2 Nephi 2:22-25

Lehi explains the consequences had Adam and Eve not transgressed in the Garden of Eden.  Had there not been transgression, they would have forever remained in the Garden of Eden in their state of innocence forever.

S. Kent Brown writes:

For Lehi, the opposition facing Adam and Eve was necessary so that they could make the choice that could bring about mankind's mortal existence. In fact, if they had not been enticed to make that choice, which brought about both mortality and the ability to become parents, the earth would never have been peopled. This would have frustrated God's plan: "If Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden ...They would have had no children ... Adam fell that men might be" (2 Nephi 2:22-23, 25). So from Lehi we have the clearest explanation of why the fall was a necessary part of the plan of salvation.[1]

Remaining in their state of innocence, they would have had no children.  They also would have no joy as they knew no misery; they could do no good as they did not know sin. 

In the years after they had been cast out of the Garden, they would come to understand the necessity for their actions.  ”And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient” (Moses 5:11).

Lehi summed up the result of the fall.  “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). 

Bruce Pritchett and David Paulsen further examine Lehi’s words.

While Lehi believed that through the fall humanity was universally lost (2 Nephi 2:21, 26), his words show that he understood this in the sense that all humans had sinned (universal sinfulness) rather than in the sense that humans were wholly depraved (original sin). He also believed that the fall had its fortunate side: "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25). The particularly fortunate consequences Lehi noted were posterity (2 Nephi 2:23) and freedom forever to choose liberty and life through the great mediator (2 Nephi 2:27).[2]

According to Lehi, there are apparently states of affairs that even God, though in some sense omnipotent, cannot bring about. Man is that he might have joy, but even God cannot bring joy without moral righteousness, moral righteousness without moral freedom, moral freedom without an opposition in all things (see 2 Nephi 2:25-26). With moral freedom as an essential variable in the divine equation for man, two consequences stand out saliently: (1) the inevitability of moral evil and (2) our need for a redeemer.[3]

During my research, I found an interesting reference.  Frequently, our doctrine is criticized as being non-biblical as well as various other things.  An interesting observation I’ve had over the years was that, if people don’t know you’re teaching LDS doctrine, it makes a lot of sense to them.  Here’s an example where this is true.

A relative of the writer once attended a Protestant service, where the minister made a most interesting statement in the course of his sermon. He said: "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25). The member approached the minister afterwards and said, "I'm interested in that quote you used." The minister asked, "Are you a Mormon?" "Yes, I am." The minister then took him to his office and took down a copy of the Book of Mormon from his bookshelf. He said, "There is a lot of good stuff in here! I just don't tell them where it comes from."[4]

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[1] Nephi's Use of Lehi's Record, S. Kent Brown, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed June 26, 2013.

[2] Lehi's Theology of the Fall in Its Preexilic/Exilic Context, Bruce M. Pritchett Jr., Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed June 26, 2013.

[3] A New Evangelical Vision of God: Openness and Mormon Thought, David L. Paulsen, and Matthew G. Fisher, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed June 26, 2013.

[4] The Book of Mormon, An Interpretive Guide to the New Testament, Dennis Largey, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed June 26, 2013.