{"slug":"adam-god","title":"Adam-God","deck":"In April 1852 Brigham Young told the conference that Adam \"is our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do\". What the pulpit did with that teaching afterward.","draft":false,"essay_case":"adam-god","distinctions":"Most talk of Adam has nothing to do with this claim. Adam as the first man, as Michael, as the Ancient of Days, and as \"Father Adam\" at the head of the human family are distinct teachings that do not by themselves speak to this claim. The claim here is only that Adam is the God of this world, the father of our spirits, or the father of Jesus Christ's body.","claims":[{"id":"adam-is-god","short":"Adam is our Father and God","statement":"Adam is God the Father to this world: \"our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do\", the being we worship; or the father of our spirits, who came to Eden with a celestial body; or the father of the mortal body of Jesus Christ.","counts":["Teaching any part of it, or taking it for granted.","Calling it a mystery, declining to press it, or saying it does not matter.","Re-reading Brigham Young's words in another sense (Adam is \"our father and our god\" only as the patriarch at the head of the human family, under God).","Any one of the three parts of the claim is enough for a paragraph to speak to it.","Denying it, or warning against \"the Adam-God theory\" or the idea that Adam is the God we worship.","Separating Adam from God the Father where the speaker is plainly answering the idea, whether or not it is named."],"not":["Adam as Michael, the archangel, or the Ancient of Days, presiding as patriarch at Adam-ondi-Ahman.","Michael or Adam helping in the creation of the earth under Elohim and Jehovah.","Adam as \"our father\", \"Father Adam\", the first man and ancestor of the human family, with nothing about his being God or the father of our spirits.","\"Our Father and our God\" said of God the Father with no reference to Adam.","Adam will be, or is, an exalted being or a god among others. That is the teaching that people may become gods.","Jesus Christ was begotten by God the Father and not by the Holy Ghost, unless the Father who begot him is identified with Adam.","The Fall, Adam's transgression, and Adam's place in the plan of salvation.","Calling Adam a son of God, or a being God created, while speaking of something else (evolution, the creation account), with no sign that the speaker has this teaching in view."],"rules":["Re-reading Brigham Young's words so that Adam is \"our father and our god\" only as patriarch of the race, subject to God, gives them another meaning: sets_aside, or rejects if the speaker also says the teaching as usually understood is false.","\"A mystery\", \"I do not care how that is\", \"cease troubling yourselves about who Adam is\" are sets_aside.","Saying that Brigham Young never taught it, or was misreported, while denying the teaching itself, is rejects.","Bracketed readings in a shorthand transcript (for example \"[our God?]\") are uncertain; label what is on the page and lower the confidence."],"talks":24,"first":1852,"last":1980}],"events":[{"date":"1852-04-09","label":"Brigham Young at conference","note":"Adam \"is our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do.\""},{"date":"1854-10-08","label":"Conference sermon, unpublished","note":"Young's fullest statement of the teaching, given outdoors at conference and not printed at the time."},{"date":"1860-04-04","label":"Pratt objects","note":"Orson Pratt challenges the teaching in a meeting of the Twelve."},{"date":"1877-02","label":"Lecture at the veil","note":"The teaching enters temple instruction at St. George."},{"date":"1902-09","label":"\"Our Father Adam\"","note":"Charles W. Penrose in the Improvement Era: the Church \"has never formulated or adopted any theory\" on the subject."},{"date":"1916-06-30","label":"The Father and the Son","note":"First Presidency and Twelve exposition naming Elohim as the Father and Jehovah as Jesus Christ. It does not mention Adam.","url":"https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2002/04/the-father-and-the-son"},{"date":"1976-10-02","label":"\"We denounce that theory\"","note":"Spencer W. Kimball at General Conference.","url":"https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1976/10/our-own-liahona"},{"date":"1980-06-01","label":"Seven Deadly Heresies","note":"Bruce R. McConkie at Brigham Young University names the teaching a heresy."