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
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
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.
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–
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-==
I ment the 7th chapter of Moses–
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.
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.