I’ve been pondering about their state in the Garden of Eden, before the fall. What kind of people were they? They were immortal and innocent. They didn’t know good from evil. It’s like they were children, before the age of accountability; I bet they could have done things that were wrong in a sense, but because they had no evil intentions, they weren’t really sinning. (I know this is partially just speculation and opinion, but here you have it.) The only commandments they were given were to have children, have joy, and not eat the fruit from the tree. Some people may think these are conflicting commandments (because you can’t do or have all those at once), but when thought of as a whole – in the higher realm of things – I’m sure they weren’t conflicting at all. Besides, there’s a reason behind everything and God knows what he’s doing and I know he has laws that he abides by in which everything has its place and makes sense and does not contradict.
Now, about Adam and Eve being like innocent children, I bet Eve had no evil intentions when she partook of the fruit because Satan simply persuaded her (charmed her) into believing that this was the right thing to do under the circumstances. In essence, yes, it was right. Yet, wrong, too. She had to be punished for yielding to Satan’s temptations and disobeying the commandment of not partaking of the fruit (though she may not have had ill intentions). This set the whole plan of salvation into course, and a good thing at that.
So, I guess my conflicting feeling is how do I view Eve (and Adam) in this state in the garden? Do I revere them for their thoughtfulness & courage, shame them for their disobedience, think of them as mere children who just happened to “fall” into the plan, what? I’m not really concerned with the doctrine behind this whole scenario because I know it was of God. Case closed. I suppose I’d just like to have an accurate depiction of what both of our first parents on earth were like (particularly before the fall). In Relief Society, they ask us: “What can we learn from the examples of Adam and Eve?” Well, I’m not sure what to say about their examples in the garden. All I know is that they were choice spirits from heaven sent to fulfill a great purpose in God’s plan and that they were obedient and strove to do what’s right once they became mortal and knew the difference. For that, I know they were great examples of good.
2 comments:
I understood from elder oaks that eve probably knew from what Satan had said about becoming like God and had the spirit to guide her as well. I believe they weren't just like babies in their understanding. Though we don't know how long they were in the garden, I believe they received more instruction though it may not have been thorough. I don't think they were just ignorant. I think there was some wisdom there.
Russ and I were just talking about this during dinner (isn't it great that everyone had the same lesson today!?).
I don't think Satan tricked her at all. If you think about the temple and you read in Moses that she understood. She knew it wasn't "RIGHT", but she also knew there was no other way. Someone is Russ's elder's quorum pointed out that maybe they didn't get both commandments at the same time either. Maybe they were first told not to eat of the fruit and then later told to multiply. They'd still be conflicting then, but I'm not sure.
I agree that I think they probably DID do some things that were "wrong" without understanding, but that they had no evil intent and didn't know anything different.
I also think there's a reason that it's called "Adam's transgression" instead of "Adam's sin" because a sin is different from a transgression.
Anyway, it's interesting to think about because it's so much speculation. We're probably not supposed to understand it all.
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