}],"talks":[{"i":62,"id":"1852-04-conference-record-minutes","d":"1852-04-06","y":1852,"s":"Conference record","g":"O","v":"g","f":"f","t":"Minutes of the April 1852 General Conference","c":{"0":"n"},"paras":[{"p":8,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"mentions","v":"reports_others","t":"agreed","r":"The minutes only note the published title of Young's discourse, which names 'Adam, Our Father and Our God', without stating or evaluating the teaching.","e":[549,604],"f":1}]}]},{"i":67,"id":"1852-04-young-self-government-mysteries-recreation","d":"1852-04-09","y":1852,"s":"Brigham Young","o":"President of the Church","g":"P","v":"g","f":"c","t":"Self-Government—Mysteries—Recreation and Amusements, Not in Themselves Sinful—Tithing—Adam, Our Father and Our God","c":{"0":"F"},"paras":[{"p":15,"x":[0,1],"items":[{"c":0,"s":"affirms","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Speaker directly declares Adam to be our Father and God and the Father of Jesus' body.","e":[254,420]}]},{"p":17,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"affirms","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Speaker identifies the Eden character (Adam) as the Father in Heaven who begot Jesus' body.","e":[248,386]}]}]},{"i":100,"id":"1852-08-28-young-necessity-of-the-servants-of-god-being-pure-in-heart-and-in-deed-etc","d":"1852-08-28","y":1852,"s":"Brigham Young","o":"President of the Church","g":"P","v":"g","f":"c","t":"Necessity of the Servants of God Being Pure in Heart and in Deed—Dependence on the Holy Spirit—Celestial Exaltations, Etc.","c":{"0":"F"},"paras":[{"p":16,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"affirms","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Describes exalted men going to a new earth as an Adam with a celestial body to produce mortal tabernacles for their spiritual children, matching the Eden-with-celestial-body teaching.","e":[435,586]}]},{"p":17,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"affirms","v":"own_words","t":"decided","r":"Following p16's exalted Adam who begets spirit children and comes to an earth, Young offers \"Adam is my father\" as the father the faithful keep when they become Gods, deferring fuller explanation.","e":[136,314]}]}]},{"i":129,"id":"1852-11-14-kimball-condition-of-the-people","d":"1852-11-14","y":1852,"s":"Heber C. Kimball","o":"First Counselor in the First Presidency","g":"F","v":"t","f":"c","t":"Condition of the People—Control of the Body—Individual Responsibility—Heaven and Hell—Building a Temple","c":{"0":"f"},"paras":[{"p":6,"x":[1,1],"items":[{"c":0,"s":"assumes","v":"own_words","t":"decided","r":"Kimball says Adam came from another earth and then speaks of a Father and God who dwells on this earth, which reads oddly unless Adam is that God, though he never names him so.","e":[356,600],"f":1}]}]},{"i":347,"id":"1856-06-kimball-saints-should-prepare","d":"1856-06-29","y":1856,"s":"Heber C. Kimball","o":"First Counselor in the First Presidency","g":"F","v":"t","f":"c","t":"The Saints Should Prepare for Future Emergencies—Evil Spirits—Their Power and Organization—The Chain of the Priesthood—Angels Are Ministering Spirits","c":{"0":"F"},"paras":[{"p":3,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"affirms","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Kimball states that the one God of this people and earth is the first man, who sent his own Son to redeem the world, identifying Adam as God the Father in own words.","e":[34,197]}]}]},{"i":394,"id":"1857-02-08-young-self-government-true-reformation","d":"1857-02-08","y":1857,"s":"Brigham Young","o":"President of the Church","g":"P","v":"t","f":"c","t":"Self-Government—True Reformation—Character of God—Preaching by the Spirit—Sanctification","c":{"0":"a"},"paras":[{"p":12,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"sets_aside","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Brigham Young takes up whether Adam is our heavenly Father, calls it a mystery, and says he does not care how it is, declining to press it.","e":[394,562]}]}]},{"i":503,"id":"1857-10-young-testimony-of-the-spirit-spiritual-warfare","d":"1857-10-07","y":1857,"s":"Brigham Young","o":"President of the Church","g":"P","v":"g","f":"c","t":"Testimony of the Spirit—Revelation Given According to Requirements—Spiritual Warfare and Conquest, Etc.","c":{"0":"F"},"paras":[{"p":28,"x":[1,1],"items":[{"c":0,"s":"affirms","v":"own_words","t":"close","r":"Brigham says he believes our God is as near to us as Father Adam and that many know the doctrine true, though he later says these ideas do not concern us at present.","e":[376,506]}]}]},{"i":650,"id":"1859-10-young-intelligence","d":"1859-10-09","y":1859,"s":"Brigham Young","o":"President of the Church","g":"P","v":"g","f":"c","t":"Intelligence, Etc.","c":{"0":"f"},"paras":[{"p":32,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"qualifies","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Young holds tentatively that Adam and Eve may also be the parents of our spirits, stated cautiously, without calling Adam God or the one we