#institue

To start the class, our instructor posed us the question: "How does Eve's life and example deepen my conversion to the Savior?"

Then we began reading scripture. We bounced between the book of Moses and the book of Genesis, but I mainly used the book of Moses since it's the JST :)

The first Scripture we read was Moses 3:18, which reads, "And I, the Lord God, said unto mine Only Begotten, that it was not good that the man should be alone; wherefore, I will make an help meet for him."

To be honest, I was never a fan of this verse. I didn't like the implication that God created women only to be a helper to men. That seems to be the most widely held belief in the general christendom; God created women second, and only to be subservient and submissive. Lower in rank and duty and worth.

You could say I've been a feminist my entire life, even well before I knew what the word was or its meaning (my mom tells me that when I was little, I used to constantly ask why when I turned twelve I wouldn't be able to get the priesthood like my twin brother would. It didn't seem fair to me as a young child that had been told my entire life growing up I as a girl could do anything a boy could do, and it still didn't for a good portion of my life. It was only until a couple years ago that I really grasped why, and was ok with it). So this idea that in my God's eyes I was lesser than any man angered me. I believe I wasn't put on this earth to be a lower, side-kick, passive, baby-making, subdued woman that would sit idly by while the more important men in my life made decisions and gained educations and ruled over me.

But here's the thing, that was never Heavenly Father's intention for me, or for Eve.

In the original Hebrew scripture, the word for "help meet" is "Ezer Kenegdo". "Ezer" means "help", but not in the way our modern English language would suggest. Instead of just being a passive helper, being an "Ezer" means to strengthen, protect, and provide sanctuary. "Ezer" was used twenty-one other times in the Old Testament, and was only otherwise used to describe protection against the greatest forces of evil, from armies, and for divine guidance and strength for all of humankind. Here are a few of these verses:

Exodus 18:4 "For the God of my Father, said he, was mine help [ezer] and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh." Psalm 115:9 "O Israel, thou has destroyed thyself, but in me is thine help [ezer]." Hosea 13:9 "In me [the Lord] is thy help [ezer]."

With this knowledge we can say with absolute certainty that to be an "Ezer" is to be a stand in for God's protection and love.

"Kenegdo" is generally thought by scholar's to mean "opposite or corresponding to". Like a puzzle piece, is what my instructor said.

Combining these two words together, we know that God created Eve to be a different but important and equal counterpart to Adam, with special power to comfort and protect against evil. How wonderful is that!!! Whenever we as women serve or help protect our communities and families, we are fulfilling our God given roles as ezer kenegdos.

And this was just the first half of class!

For the second half, we discussed the story of Eve being tempted by Satan to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge, which led to her telling Adam to eat of the fruit, which led to their expulsion from the garden.

There are a few students in the institute who converted to the church only recently, and shared their previous religions perspectives on this scripture. That Eve was stupid and foolish, easily tricked by a much smarter man, and cursed all of mankind with the Fall that we should live in evil and misery and sin. But we are blessed to know, through living prophets and modern revelation, that the Fall was a necessary part of Heavenly Father's plan. In order for us to become more like Him, we need to have knowledge.

Lehi taught Jacob, "....wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin". It reminds me of the final season of The Good Place, which is one of my favorite TV shows of all time, where when the protagonists finally make it up to heaven they find that the constant state of happiness has become insurmountably boring, and there's no real joy to be found. We can only appreciate wonderful things if we know what it means to be miserable.

2 Nephi 2:25 (the best scripture verse, IMO) sums it up entirely for us: "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy."

Eve knew this, and she made the right decision. She was never remorseful, saying "were it not for our transgressions we ... 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).

So, how does Eve's life deepen my conversion to the Savior? Through her, I can be an ezer to the people in my life, and can comfort myself with the knowledge that through her's and Adam's transgression, I can find greater knowledge on both spiritual and worldly matters, and make mistakes that will lead me to grow closer to my Heavenly Parents. Through the "Fall" and the Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ, I can repent for my sins and imperfections and develop into the woman God knows I can and will become