# Where Do Mormons Believe the Garden of Eden Is? > Latter-day Saint teaching places the Garden of Eden in Jackson County, Missouri, and Adam-ondi-Ahman at Spring Hill in Daviess County. Genesis 2 does not name Missouri. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/where-do-mormons-believe-the-garden-of-eden-is - Religions: Latter-day Saints - Denominations: none - Beliefs: none - Tags: latter-day-saints, scripture, adam, garden-of-eden - Updated: 2026-10-12 - Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) ([GitHub](https://github.com/hi-its-paul)) Latter-day Saint teaching places the Garden of Eden in Jackson County, Missouri, where Independence stands, and it places Adam-ondi-Ahman at Spring Hill in Daviess County. [Genesis 2:8–14](/bible/genesis/2) describes a garden in Eden and four rivers, including the Euphrates. It does not name Missouri. ## Key Points - The 2017 Doctrine and Covenants student manual quotes Brigham Young: Joseph told him the Garden of Eden was in Jackson County, and that Adam then went to Adam-ondi-Ahman in Daviess County. [(1)](#ref-1) - The 2018 Pearl of Great Price student manual quotes Heber C. Kimball: the spot chosen for the garden was Jackson County, where Independence now stands. [(2)](#ref-2) - A May 2005 *New Era* article from Church Magazines says Missouri was the location of the Garden of Eden and of Adam-ondi-Ahman. [(3)](#ref-3) - [Doctrine and Covenants 116:1](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/116?lang=eng&id=1) names Spring Hill Adam-ondi-Ahman, “the place where Adam shall come to visit his people.” [(4)](#ref-4) - [Doctrine and Covenants 107:53](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/107?lang=eng&id=53) says Adam bestowed his last blessing in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman. Verse 54 says the Lord appeared and they called Adam Michael, the prince, the archangel. [(5)](#ref-5) - [Doctrine and Covenants 117:8](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/117?lang=eng&id=8) calls Adam-ondi-Ahman “the land where Adam dwelt.” [(6)](#ref-6) - The church’s history topic locates the 1838 settlement near the Grand River and says the families patterned it after the plat of Zion, Joseph Smith’s plan for Independence. [(7)](#ref-7) ## Where Do Mormons Believe the Garden of Eden Is? The church’s Newsroom style guide, quoted on [What Do Mormons Believe?](/latter-day-saints/what-do-mormons-believe), says the term Mormonism is inaccurate. People still search with that word. The body that answers is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Genesis and the church’s Book of Moses tell of a garden. They do not print “Jackson County” in those chapters. The Missouri identification is later church teaching, and the church prints it in its manuals. The Pearl of Great Price student manual, under “Where Was the Garden of Eden?”, quotes Brigham Young: the Lord commenced his work on what is now called the American continent, where the Garden of Eden was made. The same paragraph quotes Heber C. Kimball, of the First Presidency. The brackets are the manual’s. [(2)](#ref-2) > The spot chosen for the garden of Eden was Jackson County, in the State of Missouri, where [the city of] Independence now stands; it was occupied in the morn of creation by Adam. The May 2005 *New Era* article says the same state in one sentence: Missouri was the location of the Garden of Eden and Adam-ondi-Ahman, where Adam gathered his posterity for a final blessing. The article cites Doctrine and Covenants 107:53–57. It is a Church Magazines piece, not a verse of the Standard Works. [(3)](#ref-3) [Who wrote the Book of Mormon?](/latter-day-saints/who-wrote-the-book-of-mormon) and [What is the Book of Mormon?](/latter-day-saints/the-book-of-mormon) are the church’s account of that book. Those pages do not put the garden in Missouri. The Missouri sentences are the Doctrine and Covenants and the later presidents the manuals quote. ## What Is Adam-ondi-Ahman? Doctrine and Covenants 116 is an extract the heading dates to May or June 1838, near Wight’s Ferry, at Spring Hill, Daviess County, Missouri. [(4)](#ref-4) > Spring Hill is named by the Lord Adam-ondi-Ahman, because, said he, it is the place where Adam shall come to visit his people, or the Ancient of Days shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the prophet. Doctrine and Covenants 107:53 says that three years before Adam’s death he called Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, and Methuselah, with the rest of his righteous posterity, into the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and there bestowed his last blessing. Verse 54 says the Lord appeared, and they rose up and blessed Adam, and called him Michael, the prince, the