So, what of Eve?


As I think of her, I am led to believe that she must have been such a faithful spirit in the Pre-existence to have been chosen for this role. Could I have done it? I doubt it...that is why the first woman was not called Linda :-)


Eve was the mother of all those who would inhabit the earth. I wonder what she thinks of us now as she looks upon us? 


Eve had no female examples to look to and be taught by. She gained her knowledge from the Lord, and by personal experience. She had none of the conveniences that we enjoy today. In fact, she and Adam had to really start from scratch. They had nothing except the natural resources around them, with which to set up a home for them and their family. How inventive they would have had to be!!!!


Eve is unique...there is no doubt about it!! To be the first woman on the earth makes her such. Even the wife of Noah had her 3 daughters-in-law after the flood. Eve didn't have any girlfriends to share things with, to get advice from, to babysit for her while she went to the shop....oh wait, there were no shops :-)


I look forward to meeting Eve. How humbling it will be to be able to hug her, and thank her for her strength and dedication. I imagine her to be very Christlike in every way. I know she will be compassionate, because she had to endure much during her mortal life, including the loss of children, physically and spiritually. She will have a strength that comes from her many earthly experiences. She will be close to perfect....of that I am sure.


What can I learn from Eve?


I can learn to never give up, to be faithful no matter what, to realise that life was not meant to be easy, but to be a period of learning and testing.


I can learn that my role as a mother is vitally important, that I need to teach my children and be the best example to them that I can be (even though they are now grown men). Then I need to understand that they have their own free agency...like Cain. Oh Eve, how I mourn with you over him. How heartbreaking it is to watch your children stray from correct paths! Yet how you must have rejoiced over your children who did make the right choices...like Abel.


I wish there was more knowledge available to us about Eve. How wonderful it would be to know more about her so that we would have a greater understanding of our first mortal mother.


Eve is heroine in every way. I feel so sad for those faiths that malign her because of their inaccurate views on the Fall. She did what was necessary, and stands tall forever more, up there with the most valiant of our Heavenly Father's children.

The Old Testament is missing some important messages that we can find in the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price. I love this added insight!!


Moses 5 gives us these points:

• Eve worked alongside Adam, providing food and shelter for their family
• They both prayed to God, and received personal answers
• Verse 11 is one of my favourite verses in all scripture:

'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.'


          Eve was fully aware of the Plan of Salvation, and saw the Fall as it really was....a blessing
          and an opportunity to progress.

• Verse 12 continues:

And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters.

          Eve was a righteous mother, teaching her children in righteousness, and no doubt being 

          a wonderful example to them.

• The beginning of verse 16 tells us that Adam and Eve 'ceased not to call upon God'. 
• We learn in verse 17 the hope that Eve had upon the birth of Cain......she said 'I have gotten a man from the Lord; wherefore he may not reject his words.' How he broke her heart!! In verse 27 we read 'And Adam and his wife mourned before the Lord, because of Cain and his brethren.' Obviously Cain was not the only one of their children to go astray.

Moses 5 and Genesis 4 mention briefly another woman....she is the granddaughter of Adam and Eve, and becomes Cain's wife. Nothing is told about her except that she left with Cain when he was shut out from the presence of the Lord and went to the land of Nod.

Cain's great-great-great-grandson was Lamech. His 2 wives are mentioned in verse 19 of Genesis 4, and also in Moses 5:44. Their names were Adah and Zillah. Zillah had a daughter, Naamah. Adah and Zillah did not support Lamech in his wicked ways. In fact, they let the wider community know of the evil he was perpetrating. Truly they are to be an example to us of our own approach to evil in our day. We should spurn it, and warn our neighbours.

Back to Eve.....Seth was born, and must have been balm to her aching heart. Genesis 4:25 records her words on his birth - 'For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.'

We read no more of Eve, I think. I don't even think that her death is recorded. I will look for it as I continue my studies.

My next post will give my thoughts on this most noble of women.

Today I am beginning the Women in the Scriptures Challenge. 


My goal is to read the entire Standard Works, taking note of the women mentioned therein. I will keep a journal on this blog recording what I learn about them. I will also conduct further research into their lives and deeds.


As I do this, I will be looking for new truths about what it means to be a daughter of God.
This can be an enlightening process, if I allow it to be...and that is my goal. I will endeavour to study every day, and to record herein what I learn, and how I feel that I am growing from the experience.


I am not setting a time limit for this challenge, as I do not want to have to rush and miss out on golden nuggets of wisdom. Instead, I will strive to dedicate myself to deep and meaningful study of these women.


The scriptures tell the stories of many men.....women are not mentioned as often. However, I know that there are many women, both faithful and otherwise, within their pages, from whom I can learn many valuable and lasting lessons.


So, to begin....with the Old Testament!

Genesis, Chapter 1, to be studied in conjunction with the records in the books of Abraham and Moses in the Pearl of Great Price.


