Adam God Mormon Doctrine
The teaching
On April 9, 1852, Brigham Young, second President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ascended the pulpit of the Salt Lake City Tabernacle and proclaimed, "It is my intention to preach several sermons this evening, how many, know not me." During his speech, President Young stated thathe would speak on the person of the "beloved Son of God," "a subject on which the elders of Israel had conflicting views."
It is doubtful that anyone present at that moment realized that their prophet was about to preach one of the most controversial sermons not only of his own life but perhaps of the entire history of his church. After a long, non-paragraph introduction, Young proclaimed that Adam Michael was the archangel and that he was also the 'Ancient of days' (see Dan 7:9). Young went on to conclude that Adam was indeed "our Father and our God and the only God with whom we have dealings". During this proclamation, the second President of Mormonism declared that Eve was only one of Adam's wives and that Jesus Christ "was not begotten of the Holy Spirit." Instead, Young said, "He was begotten in the flesh by the same person who was in the Garden of Eden and is our Father in heaven."
For years, Mormon leaders have attempted to downplay the seriousness of Young's statements. It is not uncommon to hear Mormons excuse Young's conclusions by saying that he was either misunderstood or misquoted. These thoughts resonated with many Mormons, who felt uneasy about admitting that their prophet truly believed these teachings. However, there is ample evidence that neither was the case. Young was speaking under the authority of a Mormon prophet and not just making a public statement of his personal opinion.
Doctrine or Theory?
Mormon Presidents Joseph Fielding Smith and Spencer W. Kimball referred to their predecessor's ideas as mere "theory." In his book Doctrine & Salvation, Smith qualified Young's message, saying, "In all likelihood the sermon was transcribed incorrectly." (1, 96)
During an October 1976 priesthood conference session, Spencer W. Kimball called Brigham's teaching "false doctrine." He said: "We warn you against the propagation of doctrines which are not in accordance with the scriptures and which are said to have been taught by authorities of past generations, such as the Adam-God theory. We condemn this theory and hope that everyone is warned against this and other false doctrines." (Church News, 9/10/76) In the light of all the evidence to the contrary, it causes tremendous credibility problems for Kimball to say that the Adam God doctrine was only supposedly taught.
It would be difficult for a Mormon to prove that Young was merely theorizing, for the simple fact that in this sermon Young clearly claims that his teaching is "doctrine." In one of his concluding remarks, Young warns: "Now let all who hear this doctrine pause before dismissing it or treating it with indifference, for thereby they will effect their salvation or damnation. A fair question would be: 'If Joseph Fielding Smith and Spencer W. Kimball did not believe, what Young had to say on the subject, does that mean that Smith and Kimball are damned?" If Young was a true prophet of God, would that mean that all who reject the Adam God doctrine would be damned?
Just misunderstood?
Certainly Brigham Young was not misunderstood, for his first counselor, Heber C. Kimball, declared on June 29, 1856: "I have learned by experience that there is but one God belonging to this people, and he is the God who belongs to belongs to this earth - the first man. This first man sent his own son to redeem the world, to redeem his brothers. His life was taken, his blood was shed that our sins might be forgiven. This son called twelve men and made them apostles, and when he departed from them, the keys of the kingdom Dhanded over by them: Peter, James, and John." (Journal of Discourses 4:1)
It is evident that the one sent to redeem the world is none other than Jesus Christ. If we accept Kimball's statement that the "one God" who sent him was in fact "the first man," we have no choice but to conclude that it was Adam who sent Jesus to the world to rescue.
In his Journal, dated February 19, 1854, Wilford Woodruff, who would later become the fourth President of Mormonism, wrote that Brigham Young "said our God was Father Adam. He was the Father of the Savior Jesus Christ - our God was not a Less than ADAM, Michael the Archangel."
