Dear Gramps,
Did the 1st baptism (that of Adam {and Eve?}) happen before the fall? If not, then approximately when?  Also, if Adam received baptism before the fall, is there significance in it taking place before the fall?
If one of the purposes of mortal life is to seek knowledge and become more like God, specifically what kind of knowledge should we be seeking in mortality? Is temporal knowledge important in our quest of perfection? Or, should we only be seeking spiritual knowledge?
Nina

Dear Nina,
All of the saving ordinances that have been revealed to us are designed to be performed during mortality. Adam was not given the requirement for baptism until after the fall, as can be discerned by appealing to the Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price.

And he called upon our father Adam by his own voice, saying: I am God; I made the world, and men before they were in the flesh. And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you (Moses  6:51-52).

In these two verses Adam is given the requirement to be baptized on condition of repentance from all his transgressions. Since it was specifically because of the transgressions of Adam and Eve that the fall came, baptism had to have come after the fall. This is reinforced in verse 59 of the same chapter—

That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory.

The concept of seeking knowledge to become more like God relates only to knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ—

And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom. Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand; Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms– That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you (D&C  88:77-80).

This scripture tells us also to learn the things of the world, but for a specific purpose related to the gospel—

That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you.

It is also necessary for us to learn the things of the world for the purpose of keeping body and soul together and to provide for the needs and wants of others for whom we are responsible. But to think that academia is the repository of any knowledge that will advance one person one iota beyond another in preparing them for their eternal destiny is mere foolishness. As the scriptures say—
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God (1 Cor  3:19).
I know of candidates for salvation in the kingdom of God who know not how to read or how to write. But they are people filled with faith. They are so poor that they have no other recourse for their daily sustenance then to depend on the Lord. However, it is true that knowledge accumulates in the universities. The freshmen bring a little in and the seniors certainly take none away, so knowledge accumulates.
Gramps