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The Adam-God Doctrine and Living Prophets
by Jerald and Sandra Tanner
(This article originally appeared in The Salt Lake City Messenger, Issue
No. 41, December 1979)
 On April
9, 1852, Brigham Young, the second President of the Mormon Church, publicly
preached his famous Adam-God doctrine. In this sermon he stated:
"Now
hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and sinner!
When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with
a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped
to make and organize this world. He is Michael, the Archangel, the Ancient
of Days! about whom holy men have written and spoken--He is our Father and
our God, and the only God with whom we have to do. Every man upon the earth,
professing Christians or non-professing, must hear it, and will know it
sooner or later....when the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father
had begotten him in his own likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost.
And who is the Father? He is the first of the human family;...Jesus, our
elder brother, was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was
in the garden of Eden, and who is our Father in Heaven. Now, let all who
may hear these doctrines, pause before they make light of them, or treat
them with indifference, for they will prove their salvation or damnation."
(Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, pages 50-51)
After Brigham
Young's death, his Adam-God doctrine fell into disrepute. In 1976 the Mormon
Apostle Mark E. Petersen wrote a book in which he attacked this doctrine as
unscriptural: "To say that Adam is God is, of course, opposed utterly
and completely to the scriptures as well as to our Articles of Faith,...to say
that we have nothing to do with 'any God but Adam,'...violates all the teachings
of the gospel of Christ, who taught us to pray to the Father in the name of
Christ,..." (Adam: Who Is He? page 14)
Apostle Petersen
claimed that Brigham Young was misquoted and brought forth some new information
which he maintained would establish his case:
"Elder
Charles C. Rich, of the Council of the Twelve, was present on a day when
President Young gave an address that was wrongly reported as saying Adam
was Deity. In the copy of the Journal of Discourses that he had, Elder Rich
referred to the misquotation as it appears in the Journal of Discourses,
and in his own hand he wrote the following as the correct statement made
by President Young: 'Jesus our elder Brother, was begotten in the flesh
by the same character who talked with Adam in the Garden of Eden, and who
is our Heavenly Father.' (This signed statement is in the hands of the Church
Historian.)...
"On the face of it the mistake is obvious and
was quickly noted by Elder Rich, who was present and heard the sermon. Hence
the correction that he made." (Adam: Who Is He? pages
16-17)
After Adam:
Who Is He? appeared in print, Bob Witte marshaled evidence to show that
Apostle Petersen was inaccurate in his statement about Apostle Rich correcting
Brigham Young's statement (see the enlarged edition of Where Does It Say
That?). Chris Vlachos has recently written an article which completely
smashes Apostle Petersen's whole thesis:
"What
seems to be a good case made by Mr. Petersen crumbles, however upon cross-examination.
C. C. Rich, who Petersen claims 'was present and heard the sermon,' was
in reality not even in Salt Lake City on that day! Rich left San Bernardino,
California, on March 24, 1852, for the Great Salt Lake. He did not reach
his destination until April 21. Under this date, the LDS Journal History
records:
April 21, 1852:
Elder Chas.
C. Rich and thirteen others arrived today in G.S.L. from California.
"In
the May 1, 1852 issue of the Mormon Deseret Weekly
the following announcement was made:
Elder C. C. Rich arrived on Wednesday, the 21 of
April, in company with 13 others...direct from San Bernardino.
"Hosea
Stout, in his journal, also noted the event:
Wednesday 21st April 1852...Gen. Rich and some 15
others arrived today from California by the South rout all well.
"Furthermore,
not only was C. C. Rich absent on the ninth, but the reference Petersen
claims was written by C. C. Rich 'in his own hand' was in reality written
and signed by his son, Ben E. Rich, many years after the sermon was delivered!
"Whether
Mr. Petersen was deliberately seeking to suppress the facts or not, the
truth is that there is no evidence whatsoever that Brigham Young was misquoted.
As we shall see, Young came under much criticism from outside and from within
the Mormon Church for teaching that Adam was God the Father. If he had merely
been misquoted, Brigham simply could have corrected his hearers and accusers.
Instead, however, Young continued to affirm and preach this doctrine against
all opposition." (The Journal of Pastoral Practice, Vol.
