Adam and Eve had a "form" of the knowledge of Good and evil....they knew it was wrong to disobey God and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Until they fell they didn't have the "form" viewed through "experience".
You can't know "wrong" without first knowing good and evil.
They knew "if you eat the fruit you will die." Without knowing death, you'd never comprehend the value of life.
It would be like a child having the knowledge of a hot stove flame..but not actually experiencing the hot burning flame until they actually touched it.
Yes. And you tell them, and they do it anyway. Do you shame a child after they've done it and their hand is in pain. Hopefully not, by disobedience they learned the natural consequence of disobeying your counsel.
I'm sure you can think of a few things that you know about but realy don't fully understand until you experience them.
Yes, that's the point. Part of purpose of mortality is learning by experience. Do you agree, or is this where my beliefs start becoming Satanic?
As another example there is death. We all know about it but haven't experienced it as of yet. Even Eve knew about death (Gen 3:3) yet hadn't experienced it. Eve also knew it wasn't "good". Like the concept of death it was also possible to understand "good" as well as "evil" and both Adam and Eve knew of it.
And you may be able to blame Adam for miseducating Eve - Eve was told that if she even touched the fruit she would die, and once she touched it and didn't die, she might have had further reason to doubt Adam's understanding. That says a lot about receiving understanding directly from God, vs complying to the precepts of men.
However, in this case, Eve was innocent. Satan caused Eve to doubt God, and enticed her on the value of knowing good and evil.
Another example would be with Adam....as it was shown in Gen 2:18 it was not "good" for Adam to be alone. In this example "not good" isn't exactly evil but it show one of the nuances of "good" that Adam knew of prior to the fall.
So now your justifying that "not good" isn't evil. How do you define "evil"?
As stated in my post, sin can be transgression (breaking trust) or sin can be rebellion (iniquity). I would say "evil" leans more toward the "rebellion" side seeing as how we can unintentionally sin, but still be righteous in our hearts.
We don't know who the Lord was talking to when he said "18 ¶ And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." I interpret it that he was talking to himself, or other members of the Godhead.
If he was talking to Adam he would have said "It is not good that you should be alone; I will make you an help meet for you."
So I reject your premise here.
I don't think it really matter just what kind of sinning it was. They both disobeyed God by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Feel free to catogorize the sin as it's still sin.
You just said "'not good' isn't exactly evil".
If "sin" is being defined as "breaking God's commandments which leads to death" I suppose that would be accurate.
But if "not good" isn't actually "evil" then you have to revoke that the Mormon understanding of the Garden and the Fall is "Satanic". You can't have it both ways.
I believe Eve was actually deceived....as paul tells us in 2 Cor 11:3 that she was... But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
I agree.
True, Adam did need Eve as a partner.
In being "forced" to keep a commandment....A&E had to choose which commandment to keep and sin by breaking the other?
God set that up???? Certainly not....this is why the mormon belief is Satanic.
No, Eve was deceived. She was taught by Adam.
Once Eve partook of the fruit, it was impossible for Adam to keep both commandments: 1) Don't eat of the tree 2)multiple and replenish.
That's why Satan thought he was so clever. Clearly, death was part of the plan. You can't understand life without the contrast of death. You can't understand rich without the contrast of poor. To understand truth you must understand the opposition of all things. Case in point, if we never saw a 3rd world country, would Americans really know what poverty looks like?
Is the Law of Moses Satanic because it's impossible to obey the whole Law?
As well as that Adam sinned by in effect making himself a god....over creator God.
Yes. That's why the lesson of the Garden is so useful, but Adam didn't see that at the moment, he was just trying to obey the commandments, but, like the Law of Moses, it was impossible.
Semantics doesn't really enter into it.
Sure it does.
"Should" means you'll pay the natural consequences if you disobey me.
"Must" is an absolute - You are deliberately rebelling against me and breaking everything if you disobey me.
God could have chosen not to curse Adam, and overlook Adam's transgression so that he would not willingly reject his own creation, but God would then cease to be God breaking his own law.
There is no way God would have instructed Adam to sin and disobey Gods instructions so Adam could procreate.
This belief that God would have done that is Satanic in nature. That's the point the mormons fail to realize.
No more Satanic than saying Jesus Christ is necessary because it's impossible to keep the Law given to the Israelites.
God would have us love our wives by firt sinning?
Sinning meaning "to choose death by breaking God's commandment" so that you won't be alone because it's "not good"? Yes.
Keep in mind the bible doesn't even hint at Adam and Even not having to have the ability to have children pre-fall while in the garden.
Teaching that to people is adding to scripture..which in itself is a form of sin.
You're implying that we're adding to scripture. But the Bible doesn't speak of the subject one way or another.
I don't see any evidence of Adam and Eve having children, or the ability to have children prior to the fall. A conclusion either way and making a judgment inserting into the scriptures would be a sin.
As a Mormon, I could say maybe that detail is a plain and precious truth removed by the great and abominable church causing men to stumble, because I don't believe Joseph Smith authored the Book of Mormon, I believe it was authored by God's word through prophets.
You had said "but it's quite possible that he didn't know how to because of his ignorance"
I pretty much doubt that.
I guess all I can do is invite you to look of the fruits of that doubt.
Underestimating someone's ignorance when they sin, that permits us to follow in the steps of "the great accuser".
Giving someone the benefit of the doubt is called "charity" - an attribute of divine nature.
Adam did do what was contrary to what God told him to do....do not eat...or else you and all of your progeny will pay the price.
And Adam willing paid the price, just as Jesus did, just as we all of Christ's disciples do "to lay down our lives" so that God's purposes can be accomplished.