How to Talk About the Fall with your LDS Friends
Understanding the Bible’s Theme of Separation and Reconciliation
Table of Contents
Was the Fall of Adam a Good Thing?
Most Christians are surprised to learn that their LDS friends view the Fall in a very positive light. In LDS teaching, Adam and Eve’s choice in the garden is often described as wise, necessary, and even courageous—the beginning of human progress.
Because of that starting point, talking about the Fall can open some of the most meaningful and natural conversations you’ll ever have. Genesis 3 doesn’t just explain what went wrong in the world; it reveals why we need a Savior and what God does to reconcile us with him.
The key theme to focus on is separation and reconciliation.
How Your LDS Friends Typically Understand the Fall
LDS teaching often describes the Fall as:
- A necessary step that allows Adam and Eve to become mortal (2 Nephi 2:22–25; Dallin H. Oaks, “The Great Plan of Happiness,” Oct. 1993 GC).
- The moment when having children and experiencing joy becomes possible (2 Nephi 2:23–25).
- A forward movement in God’s plan that gives humans the chance to grow, choose, and progress (Bruce C. Hafen, Ensign, Sept. 2015; Russell M. Nelson, Ensign, Nov. 2018).
Because of this, many LDS readers approach the Fall with gratitude rather than grief.
Why LDS Think This Way: Their Scriptures Say So
For many Christians, it’s genuinely shocking that anyone could read Genesis 3 and see the Fall as a positive step forward. But your LDS friend isn’t being careless or ignoring the Bible. They’re reading it through the lens of their additional scriptures, especially the Book of Moses and the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price.
These passages shape their understanding:
- Moses 5:10–11: Adam and Eve thank God for the Fall, saying it brought joy and made having children possible.
- Moses 6:48: “Because that Adam fell, we are,” presenting the Fall as the necessary beginning of human life.
- Abraham 3:24–26: Mortality is described as a divinely planned test where spirit-children gain bodies and are proved, which only becomes possible through the Fall.
These texts explain why LDS friends sincerely view the Fall as a good and essential event. They’re not foolish; they’re following a different storyline. Understanding this helps Christians approach conversations with patience, clarity, and compassion.
What the Bible Emphasizes: Separation, Not Progression
In Genesis 3, the central message is not about opportunity. It’s about loss.
Before the Fall, Adam and Eve live in the presence of God. They are unafraid, unashamed, and completely at peace. But when sin enters the world, everything changes:
- They hide from God.
- They feel shame for the first time.
- They are sent out of the garden.
- They are separated from the tree of life.
This separation is not only physical. It is spiritual, a picture of the deeper separation every human now experiences because of sin.
And unless that separation is healed, it becomes eternal. This is why the Bible describes hell as being shut out from the presence of the Lord.
The Fall teaches a truth LDS friends rarely consider:
We didn’t gain something at the Fall. We lost Someone.
The Bible’s Story Is About Undoing That Separation
From the moment Adam and Eve fall, God begins a rescue mission. He promises a child who will crush the serpent and bring his separated children back into a relationship with him.
The Old Testament unfolds this promise again and again, showing:
- Humanity’s inability to fix the separation
- God’s commitment to bring his people back
- The growing anticipation for the One who would make restoration possible
The storyline of the Bible is not human beings climbing their way back to God; it is God coming down to reclaim his separated children.
How Jesus Heals the Separation
At the cross, Jesus experiences the separation we deserve. When he cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” he steps into the full distance sin creates.
Then, when he dies, the curtain in the temple tears from top to bottom. That curtain symbolized the barrier between God and sinful people. It’s tearing is God’s way of saying:
“Because of Jesus, you can come in!”
Jesus does not help us progress toward God; he brings us directly into the Father’s presence.
He removes our shame.
He restores what was lost.
He heals the separation once and for all.
Conversation Starters
Use gentle, curious questions that draw your LDS friends into the story. Invite reflection rather than debate:
Questions About Separation
- What do you notice about how Adam and Eve hide after they sin?
- Why do you think God sent them out of the garden?
- What does it mean that they were blocked from the tree of life?
Questions About Reconciliation
- What stands out to you about God seeking them instead of destroying them?
- Why do you think God promises a Rescuer so quickly?
- How do you see God showing mercy in this chapter?
Questions That Point to Jesus
- Why do you think Jesus experienced separation from God on the cross?
- What do you think the torn temple curtain meant?
- How does Jesus bring us back into God’s presence?
These questions invite reflection rather than debate, and they naturally point toward the gospel.
The Goal of the Conversation
Remember, you don’t need to correct every detail of LDS teaching about the Fall. Your goal is much simpler: Help your friend see that the real problem of the Fall is separation, and the real solution is Jesus.
If they grasp this, the entire story of the Bible begins to make sense in a new way.
Resources to Help You Go Deeper
For You
Shareable with your LDS Friends
- For curious LDS: Where Did Sin Come From? - Be Ye Perfect
- For former LDS or LDS ready to take a deep dive into what the Bible teaches about sin: What is Sin? - Jesus Is Enough
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