worship.","e":[810,941]}]}]},{"i":1114,"id":"1865-10-08-young-nature-of-god","d":"1865-10-08","y":1865,"s":"Brigham Young","o":"President of the Church","g":"P","v":"g","f":"c","t":"Hopes to Finish the Tabernacle—The Resurrected and Glorified Nature of God—Legitimacy of Governments—Not Ready for the Millennium—Plural Marriage","c":{"0":"F"},"paras":[{"p":1,"x":[1,1],"items":[{"c":0,"s":"affirms","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Speaker traces a chain of fathers who are gods up to Father Adam, linked with 'our God' and the Father who dictated all things pertaining to the earth, implying Adam as God of this world; transcript is uncertain.","e":[383,624],"f":1}]}]},{"i":1158,"id":"1866-09-23-kimball-learning-ourselves","d":"1866-09-23","y":1866,"s":"Heber C. Kimball","o":"First Counselor in the First Presidency","g":"F","v":"o","f":"c","t":"Learning Ourselves—Serving God without Purse or Scrip—Faithfulness to Brigham Young—The Necessity of Prayer and Keeping Our Covenants","c":{"0":"F"},"paras":[{"p":1,"x":[1,1],"items":[{"c":0,"s":"affirms","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Kimball identifies God the Father with the First Man of this earth and says we emanated from him as our Father and God, which states the Adam-God teaching in his own words.","e":[420,599]}]}]},{"i":2643,"id":"1902-10-lund-secular-and-religious-education","d":"1902-10-06","y":1902,"s":"Anthon H. Lund","o":"Second Counselor in the First Presidency","g":"F","v":"g","f":"a","t":"Importance of Education, Nature of the God We Worship, and Standard Works","c":{"0":"A"},"paras":[{"p":9,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"sets_aside","v":"quotes_to_answer","q":"critics of the Elders","t":"decided","r":"Lund names the critics' charge that the Elders hold Adam as their God and answers it by recasting the matter as eternal progression, men becoming gods, without accepting the charge or calling it false.","e":[117,402]}]},{"p":12,"x":[1,1],"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Lund separates Adam from the God worshipped, answering the idea that Adam is the God we worship; Adam is 'God' only in the sense of Christ's 'ye are gods'.","e":[399,614]}]}]},{"i":2982,"id":"1907-04-clawson-songs-of-zion","d":"1907-04-06","y":1907,"s":"Rudger Clawson","o":"Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles","g":"Q","v":"g","f":"a","t":"The Sublime Themes of the Songs of Zion","c":{"0":"F"},"paras":[{"p":42,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"affirms","v":"quotes_with_approval","q":"hymn \"Sons of Michael\"","t":"decided","r":"The hymn line, quoted among songs the speaker praises, calls the approaching Michael (Adam) \"the Eternal Father\", a title of God, though the speaker adds no comment of his own on the doctrine.","e":[1,65],"f":1}]}]},{"i":3639,"id":"1915-04-10-charles-w-penrose-remarks-10","d":"1915-04-04","y":1915,"s":"Charles W. Penrose","o":"Of the First Presidency.","g":"O","v":"g","f":"a","t":"The living word of God","c":{"0":"A"},"paras":[{"p":39,"x":[1,1],"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Speaker plainly denies that Adam is the being we worship, separating Adam from the Father and making him only head of the race's temporal body.","e":[362,592]}]},{"p":41,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Speaker directly denies that Adam is to be worshiped, distinguishing him from the Father who is God.","e":[0,128]}]}]},{"i":3731,"id":"1916-04-04-charles-w-penrose-remarks-4","d":"1916-04-06","y":1916,"s":"Charles W. Penrose","o":"General Authority","g":"O","v":"g","f":"a","t":"Universal Redemption Through Obedience; the Trinity of the Godhead","c":{"0":"A"},"paras":[{"p":7,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Penrose names the idea that Adam is the Almighty God and answers it, limiting Adam to patriarch of the human family under God who set him there.","e":[66,232]}]},{"p":9,"x":[0,1],"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Penrose names the notion that Adam is to be worshipped and treats it as an error needing correction.","e":[76,172]}]},{"p":10,"x":[1,1],"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Penrose argues against Adam being the one to worship, noting Adam prayed to God and was baptized, so he is not the Father.","e":[186,276]}]},{"p":11,"x":[0,1],"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Answering the idea, Penrose separates Jesus from Adam and distinguishes Elohim, Jehovah and Michael as separate persons in creation, countering Adam being the Father.","e":[44,174]}]},{"p":12,"x":[0,1],"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Penrose plainly states Adam is not Elohim the Father, and that Jesus was Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh with Mary as mother, denying