Verse 27 is the first mention of woman in the Bible. This is the creation of Adam and Eve. Of course, if I believed in evolution, I would not perceive that this event occurred. However, I do not consider that I have descended from apes....I have a divine heritage - I am a child of God. Adam and Eve were my first parents here on Earth. The Biblical account it true...of that I am sure!


Verse 27 indicates that man and woman were created in the image of God. That makes it very easy to envisage what our Heavenly Father and His Son look like, as we look like them. 


In Genesis 2:18, the Lord (we know this to be Jesus Christ, who is the God of the Old Testament and this world) stated "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." The Bible Dictionary defines help met as 'a helper suited to, worthy of, or corresponding to him'. The meaning is that men and women are equal in the eyes of God. Eve was not Adam's inferior, as indeed women today or in any time are not inferior to men. 


Verses 22-23 describe the appearance of Eve. She is said to have been formed from Adam's rib. Why his rib? I love this explanation I found on the net:

Did you ever wonder why God chose to create Eve from Adam's rib? It seems she could have been from any bone. My Granny, as usual, had a theory. It isn't grounded in Scriptures like most of her other theories and ideas. Instead, the poet in her came shining through when she explained why she believed God created Eve from Adam's rib.

Not His Head

God did not create Eve from a bone in Adam's head because if He had it might might have been assumed that she was intellectually and psychologically inferior to Adam. God did not want this to be a misconception.

Not His Hand

God did not create Eve from a bone in Adam's hand because He did not want Eve to be led around by Adam. He also didn't want Eve to be physically abused by Adam's hand.

Not His Foot

God did not create Eve from a bone in Adam's foot because He did not Eve to be walked on. He also did not want Eve to be kicked.

Not His Back

God did not create Eve from a bone in Adam's back because He didn't want Eve to be a burden to Adam. He also didn't want Eve to be behind him, following from place to place.

Created from His Rib

God created Eve from Adam's rib for several reasons. He wanted Eve to be close to Adam's heart. God also wanted Eve to be at Adam's side. In God's infinite wisdom, He created Eve from Adam's rib so she would be under his arm of protection.

(http://www.listmyfive.com/537e425e/The-Top-Five-Reasons-God-Created-Eve-from-Adam's-Rib)

Eve was not to walk behind Adam, she was not to walk ahead of him. She was to walk side by side with him. They were to counsel together, and work together in this big adventure that they were pioneering for us....life!!

Russell M Nelson, an Apostle of the Lord said: 

'Interesting to me is the fact that animals fashioned by our Creator, such as dogs and cats, have thirteen pairs of ribs, but the human being has one less with only twelve. I presume another bone could have been used, but the rib, coming as it does from the side, seems to denote partnership. The rib signifies neither dominion nor subservience, but a lateral relationship as partners, to work and to live, side by side......Eve came as a partner, to build and to organize the bodies of mortal men. She was designed by Deity to cocreate and nurture life, that the great plan of the Father might achieve fruition.'

(Lessons From Eve, Oct 1987 General Conference address)

The last verses of Genesis 2 indicate that Adam and Eve were married, obviously by the Lord. I know that this marriage would have been an eternal sealing of them to each other, and would have meant that their children were born under the covenant, meaning that they would be sealed to their parents through all time and eternity.

So far, nothing has been revealed about the character or actions of Eve. Only her creation has been recorded.

Now we come to an event that has been interpreted in several ways. I will just indicate my thoughts, which have a basis in latter-day revelation and revealed scripture.

Satan beguiled Eve. He tempted her with the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and she took it, ate it, and gave it to Adam to eat. 

Eve has been portrayed by many Christian churches as evil, likewise Adam, but Eve moreso because she gave in to Satan and then encouraged Adam to give in as well.

For my own part, I am so grateful to Eve for her actions. I will explain why soon.

Don't you love how Adam and Eve thought, in Genesis 3:8, that they could hide from the Lord. I believe that they did not fully understand His omnipotence. They were in a state of naivety, I guess. But they obviously knew that they had done wrong.

My wicked sense of humour makes me chuckle every time I read Genesis 3:12...is this the first ever case of passing the buck? :-)

Mind you, I guess Eve could be accused of the second in verse 13.

Now, in verse 16, Eve seems to have been told that she will have great sorrow in conception....the footnotes indicate that this is a reference to an increase in discomfort and size in the condition and process of pregnancy.

She is also told that her desire shall be to her husband, and that he should rule over her. More about that later as well.

President Joseph Fielding Smith, tenth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said in October 1967:

'One of these days, if I ever get to where I can speak to Mother Eve, I want to thank her for tempting Adam to partake of the fruit. He accepted the temptation, with the result that children came into this world. … If she hadn’t had that influence over Adam, and if Adam had done according to the commandment first given to him, they would still be in the Garden of Eden and we would not be here at all. We wouldn’t have come into this world. So the commentators made a great mistake when they put in the Bible … “man’s shameful fall.”'

I share President Smith's gratitude to Eve.

More tomorrow....