The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

by Trent Dee Stephens, PhD Last updated 14 May 2021

We are first introduced to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil at the same time we learn about the Tree of Life in the book of Genesis: “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow … the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”1

"The tree of knowledge" Woodcut from Sebastian Münster’s Cosmographia

universalis, Basel, 1544

We are told nothing of its function in the scriptures, except that, while Adam was still alone in the Garden of Eden, before Eve came on the scene, “…of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”2 If this verse is taken literally, at face value, it suggests that the fruit of the tree must have been poisonous – and thus a person eating the fruit would die within twenty-four hours. However, this “day” issue is cleared up in the book of Abraham account:

“But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the time that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Now I, Abraham, saw that it was after the Lord’s time, which was after the time of Kolob; for as yet the Gods had not appointed unto Adam his reckoning.”3

We are told in Facsimile 2 in the book of Abraham that, “One day in Kolob is equal to a thousand years according to the measurement of this earth…” It is interesting to note that, according to the scriptures, Adam died at age nine hundred and thirty.4

At some point, not specified, Eve was given the same instructions, either by Adam or directly by God; for we are told of her exchange with the serpent:

“And he said unto the woman: Yea, hath God said—Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (And he spake by the mouth of the serpent.) And the woman said unto the serpent: We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; But of the fruit of the tree which thou beholdest in the midst of the garden, God hath said—Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman: Ye shall not surely die; For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”5

"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder

Here we see in the scriptures, for the first time, a person believing Satan rather than God. Although we learn from other scriptures that Eve was not entirely naive concerning the necessity of the Fall. So Eve tasted the fruit:

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”6

So what exactly was the physical result of partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? We are told,

“And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.”7

Adam and Eve, catacombs of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, Rome, First half of

the fourth Century

Did the fruit of the tree actually open their eyes? Or did Satan tell them that they were naked and needed to make aprons of fig leaves?

“And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?”8

God asked Adam, “Who told thee that thou wast naked?” (italics added) Even though this is almost certainly a rhetorical question, it none-the-less implies that partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, by itself, did not instantly give Adam and Eve the notion that they were naked. We are told in Genesis 3:7 that “…the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked…” But were their eyes opened in some direct physical or mental way as an immediate result of eating the forbidden fruit, or were their eyes opened because they were told they were naked? Outside of the temple, there is not much more that can be said of this exchange.

The stage within the Garden of Eden contained very few actors, only four that we are aware of: God, Adam, Eve, and Satan. It was obvious that neither God, nor Adam, nor Eve told them they were naked. That leaves only Satan, whom God knew was the author of their discovery of nakedness. Therefore, Adam’s and Eve’s eyes were opened to their nakedness, not because of some direct result of eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge, but apparently because Satan told them they were naked.

It is my opinion that even excluding the additional insight obtained within the temple, the exchange between God and Adam and Eve casts considerable doubt upon the hypothesis that the forbidden fruit had any direct, physical effect upon Adam and Eve, such as somehow magically causing their “eyes to be opened.”

Furthermore, the scriptures say absolutely nothing about any other physical change coming over Adam and Eve after partaking of the fruit. There is no scripture what-so-ever even remotely suggesting that some other change, such as blood entering their veins, transpired. Any such suggestion is pure speculation (i.e., the philosophies of men), has no scriptural foundation, and is contrary to all the known laws of science. This concept of blood entering their bodies after partaking of the fruit was apparently introduced to the Latter-day Saints, de novo, by Elder Orson Pratt in a sermon he gave in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, 11 September 1859.9 Elder Pratt had speculated about the concept as early as 1845, but had not fully articulated it at that time.10 I have tremendous respect for Elder Pratt as one of the great early thinkers in the Church, one who was not afraid to think outside the box. However, being a great and brilliant thinker does not guarantee a person will always be correct. I think he may have been influenced, perhaps indirectly, by the writings of John Milton, as he was of the opinion that Adam and Eve were inherently immortal beings when placed on Earth.10

There also are no scriptures suggesting that partaking of the fruit had any effect on any other plant or animal – such as causing death to enter the world in general (the issue of 2 Nephi 2:22-23 is addressed in a separate blog). Again, such notions are speculation, have no scriptural foundation, and, again, run counter to all known scientific laws. Therefore, the notion that the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil contained the “seeds of death” is complete speculation, with no foundation in the scriptures or in science.

