Lehi greatly foreshortened the story of the fall: Adam and Eve partook, were driven out, began to farm, and had children. But God never intended them to die as soon as they ate the fruit. He always intended to give human beings enough time to act upon the principle of opposites to choose between good and evil and also to overcome their separation from him through repentance. Although Lehi states that Adam and Eve received “commandments,” he names only one: repentance. By Lehi’s logic, this is the essential commandment, allowing the reconciliation of humankind and God. (See “Excursus: The Principle of Repentance,” following 3 Nephi 11.) The command to repent is the final step in Lehi’s description of the Messiah’s mission (vv. 6–10). He began with the necessity of the Atoning Messiah’s mission and has now demonstrated that necessity.