garden of eden || gilded art print

In the spring of 2019, I made the incredibly difficult decision to walk away from an unhealthy and abusive marriage.  I was devastated not just for me, but for my very tiny daughter.  I grieved the loss of a life I thought we would have had and reasoned against the difficult past we were leaving behind.  

I found solace in my faith, drawing comfort in the Savior.  But I also found myself drawn to the life of Mother Eve.  While most of the world condemns and villainizes Eve, through my faith I have been taught to honor and love her.  Yes, she transgressed, but without that transgression, none of us would be here.

I thought of her and her desire to follow God's commandments. She had been asked to multiply and replenish the earth, but there was no way to do that in. her current state in the Garden.

In 2 Nephi we are taught, "And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.  And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.

But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."

I knew the choice Adam and Eve made together was a difficult one, to forsake one commandment to honor the need for another.  I thought often of Eve as a mother in a state much like my own, wrestling with the decision for her children.  I could hear her asking, "Is there no other way?" pleading with God, much like Christ did.  But as a foreshadowing of the Savior in Gethsemane, Eve with her actions said, "Nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done."

I felt Eve's arms wrap around me as she grieved with me, understanding as only a mother can, the hard choice I was facing and knowing that there was no other way.  I had to move forward with faith like she did.

The road since has not been easy, but I have been reminded time and time again that it was the right decision thanks to my "Glorious Mother Eve."

This print is a reproduction of a watercolor collage I did.  Each print is hand guilded around the tree and on the fig leaves, to give the same radiance as in the original.

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