Creation and fallen.

Creation and fallen.

These two topics are really fascinating.

God gave in two chapters the account of thousands of years, just the account but no explanation on how and why and when He did it.

Probably people will say that He did in the beginning, but to say that you put the beginning of God in the beginning, but for God time is not like for us. The beginning described in the Bible was just a transition from a period to another one for God, so when the scripture says in the beginning is just referring to OUR beginning. Another question is Why God made this universe? According to the lds doctrine He did because He wanted for his offspring to become like Him.  I don't want to discuss what the other creeds think about this, surely being this topic based on just two chapters of scriptures.

God made clear from the very beginning that he made the earth for His
offspring. He declared that he made man in His own imagine and likeness
Genesis 1:27 to make sure that people would understand His point God gave
the death penalty to the murderers Genesis 9:6

According to the lds doctrine God is an exalted man and Jesus remarked this point when he declared dozens of times to be "the son of Man". According to the lds doctrine we were born spiritually before to come over here, we were in the same image and likeness of God but just like spirits we had no body.

Hebrews 12:9
9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected [us], and we gave [them] reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 

Ecclesiastes 12:7
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Jeremiah 1:5
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Isaiah 57

16

For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.

Deuteronomy 32:7
7 ¶ Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.

Deuteronomy 32:8
8 When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.

Romans 1

20

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Romans 8

19

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

20

For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,

21

Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

22

For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

Revelation 3:14

14

And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Acts 17:26
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Acts 17:29
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, 

Jesus knew this very well

John 9:1
1 ¶ AND as [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man which was blind from [his] birth.

John 9:2
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

John 9:3
3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Here it is declared from Jesus not only that people had another life before of this one but also He declares that people could sin in that sphere and this is were intriguing. Satan and his followers are the living proofs of this. Further it seems from this scripture that in that pre mortal life the was not repentance. This is understandable because even in this life the sin against the Holy Ghost is unforgiving, in fact when people has a perfect knowledge of God and yet is rebelling against Him that person has the perfect kind of thing opposite to faith in God, in simple words no trust in God, God who is his creator and perfect in all His attributes.

In the scripture, the star is a symbol for man. The morning stars who sang together were the premortal songs of God
Job 38:7
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Lucifer, a son of morning, sought to exalt himself above "the stars of God" and he lost the opportunity to have a body.
Isaiah 14:12
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

Isaiah 14:13
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

Isaiah 14:14
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Lucifer became Satan the deceiver, or the opponent and he felt as a star to earth
Revelation 9:1
1 ¶ AND the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
and a third of the stars with him.
Revelation 12:4
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Revelation 12:8
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

Revelation 12:9
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were promised that their posterity would be as the "stars of heaven"
Genesis 15:5 22:17 26:4 exodus 32:13 Deuteronomy 28:62 1 Chronicles 27:23. Joseph's brothers were the eleven stars who bowed to him Genesis 39:9,10. Daniel saw the little horn oppress the stars, the Lord's people Daniel 8:10. Christ is the Star out of Jacob Numbers 24:17 and the bright and morning star Revelation 2:28 22:16 2 Peter 1:19.
Why the star is a symbol for man?
1 Corinthians 15:41
41 [There is] one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for [one] star differeth from [another] star in glory.
1 Corinthians 15:36
36 [Thou] fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

1 Corinthians 15:37
37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other [grain]:

1 Corinthians 15:38
38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

1 Corinthians 15:39
39 All flesh [is] not the same flesh: but [there is] one [kind of] flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, [and] another of birds.

1 Corinthians 15:40
40 [There are] also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial [is] one, and the [glory] of the terrestrial [is] another.

1 Corinthians 15:41
41 [There is] one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for [one] star differeth from [another] star in glory.

1 Corinthians 15:42
42 So also [is] the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
1 Corinthians 15:43
43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

1 Corinthians 15:44
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:45
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit.

1 Corinthians 15:46
46 Howbeit that [was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

1 Corinthians 15:47
47 The first man [is] of the earth, earthy: the second man [is] the Lord from heaven.

The star is a symbol for man in this telestial earth, star represents man in this sphere.

