Mormon Fundamentalism

Joseph Smith’s teachings on Adam

“If you were to ask Joseph [Smith] 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.”¹ recollected Church President, John Taylor. To those who believe Joseph Smith saw Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, the Apostle Peter, Moses, and Elijah² it perhaps comes as no surprise that the Prophet Joseph had also met Adam, the father of the human race.

Not only had he seen Adam, but his contemporaries also relate that he was very much acquainted with aspects of his life that we do not have in the current Bible. It seems that “so great was his strength” and speed that he could “outstrip” wild animals and catch them.³ From those who knew the Prophet we also learn that he “said that Eve had twenty-eight sons and twenty-eight daughters, and that Adam had many wives.”⁴

Whilst the world looked upon Adam as a sinful man, the New Testament tells us “Adam was not deceived” and that it was not him who “was in the transgression,”⁵ and the Prophet likewise proclaimed that “Adam did not commit sin in eating the fruits”⁶ In fact the ancient Apocrypha tells us “Adam [was] above every living thing in the creation,”⁷ and a revelation from the Lord in 1835 implies that Adam was perfect.⁸

It is sad that though the Ten Commandments tells us that you must “honor thy father,”⁹ that so many in the Christian world so readily dishonor Adam, who is the father of us all.

Adam – his PreMortal Roles

Adam’s role did not begin on this earth though, the Lord revealed to the Prophet that Adam was Michael,¹⁰ the archangel¹¹ who, with “his angels fought against the dragon,” Satan, in the war in heaven.¹² Fortunately for us Adam won that conflict,¹³ but the war is still ongoing, and he as Michael will yet win what the scriptures call “the battle of the great God” and “the devil and his armies shall be cast away … that they shall not have power over the saints any more at all.”¹⁴

We sometimes forget that one being can fulfill many roles and responsibilities, and go by many names. The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith even teaches that Adam, before he came to earth, took precedence over Jesus Christ in the hierarchy of the Priesthood: It was Adam to whom “the priesthood was first given”¹⁵ even “before the world was formed”,¹⁶ and it was he who was “the first to hold the spiritual blessings.”¹⁷ “The keys of salvation”¹⁸ for the whole universe¹⁹ “were first given to Adam.”²⁰ He holds the presidency of all dispensations²¹ and whenever “the keys … are revealed from heaven” it is “by Adam’s authority”²² It is also Adam who “watches over [the] ordinances [and] reveals them from heaven,”²³ and who will one day “sound his trump, and then shall all the dead awake, for their graves shall be opened, and they shall come forth.”²⁴

Although plainly taught during his lifetime, these teachings have often been overlooked. Yet this was not all that Joseph knew about Adam. To his closest associates he revealed much more.

Zebedee Coltrin related how he, Sidney Rigdon and Oliver Cowdery went with the Prophet Joseph to a secluded “place where there was some beautiful grass and grape vines.” He said to the brethren who were with him, “Let us pray, [and] they all prayed in turn. … Brother Joseph then said, ‘Now brethren, we will see some visions.’ [Then] Joseph lay down on the ground on his back and stretched out his arms and the two brethren lay on them.”²⁵ They “shut their eyes [and] after they had prayed he told them to open their eyes. They did so and saw a brilliant light.” “The heavens gradually opened, and they saw a golden throne, on a circular foundation, something like a light house, and on the throne were two aged personages, having white hair, and clothed in white garments. They were the two most beautiful specimens of mankind he ever saw. Joseph Said, ‘They are our first parents, Adam and Eve.’ Adam was a large broad shouldered man, and Eve as a woman, was as large in proportion.”²⁶

Apparently Heber C. Kimball, who was one of Joseph’s most trusted associates, either shared this vision or remembered additional details from those who related it to him, as he spoke of 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.”²⁷

It may seem strange to some that Adam would be opening the gate to the celestial kingdom and sitting upon a throne there. These events may seem very mysterious indeed, and yet Joseph saw it as part of his mission to reveal the mysteries of God to those prepared to receive them,²⁸ and those who knew him – when they were beyond the persecuting mobs and settled in the safety of early Utah – began to feel able to relate and record more openly what had only spoken about in secret before.

Adam as an Immortal Being

To his dear friend Anson Call he related that Adam “came here from another planet - an immortalized being and brought his wife Eve with him - and by eating of the fruit of the earth, became subject to death and decay - was made mortal and subject to death.”²⁹

This opens our field of understanding much more widely. If Adam and Eve were already immortalized beings who came from another planet, then they must have been though mortal lives already (upon another earth) and had been resurrected.³⁰ It would also seem that the eating of the temporal fruits of this earth enabled them to dwell here as mortals would.³¹ Before coming to earth, as resurrected beings, they would have only been able to produce spiritual children,³² but taking upon them aspects of mortality they were able to start mortal life upon the earth.