archangel. [(5)](#ref-5) Doctrine and Covenants 117:8, dated July 8, 1838, at Far West, asks whether there is not room enough on the mountains of Adam-ondi-Ahman and on the plains of Olaha Shinehah, “or the land where Adam dwelt.” [(6)](#ref-6) The Church History topic says that in 1838, looking for a place in Daviess County, Joseph Smith and other leaders found a spot near the Grand River. Of a knoll called Spring Hill, the revelation said the Lord had named it Adam-ondi-Ahman because it is the place where Adam shall come to visit his people. Families moved there, patterned the settlement after the plat of Zion for Independence, and marked a place for a temple. [(7)](#ref-7) ## Is Adam-ondi-Ahman the Same Place as Independence? The 2017 student manual keeps the two places apart. It quotes Brigham Young’s recollection, from Matthias F. Cowley’s *Wilford Woodruff* (1909), page 481. [(1)](#ref-1) > Joseph, the Prophet, told me that the Garden of Eden was in Jackson County, Missouri. When Adam was driven out he went to the place we now call Adam-ondi-Ahman, Daviess County, Missouri. There he built an altar and offered sacrifices. On that report, the garden is Jackson County, and Adam-ondi-Ahman is Daviess County, the place Adam went after he was driven out. Independence is the city Kimball names inside Jackson County. Spring Hill is the knoll the history topic names in Daviess County. The *New Era* sentence puts both the garden and Adam-ondi-Ahman in Missouri. It does not make them one pin on a map. [(3)](#ref-3) This page does not draw a map or give driving directions. The history topic is the church’s own description of the site. ## What About Enoch? Doctrine and Covenants 107:53 names Enoch among the high priests Adam called to the valley. It does not say Enoch became an angel. Verse 54 gives the name Michael to Adam. [(5)](#ref-5) [Genesis 5:24](/bible/genesis/5/24) says Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. [Hebrews 11:5](/bible/hebrews/11/5) says he was translated so that he should not see death. A later book called 3 Enoch is an explainer on this site at [3 Enoch](/non-canonical/3-enoch). It is not Latter-day Saint scripture, and the church pages quoted here do not use it. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Where Is the Garden of Eden on a Map? The Pearl of Great Price student manual quotes Kimball: Jackson County, where Independence now stands. The Doctrine and Covenants student manual quotes Young: after Adam was driven out he went to Adam-ondi-Ahman in Daviess County. Doctrine and Covenants 116 names Spring Hill. [(2)](#ref-2) [(1)](#ref-1) [(4)](#ref-4) ### What Is Durfing in Latter-day Saint Teaching? The church pages quoted on this article do not use that word, and they do not define a practice by it. The place they do name is Adam-ondi-Ahman. ### Which Country Is Mostly Latter-day Saint? The pages quoted here locate the garden in Missouri. They do not publish a figure that any country is 60 percent Latter-day Saint. ### What Angel Did Enoch Become? Doctrine and Covenants 107:54 says they called Adam Michael, the prince, the archangel. It does not say that of Enoch. [(5)](#ref-5) The Nicene confession does not receive these Missouri sentences as scripture. [Genesis 2](/bible/genesis/2) is the garden account this site prints. [The Trinity](/christianity/the-trinity) and [the deity of Christ](/christianity/deity-of-christ) are the Christian claim about who God is. [The Godhead in Latter-day Saint teaching](/latter-day-saints/the-godhead-in-latter-day-saint-teaching) is how this church names the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. ## Passages Quoted on This Page ### Genesis 2:8–14 King James Version. > [2:8] And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. [2:9] And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. [2:10] And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. [2:11] The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; [2:12] And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. [2:13] And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. [2:14] And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. ### Doctrine and Covenants 107:53 English, churchofjesuschrist.org. [Open on churchofjesuschrist.org](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/107?lang=eng&id=53) > Three years previous to the death of Adam, he called Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, and Methuselah, who were all high priests, with the residue of his posterity who were righteous, into the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and there bestowed upon them his last blessing. ### Doctrine and Covenants 117:8 English, churchofjesuschrist.org. [Open on