Though the creation and the
fall were critical elements in God's plan for His children,
something more was needed. In order to fulfill
His purposes, a way had to be prepared
to redeem all mankind from the grasp of sin and death. That way was through
the Atonement of God's only begotten Son. "After Adam and Eve were
driven from the Garden of Eden, they began to till the
earth and have children. For many days, Adam
and Eve toiled, not knowing where
they stood with God. They had been cast
out of His presence and knew not but
that they were lost." "And the Lord gave
unto them commandments that they should offer the
firstlings of their flocks for an offering unto the Lord." [PASTORAL MUSIC PLAYING]
"And after many days, an angel
of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying, 'Why dost thou offer
sacrifices unto the Lord?' And Adam said, 'I know not, save
the Lord commanded me.' And then the angel spake, saying,
'This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the
only begotten of the Father, which is full of
grace and truth. That as thou hast fallen,
thou mayest be redeemed and all mankind even
as many as will." Adam and Eve must have had
two frightening questions in their minds before
the angel came. They were going to die. Would they ever live again? And they had been cast
out from God's presence. Would they ever be
allowed to return?
At some point in
life, every one of us will face the same question. We will see someone we
love lowered into the grave and wonder if we will
ever see them again. Or we will know someone,
perhaps even ourselves, who has cut himself off
from God's presence. And wonder if there
is any way back. God set in place a
plan that answers both of those questions
with a resounding yes. We can overcome death. We can return to be with Him. And more importantly, we can
return and become like Him. All of this was made possible
through the sacrifice of the only begotten Son.