EVE: THE FIRST TO UNDERSTAND. 

 

We all know the story of Adam and Eve. The fall of Adam was all the fault of Eve - she who was beguiled by Lucifer and partook of the forbidden fruit - or was it? Let’s start at the beginning. According to the Bible dictionary, the fall of Adam is one of the most important occurrences in the history of man. Some may not be aware that before the Fall, that is before Lucifer gave the forbidden fruit to Eve, Adam and Eve had physical bodies, but they had no blood. This meant that there was no sin, no death, and no children. After eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve became mortal, blood formed in their bodies, and death become a part of life. And we mustn’t forget that they were both thrown out of the Garden of Eden into the reality of a harsh world.

So, what about Eve? Adam called her Eve. Eve in Hebrew is ‘khah-Vah’ or ‘khah-Yah’ which means life or living which is appropriate for the Mother of all living. She and Adam were the first mortal parents on Earth. The question did Adam recognize the importance of eating the fruit is a huge one. He was told not to eat the forbidden fruit so was he simply being obedient to his Father? Did the same rule apply to Eve? It probably did, but why did she disobey? God knew what would happen. It was necessary for man’s progression. Not only that, but it was also foreordained before the Fall that there would be a Saviour to atone for the fall of Adam and also for man’s sins. That couldn’t happen if Adam and Eve didn’t eat of the fruit. So is it possible that God knew that in Eve He had the perfect woman to make sure that they could become mortal. In 2 Nephi 2:25 it reads, “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”

Let’s take a closer look at Eve or at least as much as we know about her. In Doctrine and Covenants 138 which is the vision given to President Joseph F. Smith in 1918, it says that he saw (in verse 39), “…. our glorious Mother Eve, with many of her faithful daughters who had lived through the ages and worshipped the true and living God.”

Were Adam and Eve being tested in the garden of Eden? Well, Adam was told in no uncertain terms that he could do what he liked except eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Interestingly, Adam was told that in Genesis 2:17 and yet Eve did not appear unto verses 21-23 of the same chapter where it said, “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Might that have something to do with how Eve reacted to Lucifer in whatever disguise that he came to her as? Was she given an idea, a prompting or simply had discernment over him inasmuch that she knew what she had to do? The fact that Lucifer was able to even enter the Garden of Eden was obviously a significant part of the plan. Was she influenced because she received some sort of revelation or a prompting on what needed to be done? Was Eve more in tune with the spirit than Adam who was perhaps looking more at the letter of the law? We are not likely to know the truth in this life, and maybe even Lucifer wasn’t aware that he was helping in implementing Gods plan. We can understand that it was Eve’s discernment and even recognising the spirit of the Lord that made her eat that forbidden fruit and then persuaded Adam do likewise. She knew the plan and had to make it happen if she was to become the Mother of all living. Eve was the first to grasp the idea of progression. She understood the reason why she did what she did. Eve was the first to understand. She spiritually knew that she had to eat the fruit. She understood the reasons because maybe she had spiritual vision.

Brigham Young said in one of his discourses that included referencing the influence of women, “It is true that man is first. First Adam was placed here as king of the earth, to bring it into subjection. But when Mother Eve came she had a splendid influence over him. A great many have thought it was not very good; I think it was excellent.”  I think it was excellent too, but I may be a little biased.

Can we delve even deeper into the life of Eve? She was the co-creator of the human race, a nurturer as well as a daughter of God. I am guessing, but I suspect that our Heavenly Mother is very proud of Eve and the tasks that she took hold of with sensitivity and a great spiritual awareness.

Did Eve sin? Yes she did, but was it meant to be? Absolutely. The Fall was a necessary step in God’s plan. Perhaps it was a leap of faith and spirit led rather than an act of rebellion. And maybe there is also a parallel between Eve and Mary. Eve introduced mortality and Mary birthed the Saviour who overcame it. Two beautiful strong women of faith who trusted they were doing the right thing.

I found some quotes from Prophets and Apostles and one from Sheri Dew about Eve. Spencer W Kimball said this: “Eve, so recently from the eternal throne, seemed to understand the way of life, for she was happy - happy! - that they had eaten the forbidden fruit. … Our beloved mother Eve began the human race with gladness, wanting children, glad for the joy that they would bring to her, willing to assume the problems connected with a family, but also the joys.”  Should we as sisters be more like Eve?

