Adam.

Adam
Almost all Christian religions teach that Adam committed a sinful act which brought about the fall of man. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on the other hand, respect Adam as one of the most righteous people in all of human history. Because of this, some say that we go so far as to worship him as God, but this is not true. In all the genealogies, even that of Jesus, Adam is always mentioned, not as someone to be ashamed of but as someone to be honored. If this is so, then why do people look down on him and speak evil against him?

According to the beliefs of other churches, it is because he is guilty of bringing about the fall which has resulted in people ever since then being born in sin. But the Bible teaches differently. In 1 Timothy 2:14-15 we read "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety."
The Catholic church accuses him of committing the sin of fornication, however, he is the only person who can truly show the world a certificate of marriage written by God Himself. In Genesis 2:25 we read, "And they were both naked, the man and HIS WIFE, and were not ashamed." (emphasis added). It's clear from this that before the fall God gave Adam the woman Eve to be his wife. If this is so, then why do the Catholics think so badly of him?
But let's ask another question. "Why did the Jews treat Jesus so badly, or John the Baptist, and indeed all the prophets which God sent them? And why do contemporary Christians become so angry with Joseph Smith? For example Luther, Calvin, the Pope and many other people who belong to various Christian sects aren't attack as violently as they do with Joseph Smith. If the Protestants don't criticize the Pope for who he is, then why should they criticize Joseph Smith who holds the same position in our church. But that's not what happens. They have respect for the Pope but not Joseph Smith. They call Joseph Smith a liar and claim he is teaching false doctrine, yet they say no such thing about the Pope. However it has been the destiny of all true servants of God to be persecuted, so Joseph Smith is in very special company.
Adam was a very special person even before he came to this world. Before then he was known as Michael, archangel, or chief of the angels. He was so loved that he was properly chosen to be the first spirit to take dominion of God's earthly creation. In heaven he was the leader of God's army. It is only fitting that on earth he should be the leader, or head of God's righteous spirits. As such, it is only natural that Satan would try to destroy Adam's image in the minds of men. After the Savior, he is the person that Satan hates the most. Why? Because it was Michael who defeated and evicted Satan from heaven (see Revelation 12:7).

But on earth, Satan tried one more time to defeat Michael (Adam). However, he was not able to deceive him. 1 Timothy declares, "He was made in the holy likeness of God Himself. " What does this mean? The Bible states that Seth, the son of Adam was in the same likeness as his father. In other words, they looked the same. This is what Jesus taught about Himself and His Father in John 14:8-9 where we read, "Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?"

Thus, if Adam's earthly body was made in the likeness of our Father in heaven, it can easily be seen why Satan would have been furious just to look at Adam. It would make it that much more desirous for Satan to tear Adam away from God.
In Daniel 7:9,13 we read, "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him." Who is this person described as "the Ancient of days"? Let's ask ourselves another question: Who could be more ancient of days than Adam? If Adam is the Ancient of days then this vision which Daniel has shown us that Adam has had his garments cleaned white as snow and sits on a throne.
When we look at the genealogical lists found in the Bible, usually we find that the names of unrighteous people have been eliminated. However, in every list, the name of Adam always comes up. Why link yourself back to Adam if he was someone so wicked? The Jehovah Witnesses maintain that Adam is a son of perdition, however, this is not what the Bible teaches.
The Protestants say that Adam introduced death into the world because he was disobedient to God's commandment. On the other hand, the Bible teaches that Adam deliberately disobeyed in order for him to be obedient. We must remember that Adam didn't have any knowledge that gave him the ability to discern between good and evil before he took the forbidden fruit. Then why did he disobey his Father's commandment? It couldn't have been out of an evil heart because he didn't know what evil was. Therefore he must have done it with an innocent heart.
The heart is the center of love, while the mind is the center of human interest. Only if the heart wins the battle over the mind can someone's actions be deemed as being temperate, loving and humble. Consider what kind of quality it takes to have faith. Does faith come from the intellect or the heart? The human mind always wants to rationalize and depends on reasoning and logic. Faith, on the other hand, doesn't need proof. The heart believes in things on feeling. The heart depends on emotions to determine what to do. This is the definition of faith.
Therefore, faith comes from the heart. As such the heart is spiritual while the mind is carnal. When these two elements are brought together they give balance to man. Yet, in Proverbs 4:23 we are counseled, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."
If Adam's heart was so evil, then it is strange that Paul would consider him worthy to be mentioned as an example not only for the beginning but also for the end. 1 Corinthians 15:45, Paul wrote, "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [Jesus] was made a quickening spirit." If Adam really did have an evil heart, why did he liken Christ to Adam? Would it not have been more appropriate for Paul to say, "the last MAN [Jesus] was made a quickening spirit"?
Adam begun his life on the planet, alone with his wife. What a challenge! Everything was new and
certainly perplexing to him. How did he know how to till the ground in order to feed himself? How did learn how to protect himself from the elements of cold, heat, rain, animals, and all the other things that man must learn to cope with in order to remain alive. And yet he lived 930 years!
But there is something very interesting that the Bible has to say about this. One of the laws that God gave to Moses was, "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee" (Exodus 20:12). Who was Adam's father? God! For someone to live 930 years is certainly a long time. Was it because Adam honored his Father?
Some will say that this commandment was not given until the time of Moses, so therefore it was not in effect at the time of Adam. To believe that we would have to say that God invented this commandment at the time He gave it to Moses. In other words, if someone honored their mother and father before then, the blessing of a long life didn't apply to them. But we know that God is never changing. The law He gave on Mt. Sinai was not new but was a reiteration of an eternal principle which God already followed.
Adam lived 930 years. If we know the meaning of the Biblical numbers it is easy to understand why his life lasted exactly that long. The number 3 it is a symbol of perfection and the number 9 is a perfect multiple of 3. When we add 3 and 9 it gives the number 12. This number means perfection in the sovereignty of church, plus the sum of its digits is 3. From this standpoint it would indicate that the number of years that Adam lived was the perfect time and is in full harmony with the divine law of perfection.
Some will say that this is just coincidence, but that is because they don't understand the meaning of symbols. I would suggest that the reader take a look at my page entitled "Symbolism" for a fuller explanation of this. There you will see that even Christ had the same symbolic numbers for his life. If these numbers are good for Jesus then they are just as good for Adam. I could quote several books written by Protestants about this topic to show how they basically give the same answer.
We need to remember Adam with love and gratitude. The Book of Mormon teaches that "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." I hope that this article can help people have a better appreciation and a greater knowledge about what kind of person Adam was. He was our father, and each one of us has been made in his likeness. Does not the law to honor our father and mother also extend to the first father of us all regardless of what we think of him? Yet we should think highly of him because he had a special quality of righteousness that everyone should honor.