A Subtle Serpent

"Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field" (Moses 4:5). One of God's spirits thought himself to be pretty subtle as well. In fact Lucifer, later to be known as Satan, thought himself to be so subtle that from the beginning, he chose to rebel against God's plan and become an enemy to God.

So Satan, seeking every opportunity to fight against God, saw what he thought was a hole in God's plan and set out to use it. Through the serpent, he spoke to Eve, inviting her to look upon the forbidden fruit, to consider its value, and finally to partake of it. Then, she gave her husband some of the fruit and he ate as well! They had both transgressed against God's law not to partake of the fruit, and God's plan seemed to be ruined!

Or so Satan thought. In reality, it was always in God's plan for them to acquire the knowledge and leave the garden. As Lehi explains, if Adam and Eve had remained forever in the Garden of Eden, "all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end. And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin" (2 Nephi 2:22-23).

No progression? No children? No misery or joy, no good or evil? Seems like that would have hindered God's plan more than anything else. Thus, from this failed attempt to overflow God's plan, we can definitely learn one thing: Satan "knew not the mind of God" and he still doesn't (Moses 4:6). Satan is blind to God's plans, and because of it, he will never succeed in the end. As Lehi concludes, "all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things" (2 Nephi 2:24).

Very interesting. But at this point in the story, no one but God knows that. So now, Adam and Eve have to figure out something: how can they face God knowing that they've transgressed his law?