Old Testament lesson 4 - the modern Adam and Eve story
In the Old Testament lesson 4, additional teaching idea #1 - "Partaking of the forbidden fruit is not a sin", Elder Dallin Oaks defines the difference between "transgression" and "sin" (Ensign magazine, Nov 1993, p 73). Be sure to read the whole talk. Based on this quote, I modernized a short version of the Adam and Eve story about eating the fruit. The two governmental agencies mentioned illustrate the difference between "transgression" and "sin".
Adam and Eve according to Jim Raehl
In the beginning, the Food and Drug Administration of the Garden of Eden found that certain fruit causes cancer in rats. They forbade the importation and eating of said fruit.
The drug-runner Satan smuggled in some of this fruit, in his luggage. He thought Eve was an easy mark. He told her "Don't knock it until you've tried it". He also pointed out that the FDA did not say anything about cancer in humans.
Eve was actually sharp as a tack. She understood the plan of salvation. She played double-agent for the FDA, and ate some fruit. She then put her ambassador to the world husband Adam into a mental hammerlock. He ate some, too. Thus, they became subject to cancer, and eventual death. In so doing, she put the cuffs on Satan, and set him up for eventual prison.
Then Adam and Eve found out that having posterity is no bowl of cherries. The District Attorney nailed Cain on a rap for murder one.
Elder Oaks points out that some acts, like murder, are inherently wrong and thus a sin. Other acts, like driving without a license, are crimes only because they are legally prohibited and thus a transgression. Adam and Eve's fruit story is a transgression, not a sin. The act was formally prohibited.
I used the FDA for the transgression illustration, since that agency IMHO primarily makes regulations. The DA, on the other hand, jails bad guys who murder and commit other similar crimes that are inherently wrong. The DA handles sins.
The comment about Eve being sharp as a tack, is due to a prompting I received in the holy temple. The feeling was that she was a very noble spirit in the pre-existence before we were born. An excellent match for Adam, and not a dumb woman susceptible to deception. There may have been many female spirits who said, I am not going to follow Lucifer. I am going to be like Eve.
If you were paying attention to the details, you noticed that I found the excellent clarification about the difference between transgression and sin, in the gospel doctrine teacher's manual, not the student manual. Before being called as a teacher, I would sit in a corner of the classroom with a teacher's manual. Every year, I went to the Chrurch distribution center and bought a teacher's manual. This manual has much more useful information than the student course outline. I especially like the Church general authority quotes in the lessons.
The moral of the story is that when you want something done, give the job to the Relief Society (women's organization of the Church). Eve was the first Relief Society woman to get the job done.
Adam and Eve according to Jim Raehl
In the beginning, the Food and Drug Administration of the Garden of Eden found that certain fruit causes cancer in rats. They forbade the importation and eating of said fruit.
The drug-runner Satan smuggled in some of this fruit, in his luggage. He thought Eve was an easy mark. He told her "Don't knock it until you've tried it". He also pointed out that the FDA did not say anything about cancer in humans.
Eve was actually sharp as a tack. She understood the plan of salvation. She played double-agent for the FDA, and ate some fruit. She then put her ambassador to the world husband Adam into a mental hammerlock. He ate some, too. Thus, they became subject to cancer, and eventual death. In so doing, she put the cuffs on Satan, and set him up for eventual prison.
Then Adam and Eve found out that having posterity is no bowl of cherries. The District Attorney nailed Cain on a rap for murder one.
Elder Oaks points out that some acts, like murder, are inherently wrong and thus a sin. Other acts, like driving without a license, are crimes only because they are legally prohibited and thus a transgression. Adam and Eve's fruit story is a transgression, not a sin. The act was formally prohibited.
I used the FDA for the transgression illustration, since that agency IMHO primarily makes regulations. The DA, on the other hand, jails bad guys who murder and commit other similar crimes that are inherently wrong. The DA handles sins.
The comment about Eve being sharp as a tack, is due to a prompting I received in the holy temple. The feeling was that she was a very noble spirit in the pre-existence before we were born. An excellent match for Adam, and not a dumb woman susceptible to deception. There may have been many female spirits who said, I am not going to follow Lucifer. I am going to be like Eve.
If you were paying attention to the details, you noticed that I found the excellent clarification about the difference between transgression and sin, in the gospel doctrine teacher's manual, not the student manual. Before being called as a teacher, I would sit in a corner of the classroom with a teacher's manual. Every year, I went to the Chrurch distribution center and bought a teacher's manual. This manual has much more useful information than the student course outline. I especially like the Church general authority quotes in the lessons.
The moral of the story is that when you want something done, give the job to the Relief Society (women's organization of the Church). Eve was the first Relief Society woman to get the job done.
posted by Jim | 5:56 PM
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