In a recent Sunday class, a vigorous discussion ensued about how much Mother Eve knew when she chose to partake of the forbidden fruit; how much wisdom, insight, or memory she had of God’s plan and purposes. Perusals online reveal that the vigorous discussion is not confined to Sunday classes. The questions persist. Was Mother Eve wise? Partly wise? Deceived? Beguiled? What is the truth?
It seems the “wisdom” of the ages has tended to condemn Eve, yet latter-day revelation teaches a different view. We are shown that Mother Eve was amongst the great and mighty ones of the earth.
1 Undoubtedly she was also amongst the noble and great ones that Abraham saw.
2 But what more do scripture and latter-day revelation have to say about Eve? And has our current sensitivity to women’s issues and worth caused us to overcompensate for historical condemnation?
3 Are we thus trying to credit Mother Eve with more than her condition in the Garden warranted? Are we trying to place her at an upper level of wisdom and enlightenment before she had the experiences that bring wisdom? How sophisticated were Adam and Eve in their understanding of possibilities and options? Let us consider three main questions.
▪ Did Adam & Eve know good and evil?
And the serpent said unto the woman: Ye shall not surely die; For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it became pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make her wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and also gave unto her husband with her, and he did eat. (Pearl of Great Price Moses 4:10-12, emphasis added)
And I, the Lord God, said unto mine Only Begotten: Behold, the man is become as one of us to know good and evil; and now lest he put forth his hand and partake also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever, Therefore I, the Lord God, will send him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken; (Pearl of Great Price Moses 4:28-29, emphasis added)
If they did not know good and evil until
after eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, would Eve have understood her choice as either good or evil? Perhaps her choice, in her innocence, was simply to obey a command or to disobey. Lehi tells us:
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. (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 2:22-24, emphasis added)
Thus, if Adam and Eve were in a state of innocence, were they not in a state similar to children
4 before the age of accountability—before the awareness of the knowledge of good and evil? And though children are innocent, yet are they not still capable of disobeying law or parental command and having to reap the consequence? Is this not the major distinction between sin and transgression? Is not sin to choose evil with knowledge of good and evil, and transgression to offend without knowledge?
5
For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned. (Book of Mormon Mosiah 3:11)6
Why should women feel the need to have an Eve who was wise and courageous
7 in the Garden? Do not these things come through experience? And what experience did either of our first parents have of opposites: of foolishness or fear; of the awareness of dangers in a garden of peace?
And why should some disparage Eve for seeing the tree as good for food or as pleasant to the eyes, or for desiring to make her wise like her glorious Parentage? Did she not see precisely what her Father had intended her to see? Compare:
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. (Old Testament Genesis 2:9, emphasis added)
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (Old Testament Genesis 3:6, emphasis added)
In the words of Lehi’s son, Jacob—
Now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents. (Book of Mormon Jacob 4:3)
▪ What did God impart when walking and talking with Adam & Eve in the Garden?
The general assumption seems to be that Adam and Eve walked and talked with God while in the Garden. Some have suggested that God was instructing them in gospel principles and the Plan of Salvation, but consider Pearl of Great Price, Moses, chapter 5. It deals with Adam and Eve
AFTER their expulsion from the Garden where their first understanding of the atonement seems to have come “after many days” of performing blood sacrifice without knowledge.
8 An angel of the Lord explained the significance and in keeping with the principle of “line upon line, precept upon precept,” the eyes of Adam and Eve were opened a little wider to the purposes of God.
And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will. And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God. And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient. And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters. (Pearl of Great Price Moses 5:9-12, emphasis added)
Perhaps gospel principles were taught in the Garden, but without the knowledge of good and evil, how much could be comprehended? So what other vital things might God have anticipated? Would God not have thought to prepare them in language, in stewardship, in creativity, in the skills they would need to survive outside the Garden? Might not there be considerable parallel to this observation about prophets?
The Preparation of Prophets. Prophets may be foreordained to their high and holy stations, but they are seldom born prophets; much preparation and molding and experience—generally planned and programmed by the Lord himself—are needed before they become the "polished shafts" in the quiver of the Almighty. After the pattern of that Master whom they serve and represent, prophets frequently are recipients of experiences which take them from the heights of heaven to the depths of hell, or vice versa. (Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson, eds., Studies in Scripture, Vol. 2: The Pearl of Great Price [Salt Lake City: Randall Book, 1985], 5-6.)
Thus, it appears that the eyes of Adam and Eve were opened in stages to the gospel plan and the purposes of God after their transgression. Both the scriptures and LDS temple script confirm this as they came to recognize and deal with the consequences of their choices. Is this not the pattern common to us all—line upon line, precept on precept?
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▪ Was Mother Eve deceived/beguiled?
And Satan put it into the heart of the serpent, (for he had drawn away many after him,) and he sought also to beguile Eve, for he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world. (Pearl of Great Price Moses 4:6)
And I, the Lord God, said unto the woman: What is this thing which thou hast done? And the woman said: The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. (Pearl of Great Price Moses 4:19)
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (New Testament 2 Corinthians 11:3)
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. (New Testament 1 Timothy 2:14)10
Eve was fulfilling the foreseen purposes of God by the part she took in the great drama of the fall; yet she did not partake of the forbidden fruit with that object in view, but with intent to act contrary to the divine command, being deceived by the sophistries of Satan, who also, for that matter, furthered the purposes of the Creator by tempting Eve; yet his design was to thwart the Lord's plan. (James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1981], 63.)
Some, however, have put forth that beguiled, in the context of Eve, has not a negative but a positive usage and does not necessarily mean deception.