So from the scriptures quoted is evident that we were in another sphere before to come over here and I would like to call this place spiritual world. If you read Two creations account you would have a better understanding of this point. In that sphere there was the free agency and the possibility to sin and Lucifer and his followers are the proof of this

Revelation 12:7
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

Revelation 12:8
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

Revelation 12:9
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 

What is clear from this point is that Lucifer and his followers were using their free agency and they sinned also it is interesting because from this scripture seems clear that this spiritual place was in the presence of God because neither was their place found any more in heaven." this is consistent with the idea that sin can't stay in the presence of God and there was not and there will be not repentance there because here on earth we are living by faith but there we were living by vision. Everybody had a perfect knowledge of God. So repentance is just for this sphere were people  has to live by faith and not by perfect knowledge.

This is well explained in the book of Mormon

Alma 42:4
4 And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God.
Alma 42:13
13 Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state, yea, this preparatory state; for except it were for these conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would cease to be God.
Alma 12:24
24 And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.
So in this life mankind is to prepare itself to meet God again, but only in justice having chosen good instead of evil, because in the kingdom of God evil is not allowed.

Job 38:4
4 ¶ Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

Job 38:5
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

Job 38:6
6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

Job 38:7
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Job 38:21
21 Knowest thou [it], because thou wast then born? or [because] the number of thy days [is] great?

and all the sons of God shouted for joy? This is the proof that we were present in that council and we were so happy because we knew that an earth was provided for us to have a material body. Man couldn't become like God without a body, also in that sphere it was impossible to know the difference between the good and evil because evil is driven away just when happens like in the case of Lucifer and his followers, so it was impossible to do the necessary experience because God doesn't' teach to do evil but just good. The Book of Mormon teaches that an opposition was necessary

2 Nephi 2:11
11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.
2 Nephi 2:15
15 And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter.
2 Nephi 2:16
16 Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.

2 Nephi 2:17
17 And I, Lehi, according to the things which I have read, must needs suppose that an angel of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that which was evil before God.

2 Nephi 2:18
18 And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind.

So here the offspring of God is to have a body and to do the necessary experience to know the difference between the good and evil because without it, it would be impossible to become like God in fact when Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit the Gods declared

Genesis 3:22
22 ¶ And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil

Spirits do not reproduce their kind and from the doctrinal Exposition of the First Presidency and the Twelve, called The Father and the Son, on the last page, page 8, it reads:

"So far as the stages of eternal progression and attainment have been made known, through divine revelation, we are to understand that only resurrected and glorified beings can become parents of spirit offspring".

So that the way spirit offspring come into existence through resurrected parents.

Spirit plays a vital role in our perspective of eternity. Consider some of the words and phrases we use. Our Father in heaven is the Father of our spirit bodies. We dwelled on a spirit world before we were born into mortality. In our prayers we ask for the spirit of the Lord to be with us. It is the separation of the spirit and body that defines life and death. The Spirit of God enlightens all people. We will be resurrected with a physical spiritual body. Living a physical world, probably we are prone to ignore the importance of the spirit. It will be interesting to learn, one day, the laws that govern spirit.

The Bible is clear that all the dispensations were peopled not by chance.

The Lord doesen't anything at random Deuteronomy 32:7-9

Deuteronomy 32:7
7 ¶ Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.

Deuteronomy 32:8
8 When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.

Deuteronomy 32:9
9 For the LORD'S portion [is] his people; Jacob [is] the lot of his inheritance.

Acts 17:26
26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Jeremiah 1:5
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

So we came into this world with a veil drawn across our eyes, but our spirit could be helped by the Holy Ghost and by the scriptures to remind our heritage

Remember that the garden of Eden was on this earth but it was like a temple in which God came to visit Adam and there were the same conditions like heaven,  in fact when they transgressed they were driven away. Also Satan didn't have access to the garden He had to use the serpent to beguile Eve. So Adam and Eve had at the beginning the divine spark or light of Christ or the seed or germ of the divinity. He was like a boy that was starting to go to school to learn the principles. Man is here to learn the difference between good and evil and chose good. Justice and mercy can't be learned in any other way otherwise people could be like robots or computers in which data are insert but they don't know anything about justice and mercy. God couldn't furnish the knowledge of evil and also no one could appreciate the eternal life if before don't endure death.

