And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.
And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.
But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.
Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

COMMENTARY

Having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin
It is true that one cannot see in pitch darkness. But also one cannot see in blinding light. Vision only works by varying degrees of contrast between the two. Damnation can be living in a state of suffering, but it can also be living in a state of complete numbness. At its root damnation means simply to never progress, and one cannot progress if there do not exist both forces and opposite forces. It is only in the interplay of these contrasting forces that an entity is able to move, to turn, to reach a destination.

Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy
All things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things
If Adam fell to allow our existence, and our existence is to come to God and find everlasting joy, then Adam fell for our everlasting joy. This suggests that this world of good and evil was always part of the plan. Personally that brings me a great deal of comfort. It means that the path of humanity never wandered outside of God’s agenda.
It also means that my being born with flaws was not a flaw in the system. I was intended to be imperfect, so that I could grow from wrestling with those imperfections. It is a struggle, to be sure, but it is made a little bit lighter by knowing that it is supposed to be a struggle.