Some have supposed that Adam was literally created from the dust of this earth, although the scriptures tell us that “all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.”³³ Yet we had mothers who conceived, carried and gave birth to us through natural means. The Genesis account is undoubtedly figurative, for if we were to believe such verses literally then we would have to believe as Isaiah says that each of us were “hewn” from a “rock,” and “digged” from a “pit”³⁴

Moses, author of Genesis, himself recounts how God said that each plant yielded seed, just as each animal brought forth life “after his kind.”³⁵ As the Prophet explained, “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.”³⁶ He illustrated this with a question: “Whenever did a tree or anything spring into existence without a progenitor?”³⁷ We observe the rule of procreation around us, in nature and by our own existence and that of our children. God works through natural laws, and the natural means of creating life is procreation, and Joseph Smith taught us that “everything comes in this way.”³⁸

Adam – Father of the Human Race

This raised a question in Joseph’s mind, which he shared with John Taylor: If “Adam is the Father of our bodies. Who is to say He is not the Father of our spirits?”³⁹ Could Adam and Eve in their immortal states have brought forth our spirits before taking on the role of providing those spirits with earthly bodies?

Nephi, in the Book of Mormon, speaks of Adam and Eve as being “our first parents.”⁴⁰ Abraham calls Adam our “first father”,⁴¹ and Joseph taught that he was the “head of the human family”⁴² and “the first and oldest of all, the great, grand progenitor … because he was the first and father of all.”⁴³

This being the case raises an obvious question – “if Adam is the father of our Spirits, then is he our heavenly Father?” What else could we call him? If God is the Father of our spirits,⁴⁴ and he came to earth as Adam, then that makes him the Father of our bodies too. He didn’t leave the responsibility to anyone else. How could he? How could we have become like God if we were not his children spiritually and literally?

Joseph hinted at this in public when he told the Saints, “The Father called all spirits before Him at the creation of man, and organized them. He (Adam) is the head, and was told to multiply.”⁴⁵ As his friend Patriarch Benjamin F. Johnson realized, the Prophet Joseph was teaching “that God was the great head of human procreation - was truly the Father of both our spirits and our bodies.”⁴⁶ And therefore had come to earth in the role of Adam.

Brother Joseph’s greatest disciple and successor, Brigham Young heard this doctrine from him firsthand and taught it himself publicly on many occasions, said he, “It was Joseph’s doctrine that Adam was God … God comes to earth and partakes of the fruit. Joseph could not reveal [to the Church] what was revealed to him.”⁴⁷

This explains what Joseph Smith had in mind when he said, “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.”⁴⁸ God the first, our heavenly Father, had the first dispensation on earth, as Adam, and His Son, the Redeemer, came in the meridian of time as Jesus.

However, this knowledge raises many more questions. Fortunately we have not been left without answers on any of them.

Objections to Joseph’s Teachings Answered

Some have wondered - “how could Adam be God when he was called an angel?” The first thing to remember is that he was no ordinary angel – he was the archangel, the head of the angels. Who else but God would be head of the angels?

Secondly, what does it mean to be an angel? The Doctrine and Covenants tells us that there are only “two kinds of beings in heaven, namely: Angels, who are resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones” and spirits.⁴⁹ What category would God fit into?

Others raise an objection to the fact that Genesis seems to say that Adam “died.”⁵⁰ However, the Bible also says that “Moses … died,”⁵¹ yet we know that although he became dead as to the things of the world, and as far as most of the world was concerned, yet in reality Alma tells us “the Lord took Moses unto Himself”⁵² like Enoch who ascended into heaven.⁵³ No doubt the same could be said of Adam – he left his mortal life behind, and returned to his heavenly home.

Some wonder who Adam prayed to. Yet Jesus was considered a God but still prayed to his father. Joseph Smith taught that “God the Father … had a father,”⁵⁴ so Adam would have prayed to his Father, or whoever was responsible for his godly role whilst he was upon the earth.

A few people have suggested that even though Adam was the Father of our spirits that it is his father whom we should be praying to. Yet the scriptures tell us the opposite, it is the Father of our Spirits who we should call our Heavenly Father and pray to,⁵⁵ that is who Jesus prayed to.

There have been questions about passages which suggest that Jesus is higher than Adam. However, just as an Apostle may serve as a missionary, so too could God – when he became Adam – take upon himself another responsibility, whilst not losing the higher one he ultimately holds. In this way there are areas in which the office of Jesus might be higher than the office of Adam, but as our Heavenly Father he also held the highest office of all – as the Father of the Savior and God over all the earth.