Hoping to have been able to have focused on why God made earth and gave us life in a body. We are going to discuss other topics related to this.

Why God didn't give the knowledge of good and evil? He provided earth and a body could He give the knowledge too? The answer is a clear no, in the celestial kingdom evil is not allowed, if you do something wrong, like Lucifer, you are expelled, God CAN'T TEACH EVIL. Still the offspring of God had the need to learn this important lesson, what God could be a God without this knowledge, Jesus Himself was tested in all things and He told Joseph that those things would have been useful for experience D&C 122:1-8

Moses 3:17
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
See God had to tell him " remember that I forbid it," This is a proof that not only a natural law was broken but even a spiritual one: transgression of a natural law does not produce spiritual death, only disobedience to the commandments of God can do that, do you remember Lucifer and his followers? The Lord was warning Adam not only against the terrible effects of the fruit but also He forbid its use, so Adam was going to broke 2 laws one natural and one spiritual, but this is just a classic all the commandments of God have dual effects, natural and spiritual

D&C 29:34
34 Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created.

Spiritual death is a banishment from God. It could be a banishment from his literal presence to the total loss of his spirit. We are suffering the former, Lucifer is suffering the latter.

So that was the reason for a garden in the middle of the earth ( a celestial sphere, a temple, a special sector where the natural order was suspended during the pre-fall period. In other words an oasis of immortal life for man in a global desert of death ) and the two different trees, one to give eternal life to the body of Adam, even though he was not a resurrected being and He could endure the presence of God in the flesh, and the other one the tree of Knowledge that would have brought death and wisdom. God couldn't give it to the man personally for several different reason but the most important Adam should be responsible for his action and his death, because God couldn't haven driven him out if He was responsible and sin and God or better evil and God cannot stay together. The great keyword for salvation is Atonement but let's go to analyze this word and we will see how great is to define the same main purpose of the Gospel. The purpose of God is to make mankind, or His offspring at one with Him.

When God gave the command: Don't eat the fruit of Knowledge of good and evil, was just teaching good, He was just giving a word of wisdom because eating the fruit would have brought death to Adam, but still if Adam would have eaten it would have been the first step to put Adam at one with God in fact after Adam had eaten the fruit God said Genesis 3:22

Behold the man is become as one of us.

This was just the first step to become like God. It was necessary but God couldn't give it, God can't teach any of evil, that is the purpose of the tempter. Man was responsible for what happened but remember if God didn't want for Adam to have knowledge the tree of knowledge wouldn't have been in the garden, but an opposition was necessary, and an experience to know evil and to overcome it :I won the world! cried out Jesus.

After the fallen the tree of life became the forbidden fruit but this time God made sure that mankind couldn't partake of it, Why God didn't do the same for the tree of knowledge, considering that He knew the end from the very beginning?

God should tell him the warning:" Don't eat this fruit, because it will cause death" Otherwise Adam would have been excused. Lucifer was not allowed to stay in the garden, the sphere in which God was living, because evil was not allowed there, but the animals were allowed to go in and out, so Satan was just using one of them to tempt Adam and Eve. Satan was not cursed in the garden, because he was already at the bottom of his life and also he was not there, in fact the judgment of God came on the human family and on the serpent. Not only he lost his legs but was even cursed to have a fork like tongue to symbolize his lie and it is the only animal that can't taste his food. He swallow it and probably has no pleasure in it. The serpent has to creep on his belly and his meaning is that he has the lower part among the animals.

In the scriptures are mentioned many animals and for some of them the reference is like majesty, as for the hippopotamus and the horse. for the serpent there are only words of curse. The serpent had legs otherwise the words of the Lord would be useless. When the Lord said:" I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed.' It shows us that mankind and the snakes are enemies.

