Knowledge


It is one thing to be told something.  It is entirely different to discover it.  We value more those things that we have sought after or had to work for. As we learn by our own experience, the knowledge sinks down deeper.  It sticks better.  The lessons we learn, the understanding we gain through the discovery process of our own experience are not as easily forgotten.  At times, they are written so deeply in our hearts that they cannot be forgotten.  God knows how prone we are to forgetfulness in this mortal state.  Acquiring knowledge by experience creates something in us that helps a little with that problem.

The Savior said this about being told something versus understanding it in the parable of the sower. “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart.  This is he which received seed by the wayside...But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word and understandeth it” (Matthew 13:19, 23).

Alma in his masterful sermon also speaks of knowledge gained through experience.  “Ye cannot know of [the surety of my words] at first, unto perfection” (Alam 32:26).  As we plant the seed and care for it, it may sprout.  When it sprouts you “say that the seed is good” (verse 30). As the seed continues to grow because of your careful nourishing care, you “must needs know that the seed is good” (verse 33).  Then Alma asks this, “...is your knowledge perfect?  Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand” (verse 34, emphasis added). God knows that the best kind of knowledge is that gained through personal experience. And so, we too, just as Adam and Eve, need to acquire knowledge by our own experience.

It would be interesting to have a record with more details of what Adam and Eve experienced between the time of being placed in the garden and the partaking of the fruit.  Had they previously considered on it before Satan said to Eve, “Ye shall not surely die (this is a lie from the “Father of Lies,” 2 Nephi 9:9 ); ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (this is true: “Now, we see that the man had become as God, knowing good and evil” Alma 42:3)?  (Moses 4:10-11).  Did that ring in Eve’s mind and haunt her? Did it create questions she had not considered before?

Was Eve aware of her choice to partake of the fruit or was she just tricked into it? Elder Oaks said of Eve, “Some Christians condemn Eve for her act, concluding that she and her daughters are somehow flawed by it. Not the Latter-day Saints! Informed by revelation, we celebrate Eve’s act and honor her wisdom and courage in the great episode called the Fall.” President Nelson said, “We need women who have the courage and vision of our Mother Eve.” If what Eve did is described with the words “honor,” “wisdom,” “courage,” and “vision,” I think it is safe to argue that she was an active participant in this process and she made a careful and thought out choice.

Have you ever noticed before that when the scriptures speak of Satan tempting Eve they use the word “beguiled?” “Dr. Nehama Aschenasy, a Hebrew scholar, said that in Hebrew the word which is translated as beguiled in the Bible does not mean ‘tricked’ or ‘deceived’ as we commonly think. Rather, the Hebrew word is a rare verb that indicates an intense multilevel experience evoking great emotional, psychological, and/or spiritual trauma. As Aschenasy explained, it is likely that Eve's intense, multilevel experience, this ‘beguiling’ by the serpent was the catalyst that caused Eve to ponder and evaluate what her role in the Garden really was" (Austin, et. al, The Gift of Giving Life, 2-3).

I believe even though she may not have completely or fully understood the implications, Eve made a choice.  I believe she recognized at some level that she needed to step forward and choose to partake of the fruit.  At what point did Eve (and Adam) gain knowledge?  It was at the time of the Fall.  As they partook of the fruit, I am convinced it wasn’t a matter of the fruit physically coming into their mouths or the fruit being swallowed that suddenly opened their eyes (Moses 4:11). I’m not sure why I thought previously that there was some magical element in the fruit itself making anyone who partook of it gain instant knowledge.

The knowledge of good and evil, or knowing what is good and knowing what is evil, came through the experience of the process, both leading up to partaking the fruit and the actual partaking of it.
Eve did her best to understand why God would have placed her in the garden with these conditions. Whether she understood it consciously or not, she recognized that what was missing was knowledge.  She knew she had to partake of the fruit in order to fulfill God’s commandment to multiply and replenish the earth.  She recognized that neither she nor God’s other children would be able to proceed without this important step. I believe it was the experience of it all that brought about the change from a state of innocence to understanding.  I believe it was the experience that created the knowledge.

Gaining knowledge through experience is part of God’s plan for His children.  It sets us on the path to become like God, for He “knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it” (2 Nephi 9:20) .  The state of innocence is contrary to God’s nature. Like Adam and Eve, God has given us the opportunity to learn through our own experience what is good and what is evil.  Knowledge is essential to our eternal progression.  Experience is how we gain knowledge.

“And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free. He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you” (Helaman 14: 30-31).

