There is a tremendous nobility to Eve,
the first woman on this earth.
I. God "formed man
from the dust of the ground"
(Genesis 2:7).
But He did not form woman
from dust.
He formed her
from the best thing
He had made thus far--
from man.
II. God made woman
as "an help meet" for Adam
(Genesis 2:18).
Meet means proper, suitable.
In Mormon doctrine,
we believe that Adam is Michael,
the archangel
who helped create the earth.
What kind of companion
would be suitable for
one so glorious?
A baby?
A weak and timid creature?
A lesser version of Adam himself,
without the same power
of reasoning
and judgment?
No.
A complementary partner,
with as much power as he.
Only such a companion
would be meet for him.
III. She was beguiled
only insofar as she believed a lie
that Satan told her--
that if she ate the fruit,
she would not surely die.
But she knew it would make her wise,
and so she wanted to eat it,
no matter the cost
(Genesis 3:6).
She was not beguiled in that.
IV. Her name was Eve,
a name that sounds like
a sigh of relief
when you speak it aloud.
Her name was Eve
because she was
the mother of all living
(Genesis 3:20).
Her creative power
was unparalleled--
the power to bring all of us
to life.
V. Latter-day Saints believe that
there are more scriptures
than just the Bible.
In the Book of Moses,
we hear Eve's voice.
Eve said,
"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"
(Moses 5:11).
She made the gravest error possible,
but she didn't have to be ashamed,
because her experience
made her more
than what she could have been before.
.
.
.
As a daughter of Eve,
I can't think of anyone better
to model myself after.
This is really beautiful!
ReplyDeletei love that painting. brian does wonders.
ReplyDeleteJust last night I was reading the Pearl of Great Price institute manual...and I quote, "The Lord never sends apostles and prophets and righteous men to minister to his people without placing women of like spiritual stature at their sides. Adam stands as the great high priest, under Christ, to rule as a natural patriarch over all men of all ages, but he cannot rule alone; Eve, his wife, rules at his side, having like caliber and attainments to his own." I loved it! And then I saw your post! I love how you put things, so concise.
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