On the other hand the Lord gave to this animals many characteristics  so clear and sharp to help mankind to remember all his ancestral fears, to make sure mankind in some way could remember what happened in the beginning and to be advised against lies. Not only the serpent was deprived of his legs to be lowered at the bottom between all the animals, but he has a tongue like fork to remember to us his former lie and that his truth has different ways, instead the truth of the Lord has just one path. To taste the food is a blessing in life, a pleasure he has not it. He said to the woman something to make her think this:" And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food......" so he tempted eve even by the taste and he lost this opportunity. In his mouth the serpent has poison because what said in the beginning was a poison for mankind because gave them death. It is true that some snake has no poison but still they kill by enveloping their enemy in their coils. This is another symbol that it is telling us that if we fall in his hands or coils it is very hard to get out alive. To put an end on this I'd say that God in changing the serpent gave to him some characteristics to help us to remember what happened in the very beginning.

How was the earth at the beginning, and with what body Adam was born?

These questions are very important because earth and man are tied up together. There is a symbiotic tie which binds each other in the divine scheme of things.

It is clear that our body now is a fallen body, same thing for the earth.

Paul speaking about resurrection pointed this out very clear.

1 Corinthians 15:35
35 ¶ But some [man] will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

1 Corinthians 15:36
36 [Thou] fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

1 Corinthians 15:37
37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other [grain]:

1 Corinthians 15:38
38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

1 Corinthians 15:39
39 All flesh [is] not the same flesh: but [there is] one [kind of] flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, [and] another of birds.

1 Corinthians 15:40
40 [There are] also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial [is] one, and the [glory] of the terrestrial [is] another.

1 Corinthians 15:41
41 [There is] one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for [one] star differeth from [another] star in glory. 

1 Corinthians 15:42
42 So also [is] the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

1 Corinthians 15:43
43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

1 Corinthians 15:44
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:45
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit.

1 Corinthians 15:46
46 Howbeit that [was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

1 Corinthians 15:47
47 The first man [is] of the earth, earthy: the second man [is] the Lord from heaven. 

The key to better understand the whole thing is  "[There are] also celestial bodies" the word "also" denotes that Paul is speaking of bodies different from ours and going on he quotes "celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial:" these are the bodies different from ours, in fact going on he declares three different bodies "the glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for [one] star differeth from [another] star in glory. "

Paul it is just declaring that there are three different kind of bodies and celestial and terrestrial are different from ours.

Now turning back to the body that Adam and earth had in the beginning, before of the fallen, they couldn't have a celestial body because only the resurrected being can have it. They didn't have the telestial bodies just because the fallen didn't happen. We know that during the millennium there will be many things like in the very beginning. Animals will eat herbs like in the beginning, the dry lands will be reunited like in the beginning. We know that after the fallen man and earth lost their first identity and we know that the millennium will restore all the things like they were. So it seems clear that earth at the beginning was a earth with the same characteristics. Even mankind will be again in the presence of the Lord, but don't forget that Revelation 20:11-15

Revelation 20:11
11 ¶ And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

Revelation 20:12
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Revelation 20:13
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

Revelation 20:14
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Revelation 20:15
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
 and only after this there will be

Chapter 21
Revelation 21:1
1 ¶ AND I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

Revelation 21:2
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Revelation 21:3
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God.

Revelation 21:4
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Revelation 21:5
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Revelation 21:6
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

So now this earth is a telestial place, this is a physical dimension and a temporal dimension. I am not saying that the terrestrial and celestial will be completely different what I am trying to say is that probably Time and space there should be different from here. For instance we know that a celestial body, like Jesus has after His resurrection, is able to go through walls, we know that celestial beings, angels and so on have a special brightening, they appear and disappear instantly. We know that time is always present in the celestial kingdom. According to revelation of John no more sea in the celestial kingdom and God and Jesus Himself will be our light.

