Our Fallen Condition
We have been sent to a fallen world, a scene abounding in
uncertainty, death, & disease. We have inherited a world of misery
and woe where hard things happen and innocent people suffer. It is a
landscape filled with contradictions, irony, and injustice. Yet, we
suppose that fallen worlds have always been designed to try men’s
souls. Additionally, Satan is here and “goeth about as a lion seeking
whom he may devour.” The battles which rage among mankind do
not compare to the battles that rage within mankind, for we have
inherited fallen bodies with carnal cravings, sensual inclinations, and
devilish desires. When these are mixed into a mortal scene teeming
with temptations and swirling with sinful stimulus beckoning each of
us down forbidden paths, we truly stand “in jeopardy every hour” (1
Cor. 15:30). All of this—the uncertainty and suffering, the
contradictions and injustice, the temptations and enticements of the
flesh—creates a context of struggle wherein we are to gain the
mastery and to come off conquerors. We have, in essence, been sent
to enemy territory with this one grand imperative command from our
Father ringing in our ears: “Overcome the World.”
Principles:
• Redemption is through the Atonement of Christ
• We access the power of the Atonement of Christ by making and
keeping covenants.
• The temple reverses the effects of the Fall and helps us to regain
God’s presence. Just as the Fall cast us out of God’s presence, the
Atonement and temple help us to regain God’s presence. As we keep
our temple covenants we gain access to the full power of Christ’s
atonement and are able to ultimately overcome the world.
Text
Redemption from the Fall
“When Adam fell, it was as
if the human race had
To Eden fallen into a pit, from
which they were powerless,
by any act of their own, to
emerge; having no means
whereby to climb up and
out, and not even knowing
how to climb [or that they
even need to]….
To Eternal
Life 
To Eden
To Eternal
Life 
What is our common inheritance
in “the pit” of mortality?
To Eden
Moses 6:48-49
• We will all Die
• Partake of Misery & Woe
• Satan is here
• Temptations abound
• Carnal, Sensual, Devilish
• Shut Out from God
To Eternal
Life 
Text
The Fall =
Cut off from God’s
Presence
Text
The Atonement =
Regaining God’s
Presence
The Presence of God
(Celestial)
Paradisiacal State
(Terrestrial)
Lone and Dreary World
(Telestial)
Moses 5:4
What question do you
think they asked?
Text
The somewhat gruesome
nature of blood sacrifice has
led some people to ask, “How
could such an activity have
anything to do with the
gospel of love?”
M. Russell Ballard
Quorum of the Twelve
(CES Symposium on the New
Testament, 13 August 1996)
Text
Moses 5:6-8
Animal
Sacrifice
The
Sacrament
Our Only Hope
Lone and Dreary World
(Telestial)
What’s the Turning Point?
The Offering of a Lamb
Bible Dictionary
“Repentance”
(p. 760-761)
Repentance means “a turning of
the heart and will to God, and a
renunciation of sin to which we
are naturally inclined….
Repentance is not optional for
salvation; it is a commandment
of God.”
“Repentance requires spiritual
dominion over appetites of the
flesh.”
Russell M. Nelson
Quorum of the Twelve
(BYU Speeches, 29
March 1987)
Neal A. Maxwell
Quorum of the Twelve
(Ensign, May 1995, 68)
“Real, personal sacrifice
never was placing an
animal on the altar.
Instead, it is a willingness
to put the animal in us
upon the altar and letting it
be consumed!”
M. Russell Ballard
Quorum of the Twelve
(CES Symposium on the
New Testament, 13
August 1996)
“How is it that we show the
Lord that we have symbolically
put ourselves upon today’s
sacrificial altar?…
“When we overcome our own
selfish desires and put God first
in our lives and covenant to
serve him regardless of the
cost, then we are living the law
of sacrifice.”
How to Regain God’s Presence
(Recap of Moses 5:5-8)
1. Worship the Lord God (Law of Obedience)
• “Ye are the servant of whom ye choose to obey”
(Rom. 6:16)
• “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John
14:15)
2. Law of Sacrifice
3. Repent
4. Call upon God in the name of the Son
Enoch adds significant details to this account:
Moses 6:50-52
What do we call the combined
elements of verse 52?
