An Act of Sacrifice and Love

You know what would have been a really good thing to blog about yesterday? Adam's decision to partake of the forbidden fruit was an act motivated, at least partly, by love.

I'm not sure how much of this is in the scriptures, but the way I've always heard the story is that Eve partook of the fruit first, then told Adam what she had done. He was shocked and crushed that she had broken one of Heavenly Father's commandments and now was asking him to do the same. But she reminded him that they were commanded to stay together and be fruitful, and that, for her transgression, she would be cast out of the Garden of Eden. It seemed to them that they would be separated, perhaps forever, unless Adam partook of the fruit as well and suffered the same fate that Eve would.

Adam's action, though possibly misguided, was an expression of great love. He didn't want Eve to have to be alone, and he was willing to suffer with her in order to be with her, to comfort her and help her. Can you imagine what might have happened if Eve had partaken of the fruit and Adam hadn't? Eve would have been kicked out of the Garden, but Adam might have remained there. Eve would have suffered and died alone, while Adam might have lived forever in the Garden, in paradise, but alone. Neither one of them would have been happy. I think Adam would have quickly learned that it's better to suffer together with someone you love than to live in comfort without them, especially if you know that they're suffering. Adam made a noble choice, perhaps even the right choice, and we, especially we men, should follow his example of being willing make sacrifices for the ones we love.

Thinking of it that way, the story of Adam and Eve can be a great love story. Of course, there have been better examples of love and sacrifice over the course of human history, like the Atonement, for example, but I'm glad that Adam set that precedent for how men ought to act. Men who follow his example of doing what needs to be done for the benefit of their wife and family are truly good men - not always the wisest, but definitely good. Perhaps there was another way for Adam and Eve to be able to stay together, but Adam couldn't see it, and neither do I. Faced with no other way for him to stay with Eve to protect her and provide for her, I think that Adam did the right thing. Perhaps he should have double-checked with the man upstairs first, but it was still a very noble and honorable act of love and sacrifice, and if I were put in his shoes, I hope that I would have had the courage and the love to make the same decision that he made, even if it was the wrong one.