The First Death on Earth

Sin always brings about or leads to death, but not in the way we tend to think.

Christ died as a result of the sins of others. What is thought worthy is that he didn’t die as a result of his own sins. The sins of others brought about the death of Christ. In this way, sin causes death, not the death of the sinner but the death of their victims, the innocent.  

This is how it has been from the beginning when death was first introduced to the earth…

Killing to Get Gain

Cain was a son of Adam and Eve. Although he was raised by them to know God, Cain loved Satan more than God. Satan taught Cain a very interesting secret that was so new and revolutionary in their day, a great secret that almost everyone today knows but few are willing to live by.

“And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.” – Moses 5:31

Murdering to get gain is the most complete act of selfishness known to man. It is a principle that is so fundamental that nearly everyone knows killing an innocent person to get personal gain is immoral and uncondonable. The converse is also true. Giving your life to save someone else without reward is the ultimate expression of selflessness and love.

Cain killed Abel and this was the first time a man murdered another man. In killing Abel, he committed the unpardonable sin which is to murder or shed innocent blood after having known God and communed with Him. 

Not only did he shed innocent blood, but he did it after having known and spoken to God for himself. Before Cain killed Abel, God warned him saying,

“23 If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire. And thou shalt rule over him;

… thou shalt be called Perdition;…

25 And it shall be said in time to come—That these abominations were had from Cain; for he rejected the greater counsel which was had from God; and this is a cursing which I will put upon thee, except thou repent.

26 And Cain was wroth, and listened not any more to the voice of the Lord, neither to Abel, his brother, who walked in holiness before the Lord.” – Moses 5:23-26

Cain showed us the ultimate example of wicked selfishness. He committed murder to get gain. His sin led to death, but not his own death.

Cain was called “Perdition” which comes from the Greek word, “apōleia” which means “a destructive thing, or utter destruction”. Cain had become the destroyer. 

He was called “utter destruction” because his moral code, (kill to get gain), ultimately caused him to kill Abel and would eventually lead any society to utter destruction in the pursuit of self gratification. It is not God that causes the utter destruction of the most wicked. Their destruction is the results of the natural consequences of the society they create for themselves, just as heaven is the natural result of being righteous. God simply places like minded people together, and they live according to their desires, beliefs and philosophies to create their own eternal joy or misery. The natural results of righteousness are joy and happiness and the natural results of wickedness are misery and sorrow.

Those who follow in his footsteps are called “Sons or Daughters of Perdition”, (Sons of Utter Destruction).

He killed Abel and Abel died, but Cain was not killed for his sin, and death was not part of his punishment for killing Abel.

To be more precise, not only did God not kill Cain, but He forbade others from killing Cain as well saying that He would bring vengeance on Cain’s killer sevenfold.

“And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

15 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.” – Gen. 4:13-15

What is interesting here is that Cain’s sin resulted in death, but not his own. Sin is the pathway to death and destruction, but not usually our own death. Sin causes or leads to the death of others. This is always the case.

Stealing for example is to take away from others that which they use to sustain their life. If you stole from a very poor person and all they owned was a loaf of bread, then it is easy to understand how stealing from them leads to their death. But if they are very wealthy it is much harder to see how stealing leads to their death. It still does, it’s just that they can suffer the damage more easily. If stealing were permitted, then even the rich would eventually die as a result.

So, we can see that stealing leads to death, but not the death of the thief. If you were to physically harm someone by hitting them, they and not you would be closer to death. 

Even harsh words toward others slowly tear them down, degrading them bit by bit. The first hurtful remark won’t cause them to commit suicide. However each hurtful remark adds to the mountain of self loathing and pain until the person is buried by countless individual remarks and feels so unwanted that they choose suicide. In the end, the first hurtful remark has the same weight as the last straw which they could no longer withstand…

Again, all sin leads to harm and eventually to the death of the victims of sin, not the sinner. Again, this is true all the way back to the very first death on earth. 

While Abel was the first man killed, he was not the first death on earth. Death came as a result of the fall of Adam and Eve, but it wasn’t Adam or Eve that died when they fell. They would die eventually, but their death would come many hundreds of years later. The first death on earth was a direct result of Adam and Eve’s fall,  and happened when they were cast out of the Garden, long before Adam or Eve died.

The first death on earth was a perfect symbol of Jesus Christ who suffered at the hands of the wicked who sought to cover or hide their own sins and shame.

Can you think back and remember what that very first death was? OR Can you tell us what the first death was?

When Death Entered the World

Adam and Eve were created and placed in the Garden of Eden, naked and unashamed. 

“And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” Gen. 2:25

This is how God created them and after God finished his creation, he looked on them and declared that it was “very good”.