Adam-God.","e":[26,118]}]},{"p":13,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Penrose answers the notion of worshipping Adam, limiting Adam's fatherhood to head of the race and denying he should be prayed to.","e":[354,493]}]},{"p":14,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Penrose states directly that Adam is not the Father, Son, or Holy Ghost, denying the idea.","e":[1170,1341]}]},{"p":22,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Penrose plainly denies that Jesus was the Son of Adam, separating Adam from the Father of Christ's body, answering the Adam-God idea without naming it.","e":[682,831]}]}]},{"i":3773,"id":"1916-10-01-joseph-f-smith-remarks-1","d":"1916-10-06","y":1916,"s":"Joseph F. Smith","o":"General Authority","g":"O","v":"g","f":"a","t":"Our Religion a Terrible Reality and the Most Important Thing to Us in This World","c":{"0":"A"},"paras":[{"p":16,"x":[1,1],"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Speaker has Adam praying to the Eternal Father in the Son's name, distinguishing Adam from God, and says such statements settle foolishly asked questions, though Adam-God is not named.","e":[134,285],"f":1}]}]},{"i":4156,"id":"1920-04-charles-w-penrose-the-church-of-christ-shall-prevail","d":"1920-04-04","y":1920,"s":"Charles W. Penrose","o":"Second Counselor in the First Presidency","g":"F","v":"g","f":"a","t":"The Church of Christ Shall Prevail","c":{"0":"A"},"paras":[{"p":26,"x":[1,0],"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Penrose warns against speculation that Jesus was 'the son of Adam' and insists he was the Firstborn of the Father, denying Adam as father of Christ's body.","e":[198,367]}]},{"p":29,"x":[1,1],"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Penrose calls Adam father of the race and earthly head only, and distinguishes him from the Father we worship, Elohim, plainly answering the idea that Adam is the God worshipped.","e":[401,535]}]}]},{"i":4360,"id":"1922-04-10-charles-w-penrose-remarks-12","d":"1922-04-06","y":1922,"s":"Charles W. 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Petersen","o":"Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles","g":"Q","v":"g","f":"v","t":"Adam, the Archangel","c":{"0":"A"},"paras":[{"p":40,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Speaker plainly denies that Adam is our God, separating him from God and the Savior.","e":[0,109]}]},{"p":43,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"decided","r":"Answering the question of Adam's relationship to the Savior and the Father, the speaker pointedly denies Adam divine titles and places him among the Father's children, plainly answering the idea that Adam is deity.","e":[0,217]}]},{"p":45,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"decided","r":"The speaker pointedly denies that a divine distinction can be claimed for Adam, plainly answering those who exalt Adam to the place of deity, though the Adam-God teaching is not named.","e":[0,163]}]},{"p":50,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"decided","r":"The speaker places Adam among the angels who worship Christ and calls him always subservient to the Son, plainly answering the idea that Adam is God the Father or father of Jesus.","e":[184,348]}]},{"p":52,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Denies that Adam fathered Christ's body in any special sense, limiting him to ordinary ancestor status.","e":[221,315]}]},{"p":53,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Contrasts Adam with God the Father as father in the flesh, separating Adam from the Father of Christ.","e":[0,96]}]},{"p":54,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Rhetorical questions answer the idea that Adam was the father of an only begotten son, implying it cannot be said.","e":[0,125]}]},{"p":55,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Plainly denies that Adam could be the Father of Jesus' only begotten body in the flesh.","e":[163,244]}]},{"p":56,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Speaker states God the Father's only fleshly son is Christ, in answer to the idea that Adam is the Father of Christ's body; it separates Adam from the Father.","e":[0,79]}]},{"p":57,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Speaker mocks and denies the idea that Adam is our God.","e":[0,58]}]},{"p":58,"items":[{"c":0,"s":"rejects","v":"own_words","t":"agreed","r":"Speaker flatly denies Adam is God and says he is a spirit child of God like us.","e":[0,104]}]}]}],"tally":{"labels":47,"checked":0,"changed_by_check":0,"by_tier":{"agreed":39,"decided":7,"close":1},"by_stance":{"mentions":1,"affirms":9,"assumes":1,"sets_aside":4,"qualifies":1,"rejects":31},"quotes_found":47,"by_confidence":{"low":5,"high":18,"medium":24}}}