Our First Parents

There are many religions that teach that our First Parents, Father Adam and Mother Eve, were sinners that caused the plan of God to be thrown off of its original course. The Jehovah's Witnesses even go so far to teach that Adam is not included in those ransomed (by Jesus Christ). They say that he [Adam] had perfect life, and this he deliberately forfeited (Let God be True, 1952, p. 119).

This sort of teaching denies that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil actually made Adam & Eve "as Gods, knowing good from evil" which Jehovah himself affirms by stating "Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil" (Genesis 3:22) Although Adam and Eve were familiar with God on a first-hand basis, were aware of God's commandment, and possessed the power to reason, when Eve partook of the fruit she was yet in a state of innocence and did not comprehend the notion of Good or Evil in the sense that would have condemned her to a state of unforgivable sin (a deliberate and knowing rebellion against God). This is why Adam and Eve's action is often termed a transgression: It is a violation of the law without necessarily being aware of the consequences.

Members of the Fellowship should consider that the biblical commandment to "Honor thy father and thy mother" rightly extends back to our First Parents. We should honor them as Great Exemplars who chose to descend to a state of mortality and imperfection, and to stay together as husband and wife (Adam partook of the fruit in order that he might remain with Eve) so that we would be permitted to live.

The Serpent's speech to Eve contained truth mixed with lies. The great lie to Eve was in telling her: "Ye shall not surely die." The Serpent also embellished God's law by expanding the restriction to include the phrase "neither shall ye touch it," a statement that was not part of God's original commandment in Genesis 2:17. Some have even suggested that this slight deviation from the Truth is what convinced Eve to believe in the lie: for after touching the tree (perhaps having been nudged into it by the serpent) and seeing no consequence, she presumed that God had lied and that the Serpent had told the truth, and determined that eating of the fruit would likewise bear no consequence.

The only direct consequence of partaking of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was exactly what the Bible said it was: They became as Gods, knowing Good and Evil. This wasn't a lie told by the Serpent, but a piece of truth which, as we have seen, God himself went on to affirm after the fact.

The indirect consequences of partaking of the fruit were:

• God cast our First Parents out of the Garden of Eden, making them unable to partake of the fruit from the Tree of Life. Because they were no longer able to partake of the fruit from the Tree of Life, they were forced to eat earthy food and their bodies became mortal (operating on blood), destined for eventual physical death. By causing this to happen, God was fulfilling his word that "in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17).
• The woman gained the ability to conceive children, see Genesis 3:16.
  
• Their state of mortality passed on to their descendants because they too were separated from the Tree of Life.
• Knowledge of Good and Evil is also passed on to their descendants, through their blood. Sin, "sinful nature", uncleanness or guilt is not passed on, but Freedom of Choice (which, when combined with a commandment, allowed the inevitable introduction of transgression) is. Freedom of Choice was not, however, a consequence of the Tree of Knowledge, but had been inherent in Mankind from the very beginning.
  

We should expect that Adam and Eve, blessed with the power of the resurrection, will not only be present in the kingdom of heaven but will be presiding over all of their righteous descendants who are made clean by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.