“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” – Gen. 1:31

But, along comes Satan who tells Adam and Eve to take the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Under Satan’s influence, they ate the fruit and discovering they were naked, began for the first time to feel ashamed. Their innocence was lost and God’s creation had fallen. They made fig leaves to hide themselves.

When God came, Adam and Eve hid from God, for the first time. (Guilt and shame have that effect on us.)

“And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” – Gen. 3:9-10

Adam had no real reason to hide himself. God who cannot look on sin with the least degree of allowance, (D&C 1:31), had looked on him and his wife naked and expressed no concern or cause to make them clothes. But now, because of Satan’s influence, Adam felt ashamed in God’s presence being naked.

“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” – Gen. 3:21

These coats of skins were given to Adam and Eve to hide their nakedness or shame. God being God could have made clothes for Adam and Eve from cotton, silk or another source that did not require the life of one of His creations, but He made them from the skins of animals. These innocent animals became the first death of the fallen planet and a perfect symbol of Christ. The animals died so that Adam and Eve could hide their guilt and shame.

“Just as the death of God’s son was an ugly and terrible event resulting from the errors of men, so too was the garment, ugly and terrible to wear.

Adam and Eve fell, bringing death to the world. Creation mourned and began fearing man. Their transgression became a declaration of war upon the very world they were given to reign. They’d rather that animals die, than suffer the shame of God’s perfect creation.” – An Angel of God

When we imagine the coats of skins, we tend to think of the fine leather of our modern making which is cut, worked and crafted into smooth, comfortable and stylish clothing. The garments they were given were not like this in the least. They were a curse; a heavy, sweaty, ugly uncomfortable burden. Just like all of us have done in some form or other, Adam and Eve chose to suffer this burden rather than deal with the shame they learned from Satan. It is notable that Adam and Eve did not choose to kill to cover their nakedness and hide their shame, rather they chose to accept a killing on their behalf. This is what most of us do…

The garment or coat of skins symbolized the following:

• The death of others that we cause by our sin.
• Jesus’ death and how he would be killed to hide the shame of the world.
• Satan’s influence on men who are willing that others suffer and even die to satisfy themselves.
• The End of Paradise. Death had entered the world, man had become carnal and devilish, (see Mosiah 16:3).

The Fall of Man

In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve lived in peace and harmony with nature. There was no death in this paradise and the only instruction God gave was that Adam and Eve were not to partake of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

Adam and Eve dwelt in innocence like little children not knowing good from evil. God declared their state of existence “very good”. 

God knew that if Adam and Eve had the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil that things would change and not for the better.

What is interesting to note is that while they were innocent, nothing they did was considered evil, wrong or bad. They were not accountable or condemned for anything. They lived without guilt, shame or condemnation. Even if they did something we might consider “wrong” or evil, they remained innocent and not condemned by God. They were pure and all things were pure to them. They lived in God’s grace which found them innocent regardless of their actions. 

God liked it this way because it gave Adam and Eve the opportunity to learn from their own mistakes to figure out what was good and what was not. While they learned in this way, they remained innocent and unashamed.

When Adam and Eve took the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, nothing changed except their understanding and perception. The example given in the scriptures is that they were still naked, but now they were ashamed of their nakedness. Because of the knowledge of good and evil, what they did in the past which was considered innocent was now considered evil. They had lost their innocence and fallen from God’s grace. They became guilty in their own minds and condemned themselves and each other because this fruit is shame. And shame brings a feeling of guilt. The opposite of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Remember Godly sorrow? Guilt is Satan’s counterfeit for Godly sorrow and keeps us in it’s bondage and tight mental grip. 

Having the knowledge of good and evil made Adam and Eve different. They were never “good”, but now they knew it. They fell from grace by accepting the shame and guilt that comes to all of us as a result of taking into ourselves the knowledge of good and evil.

In the New Testament we repeatedly see similar concepts being taught. We are told that by the law we gain the knowledge of sin. 

“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” – Romans 3:20

The law encapsulates what is good and what is evil. The law is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil applied and divides sin from righteousness. But the law focuses on the outward actions of the flesh, and not the inward intents of the heart. 

For example, the law tells us that praying is good and lying is evil, but it makes no exceptions for why we prayed or why we lied. 

The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is shame and the law, or tree, in effect brings shame, the fruits. When we receive the law we gain the knowledge of good and evil, and with it the shame, guilt and condemnation it brings. When we receive and live by the law or outward knowledge of good and evil, we, like Adam and Eve, fall from God’s grace.

“Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” – Galatians 5:4

There is a major flaw in the law which gives us the outward knowledge of good and evil. That flaw means that obedience to the law will never make us righteous. But Adam and Eve believed that it would. That it would make them like God.

