and pain? How does an actual apostle of Jesus Christ, John the Beloved define SIN? "Whoever commiteth sin transgresseth the law: for sin is the transgression of the Law."
What else does the Bible say about Adam and Eve? Do we have anyone, anywhere within the text commending them for their choice? Did Isaiah, or Peter, or Paul say, "We thank God for Adam and Eve’s choice?"
Example from Job
Ha! Job asked
Job 31:33 “If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom.”
Listen to the words Paul used in his letter to the Romans: Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned… For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
(Verse 18) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one (Jesus) shall many be made righteous.
Daniel 7:9 ¶ 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, and his wheels as burning fire. God Almighty; and this is the only place in the sacred writings where God the Father is represented in a human form. The same language is applied elsewhere to Christ. Re 1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire.
The Sinister Premise
Finally, friends, before we go to the phones, (801) 973-TV20 (801) 973-8820 I want you to consider one of the greatest cracks in the LDS’s idea of Adam and Eve, the Fall, and their notion that they did a good thing by listening to Satan’s temptations and disobeying God. Ready? IF Adam and Eve were supposed to eat the fruit in order to open the door for spirit children to come to earth, why would Satan get them to do it? Wouldn’t Satan, who hates everything about God, do everything he could to keep Adam and Eve from eating the fruit INSTEAD of getting them TO eat it?
Bottom line, friends, God has NEVER EVER wanted anyone to sin, to suffer, to have pain, to lose children to accidents and murder. The LDS teaching of Adam and Eve and the Fall are about as far from Christianity as you can get. They are not merely Twisted, but they are built on a far more sinister premise. Check it all out yourselves, then ask God to open your eyes.
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SPOT SPOT SPOT SPOT SPOT SPOT SPOT SPOT We’ve received a number of really good emails lately and I think we’ll start the year off reading from
Understanding Communication Through Parables
She chose this life to feel, smell and experience the beauty of life. Life is not meant to be lived amiss. It is meant to be used for growth. Life has failed, and it is fading.
Matthew 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blest are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blest are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blest are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blest are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blest are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blest are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blest are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blest are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The Purpose of Existence
Blest are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Personal Reflection Through Prayer
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