When Adam was in the garden he was literally son of God and had a celestial body, but not a resurrected body. Paul explains this idea clearly in

1 Corinthians 15:36
36 [Thou] fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: 

So death was necessary with the knowledge of good and evil. So when Adam was driven out of the garden was not  an impoverished divinity, but just a son of God in process to be like His father in fact Paul clearly point out this process

1 Corinthians 15:49
49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 

Paul clearly compare Jesus to Adam in the same chapter because through those two people or better Sons of God the entire plan is clearly defined

1 Corinthians 15:42
42 So also [is] the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

1 Corinthians 15:43
43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

1 Corinthians 15:44
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:45
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit.
It is interesting to note that Paul has a great esteem of Adam in fact he compare Adam to Jesus

Romans 5:14
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 

Why Paul put Adam and Jesus in relationship?

Romans 8:16
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

Romans 8:17
17 ¶ And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together. 

The mission  of Jesus, our brother, was to overcome death and make the children of God and in the words of Paul

"heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together. "

Many people refers to this life with the word "mortality", but this word doesn't mean life, but "death". In a sense mortal life is a period of death between two infinite periods of life. When the miracle of mortal birth occurs, the struggle between growth and decay begins and never ceases until the untiring reaper has conquered again. Death is our taskmaster. Without it there would be no time as we know it, or concept of time as we conceive it. Without time there would be no repentance or preparation to meet God. Time makes this life a probationary state and remember without temptation, man is not completely free 2 Nephi 2:15-17. Men are those are in the process of deciding what their final station will be, for this purpose Jesus gave and explain his Gospel. It is by obeying to all principles, ordinances and doctrines given to us that we will be judged at the end. all the prophets in many of their writings used this idea " strangers in a strange land" "pilgrims" "aliens" "wanderers" "sojourners" we are spiritually dead, we must find our way back in to the kingdom of God.

What is the difference between earth and the other planets in our solar system?

We have nine planets in our solar system (3x3) means a perfect solar system, our earth anyway is the third planet and number three is perfection so only our planet is perfect, in what way our planet is perfect and the others not?

Simple earth is alive, she received its spirit and the power to procreate from God Himself

At the very beginning our planet is described

Genesis 1:2
2 And the earth was without form, and void; 

after this

And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Even an unborn child is supported by the oxygen and vital nutrients provided by its mother, so was the earth supported by the Spirit of the Lord which brooded over it in the womb of creation.
The Hebrew term for "brood" does not mean to be despondent or anxious, but rather to overshadow or envelop. The Spirit of the Lord enveloped the earth so as to bring forth life as a mother hen hatches her chicks with the warm of her own body.

Orson Pratt gave his ideas on this.

In the morning of our creation the gathering together of the particles was accomplished under such regular, harmonious and systematic laws, that there were no elevations of the land above the water. All the successive strata seemed to have arranged themselves in a perfect spheroidal form, conforming to  the laws of gravity and rotation, as if they had been a fluid substance. So perfect was this arrangement, that the land was completely enveloped in a flood of water: no portion thereof was seen. But soon the commandment came for the waters to be gathered together into one place, and for the dry or solid land to appear. This great event was unquestionably brought about under a system of fixed laws, no less definite than that of gravitation; but perhaps not so well comprehended by man. The spirit of God in association with the elements, not only produces all the phenomena of gravitation, but also causes the elements to act upon each other, cohesively and chemically, when the particles are brought insensibly near to each other. ( The seer pag. 249)

Genesis 1:11
11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, [and] the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed [is] in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

The other planets are just planets not organized, there is not spirit in them, no life. So earth has life and nature is a proof of it, vegetations, trees and so on are a proof of its vitality.

The two creations account explains that earth had. like mankind a dual creation, first spiritual and after in element Job 38:4 Zecharias 12:1

Why earth should be cursed by man if they were not in a symbiotic tie?

What caused earth to be cursed for something she didn't?

She was pronounced good from the Father. Mankind was under the curse because they had transgressed and death came on them, but why also the earth had to die?

Adam and Eve were perfect in their sphere but when they have eaten the fruits it was like to have introduced in them some virus that only the fruit of the tree of life could stop this process. Being impossible for God to give them the fruit of the tree of life for justice they were banished from the garden and therefore introduced in the earth but clearly they infected earth too because they were eating or better partaking of its fruits and sharing with her their excrements.

