“Do you not all know that you are the sons and daughters of the Almighty? If you do not I will inform you this morning that there is not a man or woman on the earth that is not a son or daughter of Adam and Eve. We all belong to the races which have sprung from father Adam and mother Eve; and every son and daughter of Adam and Eve is a son and daughter of that God we serve, who organized this earth and millions of others, and who holds them in existence by law.”
Exegetical Breakdown
“Do you not all know that you are the sons and daughters of the Almighty?”
Brigham Young opens with a rhetorical affirmation of literal divine parentage. We are begotten spiritually by God the Father—not metaphorically, but as true sons and daughters.
Hebrews 12:9, Acts 17:28–29, D&C 76:24
“There is not a man or woman on the earth that is not a son or daughter of Adam and Eve.”
This affirms universal mortal lineage. Adam and Eve are not symbolic progenitors—they are the literal parents of the human family. This builds upon teachings in JD 6:275:4, where they descend to initiate mortal embodiment.
“We all belong to the races which have sprung from father Adam and mother Eve…”
“Races” here reflects the 19th-century term for families, lineages, and nations. All humanity shares a single point of origin—Adam and Eve—making every soul on earth a part of one divine lineage.
“Every son and daughter of Adam and Eve is a son and daughter of that God we serve…”
This is the doctrinal bridge: by descending from Adam and Eve—who themselves are divine—we are literal children of God. This mirrors JD 1:50, where Adam is called “our Father and our God.” The chain of divine parentage extends from exalted beings through mortal lineage.
“…who organized this earth and millions of others, and who holds them in existence by law.”
God is not the creator of this earth only, but of countless others—each governed by divine law. This teaching reinforces the doctrine of worlds without number, found in Moses 1:33, and connects naturally with teachings in JD 6:275:4 and JD 1:50, where each world has its own Adam and Eve, chosen and sent to begin mortality.
Hermeneutic Layers
Doctrinal Layer
Brigham Young teaches that all human beings are literal spirit children of God and mortal descendants of Adam and Eve, who themselves were exalted beings chosen to populate and steward this earth.
Symbolic Layer
Adam and Eve are not just the first mortals, but the archetypal parents of all embodied beings on this planet. Their descent into mortality is part of a larger divine cycle.
Covenantal Structure
By linking Adam and Eve with divine parentage and global lineage, Brigham positions all humanity as part of a single divine covenant family. It reinforces that every person is born into the stewardship and care of an exalted parental pair.
Cross-Referencing Context
This quote complements JD 6:275:4 and JD 1:50 by extending the lineage doctrine: not only did Adam and Eve descend to organize this world—they did so on behalf of their spiritual posterity, all of whom are accounted as literal children of God through them.