Wow. There is a lot here. And there is a lot of other scriptures to supplement this chapter in Genesis. Take a gander at Moses chapter 4. It surprised me however, how similar the two accounts were. I highly recommend looking up "The Fall of Adam" in the bible dictionary. I especially liked the scripture references listed at the very end. As was mentioned in the manual, the events of the Fall are covered well in the Genesis account, but the why's and wherefore's are best found in the Book of Mormon.
A few things that stood out to me:
* Although Satan deceived Eve, he did tell her one truth. By partaking of the fruit she would become like the gods--knowing good and evil. We came to this earth to become like our Father in Heaven. Adam and Eve are well on their way. They've received bodies and now they have acquired this godlike characteristic--being able to understand the difference between good and evil. (steps one and two--check!)
* Eve was deceived by Satan and partook of the fruit with the intent to act contrary to divine command. She was in the transgression. Adam was not deceived--he chose to deliberately do as Eve desired and carry out the purposes of God.
* Once they had transgressed, they had an immense sense of guilt--they recognized their own spiritual nakedness (or unworthiness to stand before God) and hid themselves. If they hadn't figured it out on their own--Satan was more than willing to point out their "nakedness" for them. He is such a creep.
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5 comments:
Thank you for posing the "read by" dates and spripture chapters together! That makes it so much easier for me! Great work on this blog. It is definitely motivation for me to read the Old Testiment! Thanks!
Oh! And I would love a Bookmark Schedule. I'm in Primary so if you pass it around with the RS Role or the New, Views, and Blues, I would love to snag one. Thanks!
It is interesting that Eve, being a true women, could see the whole picture and Adam was focused on obeying God's command and could not be swayed by Satan's enticement. Once Eve had partaken of the fruit, Adam could see what had to be done. What courage that took for them to proceed with their earthly lives. What love for all mankind!
I've been contemplating verse 15 today. In the manual it tells us that the "seed of the woman" is Christ and explains that Satan did have power to bruise his heel (convince men to crucify Christ), but that Christ would have power to bruise Satan's head (by being crucified He would fulfill the atonement and overcome the power Satan has over men).
It is so interesting to me that whenever Satan does something to try to thwart the plan, Heavenly Father knows and has a plan of His own so His purposes will be fulfilled. It is similar to what happened when Adam and Eve partook of the fruit. Even though Eve transgressed and followed Satan, Heavenly Father had a plan if this happened and it allowed all of us to obtain physical bodies so the original plan could be fulfilled.
I hope this makes sense! Another interesting chapter!
I learned something concerning the partaking of the fruit. Elder Widtsoe states that Eve made a deliberate decision to partake because she knew that there was no other way and chose mortal life in order to bring forth mankind according to the Father's plan. Even though they had not experienced knowing good from evil, they had been taught while in the garden and were capable of reasoning and making decisions. Perhaps the deception was in how difficult life in a mortal world would be and how much pain this physical body would have to endure. Satan not "knowing" the mind of God, actually became part of the implementation of God's plan. I feel so much better about the Fall and grateful too!
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