In order to be free to choose, we have to know what our options are because “...he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience” (Alma 29:5).
The Fall introduced knowledge.  Later after the Fall, Eve said, “Were it not for our transgression...we never should have known good and evil” (Moses 5:11).   Elder Hafen said, “...faith plus action leads to knowledge” (Hafen, Spiritually Anchored in Unsettled Times, 63). “Adam and Eve gained a knowledge of good and evil by their own experience” (Source).

Callister adds this about knowledge resulting from the Fall, “At first glance, one might be led to believe that the Fall, independent of Christ’s atonement, was the deliverer of that knowledge sufficient to make man free.  In truth, it was a vital link, but it was only the beginning---the gateway to knowledge, that had previously been shut.  As to Adam and Eve, the scriptures reveal that ‘the eyes of them both were opened’ (Genesis 3:7).  This was essential, but it was only the commencement, not the end of the road.  With increased knowledge comes the opportunity for increased freedom...While the Fall opened the gate to the road of knowledge, it was the Atonement that provided the vehicle to proceed” (The Infinite Atonement, 253, emphasis added).  Although the Fall began to change Adam and Even from a state of innocence to a state of knowledge, the Atonement was necessary in order to move forward.

Orson Pratt stated, “Adam and Eve were immortal, the same as resurrected beings, but previous to their transgression they had no knowledge of good and evil.

“After the redemption we will not only have the same kind of bodies that they possessed in the garden of Eden before the fall, but we will have a knowledge of good and evil through our experience.  For this purpose we are made partakers, through our agency, of the knowledge of evil in this life, that we all may know how to appreciate good when we are put in possession of it” (Citation Index talk, Come back and link/cite it, emphasis added).

Although we were not born into The Garden of Eden, we all come into this world with the same set of circumstances as Adam and Eve.  We must go through that exact process of learning by experience.  When we gain knowledge, all four required components are present for us to be free to choose. The opportunities to increase our knowledge by experience will be unique and present themselves in various forms throughout our lives.  Some may be joyful and desirable.  Others are bitter and we would prefer to avoid them altogether---or so we think in that moment of intensity.
I think of the most bitter experiences I have known to this point in my life. At the time, each felt like more than I could bear. Now that I have been able to integrate the details and find peace with the new narrative of my life, I am actually extremely grateful.  These circumstances have given me some of the greatest chances to gain knowledge by experience in my lifetime and have shaped me to be a sharper instrument as I seek to minister to others.

Just as the two trees in the garden stood as a paradox, the opportunities you may have before you with the details of your own past or present may seem as confusing as it may have been initially for Eve. At first glance, whatever you are facing may appear impossible! How can God be asking you to pass through this or other bitter possibilities to gain knowledge?

It may be a little bit different for you than Eve’s experience.  She walked up to the tree after having made the decision and chose the fruit.  It may seem that you didn’t choose (that you can recall) these terrible circumstances for your life experiences or what may be in your life right now.  That isn’t where your choice comes into play, though.  Your choice is what to do about these conditions.  Will you choose to just survive through this, throwing up a protective wall around your heart, shuffling along at a semi-functioning level, and devising a coping plan or are you willing to gain knowledge by experience? Are you willing to step forward as Eve did, having weighed your options, and choose to rapha yada this by taking your Savior with you into it all?  You can choose to gain the sure knowledge that God has provided The Way through this.  Just like Eve, that knowledge will come by experience.

Can you see that opportunities to learn by experience are part of God’s plan?  The good news is that the Fall isn’t the end of The Plan, but it is merely part of it.  As we continue forward in our journey together, I hope that, at least for now, you are beginning to recognize the purposes in the Fall.  I know God carefully and purposely created the circumstances necessary for us to become like Him. Again, ministering is part of this plan.  God’s plan required the Fall; however, the Fall and our own personal falls are not only anticipated, but they are also covered!  God prepared the way!  We will continue to move forward so you can see it with increasing clarity in the details of your life and circumstances.

It’s worth a brief mention before we move on, that once Adam and Eve had partaken of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, it was imperative that they were prevented from partaking of the tree of life.  Now in their sinful state, they would “live forever” in their sins if they partook of this fruit (Alma 42:3). If they partook of the fruit of the tree of life they would become immortal again.  This would leave no “space for repentance...the word of God would have been void, and the great plan of salvation would have been frustrated” because they would not be able to return to God’s presence, nor become like Him (Alma 42:5) in this unrepentant state. There is time to work on it!

The good news is that after the Fall, “there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.” (Alma 12:24).  How did Adam and Eve spend this “probationary...time?” How should we spend it? Can you see that what they were actually choosing is whether or not to be obedient?

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