A search for “tree of knowledge” in the scriptures yields only one reference in the Bible, that in Genesis 2:9, cited above. The only other references are three in the Pearl of Great Price. One each in the books of Moses and Abraham are restatements of Genesis 2:9. The third is a statement in Abraham referring to the “time” rather than the “day,” as discussed above.

Searching the scriptures for the “forbidden tree” or “forbidden fruit,” yielded six citations in the Book of Mormon and one in the Doctrine and Covenants. Two references in the Book of Mormon are particularly insightful. Lehi taught his son Jacob, as well as his other sons:

“And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter. Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.”11

This scripture tells us that the tree of knowledge of good and evil was in the Garden so that Adam and Eve could “act for themselves,” and they could not act for themselves unless they had a choice, and an “enticement.” Here Lehi says that the fruit of the tree of knowledge was sweet whereas that of the tree of life was bitter. This is the only time in the scriptures where the fruit of the tree of life is so described. In other places, it is described as sweet.

Then in answer to a question by Antionah, a chief ruler in Ammonihah concerning cherubim and a flaming sword guarding the tree of life, Alma stated,

“Now we see that Adam did fall by the partaking of the forbidden fruit, according to the word of God; and thus we see, that by his fall, all mankind became a lost and fallen people.”12

It is clear from this verse that the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was the very instrument of the fall. However, the fruit of the tree of knowledge had no apparent physiological effect on Adam and Eve aside from “opening their eyes,” which is itself, debatable. As far as all other scripture is concerned, the tree of knowledge could have been any tree – an apple tree, if you will. God said to Adam and Eve, don’t eat the fruit of that tree or you will die. It is not recorded that He told them how or why they would die if they ate the fruit.

We are told in the Doctrine and Covenants,

“Wherefore, it came to pass that the devil tempted Adam, and he partook of the forbidden fruit and transgressed the commandment, wherein he became subject to the will of the devil, because he yielded unto temptation.”13

We also read in Mosiah,

“Therefore, they have drunk out of the cup of the wrath of God, which justice could no more deny unto them than it could deny that Adam should fall because of his partaking of the forbidden fruit; therefore, mercy could have claim on them no more forever.”14

In 1845, Elder Orson Pratt made a brilliant statement concerning this event,

“…it was not only the body that ate of the fruit, but the spirit gave the will to eat; the spirit sinned therefore as well as the body; they were agreed in partaking of that fruit. Was not the spirit to suffer then as well as the body? Yes. How long? To all ages of eternity, without any end; while the body was to return back to its mother earth, and there slumbered to all eternity. That was the effect of the fall, leaving out the plan of redemption; so that, if there had been no plan of redemption prepared from before the foundation of the world, man would have been subjected to an eternal dissolution of the body and spirit…”15

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained in the October General Conference 1993:

“For reasons that have not been revealed, this transition, or ‘fall,’ could not happen without a transgression—an exercise of moral agency amounting to a willful breaking of a law (see Moses 6:59). This would be a planned offense, a formality to serve an eternal purpose… Lehi concludes, because ‘all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things’ (2 Nephi 2:24)…It was Eve who first transgressed the limits of Eden in order to initiate the conditions of mortality. Her act, whatever its nature, was formally a transgression but eternally a glorious necessity to open the doorway toward eternal life. Adam showed his wisdom by doing the same. And thus Eve and ‘Adam fell that men might be’ (2 Nephi 2:25).”

