Leaving Eden

I’ve always been confused why God gave Adam and Eve conflicting commandments that were impossible to keep at the same time. I’ve wondered what lesson I'm supposed to learn from the predicament they were in and the decisions they made. I’ve never been able to come up with a satisfactory explanation until this week as I studied Genesis 3-4 and Moses 4-5 this week. I learned that I’ve been searching for a single lesson but that there are multiple lessons that can be learned depending on who the reader is and what time of their life they are in. Understanding this principle has helped me realize why I had been so conflicted about my previous confusion. I would like to share the inspired lesson that I learned this week as I studied this part of Adam and Eve's story. It is likely that you have learned something different than me and in the future we might both expect to learn additional lessons.

The Garden of Eden was a place full of comfort, ease and predictability. Partaking of the fruit would lead to family, knowledge, and happiness but also work, uncertainty and suffering...it would be a leap of faith to leave the garden and be forced into an unpredictable world. As I though about this difficult choice they had to make, I realized that it could be a metaphor for all the big choices we encounter in life.

What are some of the choices that we encounter in life that bring both joy and discomfort simultaneously? Leaving home, going on a mission, going to college, getting married, having children, starting a new job, or accepting a challenging church calling are all accompanied by some amount of discomfort, adjustment, and work but also growth, knowledge and joy. What do we do when faced with these choices? Do we stay in Eden where it’s comfortable and predictable or do we take that leap of faith and leave the “Garden” in order to experience the challenges and accompanying growth that are promised to us?

We might even consider that these choices are crossroads in life where we have to decide if it's time to follow the example of Adam and Eve or take a path that might be easier. Understanding the role of our Savior, Jesus Christ and His atonement can make these choices easier. When we know that the trials and pains we will experience can be swallowed up in the joy of Christ (Alma 31:38), making a conscientious choice to give up comfort and freedom in order to practice, learn, and sometimes suffer, will be easier. We know that these experiences are what we need in order to become more like Jesus Christ. It takes faith and trust in God and His plan to recognize that this is the only way to become like Him, return to His presence, and receive the fulness of glory He has promised the faithful.