History shows that Orson Pratt's understanding of Brigham Young's teachings did in fact cause a deep rift in Mormon leadership. Pratt clearly disagreed with Young's doctrine, making it clear that he had "no faith in it". (Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Summer 1980, page 30)
Mormons must insist that Brigham Young was a true prophet if they are to show an unbroken chain of discipleship in their leadership. However, doing so is extremely inconsistent. For example, Mormon Apostle Bruce McConkie, in his 1980 talk "Seven Deadly Heresies," taught that anyone who has "received the temple endowment and yet believes the Adam-God theory is undeserving of salvation." With that reason, a Mormon cannot even believe that Brigham was saved. Young received his temple endowment, and Young believed that Adam was God.
In a letter dated February 19, 1981, McConkie restated this idea by writing: "...people who teach false doctrine on the fundamental and basic things will lose their soul. Of what nature and kind the essence God's is one of those fundamental things" (page 7). Again, if the Adam-God doctrine is wrong, as leaders like Kimball and McConkie agree, we must conclude that Brigham Young's soul is lost.
Was it just the opinion of Brigham Young
Some have argued that Brigham Young was only promoting his own personal opinion and never regarded this teaching as something to be accepted as a doctrine. "Because this sermon is not part of the standard works," some say, "it should not be accepted as doctrinal truth." As pointed out earlier, the problem with such an assumption lies in the fact that Brigham Young said that those who reject this doctrine "shall work out their salvation or their damnation." Evidently, Young took this teaching very seriously.
Also, let us note that four years before his death, Brigham Young stated that it was God Himself who gave him the Adam-God doctrine. Apparently, Young's position on the subject was still a matter of contention with some Mormon members. Otherwise he need not have asked "how much unbelief there is in the Mormon mind concerning a certain doctrine which has been revealed to them and which God has revealed to me, namely, that Adam is our Father and God...our Father Adam is the man who stands at the gate holding the keys of eternal life and the salvation of all his children who have come or will come to this earth." (Homily of June 8, 1873, reprinted in Deseret Weekly News, June 18, 1873) How can a Mormon maintain the opinion that it was Brigham Young's alone when he has insisted that God gave him this doctrine?
Some have justified Young's testimony by claiming that he did not speak as a prophet because he did not begin his sermon with "Thus saith the Lord." However, Mormon leaders have long since said that such a test is not correct. J. Reuben Clark, a former member of the First Mormon Presidency, said: "There are those who insist that no message should be taken as revelation except that the Lord's prophet declares, 'Thus saith the Lord '. This is a false test criterion" (Church News 7/31/54, p.10)
Apparently Young was confident about his message, for on January 2, 1870 he said: "Never before have I preached a sermon and sent it to the children of men, who could not call it 'Scripture'." (Journal of Discourses 13:95) Brigham Young repeated this in October of the same year (Journal of Discourses 13:264)
How did Brigham Young come up with the Adam God doctrine
It may come as a surprise to some, but Brigham Young's Adam-God connection is in harmony with the teachings of Joseph Smith. It was Joseph Smith who explained that Adam was indeed the "Ancient of days" (see Dan 7:9) . Doctrine and Covenants 27:11; 116:1; 138:38 all state that Adam was the Ancient of Days. Joseph Smith even tried to bring the Bible into agreement with this idea, saying: "Daniel in his seventh chapter speaks of 'ancient of days', meaning the oldest man, our father Adam..." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 157). Smith referred to Daniel 7:13, which says, "I saw visions of the night, and behold, with the clouds of heaven came one like the Son of man. And he came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him in front of him." In order to interpret Daniel correctly we must compare this to a similar account given in the 5th chapter of Revelation. Here we find the Lamb that was slain, Jesus Christ, approaching the one seated on the throne and taking the book with the seals. Since John 5:22 says that it is the Father who handed over judgment to the Son, a proper understanding of the passage would suggest that it is God the Father, not Adam, who sits on the throne. When Mormons insist that it is Adam who sits on the throne, they are actually equating Adam with God. According to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young was right!