churchofjesuschrist.org](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/117?lang=eng&id=8) > Is there not room enough on the mountains of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and on the plains of Olaha Shinehah, or the land where Adam dwelt, that you should covet that which is but the drop, and neglect the more weighty matters? ### Genesis 5:24 King James Version. > And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. ### Hebrews 11:5 King James Version. > By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. ### New Era, Independence: Living in Zion English, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [Open on churchofjesuschrist.org](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/2005/05/independence-living-in-zion?lang=eng) > Missouri has been and will be the site of many key events in Church history. It was the location of the Garden of Eden and Adam-ondi-Ahman, where Adam gathered his posterity for a final blessing (see D&C 107:53–57). ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual (2017), Chapter 45, Doctrine and Covenants 115–120](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-student-manual-2017/chapter-45-doctrine-and-covenants-115-120?lang=eng) (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A student manual, quoting Brigham Young as reported in Matthias F. Cowley, Wilford Woodruff (1909), page 481.) 2. [Pearl of Great Price Student Manual (2018), Moses 3:8, Where Was the Garden of Eden?](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/the-pearl-of-great-price-student-manual-2018/the-book-of-moses/moses-3-1-25?lang=eng) (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Quotes Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball. The brackets in the Kimball sentence are in the manual.) 3. [New Era, Independence: Living in Zion, May 2005](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/2005/05/independence-living-in-zion?lang=eng) (Shanna Butler, Church Magazines. A church magazine article, not a verse of the Standard Works.) 4. [Doctrine and Covenants, 116:1](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/116?lang=eng&id=1) (Latter-day Saint scripture. May or June 1838, Spring Hill, Daviess County, Missouri.) 5. [Doctrine and Covenants, 107:53–54](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/107?lang=eng&id=53) (Latter-day Saint scripture. Adam’s last blessing in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and the name Michael.) 6. [Doctrine and Covenants, 117:8](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/117?lang=eng&id=8) (Latter-day Saint scripture. July 8, 1838. Adam-ondi-Ahman as the land where Adam dwelt.) 7. [Adam-ondi-Ahman, Church History Topics](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/adam-ondi-ahman?lang=eng) (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Spring Hill near the Grand River, 1838.) 8. [Book of Genesis, 2:8–14](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/genesis/2). King James Version 9. [Book of Genesis, 5:24](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/genesis/5/24). King James Version 10. [Letter to the Hebrews, 11:5](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/hebrews/11/5). King James Version ## See Also - [The Book of Mormon](https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/the-book-of-mormon) — The Book of Mormon presents itself as an ancient record, translated by Joseph Smith, written to show that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God. - [What Do Mormons Believe?](https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/what-do-mormons-believe) — Latter-day Saints believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost as three beings, and they receive the Book of Mormon beside the Bible. Nicene Christians confess one God. - [Who Started Mormonism?](https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/who-started-mormonism) — Joseph Smith organized The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 1830. He and his brother Hyrum were killed at Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844. - [Who Wrote the Book of Mormon?](https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/who-wrote-the-book-of-mormon) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says ancient prophets wrote the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith translated it by the gift and power of God, with a seer stone. He says he returned the plates. - [Are Mormons Christians?](https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/are-mormons-christians) — Latter-day Saints worship Jesus Christ and use his name. Their teaching of God, of Jesus, and of salvation is not the Nicene confession, so they are not a denomination inside Trinitarian Christianity.