Elder Oaks continued, “Some Christians condemn Eve for her act, concluding that she and her daughters are somehow flawed by it. Not the Latter-day Saints! Informed by revelation, we celebrate Eve’s act and honor her wisdom and courage in the great episode called the Fall (see Bruce R. McConkie, ‘Eve and the Fall,’ Woman, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979, pp. 67–68). Joseph Smith taught that it was not a ‘sin,’ because God had decreed it (see The Words of Joseph Smith, ed. Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook, Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1980, p. 63). Brigham Young declared, ‘We should never blame Mother Eve, not the least’ (in Journal of Discourses, 13:145). Elder Joseph Fielding Smith said: ‘I never speak of the part Eve took in this fall as a sin, nor do I accuse Adam of a sin. … This was a transgression of the law, but not a sin … for it was something that Adam and Eve had to do!’ (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols., Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954–56, 1:114–15)”16

Here is what actually happened, according to the scriptures, after Adam and Eve had partaken of the fruit:

“And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”17

Bleiglasfenster (Ausschnitt) in der katholischen Pfarrkirche

fr: Eglise Saint-Aignan de Charters: Verteibung aus dem Paradies,

Signatur: "Lorin Chartres 1887"

God said in this scripture that man could have put forth his hand, “…and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever…” even after they had partaken of the Tree of Knowledge. These verses make it abundantly clear that the Tree of Life was the source of their immortality and that separation from that tree would eventually bring about death. If Adam and Eve could have eaten of the Tree of Life and continued to live forever, it is clearly logical to conclude that after they partook of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil their bodies were still essentially the same as they had been before. Separation from the tree of life, not eating the fruit of the tree on knowledge, would eventually result in Adam and Eve’s death. For Adam, that process apparently took 930 years.

This scripture also teaches that God did not drive Adam and Eve out of the Garden as a pernicious punishment but did so to isolate them from the Tree of Life – their source of selective immortality. We are specifically told that God, “…placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” Therefore, according to this scripture, the flaming sword was not placed immediately around the Tree of Life, but rather, it was placed on the “way” to that tree from the east. We are told that the Garden was already “eastward,”10 so Adam and Eve apparently went even farther east when they were driven from the Garden.

We also are given another important piece of information in these verses. “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil…”17 First, in some way, the fruit of the tree caused, or allowed, Adam and Eve to “know good and evil.” Second, knowing good and evil would in some way make Adam and Eve like “us,” the Gods. This one verse provides some incredible information: first, there are Gods, plural, and, second, knowledge of good and evil is what makes them Gods.

As this verse seems to hold the very key to Godhood, it is important for us to know if this “knowledge of good and evil” was an immediate outcome of eating the fruit. According to the Bible account, God told Adam,

“Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return…Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”18

We are not told in Genesis how these conditions would lead Adam and Eve to a knowledge of good and evil. Genesis chapter 3 ends with Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden. The first verse of the next chapter states, “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.”19 There is no explanation in between as to how Adam was going to obtain a knowledge of good and evil – to become like the Gods.

Unknown artist - Bible Pictures with brief descriptions by Charles Foster,

published in 1897, Philadelphia, PA

Furthermore, all we are told in Moses is that, “Therefore I, the Lord God, will send him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken…”20 It appears from the above verses that eating his bread by the sweat of his face from tilling the ground was how Adam would gain a knowledge of good and evil. Other scriptures give us little additional information, so outside the temple, this is about the best we can do.

