• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

FAIR

Faithful Study Resources for Come, Follow Me

  • Find Answers
  • Blog
  • Media & Apps
  • Conference
  • Bookstore
  • Archive
  • About
  • Get Involved
  • Search

Did Satan Actually Deceive Eve? (Old Testament Gospel Doctrine 4A)

January 19, 2018 by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

Jan Breughel, the Elder, ca. 1568-1625: The Garden of Eden, 1612. Brueghel masterfully fills the foreground of the scene with the abundance, happiness, and beauty of newly created life, and then skillfully draws our eyes toward the two tiny figures in the background ominously reaching for the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.

An Old Testament KnoWhy for Gospel Doctrine Lesson 4: “Because of My Transgression My Eyes Are Opened” (Moses 4; 5:1–15; 6:48-62) (JBOTL04A), 15 January 2018

Question: The scriptures say that Eve was “beguiled” by Satan when she partook of the forbidden fruit. But Latter-day Saints believe she made the right choice. How can both statements be true?

Summary: Some people paint Eve in a negative light, blaming her for bringing sin into the world. This is not the view of the Latter-day Saints. We emphasize her wisdom and perceptiveness, and see her actions in the Garden of Eden as a positive step forward in the divine plan. We teach that she did not commit a sin in taking the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and honor her lifelong faithfulness. However, a few have taken this view to an unreasonable extreme, arguing that, for various reasons, she was not actually “beguiled” by Satan in her decision to eat the forbidden fruit. On the one hand, some believe that Satan was entirely truthful when he spoke to Eve. On the other hand, others teach or imply that regardless of what Satan did or said, Eve made the right choice with full understanding of the situation. These beliefs are based on honest intent, but are all mistaken. Scripture exposes how Satan used a series of clever tactics to mislead Eve, how God’s wisdom prevailed, and how Eve became a symbol of Wisdom itself.

The full article may be found at the Interpreter Foundation website: KnoWhy OTL04A — Did Satan Actually Deceive Eve?

For a video supplement to this lesson, see “The Tree of Knowledge as the Veil of the Sanctuary” on the FairMormon YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-B1FeOcTZ8

Filed Under: Bible, Book of Moses, Doctrine, LDS Scriptures, Lesson Aids, Questions, Temples, Women Tagged With: Adam, Eve, Garden of Eden, Gospel Doctrine: Old Testament, Joseph Smith Translation

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. R J says

    January 22, 2018 at 8:28 am

    beguiled means to be seduced–Satan is the father of Cain–Eve had to partake of the fruit inorder to condescend from a Terrestrial state to a telestial state so she could have a physical child and Satan did what he did to help that occur

  2. Jeffrey M. Bradshaw says

    January 22, 2018 at 10:29 am

    Hi, RJ. Thanks for your thoughts. Just to let you know, Satan is not the father of Cain, despite some misguided authors who have taught it. The Church teaches that Adam and Eve are his father and mother.

  3. R J says

    January 29, 2018 at 2:30 pm

    isn’t it interesting that the scriptures teach that Satan is going to have SEED—if that be the case–how can he do it unless he has a female and a telestial physical body–and if Eve is the mother of ALL living–tell me how else he does what he does–

  4. R J says

    January 29, 2018 at 2:43 pm

    isn’t it interesting—that God gives Adam and Eve a commandment to multiply and replenish the earth—but inorder for them to live that commandment they have to break the commandment that of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat–so Eve lived the commandment–and was able to have seed and Satan seduced her so that those that followed him could be give tabernacles–and Cain was his first born–read the 4th chapter of Moses-==

  5. R J says

    January 29, 2018 at 7:09 pm

    I ment the 7th chapter of Moses–

  6. LNJ says

    February 4, 2018 at 6:13 pm

    Moses 5:16 – And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare Cain. Cain later married one of his brother’s daughters (see Moses 5:28)

    Moses 7 does not suggest that Cain is of the seed of Satan. Enoch instead sees a vision showing that those of Adam’s seed who were not taken up with the City of Enoch were living on the earth but while remaining segregated from Cain’s seed.

  7. Darrel G. Watt says

    February 22, 2018 at 8:58 am

    Just re-read Moses 7 to make sure that I hadn’t missed something. Sorry R J – no mention there of Satan having seed. It speaks of Adam’s SEED and Cain’s SEED – but only denotes Satan as the “father” of those who sin and follow him – just as Christ becomes the “Father” of those who accept and follow Him. After reading and re-reading it – I just couldn’t wrestle it or twist it to come out differently.

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Blog

Enter your email address:

Subscribe to Podcast

Podcast icon
Subscribe to podcast in iTunes
Subscribe to podcast elsewhere
Listen with FAIR app
Android app on Google Play Download on the App Store

Pages

  • Blog Guidelines

FAIR Latest

  • Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 1–3 John; Jude
  • Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 25: Prophecies
  • Have you tried our Faithful Answers app?
  • How One Woman’s Scholarship Helps Us Better Understand Church History
  • Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 24: Blood Atonement

Blog Categories

Recent Comments

  • Dennis Horne on Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 1–3 John; Jude
  • Tom on Come, Follow Me with FAIR: Faithful Answers to New Testament Questions – 1–3 John; Jude
  • Dennis Horne on Letter For My Wife Rebuttal, Part 24: Blood Atonement
  • Trevor Holyoak on FAIR Questions: What did President Nelson mean by “the kind of body with which you will be resurrected” in his General Conference talk?
  • CortC on FAIR Questions: What did President Nelson mean by “the kind of body with which you will be resurrected” in his General Conference talk?

Archives

Footer

FairMormon Logo

FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Our Friends

  • BYU Religious Studies Center
  • BYU Studies
  • Book of Mormon Central
  • TheFamilyProclamation.org
  • Interpreter Foundation
  • Wilford Woodruff Papers Project

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • iTunes
  • YouTube
Android app on Google Play Download on the App Store

Donate to FAIR

We are a volunteer organization. We invite you to give back.

Donate Now

Site Footer

Copyright © 1997-2023 by The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of FAIR, its officers, directors or supporters.

No portion of this site may be reproduced without the express written consent of The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, Inc.

Any opinions expressed, implied, or included in or with the goods and services offered by FAIR are solely those of FAIR and not those of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) Logo

FAIR is controlled and operated by the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR)