The Fall of Adam and Eve opened the way for us to be lifted to eternal life.
When Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden and separated from the presence of God, they entered a fallen world filled with sin and death, enabling the entire human race to experience pain and sorrow. For us, this may seem agonizing and unfair. However, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland clarifies that the Fall was part of God’s plan in his address “Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet.”
God wanted us all to come to earth, and it is only through the Fall that we could enter the world and experience all that he has in store for us. Sometimes it can seem like we are on this earth just to fall again and again until we leave this mortal realm, but our purpose here is to learn and grow from the trials that we face. This growth prepares us to become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
Photo by Frank Cone
To help us grow, we—including Adam and Eve—were all given a gift: the ability to choose and act for ourselves. This gift enables us to choose to follow Jesus Christ—despite the challenges and suffering we endure. This choice allows us to learn from our trials as we study the word of God, serve our neighbors, and regularly seek to improve ourselves.
Although choosing to follow Christ may look different each day, Elder Holland assures that “Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, suffered, died, and rose from death in order that He could, like lightning in a summer storm, grasp us as we fall, hold us with His might, and through our obedience to His commandments, lift us to eternal life.”
When life gets hard, we can choose to give up and allow ourselves to fall even further, but Jesus Christ asks us to reach out to him. The Savior was lifted up on the cross so that we could overcome our physical and spiritual weaknesses. As we choose to reach out and follow him—in all of our circumstances—he will lift us from sin and death so that we can become more like him and return to the presence of God.
Discover how we can better follow Jesus Christ in Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s address “Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet.”
Source: General Conference
—McKenna Tolman, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY TOM SWINNEN
Find more insights
Read President Thomas S. Monson’s speech “Finding Joy in the Journey” to learn how we can still experience joy in our sorrows.
Read President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s speech “O How Great the Plan of Our God” to understand what more God has planned for us in this life.