Concerning Adam and Eve’s nakedness, we read in Genesis 2:25, “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” Furthermore, we are told in Genesis chapter 3, after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit, about the exchange between Adam and God:

“And he [Adam] said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.And he [God] said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?”21

Neither Abraham nor Moses gives us additional insight into this exchange. Going back to Genesis 2:25, why would Adam and Eve be ashamed of their nakedness? Before whom would they be ashamed? The only beings that they encountered in the Garden of Eden, besides themselves, were the Gods who made them in their image – God and Jesus Christ – and, apparently Satan. What shame is there in having God’s image? They did seem to be strongly influenced by Satan – who was a disembodied spirit. Do spirits wear clothes? Did Adam and Eve see the spirit Satan, or did they only see him as a literal serpent? Adam and Eve were husband and wife after all.22 Is it a shame for husband and wife to see each other’s nakedness? No. It is only a shame to show others your nakedness.

All of 2 Nephi chapter 2 addresses the issue of good and evil in the context of the Garden of Eden trees. In that chapter, Lehi stated, “…men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil.”23 From this verse we learn that instruction is key to knowing good from evil and, consequently, becoming as the Gods. We know that Adam and Eve received instruction both while in the Garden and after being cast out.24 We also learn that, “… redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah…”25 and that, “… no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah...”26 We are also told that this information was part of the instructions given to Adam and Eve.24

Therefore, the single most important piece of knowledge we can obtain, allowing us to become like the Gods is that redemption comes only through the intersession of Jesus Christ. That knowledge is confirmed and solidified by the Holy Ghost bearing testimony of Christ’s redemption. Furthermore, we are told in Proverbs, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”27

Additionally, obtaining knowledge of good and evil is apparently an experiential process. Lehi continued in his address to Jacob, “For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so…righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad… having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.”28 Furthermore, free agency is a critical part of the process, “Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself.”29 Likewise, law also is critical to the process,

“And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away.”30

Additionally, freedom to choose is part of the atonement,

“And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given. Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.”31

Elder Orson Pratt asked, “This tree, of which they both ate, was called the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Why was it thus termed?” Then Elder Pratt gave examples of a person not appreciating sweet without ever having tasted sweet or color for a person who is blind. He then continued,

“…Adam previous to partaking of this fruit; good could not be described to him, because he never had experienced the opposite. As to undertaking to explain to him what evil was, you might as well have undertaken to explain, to a being that never had… his eyes closed to the light, what darkness is. The tree of knowledge of good and evil was placed there that man might gain certain information he never could have been otherwise; by partaking of the forbidden fruit he experienced misery, then he knew that he was once happy, previously he could not comprehend what happiness meant, what good was; but now he knows it by contrast, now he is filled with sorrow and wretchedness, now he sees the difference between his former and present condition…”32

Terryl and Fiona Givens stated in their 2004 book, The Crucible of Doubt, “It is the paradox of Eden: Eve and Adam only know what paradise is when they leave it.”33

Paul Eastman, at the time a BYU Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, stated in a 2002 BYU Devotional concerning the knowledge of good and evil,

“…there could be no progress in becoming like God without understanding, by their own experience, the difference between good and evil.”

“The dilemma Adam and Eve faced appears not to be a choice between good and bad. It was a choice between good things that both had unpleasant or difficult consequences. The unpleasant consequence of remaining in the Garden of Eden was that they could not become like their Father. However, choosing to experience good and evil put them in a world where there were thorns and thistles. God told them, ‘Because thou hast . . . eaten of the fruit of the tree . . . , cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life’ (Moses 4:23).”

“Our opportunity to experience this mortal probation was a direct consequence of a correct choice in the moral dilemma Adam and Eve faced. It was a choice that our Father could not make for them without compromising their agency.”

