Dear Sisters:

Nobody faint! I’m actually sending out our weekly email again. I apologize (again) for missing a few weeks. I hope you have missed hearing from me. :-) I’ve definitely missed writing the updates.

This week’s lesson was taught by Sister Megan McBride. It was lesson 6 in our Gospel Principles manual (page 27.) The lesson is titled, "The Fall of Adam and Eve." It was a great lesson with some amazing insights from class members. For me, the most profound comment was made by Sister Karen Tran who pointed out that the word "transgress" literally means "to go beyond or over." I have never thought about that. So, when Adam and Eve transgress the law (which was that they not partake of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil) they were actually choosing to go beyond the set boundaries knowing full well that there would be a consequence.

Sister Tammie Reber made the comment that when our children are little, we tell them that they must "never" cross the street alone. That does not really mean that they will "never" cross the street alone, just that it is not right for them at that time. When they are older, the rule will change. It may have been the same for Adam and Eve.

Sister Anna Facuri mentioned that we encourage our children to "go beyond" our family borders as they get older. Since we want them to grow up and be like us, we ask them to move out on their own, go on missions, go to work, marry and have a family. It is required that they "go beyond" in order to become like us. In that same way, it was important for Adam and Eve to "go beyond" the Garden of Eden so that they (and we) could become like Heavenly Father.

Sister McBride used some wonderful quotes. One of them was from Elder James Faust, "We all owe a great debt of gratitude to Eve." Joseph Fielding Smith said, "One of these days, if I ever get to where I can speak to Mother Eve, I want to thank her for tempting Adam to partake of the fruit." Elder Smith continued, "Brethren and Sisters, let’s thank the Lord, when we pray, for Adam."

Elder Bruce Hafen writes,

"First, consider the concept of tasting the bitter in order to prize the good. Adam and Eve’s transgression was not really a wrongful act of "sin" as we usually use the term. While their choice violated the command against partaking of the fruit, that same choice was necessary to enable their obedience to the command to have children. Their transgression was a painful but correct, even eternally glorious, choice. ‘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 5:11)"

"Like Adam and Eve, we make many judgment-call choices that inflict pain or trouble upon others and upon ourselves. Some of our judgments may be wise, but some are not so wise. Think of accidents caused by carelessness....Think of unkind words and forgotten promises....Such incidents can lead to ugly consequences, but not all of them are the result of conscious sin. In an important sense, our judgment calls lead us to the tree of knowledge, just as Adam and Eve’s choice led them to that same tree. By confronting the sad or happy consequences of our choices, we can learn through our own experience, as they did, to distinguish the bitter from the sweet."

Thank you so much sisters for being spiritually prepared for today’s lesson. All of your comments (and I only mentioned a couple here) were uplifting and thoughtful. This is why I love coming to Relief Society. You guys are the best!

Have a wonderful week! Remember our Relief Society Birthday Dinner on Wednesday evening. Don’t forget to bring your gently used dresses, skirts and dress pants/blouses to donate to Solutions for Change. Come with an open heart and an empty stomach! :-)

We love you!

Your Relief Society Presidency