"Adam-God" Nuggets

I was going through some old emails this evening, and I happened across one I wrote long ago to a family member, who I'll call Ben, concerning the so-called "Adam-God" teachings attributed to Brigham Young. I know this is a topic critics like to use to beat Mormons about the head with, but that was not the purpose of that email, nor is it the purpose of this post.

The email was actually just a follow-up to a telephone conversation in which Ben had expressed some unfamiliarity with the Brigham Young quotes at the center of the controversy. I can't recall if he came right out and said it or if it is simply my (possibly faulty) recollection of the conversation, but, at any rate, I hung up the phone under the impression that Ben felt that the "Adam-God" teachings were something maliciously attributed to Brigham Young by his detractors and not, in truth, an idea he ever actually taught.

I didn't want to refer Ben to a site critical of Mormonism, and since I couldn't find a pro-LDS site that included all the relevant Brigham Young quotes, I set about snipping them from wherever I could find them to compile into a single list for Ben. Because he was skeptical that Brigham Young could have meant what the critics say he meant, I also supplied Ben with some comments made here and there by LDS leaders, scholars, and apologists seeming to verify that Young did indeed teach some of the "Adam-God" ideas ascribed to him.

The email was free of commentary -- quotes only. I reproduce it here because I think it was instructive for Ben, who generally steers clear of the debates had by critic and defender, and because I believe many of my LDS friends are probably much like Ben in this regard -- which I can totally dig, please believe. Because there are few, if any, places on the internet where these quotes appear outside of a critical context, I reproduce them here to allow them to speak for themselves.

Let me state that I understand the sensitivity many LDS have to this sort of thing, so please bear in mind that what follows are quotes by Mormons only. Following the quotes are some links to pro-LDS sites with thoughts on the "Adam-God" teaching.

Brigham Young:

"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." (Journal of Discourses, 1:50; emphasis in original)

"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)

"Some have grumbled because I believe our God to be so near to us as Father Adam. There are many who know that doctrine to be true." (Journal of Discourses, vol. 5, p.331)

"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." (Journal of Discourses by Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, His Two Counsellors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others, 1854, pp. 46–53)

"What a learned idea! 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." (Journal of Discourses, 1:51)

"Some years ago, I advanced a doctrine with regard to Adam being our father and God, that will be a curse to many of the Elders of Israel because of their folly. With regard to it they yet grovel in darkness and will. It is one of the most glorious revealments of the economy of heaven, yet the world hold derision. Had I revealed the doctrine of baptism for the dead instead of Joseph Smith there are men around me who would have ridiculed the idea until dooms day. But they are ignorant and stupid like the dumb ass." (Manuscript Addresses of Brigham Young, Watt, G.D., transcriber, Oct 8, 1861)

Bruce R. McConkie, LDS Apostle: "Yes, President Young did teach that Adam was the father of our spirits, and all the related things that the cultists ascribe to him. This [i.e., Brigham Young's teaching on Adam], however, is not true. He expressed views that are out of harmony with the gospel." (letter to Eugene England, p. 6)

Gordon B. Hinckley, LDS Prophet: "Brigham Young said if you went to Heaven and saw God it would be Adam and Eve. I don't know what he meant by that... I'm not going to worry about what he said about those things." (Interview in "Lives of the Saints", New Yorker, January 2002)

Spencer W. Kimball, LDS Prophet: "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." (Spencer W. Kimball, "Our Own Liahona," Ensign, November 1976: 77)

Nathan Oman, LDS Apologist: "As I see it Brigham Young makes basically four claims that modern Latter-day Saints might find shocking. First, he says Adam is God. Second, he says Adam is the only God with whom we have to do. Third, he says that God literally had sex with Mary in order to produce Jesus. Fourth, he says that Adam is the father of Jesus." (Adam-God: Thoughts and Reconciliations, online paper)

Robert L. Millet, LDS Scholar, Apologist: "To be sure, Brigham Young and a few others taught that [Adam is God] for a period of years.... It has been formally addressed by Spencer W. Kimball in general conference as not being a doctrine that is sound and true. Now the immediate response I'll get from someone is 'wait a minute, Brigham Young was the president of the church at the time.' That's right. And he preached it in general conference. That is correct." (From a dialog between Robert Millet and Greg Johnson held at Mt. Olympus Presbyterian, April 23, 2006.)

Van Hale, LDS Apologist: "At the age of twenty, as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I first came in contact with the so-called Adam-God theory in an anti-Mormon tract. I had read such literature before and knew that it frequently twisted and misinterpreted LDS sources. I therefore felt certain that the purported quotation from Brigham Young's April 9, 1852 discourse--that Adam is our father and our God--either was taken from context or was an outright fabrication. After examining the evidence, however, I soon became convinced that on at least two occasions Brigham Young had taught a concept which generally has not been accepted by Mormons--namely, that God the Father, the Father of our spirits and the Father of Jesus (of both his body and his spirit), came to this earth, took upon himself mortality, and was known as Adam, the progenitor of the human family. Simply stated, according to President Young, God the Father became Adam. (Journal of Discourses [JD] 1:50; Deseret News, June 18, 1873). Later I found several other references in which President Young hinted at this belief. (JD 4:216-218, 271; 5:331; 6:274; 7:290; 11:41,42). Over the past fifteen years I have found many additional sources which confirm that this idea was taught for a period of time in the past century." ("WHAT ABOUT THE ADAM-GOD THEORY?" Sandy, Utah: Mormon Miscellaneous, July 1983.)

Stephen E. Robinson, LDS Scholar, Apologist: "A classic example of an anomaly in the LDS tradition is the so-called 'Adam-God theory.'.... The reported statements conflict with LDS teachings before and after Brigham Young... So how do Latter-day Saints deal with the phenomenon? We don't; we simply set it aside. It is an anomaly." (Are Mormons Christians? 1993, 18-21)

Stephen R. Gibson, LDS Apologist: "From a number of sermon reports, diary entries, minutes, letters, articles and statements, it appears that Brigham Young held the view, at least for part of his life, that as God the Son came to earth and went through mortality to redeem mankind, God the Father also went through mortality to become the great progenitor of mankind.

"It also appears that Brigham Young taught more than once that God the Father was known in this role as Adam, who came to this earth and brought one of his wives, Eve, with him. Simply stated, he once believed that God the Father became Adam to begin the human family[.]" ("Is God Adam?" One-Minute Answers to Anti-Mormon Questions, Horizon Publishers 2005)

Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR), LDS Apologists: Based on these remarks, and others he made in public and in private, it is apparent that Brigham Young believed that:

• Adam was the father of the spirits of mankind, as well as being the first parent of our physical bodies.
• Adam and Eve came to this earth as resurrected, exalted personages.
• Adam and Eve fell and became mortal in order to create physical bodies for their spirit children.
• Adam was the spiritual and physical father of Jesus Christ.                                                     (http://en.fairmormon.org/Church_doctrine/Repudiated_concepts/Adam-God)

Pro-LDS links for further reading:

"Adam-God," FAIR Wiki
"Is God Adam?," Stephen R. Gibson, One Minute Answers to Anti-Mormon Questions
"What About the Adam-God Theory?," Van Hale, Mormon Miscellaneous
"Do Mormons Worship Adam? Have They Ever Worshiped Adam?," Jeff Lindsay, LDS FAQ
"Adam God: Thoughts and Reconciliations," Nathan Oman
"Adam-God's Last Stand," W. John Walsh
"Adam-God," Elden Watson, Different Thoughts