President Henry B. Eyring in a 2014 conference address had this to say: “By revelation, Eve recognized the way home to God. She knew that the Atonement of Jesus Christ made eternal life possible in families. She was sure, as you can be, that as she kept her covenants with her Heavenly Father, the Redeemer and the Holy Ghost would see her and her family through whatever sorrows and disappointments would come. She knew she could trust in Them.” I think this is really beautiful as it shows that Eve had faith and spiritual awareness long before and long after the Fall from the Garden of Eden. She must have been a woman of strong character and spiritual depth; she knew what she must do to get back home to God but also how to help her posterity do the same.

In 1987, then Apostle Russell M Nelson said: “Eve came as a partner, to build and to organize the bodies of mortal men. She was designed by Deity to co-create and nurture life, that the great plan of the Father might achieve fruition.”  Eve was a partner, and that is something that is as true today as it was then. A marriage is a partnership, with differing roles but with the same object in mind.

In 1999, President James E Faust had this to say: “We all owe a great debt of gratitude to Eve. In the Garden of Eden, she and Adam were instructed not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. However, they were also reminded, ‘Thou mayest choose for thyself.’ The choice was really between a continuation of their comfortable existence in Eden, where they would never progress, or a momentous exit into mortality with its opposites: pain, trials, and physical death in contrast to joy, growth, and the potential for eternal life.”  We all have much to be grateful for in Eve and her strong faith. Without it we would not be here. And we mustn’t forget that Eve had many trials with her own  children (think of Cain and Abel) so we should never think that we are hard done by with our families.

In 1993 Elder Dallin H Oaks had this to say: “Some Christians condemn Eve for her act, concluding that she and her daughters are somehow flawed by it. Not the Latter-day Saints! Informed by revelation, we celebrate Eve’s act and honour her wisdom and courage in the great episode called the Fall.”  We know that Eve did transgress but we also know that it was meant to be. Without her sin, we wouldn’t be here. And the fact that Adam was able to accept that and partake of the forbidden fruit is a testament to him too.

Sheri L Dew said in 2001: “Eve set the pattern. In addition to bearing children, she mothered all of mankind when she made the most courageous decision any woman has ever made and with Adam opened the way for us to progress. She set an example of womanhood for men to respect and women to follow, modelling the characteristics with which we as women have been endowed: heroic faith, a keen sensitivity to the Spirit, an abhorrence of evil, and complete selflessness. Like the Saviour, ‘who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,’ Eve, for the joy of helping initiate the human family, endured the Fall. She loved us enough to help lead us.” Sheri Dew is one of my favourite writers and I love the line, ‘She set an example of womanhood for men to respect and women to follow. Are we still following the example of Eve who set the pattern?

Elder Boyd K Packer said this in 1993: “A choice, it might be said, was imposed upon Eve. She should be praised for her decision.” That decision set in motion our own mortal journeys and Eve was the first to understand how important that would be for all of us.

Jeffrey R Holland said, in a question-and-answer session at Harvard Law School some years ago: “We believe that the creation of a woman was the crowning, and final, and most glorified moment of human creation. That we start with light and dark; and land and sea; and we move through fish and fowl; and beast of the field; and we get to Adam and it’s still not good enough… and only when Eve was created - this is our theology. You say it’s political, but for me it’s theological. That is our theology - that the crowning creation and the glory of the human experience came with the creation of Eve.” We could say that Eve is ‘simply the best’.

As a more modern reflection, what does Eve teach us today? She had agency and she knew that she must use it. She had wisdom because she understood what was being asked of her. And she set the standard for women everywhere. Eve had faith, accountability, spirituality, an understanding of the future of humankind and a love for God. Her story may have been misunderstood by many, but she did what was needed to be done. She stood firm so that we might have joy. Eve empowers women who believe that she was instrumental in making us what we are today.

Eve’s story should resonate with every one of us - and not just women. Heavenly Father knew how important she would be in the plan. In fact, a quote attributed to Matthew Henry a 17^th-century Bible commentator and of which they are several versions, says this: “The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.” That for me is what Eve (and Adam) were all about – a partnership and equality. That is what it should still be about. Men and women have very differing roles in terms of marriage and bearing children but there is no difference in our values as children of Heavenly Parents.

I believe God placed a sacred trust in women - not because we are better than men, but because we are different. We are caregivers, nurturers, and often carry a kind of faith that flourishes in the quiet, unseen corners of life. Like Mary, who was called ‘blessed’ because she believed, I think God continues to entrust women with the kind of faith that moves mountains - not loudly, but faithfully.