My friend was saying that mormons believe that adam and eve were from somewhere in Missouri, what's the info behind that? She also said that Mormon's believe Cain was cursed and turned black skinned, whats the story on that? Thanks, love the church!

Anonymous, 8/28/2010

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El Santo Gringo from La Jolla, California:




Hi friend. I'm happy you came here to find answers to your questions. Regarding Adam and Eve, Joseph Smith taught that, following their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve met with their children in a place called Adam-ondi-Ahman. Joseph also gave the name Adam-ondi-Ahman to a place in what today we call Missouri. Most Mormons think the Adam-ondi-Ahman in Missouri is the same place that Adam and Eve visited. Some Mormons think it is a different place that was simply named in honor of the first Adam-ondi-Ahmen.

Regardless, the location of Adam and Eve or the Garden of Eden is not an important doctrine in the Church. We rarely discuss it, and most Mormons simply don't care where these places were physically located. In fact, in a recent article the Church released to explain the best way to approach Mormon doctrine, it specifically mentioned this teaching as one that is not very important.

Regarding the curse of Cain, the Bible clearly teaches that Cain was cursed for killing his brother Abel and that a mark was set upon him so he wouldn't mingle with other peoples. As early as the 3rd century AD, some Christians hypothesized that this mark was black skin. This idea became very popular in 19th-century America.

It seems unlikely that Joseph Smith accepted this idea. He called African Americans to be leaders and missionaries in the Church, and so he probably didn't think they were cursed. Unfortunately, Brigham Young, the second prophet of the Church, seems to have believed the common Protestant folklore, and so the idea entered into Mormonism for a time as well.

However, since the mid 20th century this theory has become increasingly unpopular in both creedal and Mormon Christian circles. It is not taught in the Church anymore.

For example, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a world-wide church leader, said the following in a PBS interview recently regarding the racial theories of Brigham Young and others: "One clear-cut position is that the folklore must never be perpetuated... I have to concede to my earlier colleagues... They, I'm sure, in their own way, were doing the best they knew to give shape to [the curse-of-Cain theory], to give context for it, to give even history to it. All I can say is however well intended the explanations were, I think almost all of them were inadequate and/or wrong... But some explanations were given and had been given for a lot of years... At the very least, there should be no effort to perpetuate those efforts to explain why that ‘doctrine' existed..."

Hope this answer helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.
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