III, No. 2, 1979, pages 99-100)
Although
Apostle Petersen does not acknowledge making a mistake with regard to this important
matter, he has made some very revealing changes in the 1979 printing of his
book. He admits, in fact, that Charles Rich was not present and that
the statement was in reality written by his son, Ben E. Rich:
"Elder
Charles C. Rich was not present on the day when President Young gave an
address that was wrongly reported as saying Adam was our Father in heaven.
[See JD 1:51] The sermon was delivered April 9, 1852, and Elder Rich returned
April 21. In a copy of the Journal of Discourses Elder
Ben E. Rich, son of Elder Charles C. Rich, referred to the misquotation
as it appears in the Journal of Discourses, and in his own hand corrected
the statement to read as follows: 'Jesus our Elder Brother, was begotten
in the flesh by the same character who talked with Adam in the Garden of
Eden, and who is our Father in heaven.' In this same statement Ben E. Rich
wrote 'As corrected above is what Prest. Young said, as testified to me
by my father, C. C. Rich.' (This signed statement is in the hands of the
Church Historical Department.)...
"On the face of it the mistake
is obvious. We find in Genesis 2:15-16 and 3:8-9 that God walked and talked
with Adam in the Garden of Eden." (Adam: Who Is He? 1979
printing, pages 16-17)
The reader
will notice that in the 1976 printing, Apostle Petersen asserted: "Elder
Charles C. Rich, of the Council of the Twelve, was present on a day when President
Young gave an address that was wrongly reported..." In the 1979 printing
this was changed to read: "Elder Charles C. Rich was not present on the
day when President Young gave an address that was wrongly reported..."
The 1976 printing assured us that "Elder Rich referred to the misquotation
as it appears in the Journal of Discourses, and in his own hand he
wrote the following..." This was changed to read that "Elder Ben
E. Rich, son of Elder Charles C. Rich, referred to the misquotation
as it appears in the Journal of Discourses, and in his own hand corrected
the statement..." Apostle Petersen originally stated: "On the face
of it the mistake is obvious and was quickly noted by Elder Rich, who was present
and heard the sermon. Hence the correction that he made." In the 1979 printing
this was altered to read: "On the face of it the mistake is obvious. We
find in Genesis 2:15-16 and 3:8-9 that God walked and talked with Adam in the
Garden of Eden."
It is very
difficult to understand how Apostle Petersen could make such a serious mistake.
We wonder, too, why he continues to use this material when it is of no real
value. Since Charles C. Rich was not present, and since his son, Ben E. Rich,
who recorded the material, had not even been born, we cannot see that it provides
any substantial help to Apostle Petersen's thesis. In fact, that he would even
use such material shows that he is totally unprepared to deal with the issue
of the Adam-God doctrine.
If Apostle
Petersen had taken the time to carefully examine the thesis written by Rodney
Turner, who now teaches religion at the Church's own Brigham Young University,
he could never have made the mistake of claiming that Brigham Young was misquoted.
After presenting a great deal of evidence to prove that Brigham Young believed
Adam was God, Rodney Turner observed:
"Was Brigham Young Misquoted?
"It
is the writer's opinion that the answer to this question is a categorical
no. There is not the slightest evidence from Brigham Young, or any other
source, that either his original remarks on April 9, 1852, or any of his
subsequent statements were ever misquoted in the official publications of
the Church....
"In the light of Brigham Young's attitude toward
the errors of others, and in view of the division created by his remarks
concerning Adam, it would be stretching one's credulity to the breaking
point to believe that be would have remained silent had he been misquoted....Brigham
Young would surely have referred to those misquotations at sometime or other--he
never did....The complete absence of any real evidence to the contrary obliges
the writer to conclude that Brigham Young has not been mis-quoted in the
official publications of the Church." ("The Position
of Adam in Latter-day Saint Scripture and Theology," M.A. thesis, Brigham
Young University, August, 1953, pages 45-47)
On page
58 of the same thesis, Rodney Turner states: "A careful, detached
study of his available statements, as found in the official publications of
the Church, will admit of no other conclusion than that the identification of
Adam with God the Father by President Brigham Young is an irrefutable fact."
