Adam and Eve: Conflict Before Eden's Garden— A Doctrinal Prelude (Episode Three)

Not all of the children of heaven celebrated God’s Plan. Some actively rebelled against it, as this article explores. The Great Pre-Mortal Debate unveils a deeper reality: that our lives—every human life—extend beyond time, for we once lived with God as spirits, learning to become like Him. We matured in that premortal state until we were ready to progress further on Earth.

On Earth, God wants us to seek truth and live by it—the truths of science and of religion. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the Truth He desires us to follow, but many belief systems must be discerned and filtered through. We are meant to experience pain, hunger, joy, heartbreak, hope—all the challenges and pleasures that spirits could only encounter in mortal bodies. This Earthly experience helps us grow to understand what God understands. The purpose is to pass through these things and still choose to become like our Heavenly Father.

After this life—after death—we are separated according to the choices we made and the covenants we kept during mortality. Our bodies return to the grave, and our spirits enter the Spirit World. Some go to Paradise, often called Heaven, and others to Spirit Prison, commonly referred to as Hell. Those who followed Christ in life will rest in Paradise until the day of resurrection.

But God's justice is inseparable from His mercy. The many who never knew Christ, or who were deceived by the false traditions of the world, will be taught the gospel in the Spirit World.

As Peter wrote, “For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit” (1 Peter 4:6). No soul will be denied a fair chance to hear and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Atonement is for all.

Resurrection Is for Everyone: Christ’s Free Gift to All Humanity

Resurrection will come to every person born on Earth.
Whether good or evil, resurrection is a free gift to all by the grace of Jesus Christ and His victory over death. Following the resurrection, each soul will be judged and assigned an eternal mansion. “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2), Jesus said to His disciples.

Those who become joint-heirs with Christ will dwell with the Father in Celestial mansions. From there, the mansions decrease in glory—Terrestrial and Telestial—each suited to the law and life chosen.

For the rest of humanity, outer darkness will be the destination, a realm without mansions where the devil and his angels dwell. In God's plan, all people will receive a just reward, and eternity is far more than harps, clouds, and singing.

War in Heaven Continues on Earth: The Ongoing Battle for Souls

After the creation of Earth, Lucifer rebelled against God the Father and Jesus Christ. Michael fought against Lucifer—who became known as the dragon—and his angels. Unknowingly, Lucifer fit perfectly into the Plan of Salvation by becoming the poster child for rebellion.

Evil Has Always Existed: Why Satan Isn’t the Source of All Darkness

Evil is as eternal as God and exists with or without a devil to tempt us. With agency comes the ability to choose evil. Our brother Lucifer chose pride and selfishness, making himself the leader of rebellion and an enemy to all that is good. God, on the other hand, represents all that is good. Lucifer became the enemy of his Father.

Following the Grand Council in Heaven—where God presented His divine plan to all of future humanity—Lucifer (known after his fall as Satan) used fear, deceit, and persuasion to convince one-third of the hosts of heaven to follow him. Many were swayed not by doctrine, but by fear—fear that they would not return to their Father and the paradise they had known.

In response, Father sent Michael, the great captain of the armies of Jesus Christ, to cast Lucifer out and settle the rebellion once and for all.

Of course, even facing Michael—the champion of the plan God instituted—did not curb Satan’s ambition to win over the spirits of heaven to his doomed cause. With support from those who followed his twisted logic, Lucifer surely began to believe his illegitimate plan could succeed—that he could ascend the throne of God and rule over the sons of heaven.

Jehovah’s Plan Involved Risk.

Some of us would not return to Heavenly Father’s presence or live again in the glory of heaven. Lucifer, refusing to accept that risk, sought to implement a plan where all souls would return. However, under his plan, none of us would become like God. His proposal was rooted in control, not progression. He wanted to replace Christ as the Son of God and receive divine glory—without being willing to descend below all things as Jesus Christ willingly agreed to do.

Two-thirds of the spirits in heaven chose to take that risk. They agreed that becoming like the Father was worth forgetting their heavenly home, so that their choices in mortality would reflect genuine righteousness, not nostalgia. Every person who has been or will be born chose to follow Jesus Christ and accept God’s plan.

We come from the group that kept its first estate.

Only One Plan: The Lie That Sparked War in Heaven

The great lie Satan told his followers was that if they won, his plan would reign supreme. But Satan had no sanction from the Father for any plan of his. There never existed an alternative to the Plan of Salvation, and there was no contest to determine which plan was best.

Satan deceived himself—and one-third of our brothers and sisters—fueled by pride and selfishness, refusing to yield to Michael.

By the authority of Jesus Christ and the command of Heavenly Father, we thrust them out of heaven and cast them down to the Earth, created as the stage for our mortality. A civil war in heaven, between brothers and sisters, began—using the power of Christ to expose the deception of Satan—and it has never ceased.

The War in Heaven Will End—but Not Yet

It is important to remember that the war which commenced in heaven will not end until the great battle of Gog and Magog, spoken of in Revelation 20:7–15, when the devil and his angels are cast into outer darkness.

For official teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, visit churchofjesuschrist.org or comeuntochrist.org.

President Russell M. Nelson is called of God as His prophet on the earth and is authorized to speak on behalf of the Church and ordain others to do so. All references to "the Church" refer to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.