The paradisiacal vegetation was modified because of this, everybody knows that fertilizer comes from excrements.

Genesis 3:18
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Probably the killing of Abel and spreading his blood on earth made worse this situation but the creation was already spoiled

 The earth didn't die at that time but the process of its decay started. At the beginning earth abounded in fruits that never decayed and flowers that never faded but when she was infected from the virus that Adam and Eve introduced the "Nature" was starting to suffer and decay. Vegetation is a fruit of earth, man is about 70% of water and same thing is for earth, she was born like man from water in the beginning she was immersed like fetus in the water and like mankind needed to be baptized by the flood and she will be renewed by fire and she will be celestialized at the end. Earth is obedient to the law of nature, mankind is doing violence to her, taking its blood ( petroleum ) destroying its hair (trees and vegetation), changing its face with atomic bombs and make its air so polluted that it will take a millennium to clean up everything.

What part have the animals in creation? It seems to me that they were just part of the picture and they are part of the plan, but they don't play a leading role like earth and mankind. 

Man is a direct offspring of God, animals are a product of earth and water

Genesis 1:20
20 ¶ And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl [that] may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

Genesis 1:21
21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good.

Genesis 1:22
22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Genesis 1:23
23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Genesis 1:24
24 ¶ And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

Genesis 1:25
25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good.

Surely they didn't partake like Adam and Eve of the fruit of the trees, they were commanded to eat

Genesis 1:30
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein [there is] life, [I have given] every green herb for meat: and it was so.

That they were dying it is proven by 

Genesis 3:21
21 ¶ Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

Also only Adam and Eve could partake of the fruit of the tree of life, in fact God just to make sure that they couldn't live forever 

Genesis 3:24
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
It is interesting to mote that  even though mankind should survive eating herbs and fruits Abel was keeping flocks.

Genesis 4:2
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

this means that God surely taught the first people to have milk and how to shear sheep to have garments, because surely they couldn't eat animals at that time, in fact it was only after the flood that mankind could eat meat and fish

Genesis 9:2
2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth [upon] the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.

Genesis 9:3
3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

We do not know why but there are some ideas to ponder.

The decay of earth at the beginning was slow because people were few but when wickedness was increasing there was a need for the earth to be baptized by the flood and it is interesting to note that only after the flood the four season are mentioned.

Genesis 8:22
22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Since is proven that the North Pole and the south had vegetation on them is clear that the axis of earth were different before of the flood. On my opinion when the sin (or decay, because sin generated death) came in the world produced many changes step by step either on earth and on the animals.

Many people are amazed that according to science it took millions of years for creation, but they forget another important point, God is not bound neither by time nor by law as we humans experience time and law. God should be surely excluded from any strictly scientific system, for a simple reason : miracles are, by definition, modifications of natural law so.....

1 Corinthians 1:20
20 Where [is] the wise? where [is] the scribe? where [is] the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

I am writing this because God at a certain point changed the axis of earth, flooded it by water, divided the continents, and surely it was not in millions of years because the scriptures are clearly declaring when it happened. If you want to mantein that it didn't happen in that time, who told to the writers about the flood, that it is proven to happen, who told them about the continents divided when until just five centuries ago people believed that earth was flat and no one had an hint about the division of the continents?

What part played light in the creation?

According to our revelation 

D&C 88:7
7 Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made.

D&C 88:8
8 As also he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made;

D&C 88:9
9 As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made;

D&C 88:10
10 And the earth also, and the power thereof, even the earth upon which you stand.

D&C 88:11
11 And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings;
D&C 88:12
12 Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space--

D&C 88:13
13 The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.
D&C 93:36
36 The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.

Don't forget that the Urim and Thummim is a mean by which the seers could see and understand many things and their meaning is "light and truth".

This is consistent with the Bible

John 1:3
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 1:4
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 

Hebrews 1:2
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [his] Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 

We are not talking here about the regular light. We are talking here not about the material light but the spiritual light. The material light is given by the sun, moon or stars and this light came on earth just on the fourth day

Genesis 1:14
14 ¶ And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

Genesis 1:15
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

Genesis 1:16
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also.

