What a beautiful way to think of this love story all Mormons know well.
Isn’t it interesting that the first story in all scripture is also the most romantic? As we celebrate Valentine’s Day, and as chocolates and roses are offered, let’s take a moment to remember our first parents and the incredible example of love they gave us.
We all know that God created the earth, and man in his own image. We also know that God gave Adam a companion, Eve, as a help meet for him. But not everyone realizes that “help meet” is not “helpmate,” or even merely “helper.” It actually means a champion, a rescuer. “Help meet” comes from two Hebrew words, “ezer” (help, rescue, savior) and “k’enegdo” (exactly corresponding to). In her book, Eve and the Choice Made in Eden, Beverly Campbell says she wishes we could all understand Genesis 2:18 as something like, “It is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a companion of strength and power who has a saving power and is equal with him.” . . .
Throughout history, we have seen couples in love whose lives are torn apart by circumstances. They love each other, yes, but not quite enough to surmount the obstacles—romantic literature and movies are filled with couples who lacked the courage, the humility, the selfless devotion, that could have kept them together.
Eve’s love for Adam is astounding. As she weighs the choice offered by Satan, she knows she will have to experience sorrow, pain, and all the suffering of mortality. But Eve loves Adam enough to do it. She wisely and intelligently chooses to bring mankind to be, with Adam as her partner. She knows they have been commanded to multiply and replenish the earth, and willingly steps into the dark unknown, with the kind of absolute faith that brings light. Eve takes the lead but clings to Adam with fierce devotion.
For those who swoon over romantic scenes, you will never find one more heart-stirring than when Adam, knowing what his wife has done, chooses to eat of the fruit and to stay with Eve. He, too, will forever be leaving the beautiful garden, the world of innocence, his own immortality. He will suffer, he will know sickness, he will experience the agony of wayward children, he will even die. But he agrees to all of it, for Eve. He looks into her eyes and sees eternity. Every woman in the world wants a man who loves her that much.