This series examines the Adam-God doctrine, tracing its origins back to Brigham Young, and evidence of origination with Joseph Smith. We explore its evolution through church leadership, culminating in President Spencer W. Kimball’s 1976 rebuke. The articles are supported extensively by prophetic quotes and scriptural analysis.
The Adam-God doctrine, as articulated by early leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, posits that Adam, the first man, is not merely a mortal progenitor but a divine, exalted being—Michael the Archangel—who holds a unique role as “our Father and our God” in relation to humanity on this earth. This teaching […]
The Adam-God doctrine—that Adam is Michael, a divine being who organized the earth and became “our Father and our God”—emerged as a profound yet enigmatic teaching under President Brigham Young’s leadership (1847–1877). President Young declared it a divine revelation, asserting that Adam “is our FATHER and our GOD, and the only God with whom WE
Claim of Joseph Smith’s Adam-God Teachings Quote and Source Helen Mar Kimball Whitney, Plural Wife of Joseph Smith Quote: “In Joseph Smith’s Advocate of July 1st, 1881, I read an article in which he asks, ‘By what authority did Brigham Young teach the Saints that Adam is our Father and our God?’… Brigham Young did
Quote and Source Elder Orson Pratt (Apostle, 1835–1881)Quote: “These angels that came to Adam were not men who had been redeemed from this earth—not men who had been translated from this earth—but they pertained to former worlds. They understood about the coming of Jesus, the nature of these sacrifices, &c. Some of these angels have
Scripture teaches that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1). Likewise, the Doctrine and Covenants affirms that truth is established “by the prayer of faith, and by the voice of the Spirit; and by the voice of two or three witnesses” (D&C 6:28). Applying this law
Quotes – Presidents of the Church Quotes by LDS Church Presidents during their tenure. Brigham Young, President (1847–1877) “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
A Contextual Analysis of His Views on the Adam–God Doctrine Introduction President Joseph Fielding Smith (1970–1972) made no public or formal pronouncement against the Adam–God doctrine while serving as president of the Church. However, during his decades as an apostle and Church historian, he expressed strong views on the subject—calling it a misunderstanding, a misstatement
A Call to Scriptural Orthodoxy, Not a Revelatory Correction Introduction In the Priesthood Session of the October 1976 General Conference, President Spencer W. Kimball (1973–1985) publicly denounced the Adam–God theory as false doctrine. This marked one of the clearest formal rejections of the teaching ever delivered from the pulpit by a sitting prophet. However, when
Removal of Adam–God from the Endowment Ceremony Joseph F. Smith, President (1901–1918) While no direct quote from Smith as President explicitly addresses the endowment change, Apostle Charles W. Penrose, under Smith’s direction, stated in 1902: “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has never formulated or adopted any theory concerning the subject treated upon
