“The Fall and Renewal of Humankind—and the Earth,” Liahona, August 2019
The Fall and Renewal of Humankind—and the Earth
We all experience birth, life, death, and resurrection—and so does the earth, in a sense. The earth was born (through the Creation), was baptized with water (through the Flood), will be baptized with fire (“when the Lord shall come, … and the elements shall melt with fervent heat” [Mormon 9:2]), and will be renewed like a resurrection.1
The Creation
Illustrations by Bryan Beach
1. The Earth and Adam and Eve in Paradisiacal State:
“This first temporal creation of all things … was paradisiacal in nature.”2 Immediately after the Creation, nothing was mortal or subject to death.3
The Fall
2. The Earth and Humankind in Fallen State:
“The earth itself fell under the curse incident to the fall of [Adam and Eve], and … even as man shall be redeemed so shall the earth be regenerated.”4
The Second Coming
3. The Earth and Humankind in Sanctified State:
“At the Second Coming of the Lord, the earth will be … returned to its paradisiacal state and be made new.”5
After the Millennium, the earth “shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again,” and the righteous shall inherit the celestial kingdom (the sanctified earth) (see Doctrine and Covenants 88:17–26).