In The Infinite Atonement, I'm still reading about Adam and Eve and learning lots from their examples and experiences.
Right after being kicked out of the Garden, Adam and Eve had no idea what would happen. They didn't know anything about the plan of God. They didn't even know that there was a possibility to return to Him yet. Can you imagine that feeling?
Callister explains, "The time would come when Adam and Eve would rejoice in their decision, but at the moment of expulsion they knew only thorns, thistles, and sweat. Day after day Adam offered sacrifices without knowing why, without fully understanding the plan of salvation."
Then many days (generations of children in fact) of working without knowing, an angel came and shared happy tidings--"As thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will."
Can you imagine the happiness that Adam and Eve felt after working so long and wondering why?
Obviously Adam and Eve had an immense amount of faith which is probably why they were the first people on earth. I don't know if I could have done that. Work without understanding to that extreme extent. They did not know redemption was possible, yet they continued onward, trusting in the little they had received. Here am I with all my tools of scriptures, knowledge of the plan, generations of knowledge, and I'm still impatient for things. I'm still sometimes ungrateful or I forget that the wonderful news I have, that I can be forgiven and return to God is ENOUGH. What great examples Adam and Eve are!
After Adam received the news, he declared, "in this life I shall have joy."
I am so grateful for the knowledge and understanding I have of the gospel. It truly brings me joy, and I can count on the fact that as I increase both my knowledge and understanding of the gospel, I will become happier and happier. It is an eternal law.
Adam shared his knowledge with Eve which led her to an incredibly brilliant epiphany (I mean, think of the limited knowledge they had at the time): "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" (Moses 5:9-11). Wow, right?
What I get from this is that even though I may be working towards something I don't fully understand, and even though sometimes I get impatient and think, "Can't I have the blessings already? Haven't I worked through these issues enough? Can't I just be healed already? Can't You just tell me what to do now?" I can follow the example of Adam and Eve and continue to use what I DO know, move forward, and trust that I will receive the promised blessings of both understanding and joy.
We just gotta keep walking!
Love,
Rachel
Oh heavens to betsy- how do you always study just what I need to read??
ReplyDeleteI cannot tell you how much I love the fall of Adam and Eve. A lot of it still remains a mystery to me, but I fell like I keep learning over and over that the main message is that failure enables progression.
The only way to learn is to fail. And failure can be our greatest teacher, depending on how we look at it. I know that I tend to beat myself up when I keep making the same mistakes over and over and over and over.....you get the idea!
But I love that you pointed out, more knowledge came to them bit by bit, piece by piece as they walked. They had to keep moving and keep trusting God would guide them home.
And that's what I'm realizing. I need to be better at recognizing when to walk and when to be still. I feel I am usually on one extreme or the other, but I need to be more like and Adam and Eve and trust that as I move forward, I will receive what I need to in order to progress, and if I take the time to be still, more revelation will be available to me.
Thanks so much for the study, you are great!
Love, Emily