3 Nephi 27
The Law of the Gospel
The Law of the Gospel: A Pattern of Living
M. Russell Ballard (Quorum of the Twelve)
“The doctrine of faith in Christ, repentance, making and
renewing and keeping covenants, and being directed by
the Spirit will become a pattern of living. Our actions in
daily life are shaped and governed by these doctrinal
principles.” (CES Fireside for Young Adults, November
7, 2010, Brigham Young University)
Preach My Gospel
“Faith in Christ; repentance; making, renewing, and
keeping covenants; and being cleansed by the Spirit
become a pattern of living. Our actions in daily life are
shaped and governed by these principles. Peace and joy
come from following this way, and we gradually grow in
Christlike attributes.” (Preach My Gospel, p.66)
Faith in
Christ
Grow in
Christlike
Attributes
Repentance
The Law of
the Gospel
Covenants
Purified/
Sanctified
Making, Renewing,
& Keeping
Receive the
Holy Ghost
Adam’s Question—
Moses 6:53
God’s Answer—
Moses 6:54-62
Part 1:
Why do we need to
Repent?
Moses 6:54-57
Robert Millet
LDS Scholar
(Life in Christ, p. 2425)
“[C]hildren are conceived in sin:
meaning first, that they are
conceived into a world of sin, and
second, that conception is the
vehicle by which the effects of the
Fall (not the original transgression,
which God has forgiven) are
transmitted to Adam's posterity. To
say that we are not punished for the
transgression is not to say that we
are not subject to and affected by
it....
Robert Millet
LDS Scholar
(Life in Christ, p. 2425)
“Adam's fallen nature is passed on
to his children and thereby from
generation to generation. Thus sin
is implanted in man's nature at
conception, just as death is
implanted at the same time. Both
of these—death and sin—are
present only in seed form at
conception, and therefore a child is
neither dead nor sinful when born.
Death and sin do, however, come to
pass as a result of man's nature as
he grows up. Sin comes naturally,
just as does death.”
Part 2:
Why do we need to be
Baptized?
Moses 6:58-60
“By the Water ye keep the Commandment”
Spencer W. Kimball
Quorum of the Twelve
(Jan. 16, 1963, BYU
Speeches of the Year, 13)
“[God] could have set up
rules in His kingdom
whereby a nod, a handclasp,
a kiss or a signature, could
have been the entrance
requirement, into the
Kingdom, instead of
baptism, but He did not.”
“By the Spirit ye are Justified…”
Henry B. Eyring
Quorum of the Twelve
(CES Fireside, September
10, 2006 BYU)
If you have felt the
influence of the Holy
Ghost during this day, or
even this evening, you
may take it as evidence
that the Atonement is
working in your life.
“The cleansing power of
our Savior’s Atonement is
renewed for us as we
partake of the sacrament.”
Dallin H. Oaks
Quorum of the Twelve
(Ensign, Nov 1998, 37)
Dallin H. Oaks
Quorum of the Twelve
(“Always Have His
Spirit”, Ensign, November
1996, p.59)
“The renewal of our covenants
by partaking of the sacrament
should … be preceded by
repentance, so we come to that
sacred ordinance with a
broken heart and a contrite
spirit (see 2 Ne. 2:7; 3 Ne.
12:19; D&C 59:8).”
Heber C. Kimball
First Presidency
(J of D, 4:81)
“Let everyone who is guilty of
sins they have not repented of …
refuse to partake of that bread,
also of that water … until they
have repented;… for unless you
do, you shall drink damnation to
yourselves, until you make
restitution. I do not care who the
persons are.”
“By the Blood ye are Sanctified.”
“[E]verything in the
temple is founded in
the Atonement.”
Robert D. Hales
Quorum of the Twelve
(Return: Four Phases of Our
Mortal Journey Home, p. 246-247)
“The basis for every temple
ordinance and covenant—the
heart of the plan of salvation—
is the Atonement of Jesus
Christ.”
