Melinda Wheelwright Brown - Eve and Adam: Discovering the Beautiful Balance

2020 Melinda Wheelwright Brown

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Brown, Melinda Wheelwright, 1970 author.

Title: Eve and Adam : discovering the beautiful balance / Melinda Wheelwright Brown.

Description: Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: A doctrinal explication of the Fall of Eve and Adam, with a particular emphasis on how the traditional telling misunderstands the reasons for the Fall and both Eve and Adams roles in it Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019054640 | ISBN 9781629727288 (hardcover) | eISBN 978-1-62973-942-7

Subjects: LCSH: Eve (Biblical figure) | Adam (Biblical figure) | Plan of salvation (Mormon theology) | Fall of man.

Classification: LCC BX8643.S25 B765 2020 | DDC 222/.1106dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019054640

Printed in the United States of America

Publishers Printing, Salt Lake City, UT

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Cover painting, For the Beauty of the Earth , by Lisa DeLong. Visit lisadelong.com

Book design Deseret Book Company

Cover design by Sheryl Dickert Smith

Art direction by Richard Erickson

Contents

Authors Note

It was Eve who first transgressed the limits of Eden in order to initiate the conditions of mortality. Her act, whatever its nature, was formally a transgression but eternally a glorious necessity to open the doorway toward eternal life. Adam showed his wisdom by doing the same. And thus Eve and Adam fell that men might be.

President Dallin H. Oaks

T his book began with a painting. In January 2016, I found myself navigating rough and uncharted waters related to some family challengesdifficult choices with no obvious, ideal, or easy answers. For Christmas the previous month, my husband had given me a beautiful portrait of Eve, which now hung in my office and had become the regular object of my drifting gaze during moments of contemplation. One particular day, as I sat puzzling over our predicament, I really studied Eves image, and it occurred to me that perhaps her story could truly matter to mine.

With my interest piqued, I began to read and research and dig, and I soon discovered that Eves experiences not only held answers to my tough questions but also demonstrated the trusting perspective Id been lacking. Her faithful courage to do the hard thing for life, love, and family was precisely the example I needed.

As I read and studied everything I could find about her, my searching yielded many insights but also raised many questions and concerns. Across religions, cultures, and philosophies, there is a broad range of ideas and attitudes regarding Eve. Tragically, many of those ideas are damaging, not only to Eves reputation and honor but to womens in general. The gross discrepancies between so many womens reality and what God intends for them hurts my heart. As one concerned Christian minister observed, The history of our worldall periods of history, all continents, all cultural traditionsis rampant with damage, oppression, diminishment, contempt, and hostility aimed at women. Though these issues are hugely complex, at least a small piece of the puzzle can be traced back to pervasive and persisting ancient misconceptions and misapplications of the biblical record of Eve.

In Tad R. Callisters comprehensive work The Infinite Atonement, he examines some of historys misunderstandings, confusion, and doctrinal heresies associated with the story of Eve and Adam and the Fall, summarizing them into a simple list of five fundamentally false ideas:

1. Adam and Eve would have had children in the Garden of Eden if they had been allowed to remain.

2. Adam and Eve were not in a state of innocence in the garden, but rather were experiencing unparalleled joy.

3. The Fall was not part of Gods master plan, but rather a tragic step backwards. It was a stumbling block, not a stepping stone in [humankinds] eternal journey.

4. If [they] had not fallen, all of [their] children would have been born in a state of bliss, to live happily ever after in Edenic conditions.

5. Because of the Fall, all infants are tainted with original sin.

While each of these deep-rooted misunderstandings has had serious repercussions, my research has led me to feel that perhaps the most prevalent modern misconception is that the story of Adam and Eve is merely legend, an ancient myth. At one point in my ongoing studies, I must confess that I wondered if the distinction between fact and fiction even mattered, but I came to agree wholeheartedly with this statement from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: We cannot fully comprehend the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ and we will not adequately appreciate the unique purpose of His birth or His death... without understanding that there was an actual Adam and Eve who fell from an actual Eden, with all the consequences that fall carried with it.

Even to those discounting Adam and Eves historicity, those consequences are widely believed to have doomed us all to a life of misery and hardship; Eves choice to first partake of the fruit has led to her disgrace and dishonor. Unfortunately, as Dr. Camille Fronk Olson, BYU professor of ancient scripture, has surmised, Our interpretation of Eves role in the Fall likely influences the manner in which we regard women in general. So unfairly degrading Eve has tragically influenced the degradation of all women.

There seems to be good evidence for that hypothesis. Dr. Nehama Aschkenasy, professor and director of the Center for Judaic and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Connecticut at Stamford, has watched an interesting pattern repeat itself among her students over the past thirty years. Before taking her class on images of women in world literature, most of her pupils have never actually read the Genesis account of Eve and Adam, yet they arrive with strong, preconceived notions that the biblical story pronounces female inferiority and advocates the subjugation of women. Under Dr. Aschkenasys careful tutelage, the students are consistently surprised to discover that, on close examination, the scriptural text professes nothing of the sort.

Dr. Carol Meyers, professor of biblical studies and archaeology at Duke University, shares Dr. Aschkenasys belief that the general public tends to misjudge Eve based on a serious misunderstanding of the biblical record. She recommends examining the pristine Eve of ancient scriptureher noble character and symbolic significancerather than embracing traditions distorted Eve.

Though much of the world feels that Eve disastrously introduced death and sin into the world, I believe she bravely introduced life and hope; I believe the scriptural record plus the teachings of living prophets and apostles strongly support that interpretation. As President Dallin H. Oaks has declared, 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 Eves act and honor her wisdom and courage in the great episode called the Fall.