11 But if we look at other uses of “beguiled” in the scriptures,
12 they all have a clear and negative connotation of deception. And for those who feel it demeans Eve to acknowledge that she might have been enticed or deceived—consider how susceptible to beguilement are the innocent who are without guile? And is it not an attribute commanded of God—to be without guile?
13 Yet at the same time, while we live in this fallen world, we have this warning:
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. (New Testament Matthew 10:16)
Perhaps, in view of this counsel, some have even gone so far as to cast Eve as a heroine who managed to outwit the adversary with foresight and wisdom by seeing beyond the beguiling into God’s real plan. I do not know where this alleged foresight is supported in scripture relating to Eve.
14 We are her children and our wisdom and courage undoubtedly come just as hers did, line upon line, through experience, trial and error, suffering opposites and opposition, remembering, pondering, repenting, serving, forgiving, and enduring the realities of a mortal world.
I believe her experience is also a foreshadowing for us. Consider:
NOT BEYOND TEMPTATION: One thing other I would like to mention for a moment, and that is—I hope that none of you will feel that your children are beyond the reach of temptation or transgression. The more firmly you feel that, the greater the danger to your family. No one is safe from the wiles and the persuasions of Satan. He reached Adam and Eve before mortality came. He reached into the family of Adam, and Adam's family produced the first murderer. All down through history he has reached into the families and to the persons of those who are in high and responsible positions. Satan reached David, a man after the Lord's own heart, who committed the great sin which he committed; the great Solomon, and stole his heart away. And in modern times we have too many illustrations of where children of our leaders do not live just as we would wish. So I beg of you do not assume, my dear brothers and sisters, that your children are beyond the reach of Satan, but always go forward, always conduct your family life, always be parents, fathers and mothers acting on the fact that Satan stands at the elbow of your dear one to lead him astray. Never forget that, my brothers and sisters. (President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Conference Report, October 1951, Second Day—Morning Meeting 59.)
Eve, in all her innocence, was a being of great intelligence. She was amongst the “mighty and great ones.”
15 She obviously had an enquiring mind. She desired to be like her glorious Father—and what trusting, innocent child with kind and loving parents does not strive to imitate all they do?
16 To be innocent is not to be stupid. How have we come to consider innocence a mark of shame when applied to Eve? Innocence is often filled with questions. With desires to know more. To experience more. To do things beyond capacity. To take wing into the unknown.
We can thank our God for Mother Eve—for her innocence, for her enquiring mind, and for the wisdom and courage she acquired, line upon line, in suffering the opposites and oppositions of a fallen world.
17 Like her, we too can come to know, line upon line, precept upon precept “the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient [including the repentant].”
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1. Among the great and mighty ones who were assembled in this vast congregation of the righteous were Father Adam, the Ancient of Days and father of all, And our glorious Mother Eve, with many of her faithful daughters who had lived through the ages and worshiped the true and living God. (Doctrine and Covenants Section 138:38-39)
2. Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; (Pearl of Great Price Abraham 3:22)
3. Disclosure: I am a single woman of 60 years, and have at times felt an overcompensation through excessive courtesies and the pedestalizing of women, while at the same time, finding my voice and opinion, too often, discounted because of gender.
4. A state clearly stated in the LDS Temple endowment script.
5. Note however that a contrary argument could be made from various scriptures, e.g. Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 9:27, 46.
6. See also: For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them, … (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 9:26)
7. I find it hard to understand such attributions to Eve’s state of innocence; or to use the word “courage” to describe an act of disobedience to God. However, I am aware of those attributions by some of the brethren, but wonder if “wisdom and courage” are used more in terms of hindsight. Do we not sometimes look back on actions or decisions and say: “That was a wise thing I did; or “That was a courageous thing”; when at the time, we were just doing the best we could in circumstances that had more import for our future than we knew at the time?
8. And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord. And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me. And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore. (Pearl of Great Price Moses 5:5-8, emphasis added)
9. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: (Old Testament Isaiah 28:10; see also vs. 13, 30; Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 28:30; Doctrine &Covenants 98:12; 128:21)
10. Note however, that both God and Adam repeatedly refer to “transgression” in reference to Adam’s partaking of the fruit. This may sometimes be a reflection of the plural usage of Adam, but in other instances the singular thy or my modifies it. (see Pearl of Great Price Moses 5:10; 6:53)
11. Particularly Beverly Campbell, see http://www.kenningtons.com/kennington/campbell.htm (accessed Jan. 24 & 25, 2010). Concept #9.
12. The second instance being Jacob’s use of it: “And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?” (Old Testament Genesis 29:25). Beguile is also used three times in the Book of Mormon to describe Satan’s interaction with our first parents. “… that old serpent that did beguile our first parents, which was the cause of their fall; which was the cause of all mankind becoming carnal, sensual, devilish, knowing evil from good, subjecting themselves to the devil. (Book of Mormon Mosiah 16:3; See also, 2 Nephi 9:9 and Ether 8:25)
13. No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—(Doctrine and Covenants Section 121:41-42, emphasis added; see also 124:20, 97)
14. Do we really suppose that the veil of forgetfulness was not drawn for her and Adam, particularly when they did not know about the Plan of Redemption until many days after their expulsion from the Garden (Pearl of Great Price, Moses 5:6-13), and when they did not have knowledge of good and evil?
15. Doctrine and Covenants Section 138:38-39
16.However, when awareness of the world's enticements begins to encroach upon innocence, the desire to imitate honorable parents sometimes goes astray.
17. And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter. (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 2:15)
