Garden of Eden, Temple Symbolism in

“The Garden in Eden was the first sanctuary of earth,” wrote Elder James E. Talmage.112 Indeed, the Garden of Eden narrative, as set forth in Genesis 2–3 and elsewhere, contains several powerful symbols and features that prefigured subsequent Israelite temples, including the Mosaic tabernacle and the Jerusalem temple. These features included the tree of life, sacred waters, a representation of a sacred mountain, cherubim, sacred vestments, and others.113 The Garden of Eden, then, served as the prototype, pattern, or originator of subsequent Israelite temples; it was “an archetypal sanctuary.”114 The garden was not a sanctuary of cedar or marble, for it is not necessary for a temple to be an edifice or structure; rather, it was a space made holy because it was created by Deity, and God’s presence was found there.

The temple signifies a return to the Garden of Eden, through the Atonement. Drawing sets forth the sacred topography of Eden and the temple.

Elder Talmage also associates the Garden of Eden narrative with modern temples: “The Temple Endowment, as administered in modern temples, comprises instruction relating to . . . the condition of our first parents in the Garden of Eden.”115 Elder John A. Widtsoe, too, taught that Adam, Noah, and other patriarchs had the equivalent of a temple.116 Note also Abraham, Facsimile No. 2, figure 3: “represent[ed] also [are] the grand Key-words of the Holy Priesthood, as revealed to Adam in the Garden of Eden.”

One of the chief purposes of temple rituals, both ancient and modern, is to reverse the negative effects of the Fall of Adam and to enable men and women to return to God’s presence (i.e., in the celestial room and the Holy of Holies). The following diagram compares the Creation, Fall, and expulsion in the Garden of Eden to the return to God’s presence (through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ) in the tabernacle of Moses. Correspondingly, our modern temples present powerful rituals that allow women and men to overcome the Fall’s effects and to return to God’s presence.

This chart sets forth eleven themes that belong to both the Garden of Eden and subsequent Israelite temples.

Eden	Theme	Israelite Temple(s)
God planted the tree of life in the middle of the garden (Gen. 2:9)	Tree of life	A menorah (lampstand fashioned into a seven-branched almond tree) was placed in the temple’s holy place (1 Kgs. 7:49)
The direction east is part of the Garden of Eden narrative (Gen. 2:14; 3:24)	Eastward orientation	The temple had an eastward orientation (Ex. 27:9–18)
The garden was a mountain with rivers flowing downward (Gen. 2:10; see also Ezek. 28:13–14)	Mountain	The temple is referred to as “the mountain of the Lord’s house . . . established in the top of the mountains” (Isa. 2:1–3)
The garden is connected to the ritual Creation drama (Gen. 1–3)	Earth’s creation	The Creation sequence was reenacted in the temple
Cherubim guard the way back to the tree of life (Gen. 3:24)	Cherubim	Cherubim guarded the Holy of Holies (1 Kgs. 6:16–35)
God revealed many things to Adam and Eve in the garden (Moses 3:16–17; 4:22–29)	Revelation	The temple was a place of prayer and communion with God (Ps. 18:6; Acts 3:1)
Sacrifice was performed in the garden to make coats of skins (Gen. 3:21)	Sacrifice	Sacrifice was performed daily at the temple (Lev. 1–6; Num. 28:24)
Adam was commanded to keep and work the garden (Gen. 2:15)	Keep and work	Priests were to keep and work the temple (Num. 3:32; 8:24, 26)
God gave Adam and Eve sacred clothing (Moses 4:27–31)	Sacred clothing	God instructed the priests to wear sacred clothing (Ex. 28–29)
The garden was paradise, with every tree producing food (Gen. 1:29)	Abundance	The temple was viewed as a place of prosperity (Isa. 51:3)