Genesis 1:17
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

But in the very beginning when the earth was without form, and void; the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:3
3 ¶ And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

This light it is surely a different kind of light and it was declared "good" from God. From that point on the creation begun before of that the earth was without form, and void or in other words without life in it. It is clear that the first step to begin creation was when God  said :" Let there be light:" without light no creation was possible. 

Another interesting clue is when God said: "and God divided the light from the darkness." When the material light is on there is no darkness, but we do not know how the light of Christ is, let me make an example we know the light of a laser and this can go through the darkness and so there could be light and darkness at the same time. This is why God divided light from darkness, spiritually speaking light and darkness can't stay together, similarly the material light or there is light or darkness.

At this point the question could be: "How it works light?

D&C 88:13
13 The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.

Spiritual light is the power of God we could go ahead and trying to connect this with the priesthood, knowledge, honor and so on and connect all of this to the reason why mankind is here, just to learn how to obtain and manage this power, following the instructions, or commandments of God. But we would go in another topic and I think I am not prepared for all of this.

If mankind is tied up with earth in a symbiotic way well we could say the same thing of earth and Heaven.

In fact 

1 ¶ IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
The indivisible character of the earth and its heaven is affirmed by the fact that "heaven and earth shall pass away" to be followed by "new heavens and a new earth" 

Matthew 24:35
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Heaven for us could be our atmosphere, or the space beyond of it or the universe, so it is very hard to try to understand what the scripture is referring to, my idea is that when the scripture is talking to heaven is talking the place in which God is living in fact Paul was speaking about three heavens or glories.

2 Corinthians 12:2
2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.

2 Corinthians 12:3
3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)

2 Corinthians 12:4
4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

Earth after the fallen had many changes, first of all there was the flood, her baptizim by immersion. The presence of marine fossils at the top of such peaks as Everest is believed to be an evidence that the Himalayas were formed from materials forced up from the ocean floor when the plate carrying India and Australia ground into the Eurasian landmass, in fact after 90 years (interesting gap of time) the earth was divided, at the beginning there was one land and one sea, it is interesting to note that at that point people were speaking one language but after the division of the earth even this unity was broken. Rodney Turner in his book "The footstool of God" pag 145 gives us an interesting idea.

"The lord's wisdom in separating the Americas from the eastern continents becomes apparent in the light of postdiluvian history. Doing so has enabled Him to apportion the earth among his spirit children according to his eternal purposes relative to the house of Israel. Thus Moses declared:" When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance." Deuteronomy 32:8-9. Paul, mindful of Moses' words, told the Athenians that God :" Hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation." Acts 17:26

It would appear that the Lord did not "set the bounds" of the nations until after the Deluge and the division of the earth in the time of Peleg: the House of Israel did not come into being until a number of centuries after those spectacular events. This suggest that these "bounds" involved more than the mere assignment of different peoples to different portions of the earth. They were actually geologic demarcations designed to control and direct the flow of humanity from one portion of the globe to another! Israel's several lands of promise were scattered across the earth, being preserved behind natural barriers formed of mountains, deserts, jungles, and vast stretches of open sea. (See 1 Nephi 17:38  2 Nephi 24:2 and Isaiah 24:1,2) This allowed the Shepard of Israel to divide and/or isolate his flocks as circumstance required. In time all shall realize that the earth was divided ( as it was cursed) because of and for the good of mankind see Genesis . The division of this planet's original lands mass is symbolic like the language confused of the spiritual alienation which presently exists between God and mankind.