“A world was organized where we would have the opportunity to live and experience all of the joys and sorrows of mortality and the opportunity to experience good and evil and make choices. The challenge is recorded in Abraham 3:25: ‘And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.’”34

In 1997, Elder Bruce C. Hafen, of the Seventy, stated,

“Life is a school, a place for us to learn and grow. We, like Adam and Eve, experience ‘growing pains’ through the sorrow and contamination of a lone and dreary world. These experiences may include sin, but they also include mistakes, disappointments, and the undeserved pain of adversity. The blessed news of the gospel is that the atonement of Jesus Christ can purify all the uncleanness and sweeten all the bitterness we taste.”35

The rest of the “curse” placed upon Adam and Eve is quite interesting, and may have been Israelite tradition and/or the opinion of early biblical compilers. God told Eve, “…I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”36 Was Eve not fully female before she was cast out of the Garden? Was she not fully female in the pre-existence? Had not females been giving birth to children generation upon generation for hundreds of thousands of years? Was Hannah not joyful when she bore Samuel?37 Was Mary not joyful when she bore the Savior?38 Jesus taught, “A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.”39

And God had told Adam, “…cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread…”40 Again, the conditions God described had been going on for millions of years. Thorns and thistles were not new to the Earth, except maybe in the Garden of Eden. But, even there, what was Adam doing when he was put there “to dress it and to keep it”41 – that usually implies some weeding. It is almost certain that sweat was also not invented at the time of the fall. We are told that labor brings joy:

“Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God. For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.”42

We are also told, “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”43 Much like child-birth, the “sorrow” that comes with work is only short-lived and is “not much remember,” with the ultimate result being joy.

We are told by the Lord, “Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created.”44 Therefore, even though the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was apparently a physical tree with physical fruit, the commandment was spiritual as were the consequences of disobeying that commandment.

Because the Fall was infinite, and spiritual affairs are eternal, the Fall of Adam and Eve, which opened the portal of mortality, with its school of hard knocks, and which was agreed to by all of us before the foundations of the world, could have occurred at any “time,” because time, itself is only a condition of our temporary, temporal existence, and has no baring or restrictions upon infinity.

These, and numerous other topics are also addressed in my recent books, The Infinite Creation (2020) and The Infinite Fall (2021), Cedar Fort Publishing.

References

1. Genesis 2:8-9

2. Genesis 2:17

3. Abraham 5:13

4. Genesis 5:5

5. Moses 4:7-11

6. Genesis 3:6

7. Genesis 3:7-8

8. Genesis 3:9-11

9. Pratt, Orson, Journal of Discourses, vol 7, p. 254, September 11, 1859

10. The Orson Pratt Journals, compiled and arranged by Elden J. Watson, published by Elden J. Watson, 1975

11. 2 Nephi 2:15-16

12. Alma 12:22

13. Doctrine and Covenants 29:40

14. Mosiah 3:26

15. Pratt, Orson, Times and Seasons, vol. 6, p. 918-920, June 1, 1845

16. Oaks, Dallin H., The Great Plan of Happiness, General Conference, October 1993; Ensign, p 73, Nov. 1993

17. Genesis 3:22-24

18. Genesis 3:17-19, 21

19. Genesis 4:1

20. Moses 4:29

21. Genesis 3:10-11

22. Genesis 2:24

23. 2 Nephi 2:5

24. Moses 5:4-12

25. 2 Nephi 2:6

26. 2 Nephi 2:8

27. Proverbs 1:7

28. 2 Nephi 2:11, 23

29. 2 Nephi 2:16.

30. 2 Nephi 2:13.

31. 2 Nephi 2:26-27.

32. Pratt, Orson, Sermon at the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, 25 July 1852, Journal of Discourses, 1:280

33. Givens, Terryl, and Givens, Fiona, The Crucible of Doubt, Deseret Book, SLC, p. 34, 2014

34. Eastman, Paul F, The Moral Dilemma of Doing Good, BYU Speeches, 25 June 2002

35. Hafen, Bruce C, Beauty from Ashes: The Atonement of Jesus Christ, Liahona, April 1997

36. Genesis 3:16

37. 1 Samuel 1:19-28

38. Luke 2:11-19

39. John 16:21

40. Genesis 3:18

41. Genesis 2:15

42. Ecclesiastes 5:19-20

43. 2 Nephi 2:25

44. Doctrine and Covenants 29:34