In Mormonism-Shadow
or Reality? and in The Changing World of Mormonism we show that
Brigham Young continued to teach the Adam-God doctrine until the time of his
death. In fact, in 1873 President Young was quoted by the Church's Deseret
News as saying that God Himself revealed this doctrine to him:
"How
much unbelief exists in the minds of the Latter-day Saints in regard to
one particular doctrine which I revealed to them, and which God revealed
to me--namely that Adam is our Father and God--..." (Deseret
News, June 18, 1873)
Chris Vlachos,
of the Utah Christian Mission, has gleaned a great deal of new evidence from
manuscript sources to prove that Brigham Young vigorously defended his Adam-God
doctrine:
"During
a discourse given on Sunday night, February 19, 1854, Brigham Young again
addressed the question of who begot Jesus Christ in the flesh. Speaking
of Christ, he asked:
"Who did beget him? His Father, and his father
is our God, and the Father of our spirits, and he is the framer of the
body, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who is he. He is
Father Adam; Michael; the Ancient of days...
"While
Brigham in his discourse of 1852 may have been unclear, in this 1854 address
there is no question about his meaning. Here Brigham distinctly names Adam
as God the Father. Wilford Woodruff, Mormon Apostle and later Church President,
had no doubt about what Brigham meant. Referring to this discourse under
the date of February 19,1854, in his journal, Woodruff recorded:
He [Brigham Young] said that our God was Father Adam
He was the Father of the Savior Jesus Christ--Our God was no more or
less that ADAM, Michael the Arkangel [sic].
"It
should be noted that Brigham identifies Adam as the 'Father of our spirits.'...By
referring to Adam as the Father of our spirits, Brigham was clearly identifying
him as the being whom Mormons address as 'Heavenly Father.'...
"Though
Richards and most of the other Church authorities accepted their prophet's
declaration as the word of God, there was one member of the quorum of the
Twelve Apostles who openly opposed Brigham in his views. That man was Orson
Pratt. Under the date of September 17, 1854, LDS Apostle Wilford Woodruff
recorded in his journal the details of a confrontation between Young and
Pratt....When Young declared some of Orson's doctrines to be false. Pratt
retaliated against the prophet by voicing his disbelief in the Adam-God
doctrine:
Brother Pratt also thought that Adam was made of
the dust of the Earth Could not believe that Adam was our God or the
Father of Jesus Christ President Young said that He was that He came
from another world...He told Brother Pratt to lay aside his Philosophical
reasoning & get revelation from God to govern him & enlighten
his mind more....
"This dispute between the Mormon Prophet and his Apostle
continued for several years. Because of his disbelief in the Adam-God teaching
and in other doctrines of Young, Pratt was for years upon the point of being
severed from the Church." (The Journal of Pastoral Practice,
Vol.111, No. 2, 1979, pages 101-104)
In his article,
Chris Vlachos not only presents a great deal of evidence to prove that Brigham
Young taught the Adam-God doctrine, but he shows clearly that this was a serious
violation of the commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me"
(Exodus 20:3) and the grave implications for present-day Mormons:
"While
throughout the flow of Bible history we see God proclaiming that He alone
is to be worshiped, at the same time we find prophets who were not of God
taught the contrary. True prophets would never be found teaching the people
to worship another god-whether it was a stone idol, an imaginary god dwelling
in heaven, or a deified man....when these living oracles of God spoke as
prophets, they were moved to proclaim, 'Thou shalt worship the LORD thy
God, and Him only shalt thou serve.'...
"Holding fast
to these truths let us turn now to Brigham Young, a man who claimed for
himself the station and office of prophet of God. Recent history records
the lives of few men who have possessed the leadership qualities that Young
exhibited. For thirty years he presided as Prophet, Seer, and Revelator
over the Mormon Church, a people claiming to be led by prophets of God as
in the days of ancient Israel....Their priesthood claims sole possession
of the authority or power needed to act on behalf of God, and they consider
all other 'Christian churches' to be in a state of apostasy, who at best
teach a partial truth about the gospel of Christ. Now if Brigham Young,
Mormon prophet from 1847 to 1877, were a false prophet all along, then the
claims of those who have sought to derive their priesthood authority through
him are empty and void. If Brigham taught false doctrine, that cuts the
ground from under Mormonism's claim of latter-day prophetic revelation and
the Mormon Church is not divinely led....
"The Mormon Church
must base the truth of her claims on the authenticity of Brigham's calling.
