Mormon Beliefs: Article of Faith 2

We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.

Mormon doctrine asserts that Adam and Eve were real people, the first people, and the Garden of Eden was real, too. The transgression of partaking of the forbidden fruit was a necessary step for the progression and redemption of mankind. Because of the Fall, temptation, trials, and sin were introduced to the world. Mormon doctrine differs from mainstream Christianity in that original sin was atoned for by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We are all born into a fallen world, the consequence of Adam’s transgression, but we do not inherit original sin.

Agency, sometimes called freewill or free agency, is a much discussed topic in the Mormon religion. Ultimately, our purpose in life is to try our agency, to prove whether we use our ability to choose for good or evil; whether we will obey the commandments of God or disregard them. The nature of man is conflicted. Our eternal nature is good, as the offspring of God, but we possess a mortal body under the effects of the Fall. But this is our mortal trial, and the outlook in Mormons’ beliefs is a positive one. It is not fatalism or predestination. Man is not inherently evil, man is inherently good, but often deceived by the temptations of the devil.

We are not born sinful. In Mormon doctrine, the age of accountability is eight. Prior to the age of eight, a person is not capable of sin, and those who die before this age are saved through the mercy of Jesus Christ. In the scriptures, it is written that all have sinned, but this is not an inherent trait. For every person accountable, our thoughts, words, or deeds will, at sometime in our life, be contrary to the laws of God. Justice forbids a sinner from entering the kingdom of God, and we must be punished for our own sins, not Adam’s.

In the beliefs of Mormonism, the mercy of Jesus Christ is also extended to the mentally challenged, or others who are not in full possession of the ability to exercise their agency. All will be punished for their own sins, but the mercy of Christ extends to all as well. And a judgment which is both perfectly just and merciful will be made.