It is interesting how Jesus is frequently called “the Son of Man.”⁵⁶ Yet God is also called “Man – of holiness [and] counsel”⁵⁷ in the Joseph Smith translation. It is even more revealing when we realize that the Hebrew word for man is “Adam.”⁵⁸ As the Prophet put it (perhaps hinting to the Saints) “God [is] a man like one of us, even like Adam.”⁵⁹

Even if there were ways in which Jesus’ responsibilities were greater than God’s - whilst he was in the role of Adam upon the earth, or of Michael when leading the angels in battle – Joseph taught that it was Adam who presided over the keys of the universe and all dispensations⁶⁰ (which must have included the keys Jesus held), and he also revealed that it was through Adam that “Christ has been revealed, and will continue to be revealed.”⁶¹ Something we see illustrated on each occasion God has introduced Jesus with the words, “This is my beloved Son.”⁶²

A good question is “if God is Adam why isn’t there any evidence of it within the scriptures?” To which there is a good answer “the evidence is there if you understand this doctrine and know where to look.”

Adam as the Ancient of Days

We have already spoken of how Adam previously acted in the role of Michael and will at the commencement of the millennium “sound his trump, and then shall all the dead awake.”⁶³ Whilst that revelation calls him Michael, Paul the Apostle of Jesus said it was “the Lord himself” who “shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise.”⁶⁴

In the book of Daniel the scriptures speak of one called the “Ancient of Days,”⁶⁵ who sits on a throne, surrounded by fire. That thousands would minister unto him, that he would open the books of judgement,⁶⁶ and the Son of Man would come to him⁶⁷ and be rewarded by him.⁶⁸

It was revealed to the Prophet Joseph that the Ancient of Days was none other than Adam himself,⁶⁹ the most ancient of all beings upon the earth. There is another title however by which the Ancient of Days goes by, which is used by John the Beloved apostle in his vision which we call the book of Revelation. He also saw these same events: the same throne,⁷⁰ fire,⁷¹ thousands ministering,⁷² books of judgement,⁷³ Jesus coming to him⁷⁴ and being rewarded.⁷⁵ Yet John had a different name for the person on the throne - “the Almighty God.”⁷⁶

When Joseph Smith proclaimed Adam as the Ancient of Days, undoubtedly some of his audience knew what that implied. The religious reformers, leaders and scholars of their day and before knew who he was.

John Wesley, the father of Methodism, spoke of “God the king, and judge of all, called the Ancient of days, because of his eternal deity.”⁷⁷ Likewise Matthew Henry’s Bible commentary spoke of the “Judge” who was “the Ancient of days himself, God the Father,” who was “called the Ancient of days, because he is God from everlasting to everlasting.”⁷⁸

Joseph plainly explained to the Saints that “all that have had the keys must stand before” Adam, and speaking of these events that “the Son of Man” (Jesus) would stand “before him, and there [be] given [by] him glory and dominion.”⁷⁹

Elsewhere the Prophet refers to these same events again but instead of using the name Adam he simply calls him the Father. Says he, “Christ shall present the kingdom to the Father”⁸⁰ “that He may obtain kingdom upon kingdom, and it will exalt Him in glory.”⁸¹

Brigham Young’s teachings on Adam

Despite all these teachings of Joseph Smith it is Brigham Young who is better known for teaching this doctrine. Joseph taught Brigham the doctrine that it was “God” who “comes to earth, eats and partakes of the fruit”⁸³ perhaps as early as between 1835-37 at the home of Luke Johnson.⁸⁴ Young went on to lead the Saints – out of Illinois and to a knowledge of who their Father in heaven was. He gave many public sermons on the subject, including some in General Conference, and he attributed the knowledge he had received to Joseph Smith⁸⁵ and God himself.⁸⁶ Said he, “I could not find any man on earth who could tell me this, although it is one of the most simplest things in the world, until I met and talked with Joseph Smith.”⁸⁷

Is this knowledge important?

Some question whether any of this is important for us to know, or if it is a mystery better left alone. Yet the Prophet tells us that far from being an unnecessary subject for us to study and understand, “it is” in fact “the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God.”⁸⁸

The Savior informed the disciples in his day that “this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God.”⁸⁹ So without this knowledge our exaltation is insecure, but with these facts we begin to understand the “mystery of Godliness”⁹⁰

With this knowledge we realize how close God actually is to us, how much He did to give us an opportunity to come to this world, and how well He understands our lives upon this earth. We also have an insight into what roles we may yet fulfill if we are worthy.

Footnotes