The law or the knowledge of good and evil details the actions of the flesh, those things which are done externally. For example, being naked is evil, lying is evil, etc. It also tells us that praying is good, attending church services regularly is good, etc. 

But all the actions and deeds which the outward knowledge of good and evil tells us to do and not do are dead works focused on the flesh and not the intent of the heart. God judges us on the intent of our hearts because it is not the action we take but the motivation of that action that determines our righteousness or wickedness.

Being naked is neither good or evil, but the motivation behind being naked is what decides whether it is good or evil. Praying is not what makes us good or evil, it is the motivation behind the prayer. Even the act of killing someone is neither good nor evil in itself but determined to be self defence or murder based on the intent. 

The knowledge of good and evil is flawed in that it told Adam and Eve that they were naked and should feel ashamed before God who sees and knows all things. Additionally, there was no sin in Isaiah when he obeyed God who commanded him to preach naked and barefoot for three years, (See Isaiah 20:2-4). 

Without knowing the heart, we cannot know if anything is good or evil. For this reason, those who become pure themselves are able to see all things as pure.

“Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” –  Titus 1:15

The transgression of Adam and Eve was not that they were naked, but that they accepted the knowledge of good and evil which is outwardly focused and told them to feel ashamed to be naked. God was not ashamed of them and until they were ashamed, God didn’t feel the need to make them clothes. There was no sin in them for being naked, they were pure and their nakedness was pure to God.

This focus on outward actions is Telestial in nature and creates a means whereby we can falsely judge and condemn one another.

While under grace, Adam and Eve were unashamed and innocent. Adam and Eve fell from grace and experienced shame and guilt. To overcome the fall, we must be returned to a state of purity and innocence without shame and guilt. We must receive a remission of our sins, but also retain a remission of our sins and live again in a state of innocence. A state in which we give up the knowledge of good and evil based upon the outward actions and the fruit of shame and guilt it brings. We must become pure and see all things as pure.

A Savior was given to enable us to accomplish all of this, and through the atonement we are returned to innocence, purity and peace. But we cannot return to a state of paradise while we continue to enjoy the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which is shame and guilt. The fruit of this tree brings death.

There is another tree which stands in opposition to the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This other tree is the tree of life whose fruit is the love of God. As long as we continue to take the fruit from the tree of knowledge of outward good and evil, we will be prevented from eating the fruit from the tree of life. 

We must choose the tree of life or the tree of death. We must choose to judge good and evil by the inward intent or by the outward law. We must choose godly sorrow or shame, progression or damnation, life through the spirit or death through the flesh.

Just as we cannot be wicked and righteous, we cannot eat both the fruit of death and the fruit of life.

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” – Romans 8:2

“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:” – Romans 5:22

When we experience the mighty change of heart we began to once again see things as they are seen spiritually, through God’s eyes, rather than the carnal mind and eyes of/like Satan.

The Return to Paradise

When Adam and Eve fell, they caused the shedding of the first blood and in doing so, they declared war on creation.

In the Millennium of Peace, the war started by Adam and Eve will end and peace will again return to the earth in so much that death will cease. In this way, the murder of Jesus Christ was intended to end the shedding of blood.

“Therefore, it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice, and then shall there be, or it is expedient there should be, a stop to the shedding of blood; then shall the law of Moses be fulfilled; yea, it shall be all fulfilled, every jot and tittle, and none shall have passed away.

14 And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal.” – Alma 34:13-14

Speaking of the Millennium, the Lord said,

“And in that day the enmity of man, and the enmity of beasts, yea, the enmity of all flesh, shall cease from before my face.” – D&C 101:26

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.

9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” – Isaiah 11:6-9, see also 65:25

To qualify to live in the Millennium, we must make peace with the world, not only with man and God, but with the animal kingdom. The atonement cannot be complete until we stop shedding blood unnecessarily. Not only the blood of man, but the blood of animals. Our war with creation must cease.

The following is a quote from Joseph Smith’s journal during a Zion’s Camp expedition in 1834.

“In pitching my tent we found three massasaugas or prairie rattlesnakes, which the brethren were about to kill, but I said, ‘Let them alone—don’t hurt them! How will the serpent ever lose his venom, while the servants of God possess the same disposition, and continue to make war upon it? Men must become harmless, before the brute creation; and when men lose their vicious dispositions and cease to destroy the animal race, the lion and the lamb can dwell together, and the sucking child can play with the serpent in safety.’ The brethren took the serpents carefully on sticks and carried them across the creek. I exhorted the brethren not to kill a serpent, bird, or an animal of any kind during our journey unless it became necessary in order to preserve ourselves from hunger.” (Documentary History of the Church, vol. 2, pp. 71–72.)