The infamous fruit

I think I basically understand the story of Adam and Eve.  But after rereading it one question comes to mind.  God told Adam and Eve that they may partake of the fruits of all the trees except for the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  After the serpent convinced them to eat the fruit that was forbidden God then cursed them.  Making them shameful of their nudity and making them work for their food among other things.   So the question I have is this, the plan that we all choose was to come to earth and be tested and learn.  Was the commandment to not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil meant to be broken?  Because if they had not eaten it how would we have been sent to earth to be tested and gain knowledge? 

Vault of Heaven (Genesis Chapter 1)

Let's start at the very beginning.... A very good place to start....

( http://scriptures.lds.org/en/gen/1 )

So the creation of the earth is pretty cool huh!! I like reading the day by day account of the creation. I think it shows how logical God is. Something that caught my eye when reading this now is the word firmament.

6 ¶ And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

There are lots more but most of them refer to the firmament of heaven. The Webster Dictionary defines firmament as a vault of heaven or sky. I never knew another term for sky would be the vault of heaven. So to carry on that logic a vault is defined as a room or compartment reserved for the storage and safekeeping of valuables, esp. such a place in a bank.

God refers to the sky as the vault of heaven. Usually the key or a combination to a lock is kept outside of the vault to insure entrance into it. That tells me that the keys to entrance in heaven or to the presence of God is here on this earth. Whether it be by scripture study or by the experiences that make us into the people we are.

My question to you about this is what do you think the keys to the 'vault' or heaven are? Did he hide his spare keys under a stone here on earth? (jokes... jokes...) As Mormons we believe we have the true church and the keys to our salvation. But of those keys what are the most important to gain access to the vault of heaven?

The Bible....

Welcome to my new blog. I know, I know there are so many blogs out there but this really is for my own selfish purposes. I am not very good at scripture study. And I am going to admit to you now that I have never read the Bible from beginning to end. So to rectify that I have decided to read it through now. But I am as you can see a 'Simpleton' (Simpleton: sim·ple·ton- an ignorant, foolish, or silly person). The reason I have never read the Bible from beginning to end is that I lack the ability to understand half of what is said. My challenge now is to actually try and understand the verses and what they are trying to tell me. That's where you come in. I have so many people in my life that are AMAZING and have such a broad knowledge of the scriptures that I thought why not blog my thoughts and questions while reading to get a better understanding.
I have been inspired by my current Sunday School teacher. I have had some great ones in the past but Abbie has this amazing ability to bring the scripture stories to my level so that I can understand the stories and relate them to my life. She simplifies (huh huh.... for us simpletons!) and re-phrases things for better understanding. She does a blog that follows the lesson schedule if anyone is interested click here.

So my plea to you is this. I would love you to read and give comments on how you interpret or understand the topics discussed. Just as you would do in Sunday school. I think discussions help us all become more knowledgeable about these doctrines. I appreciate the thoughts I receive in Sunday School but would love to learn from my most trusted family and friends their vast knowledge of the bible. Who knows maybe after this I can attempt the Doctrine and Covenants....... that is a whole other hurdle!! :O)