The first commandment God gave to Adam and Eve while they were still in the Garden of Eden was:
Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
Genesis 1:28
This commandment may have been puzzling to them. As Lehi explained, while Adam and Eve were still in the Garden, before they became mortal, they were incapable of bearing children. (See 2 Nephi 2:22-23.) It was only after they were cast out that “Adam knew his wife, and she bare unto him sons and daughters, and they began to multiply and to replenish the earth” (Moses 5:2).
God reiterated this commandment to Noah’s family after the flood. (See Genesis 9:1.)
The Book of Mormon doesn’t specifically repeat this commandment, but multiple authors report that during times of righteousness and peace, their people multiplied and filled the land. (See 2 Nephi 5:13; Mosiah 9:9; 23:20; Alma 50:18; 62:48; Helaman 3:8; 6:12; 11:20; 4 Nephi 1:10; Ether 6:18.)
The Family Proclamation clarifies that “God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.” God wants His children to marry and raise children. As President Dallin H. Oaks recently emphasized, “It is vital that Latter-day Saints do not lose their understanding of the purpose of marriage and the value of children” (“The Family-Centered Gospel of Jesus Christ,” October 2025 general conference).
However, numerous factors beyond our control can prevent us from obeying this commandment. What are we to do if age, marital status, health, or other constraints prevent us from bearing children, at least at the present time?
In a devotional address to Young Adults, Sister Camille N. Johnson shared the experience of a woman experiencing infertility who had struggled to understand how this commandment applied to her and her husband. Here’s the insight she gained as she pondered the original commandment:
She recognized that during the period when Adam and Eve did not have children, they cultivated and tended the garden for which God had given them stewardship. As she considered her circumstances, she thought about the gardens in which she lived—the garden of the earth, the garden of her country, the garden of her family, and the garden of her ward.
She realized that while she didn’t live in the Garden of Eden, these were the gardens in which the Lord had placed her. She could seek to multiply and replenish that for which He had given her stewardship.
“Righteous Stewards—Disciples of Jesus Christ,” Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults, 4 May 2025
Today, I will seek to “multiply and replenish the earth” by tending the gardens in which the Lord has placed me. I will add to the goodness in the world and help others to thrive.