Alma 42: God and Fairness, Part IV

In Alma 42, Joseph Smith attempts to solve the problem of blame and the Garden of Eden, an approach that he brings into focus in the Book of Moses. 

It may be an ideal--it is an extraordinary one.

Joseph Smith's Mythology

Joseph Smith’s approach to the problem of God, original sin, free will, and judgment is to do the following:

(1) Take free will to its logical conclusion: in sum, the whole point of life is for humans not just to have free will but to exercise it as a reflection of each human's individuality (to be "agents unto themselves");

(2) Negate the idea of inherited sin and define sin as contingent on knowledge (hence, all children are saved);

(3) Distinguish between “sin” and “transgression.” Adam and Eve didn’t yet know good from evil so they transgressed when they ate the fruit; they didn’t sin. They left the Garden of Eden because they needed to go. As mortal beings, they did eventually sin. But they weren’t inherently corrupt and neither are we. Messing up is normal. God already figured that out.

Hints of the above approach appear in Alma 42. 

Alma 42 first addresses antinomianism, likely because it is about to present what others would call antinomian arguments. So it first argues that God is just (fair) and consistent. Mercy can't override justice. 

The chapter goes on to present in outline, material that will appear in the Book of Moses, presented by Joseph Smith in the 1830s. In Alma 42,

• Adam and Eve become “as God,” knowing good from evil.
• They are “sent forth” from the presence of God, so they will die physically, which requires (“it was expedient”) a universal resurrection.
• They are separated temporally and spiritually from God, which requires an atonement.
• Sins arise from specific decisions made by individuals as they, expediently, “follow after their own will"—not from God’s punishment.

A VERY Mormon view of Adam and Eve

There is more than a hint of “it had to happen this way, so it could happen this way, so God could reveal His power”--a not unusual argument in the nineteenth century (and earlier). Joseph Smith's approach to the Garden of Eden will later be brought more in line with 2 Nephi 2:25 (hinting at Adam as Michael and ultimate hero): 

“Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy.”

“And now,” Alma writes his son, “I desire that ye should let these things trouble you no more” (Alma 42:29).

When Joseph Smith can side with actual reality over theory, he usually almost always does. After all, telling God who and when and why He can save is completely unnecessary. And possibly blasphemous.

On the other hand, having a story about God (myth = story; theology = argument in a positive sense) does influence HOW people carry out their beliefs in actual reality. Joseph Smith splits the difference.

Moroni 10: Grace & Works Again, Joseph Smith's Triumph

My overall argument is The Book of Mormon tackles issues that directly applied to nineteenth-century readers. One could argue that these issues are universal and timeless. One could argue that Joseph Smith is working out his religious ideas in a single book. One could argue that a translator always translates from within his own understanding. 

Ultimately, I don't think it matters. The Book of Mormon has a job to do. One of those jobs is to resolve the problem of grace versus works. 

Some theologians and apologists like C.S. Lewis have argued that the tension between grace and works is rather pointless. As mortal, physical beings, we have no choice but to be the instigators and recipients of works, whether we like it or not. Grace is a given. So is action.

If one translates "works" as the early Protestants did, however, the tension or problem becomes a little more understandable. Do we earn our way into heaven? Do we earn our way to a certain point and then God bridges the gap? Or is the gap so large, we can never get to a specific give-me-hand-up rung? Or, even if we could, is trying to get to that rung rather missing the point?

And if works--performances of certain rituals--take over, what is the cost to internal progress and beliefs? Won't the works become prideful performances? Virtue-signaling run amuck? Empty dogma that signals belonging in a clique, not a relationship with deity?

On the other hand, being the human and mortal creatures that we are, don't we need certain rituals to help us acknowledge our internal progress and thoughts and beliefs, including our goals? Even Luther and other early Protestants were unwilling to throw out baptism, even as they threw out various other sacraments. And Luther, at least, never lost his positive attitude towards the confessional. 

I maintain that with The Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith successfully (as far as success is possible) melded grace and works by turning the matter on its head--and turning it on its head, moreover, in ways that later apologists like C.S. Lewis and George MacDonald worked out. For that matter, Joseph Smith is echoing Dante (whom he would not have read): in the afterlife, we gain what we love, what we invest in, what we have pursued.

In sum, grace is something that God extends--all the time, indefinitely, mercifully. It is up to humans to do something with it. 

That is, we are the dwarfs in C.S. Lewis's stable, willing or unwilling to hear and taste and touch. 

Take the following passages from Moroni 10:

remember how merciful the Lord hath been (verse 3).

ask of God..he will manifest the truth (verse 4).

nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is (6). 

deny not the gifts of God, for they are many (10). 

every good gift cometh of Christ (18). 

Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must faith, there must also be hope; and if there must be hope, there must also be charity (20).

lay hold upon every good gift (30).

love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God (32). 

Despite the obligatory warnings regarding sin, Moroni 10--if combined with prior passages about treasure and grace and works and agency--describes a relationship between God and humans based on growth, progress, reaching, learning, and making choices. What we value becomes where we end up. God makes all things possible. Humans don't always want all things to be possible; we are fragile, incomplete, hampered by limitations. So God through Christ makes it possible for us to think bigger, to keep trying. 

In the end, despite the sad ending, The Book of Mormon is about hope. 

No wonder its early readers valued it so highly.