Earth is a living soul. She is giving life to vegetables and trees and flowers. It is true that mankind was formed by the dust of earth and even animals were formed by earth, while birds were formed by waters, but still mankind and animals have the power to give birth, instead vegetables, tress and flowers need to have their seed in earth to be born, so literally they are products of earth, and according to Genesis 3:18-19 they were spontaneous before of the fallen, so earth has the power of life in itself. I personally believe that atmosphere is earth's breath, probably water is its lymph or lifeblood and the gas or petroleum its blood. Not only mankind involved earth in the beginning but she was Genesis 6:11-12

Genesis 6

11

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

12

And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

She was baptized for that and now mankind is polluting his breath, taking its blood (gas) destroying its forests. The varying wages of these sins have been the devastating erosion of vital top soil, the formation of vast new deserts, causing famine, disease and death for millions. We are close to the time declared by John in revelation 8:10-11

Revelation 8

10

And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;

11

And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

To this may be added more millions of tons of industrial and human waste, along with the rest of civilization's trash. Indeed, the sea's ability (lymph) to cleanse itself has long since been overwhelmed by staggering amount of man originating pollutants. The hole in the ozone area on my opinion is her cancer and no surprise when I read
D&C 49:23
23 Wherefore, be not deceived, but continue in steadfastness, looking forth for the heavens to be shaken, and the earth to tremble and to reel to and fro as a drunken man,
Earth is sick and tired right now, seasons are not the same, weather is changing, earth has the fever and pretty soon she will be in coma.
She will need to be purify and sanctify by the fire and she will be baptized by the fire. Malachi 3:2
Brigham Young said "This earth in its present condition and situation (about one hundred and fifty years ago) is not a fit habitation for the sanctified, but it abides the law of its creation. It has been baptized with water, will be baptized by fire and the Holy Ghost, and by and by will be prepared for the faithful to dwell upon" 2 Peter 3:10,13
2 Peter 3

10

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

13

Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelled righteousness.

 Isaiah 34:4
Anyway God made the earth perfect and He wants her back in the same way
Revelation 6

14

And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

Its ways are those of old.
In the beginning there was one language

The language of God

One of our problems is that we do not have a perfect language, but God has it. It is not by chance that His Beloved son is named "the "Word" and the Gospel means  "God is spelling" everything in the beginning was clear and perfect in understanding. Man should understand, perfectly, His own Father, to be instructed in everything. God had to say and explain to Adam and Eve why they shouldn't partake of the fruit of good and evil, otherwise they would have been excused, and also He should explain that the fruit would have brought "death" otherwise He wouldn't have been a "good" Father.

One of our problems is that we do not have a perfect language. And this is true in every field, not just in religion. There are many feelings, ideas, and experiences that cannot be described exactly, for we have no words for them. In these cases, we talk around the point with words which approximate the meaning and rely on the light of intelligence or common experience to get the message across. It is possible to be misunderstood in any scriptural discussion, we have different vocabularies. Many words have different shades of meaning to different people, based on the experiences they have had in connection with the learning of those words. That is why the letter of the law has a lethal power.

Mankind in the beginning was speaking the adamic language, what it is this language? Just the language taught by God Himself. It was not defiled by any profanities, obscenities or any uncleanness Today we say and people maybe don't understand the real meaning, today, especially the politicians use language to obscure than to clear up ideas and opinions. In the beginning the was the "Word" The unadulterated word of God, the Son Himself was letter and spirit united.

Ether 12:25
25 Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we cannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words.

The Jaredites were speaking this language and they were unable to render them in writing

without the Spirit of the Lord

Ether 12:24
24 And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of the awkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou hast not made us mighty in writing like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the things which he wrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the overpowering of man to read them.
When the Nephites heard Jesus, the Word speaking to them they

3 Nephi 17:16
16 And after this manner do they bear record: The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;

3 Nephi 17:17
17 And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father.

We will be judged by the word of God

Revelation 19

13

And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

14

And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

15

And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Revelation 19

21

And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

the inspired version says "with the word" instead  of "with the sword".

The first people had this great blessing to understand each other at the best, but they lost this blessing at Babel which means confusions. I know how difficult this is, I am Italian and . trying to express my ideas and opinions in another language is not only very hard but sometimes impossible, in the sense to render the same idea.

Why God confused the languages? Because the purpose in the beginning was to have a perfect understanding and relationship  between Him and his children but when they were trying to use it to fight God, then.........

Genesis 11

1

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

Genesis 11

6

And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

7

Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

Babel means confusion and it is the realm of men, The kingdom of God is the realm of UNITY and perfection.