The Fall of Adam brought with it two effects: The bodies of Adam and Eve were transformed from immortal to mortal, and their souls were changed from clean to unclean. In essences, their natures changed from being like God to being like the natural man.
Natures Changed
Immortal --> Mortal
Clean --> Unclean
Figure 1
These changes in nature were a direct result from that original sin, which evicted Adam and Eve from the presence of God and introduced death into the world. At this point, could Adam and Eve have changed their natures on their own?
“Wherefore, all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be …” (1 Nephi 10:6). In other words, no, Adam and Eve could not change their natures on their own. They were in a lost and fallen state. To me, a lost and fallen state means this. They were lost because they were not in God’s presence; they didn’t know the way back to God, and the clock was ticking on their mortality. They were fallen because if even they could have somehow physically found their way back to God, which we learn from the experience of the Tower of Babel is a vain ambition, Adam and Eve were unqualified to be in his presence because of their unclean natures. So, basically, they needed someone to them the way back to God, and they also needed someone who could help wash away their uncleanness, so they could qualify to dwell with God. In other words, they needed someone to help change their natures.
Who could change their natures?
Let’s read 1 Nephi 10:6 now in its entirety: “Wherefore, all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer."
I love that phrase, “save they should rely on this Redeemer” (1 Nephi 10:6). Certainly, the story of Adam and Eve reminds us just how much we really need Christ and His Atonement in our lives. Consider the parallel to the ancient Israelites. They were in bondage, and, in order to escape, they had to rely on the Redeemer. Likewise, in order for us to change our natures and escape the bondage of sin and the finality of death, we have to rely on the Redeemer.
Now let’s reconsider the question: Could Adam and Eve change their natures on their own, as we read Alma 22:14: “And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory.”
If I were to weld 1 Nephi 10:6 and Alma 22:14 together to answer the question of whether Adam and Eve could restore their own natures, I’d have it say, “Man could not merit anything of himself, so he had to rely on the Redeemer.” In other words, man himself could not reverse the arrows on our own; we had to have Christ do that for us; and do it, He did.
Natures Changed
Immortal <--- Mortal
Clean <--- Unclean
Figure 2
You’ll notice a couple differences between Figure 1 and Figure 2. First, the arrows are reversed. This is because Christ did come to earth; he did pay the price for our sins in Gethsemane and on the cross, and in this, he wrought the Atonement, by which we could be restored to cleanliness. Our unclean states need not be permanent. Also, Christ gave his life for us, and then on the third day, he took it up again. In this, the resurrection was performed. And all mankind will be resurrected because Christ was resurrected. That is why the word “mortal” is crossed out (or at least, it would be if I know how to do it on the blog site) because it is free gift to all; therefore, we do not need to worry about it. Or, as Aaron put it in verse 14: “[Christ] breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory.” But our the word unclean is not wiped out for everyone. Our unclean natures can be removed, but this is not a free gift to all; rather, it’s reserved for those who take upon themselves the name of Christ and strive to keep His commandments. They won’t be perfect, but Christ will let these souls borrow his perfection in order to qualify for the highest kingdom. As Aaron explains it in verse 14: “The sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth.”
It’s important to remember that while Adam and Eve were the first to sin, they were also the first to repent and the first to be reclaimed by Christ’s merciful Atonement. They are an example to us of how to repent. For them, as for us, a Savior was provided.
It’s also important to note that Christ qualified to be our Redeemer by:
(1) Being born to an earthly mother and a Heavenly Father, allowing him to both die and take up his life. In other words, he had the capacity to bring about the resurrection.
(2) Leading a sinless life, so He could make the Atonement on our behalf.
We’ll want to keep these things in mind as we explore the Passover, which is a type of the Atonement.
