According to Hebrew tradition, Adam and Eve wore “garments of light” in the Garden of Eden prior to the Fall,[1] This phrase is a beautiful description, meant to teach us that the bodies of Adam and Eve were radiating a tremendous amount of light and glory before they transgressed.

The reasons for this are easy to see. First, we know that the more obedient one is to the commandments of God, the more light of Christ he or she will receive (see D&C 93:28, 39), and in the pre-existence, Adam and Eve were among the most valiant among us. In fact, the Doctrine and Covenants teaches us that Adam was called “Michael, the prince, the archangel” (see D&C 107:54). As Michael, Adam led the righteous spirits in the war in heaven against the armies of Lucifer, and “under the direction of Jehovah, he assisted in the creation of the earth.”[2]

Second, we know that during his stay in the Garden of Eden, Adam was an immortal being. As an immortal being, he was living upon a terrestrial earth which was, at the time, very near in proximity to God's Celestial Kingdom. According to Brigham Young, “When the earth was framed [created] and brought into existence and man was placed upon it, it was near the throne of our Father in heaven...and when man fell, the earth fell into space and took up its abode it this planetary system, and the sun became our light.”[3]

The fact that the earth was so close in proximity to the throne of God before the fall tells us that it (along with Adam and Eve) would have experienced a magnificent amount of light and glory.

Each of these reasons helps us to understand why Adam and Eve were described as wearing “garments of light” while in the Garden of Eden.

The Term Nakedness

In order to understand what happens next to Adam and Eve, we need to first look at what happens to those who transgress God's law. In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord tells us what happens to those who sin: “And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth through disobedience” (D&C 93:39).

In other words, disobedience can lead to a loss of light and glory. After Adam and Eve transgressed, they lost the light and glory (garments of light) which they had previously enjoyed. Once this occurred, they are described in the scriptures as being “naked” (Moses 4:13), and rightly so. In his discourse on the Atonement, Jacob tells us exactly what it means to be found “naked” before God. He says that at the final judgment, the wicked, “shall have a perfect knowledge of all [their] guilt, and [their] uncleanness, and [their] nakedness” (2 Nephi 9:14).

Here, Jacob uses the term “nakedness” to describe guilt and uncleanness. When we are disobedient to God's laws, the light of Christ is taken from us and we are left as if we were “naked.” This is, quite literally, what happened to Adam and Eve after they transgressed. Once they partook of the fruit, they lost the light and glory (garments of light) that they previously enjoyed, and soon after discovered their nakedness (see Moses 4:13).

Coats of Skins

Thankfully, the Lord had a means of providing a new covering for Adam and Eve, which would temporarily replace the “garments of light,” which they lost. We read that, “Unto Adam, and also unto his wife, did I, the Lord God, make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Moses 4:27).

As it turns out, this replacement covering is much more symbolic than just representing the light and glory that Adam and Eve lost. In order to fully understand all the symbolism here involved, it will first be necessary to discuss the meaning of the word atonement.

Meaning of the Word Atonement

The Hebrew word for atonement (kippur) literally means “to cover.”[4] How appropriate! Adam and Eve had lost their “garments of light” and needed to be “covered” from their nakedness with an atonement. More on this later.

Clothed With Purity

If nakedness represents uncleanness, what does being clothed represent? The Prophet Jacob taught us that at the final judgement, “the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness” (2 Nephi 9:14).

In contrast to those who are found naked (unclean) at the final judgment, Jacob states that the righteous will be “clothed with purity.” This is done through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which covers our spiritual nakedness and returns to us the light which we have all lost through disobedience. Such is the symbolism in the story of the Fall.

The Shedding of Blood

It is also important to point out that in order for Adam and Eve to be covered, a coat of skins must have been provided, and the only way to provide such a covering would be by the killing of an animal.

The animal, possibly a lamb, represented our Savior who gave his life in order for us to be covered. As it is with Christ, so it was with this animal, who, by the shedding of its innocent blood, provided a covering, or coat of skins, for Adam and Eve. In this way, Adam and Eve's transgression had been atoned for.

Satan as a False Messiah

With this new knowledge that an atonement was the only way to "cover" Adam and Eve's trasngression, we are now able to understand what Satan was trying to accomplish in the Garden of Eden. As mentioned in a prior article entitled, “Satan as a Serpent,” Satan's entire goal in the Garden of Eden was to get Adam and Eve to worship him as their messiah and god.

And after Satan was successful in getting Adam and Eve to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he is back to his first priority. He points out to Adam and Eve that they have lost their “garments of light” and tells them that they are naked. He then attempts to cloth them with fig leaves. Why did he do this?

Well, if Satan wanted to be Adam and Eve’s messiah, then logically he would need to ”cover” Adam and Eve himself. And by giving them fig leaves, Satan is attempting to atone for their sins and claim them as his dominion. In short, he is attempting, just as he did in the pre-existence, to get Adam and Eve to worship him as their god and savior.

Thankfully, the Lord intervenes and foils Satan's attempt by giving Adam and Eve true coverings, which were the coats of skins that he provided for them. The message is clear: it will be God who will provide the atonement for Adam and Eve, not Satan.

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Notes:

[1] Ricks, “The Garment of Adam in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Tradition,” located at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=25&article=1075&context=mi&type=additional See also, Gaskil, The Lost Language of Symbolism, p. 70-71.

[2] Millet, The Man Adam, located at: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1994/01/the-man-adam?lang=eng
[3] Journal of Discourses 17:143.

[4] See Brown, Driver, and Briggs, The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, p. 497-98.