A New Reading of Lehi: A Rhetorical Context for Understanding His Teachings about the Fall of Adam and Eve

Abstract: Based on Lehi's teachings in 2 Nephi 2, many Latter-day Saints conclude that it was necessary for Adam and Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit to acquire the ability to have children. While this appears to be a straightforward reading of the text, it sets up the dilemma of conflicting commandments—obedience to one of the two commandments they were given in the Garden of Eden would require that they disobey the other. In this article, the author argues that the larger rhetorical ...