Before we get to the Passover, we must remember a few things about why the Passover was needed. The ancient Israelites relocated to Egypt when Joseph was alive. The Egyptians eventually feared that there were too many Israelites, so, to keep the Israelites in check, the Egyptians enslaved them. (The parallel here to us is coming under the bondage of sin). Eventually, the Egyptians feared enslaving the Israelites wasn’t enough, and Pharaoh ordered all male Israelite babies to be killed. It is into these circumstances that Moses was born. When he was three months old, his mother decided that the only way she could even protect her son was to put him in a basket, float it on the river and hope for the best. While on the river, baby Moses is discovered and saved by an Egyptian princess, who then raises him. He grows up and is eventually called to lead the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. He tries reasoning with Pharaoh, but Pharaoh hardens his heart and punishes the Israelites even more. The Lord sends plagues, but Pharaoh hardens his heart even more. Finally, the Lord sends one last plague: The firstborn of each family in Egypt will die in the night. However, if a family sprinkles the blood of an unblemished lamb on their door, their oldest will be spared.
It’s here that we see parallels between the Passover and the Atonement.
Parallel One
Passover: “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year” (Exodus 12:5)
The Atonement: Christ was the Firstborn of God’s spirit children, and he was unblemished—clean and pure. By being unblemished, he qualified to be the One to make the atonement. Just as the oldest of the ancient Israelites lived because an unblemished lamb was sacrificed, we can be passed over because the unblemished Lamb of God was sacrificed.
Parallel Two
Passover: “And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses” (Exodus 12:7)
The Atonement: Christ’s blood, shed in Gethsemane and on the cross, cleanses the faithful and spares them from spiritual death.
Parallel Three
Passover: “And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it” (Exodus 12:8).
The Atonement: Leavened bread was seen anciently as a sign of corruption because it spoiled easily. Unleavened bread became a symbol that they were partaking of bread which had no corruption or impurity, namely, it was a symbol of the Bread of Life, which never corrupts.
The bitter herbs can represent the bitter cup that Christ had to drink to perform the Atonement. There’s also a representation here for us. Elder Bruce R. McConkie said, “As the Passover was useless unless eaten, so must we lives godly lives for Christ, and openly certify our love for him by keeping his commandments. As it was eaten with bitter herbs, so must we eat the bitter herbs of confession and repentance.”
Parallel Four
Passover: “And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’s Passover” (Exodus 12:11).
Atonement: Just as the Passover was eaten with haste, we also need to respond eagerly and immediately to the deliverance the Savior offers us.
At the time of his last supper, Christ instituted the Sacrament in place of the feast of the Passover. And, in the modern church, the Sacrament is still the ordinance that takes the place of the Passover, meaning it is still the ordinance in which we must consider how we are passed over. Vaughn J. Featherstone once said, “The sacrament is the ordinance of the Church that ties most directly to the Atonement.”
A couple of the quotes from the Sunday School manual demonstrate the relationship among the Passover, the Atonement and the Sacrament:
Elder Howard W. Hunter taught that at the Passover meal that is now known as the Last Supper, “the bread and wine, rather than the animals and herbs, [became] emblems of the great Lamb’s body and blood, emblems to be eaten and drunk reverently and in remembrance of him forever.
“In this simple but impressive manner the Savior instituted the ordinance now known as the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. With the suffering of Gethsemane, the sacrifice of Calvary, and the resurrection from a garden tomb, Jesus fulfilled the ancient law and ushered in a new dispensation based on a higher, holier understanding of the law of sacrifice. No more would men be required to offer the firstborn lamb from their flock, because the Firstborn of God had come to offer himself as an ‘infinite and eternal sacrifice’ ” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1985, 22; or Ensign, May 1985, 19).
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland asked:
“Do we see [the sacrament] as our passover, remembrance of our safety and deliverance and redemption?
“With so very much at stake, this ordinance commemorating our escape from the angel of darkness should be taken more seriously than it sometimes is. It should be a powerful, reverent, reflective moment. It should encourage spiritual feelings and impressions” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1995, 89; or Ensign, Nov. 1995, 68).
What if there was no sacrament because there were no Atonement? Where would be? Since mankind cannot merit anything of himself (Alma 22:14), mankind has to rely on someone else—a Redeemer (1 Nephi 10:6). If there were no Redeemer, “all mankind,” Amulek said, “must unavoidably perish” (Alma 34:9) and remain fallen and lost forever. But because Christ came, because he loved us enough to suffer in Gethsemane and die on the cross, we can have our natures changed, the arrows reversed, and we can be liberated from the bondage of our Fallen State. In other words, we can “passed over.”