Russell M. Nelson
Quorum of the Twelve
("Personal Preparation for
Temple Blessings," Ensign,
May 2001, 32)
How Do We Gain Access to the
Power of the Atonement of Christ?
Articles of Faith 1:3
Let’s Review!
How to Regain God’s Presence
(Recap of Moses 5:5-8; 6:50-68)
1. Law of Obedience
2. Law of Sacrifice
3. Law of the Gospel
•
•
•
•
Believe
Repent
Be baptized
Receive the Holy Ghost
4. Call upon God in the name of the Son
5. Enter into “the Order” of the Son of God
•
Receive all of the Temple Ordinances
Ezra Taft Benson
(Ensign, Aug. 1985, pp.
6-10)
“To enter into the order of the Son
of God is the equivalent today of
entering into the fullness of the
Melchizedek Priesthood, which is
only received in the house of the
Lord….
“Adam and his descendants
entered into the priesthood order
of God. Today we would say they
went to the House of the Lord and
received their blessings.”
How to Regain God’s Presence
(Recap of Moses 5:5-8; 6:50-68)
1. Law of Obedience
2. Law of Sacrifice
3. Law of the Gospel
•
•
•
•
Believe
Repent
Be baptized
Receive the Holy Ghost
4. Call upon God in the name of the Son
5. Enter into “the Order” of the Son of God
•
Receive all of the Temple Ordinances
Ancient Temple Pattern
Text
The Fall =
Cut off from God’s
Presence
Text
The Atonement =
Regaining God’s
Presence
The Law of
Obedience and
Sacrifice
Ezra Taft Benson
Quorum of the Twelve
(BYU devotional, 12
April 1977)
“[O]ur Father in Heaven has
ordained certain holy
sanctuaries, called temples, in
which [celestial] laws may be
fully explained, the laws include
the law of obedience and
sacrifice, the law of the gospel,
the law of chastity, and the law
of consecration.”
The Law of
the Gospel
The Law of
Obedience and
Sacrifice
The Law of
Consecration
The Law of
the Gospel
The Law of
Obedience and
Sacrifice
The Altar of Incense and Consecration
In Hebrew the word “consecrate” means
literally “fill the hand” or “fill his hand,”
referring to incense in the hand.
Here are a few ancient Egyptian parallels portraying
burning incense on hand-shaped censers or in small
incense pots held in cupped hands:
The Altar of Incense and Consecration
We must offer with our hands all that we
have—i.e., make everything we have holy to
the Lord.
Also, the relationship of burning incense in
the temple and praying with “uplifted hands”
is demonstrated in Psalm 141:2 (cf. Luke 1:910 and Rev. 5:8; 8:3-4).
The Law of
Consecration
The Law of
the Gospel
The Law of
Obedience and
Sacrifice
Did Adam & Eve Receive All of the Ordinances?
Moses 3:25
Moses 6:67
Moses 4:27
Moses 6:64-65
In the Garden, Adam and Eve were:
 Married for eternity (Moses 3:25; implied)
 Clothed with aprons of fig-leaves (Moses 4:13)
 Clothed in a garment of skins (Moses 4:27)
 Given the Key words of the priesthood (Abraham,
facsimile #2, Fig. 3 explanation)
Elder Carlos E. Asay
Quorum of the Seventy
(Ensign, Aug 1997, 19)
“Prior to their expulsion from
the Garden of Eden, Adam
and Eve were clad in sacred
clothing. [See Moses 4:27; Gen. 3:21]
They received this clothing in
a context of instruction on
the Atonement, sacrifice,
repentance, and forgiveness
(see Moses 5:5–8). The temple
garment given to Latter-day
Saints is provided in a similar
context.
Elder Carlos E. Asay
Quorum of the Seventy
(Ensign, Aug 1997, 19)
“It is given to remind
wearers of the continuing
need for repentance, the
need to honor binding
covenants made in the house
of the Lord, and the need to
cherish and share virtue in
our daily living so that
promised blessings may be
claimed.”
What were Adam & Eve’s
reactions when they learned of
God’s Plan of Redemption?
Moses 5:10-12
End