Yet, we shall see that Brigham Young, who presided over the Mormon Church
longer than any other man, did indeed advance false doctrine that focused
worship on a god other than the Lord God of Israel....
"An examination
of the evidence, however, will admit to no other conclusion than that Brigham
Young did teach that Adam was Heavenly Father, the Father of men's spirits
as well as the Father of Jesus Christ in the flesh....The doctrine that
he taught for over 25 years was false doctrine and the LDS Church admits
this today. It has, in effect, sided with Orson Pratt and has adopted his
arguments and views as being right. However, in doing this it has unknowingly
admitted that Brigham was not an inspired prophet of God....
"The
implications certainly are obvious. The claims of Utah LDS Church utterly
collapse when they claim to be the only true church and the sole possessor
of God's authority.
"The Mormon, furthermore, faces the
dilemma of being unable to be certain that his present prophet is advancing
doctrine. Perhaps the present teachings of the living prophet will be tomorrow's
false teachings of a dead prophet. Perhaps the present revelations which
the modern President claims to have received will be swept under the carpet
as was the revelation concerning Adam that Brigham Young claimed to have
received from God.
"Today's Mormon cannot hide behind
a testimony that the living prophet is advancing correct doctrine. His testimony
holds no more weight than the strong testimonies which past members had
concerning the truth of Brigham's Adam-God teaching....
"This frightening
dilemma in which the Mormon finds himself is not peculiar to him or to his
people, but is the snare in which all men find themselves when they put
their trust in men. To trust in the arm of flesh is really to have no hope
at all....
"God invites all men today to place their trust
in Him directly through His Son, Jesus Christ. Unlike a false prophet who
teaches the people to follow a strange god, Jesus can be fully trusted to
lead us to His Father. By His death, Christ has secured a place in the presence
of God for all who place their trust in him. Those who trust Him can be
absolutely sure that He will never fail." (Ibid., pages
94-96, 118, 119)
.....
A LIVING PROPHET?
As Mormonism
continues to change its doctrines apologists for the Church are stressing that
Mormons are led by "living prophets" and are not bound by the teachings
of the past. This is certainly very poor reasoning. As Chris Vlachos points
out, "Perhaps the present teachings of the living prophet will be tomorrow's
false teachings of a dead prophet." The people in Brigham Young's day firmly
believed that he was a "living prophet", and when he said that "Adam"
is "our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do,"
they accepted the doctrine. Elder James A. Little explained: "I
believe in the principle of obedience; and if I am told that Adam is our Father
and our God, I just believe it." (Millennial Star, Vol.16,
page 530)
Today, the
"living prophet" Spencer W. Kimball denounces the Adam-God teaching
as false doctrine: "'We warn you against the dissemination of doctrines
which are not according to the scriptures and which are alleged to have been
taught by some of the General Authorities of past generations. Such, for instance
is the Adam-God theory.
"'We
denounce that theory and hope that everyone will be cautioned against this and
other kinds of false doctrine.'" (Deseret News, Church
Section, October 9, 1976)
We believe
that President Kimball is right in denouncing the Adam-God doctrine, but does
this not mean that Brigham Young was a false prophet?
Joseph Smith
claimed that God revealed to him that plural marriage was an essential part
of the doctrine of the Church (see Doctrine and Covenants, Section
132). President Brigham Young said that "The only men who become
Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy."
(Journal of Discourses, Vol.11, page 269) John Taylor, who became the
third President of the Mormon Church, once declared: "...we are
not ashamed...to declare that we are polygamists....that we are firm, conscientious
believers in polygamy, and that it is part and parcel of our religious creed.'"
(Life of John Taylor, page 255)
Today, the
Mormon leaders are firmly opposed to the practice of polygamy. Assistant Church
Historian Davis Bitton says: "Today probably no modern people is
more antipolygamist than the orthodox Mormons,..." (Journal
of Mormon History, Vol. 4, 1977, page 101) While early Mormon leaders taught
that polygamy was absolutely essential to exaltation, the Apostle Bruce R. McConkie
proclaimed just the opposite: "Plural marriage is not essential
to salvation or exaltation." (Mormon Doctrine, 1958,
page 523) The Apostle McConkie also stated: "Any who pretend or
assume to engage in plural marriage in this day, when the one holding the keys
has withdrawn the power by which they are performed, are guilty of gross wickedness.
They are living in adultery, have already sold their souls to Satan, and (whether
their acts are based on ignorance or lust or both) they will he damned in eternity."
(Ibid.)
While McConkie
maintained that those practicing polygamy today will be "damned in eternity,"
the early Mormon leaders declared that the Church would be "damned"
if it ever gave up the practice. Heber C. Kimball, First Counselor to Brigham
Young, warned:
"Some
quietly listen to those who speak against the Lord's servants, against his
anointed, against the plurality of wives, and against almost every principle
that God has revealed. Such persons have half-a-dozen devils with them all
the time. You might as well deny 'Mormonism,' and turn away from it, as
to oppose the plurality of wives. Let the Presidency of this Church, and
the Twelve Apostles, and all the authorities unite and say with one voice
that they will oppose that doctrine, and the whole of them would be damned."
(Journal of Discourses, Vol. 5, page 203)
The Mormon
authorities have not only "united" against the practice of polygamy,
but they have decided to give blacks the Priesthood and "all of the privileges
and blessings which the gospel affords." (Deseret News, June 9, 1978).
According to Brigham Young, if the Church ever did this, it would lose the Priesthood
and go to destruction. The following is taken from a typed copy of a speech
given by Brigham Young in 1852 (the spelling errors of the original are retained
in this copy):
"It
is a great blessing to the seed of Adam to have the seed of Cain for servants,...Let
this Church which is called the kingdom of God on the earth [say]; we will
sommons the first presidency, the twelve, the high counsel, the Bishoprick,
and all the elders of Isreal, suppose we summons them to apear here, and
here declare that it is right to mingle our seed, with the black race of
Cain, that they shall come in with us and be pertakers with us of all the
blessings God has given us. On that very day, and hour we should do so,
the preisthood is taken from this Church and kingdom and God leaves us to
our fate. The moment we consent to mingle with the seed of Cain the Church
must go to desstruction,--we should receive the curse which has been place
upon the seed of Cain, and never more be numbered with the children of Adam
who are heirs to the priesthood untill that curse be removed."
(Brigham Young Addresses, Ms d 1234, Box 48, folder 3, dated Feb. 5, 1852,
located in the LDS Historical Dept.)
The Mormon
people are now faced with a serious dilemma; if they really believe Brigham
Young was a prophet, then it follows from his statement that the Church has
lost the Priesthood, been put under "the curse" and is going to destruction!
Apostle Bruce R. McConkie would like us to completely forget what was taught
in the past. We have previously quoted him as saying: "...it is
time disbelieving people repented and got in line and believed in a living,
modern prophet. Forget everything that I have said, or what President Brigham
Young or President George Q. Cannon or whomsoever has said in days past that
is contrary to the present revelation." ("All Are Alike
Unto God," page 1)
We feel that
it would be very difficult to forget what has been taught in the past. We cannot
help but remember that as recently as 1974 Apostle McConkie questioned the spirituality
of Church members who believed it was time for a new revelation on the blacks.
In a conference message delivered Oct. 4, 1974, he stated:
"Am
I valiant in the testimony of Jesus if my chief interest and concern in
life is laying up in store the treasures of the earth, rather than the building
up of the kingdom?...
"Am I valiant if I am deeply concerned
about the Church's stand on who can or who cannot receive the priesthood
and think it is time for a new revelation on this doctrine?...
"Am
I valiant if I engage in gambling, play cards, go to pornographic movies,..."
(The Ensign, November 1974, page 35)
In 1974
Apostle McConkie was reproving his people for even suggesting that there should
be a "new revelation" on the blacks, but now that the "revelation"
has come, he says that it is "time disbelieving people repented and
got in line and believed in a living, modern prophet." It appears to us
that the people Apostle McConkie accused of not being valiant are the ones who
were right all along. We feel that the Church leaders should be the ones to
"repent" for teaching false doctrine.
ulm@utah-inter.net:
Do you have comments or input regarding this or other publications from
Jerald and Sandra Tanner. Drop them a line. Also, if you have additional information
on this and other LDS related topics they would like to hear from you. (No mindless,
blind-faith, dogmatic diatribes please!--However, sincere differences of opinion
and insight are always appreciated).
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