“The way a book is read — which is to say, the qualities a reader brings to a book — can have as much to do with its worth as anything the author puts into it…. Anyone who can read can learn how to read deeply and thus live more fully.”
~Norman Cousins


Writing is where we truly learn. Join the Journey.

I read from my scriptures (book), but you can find scripture reference here.

Monday, March 28, 2011

A Serpent's Persepctive Genesis 3: 1-4












I dreamed a dream. It was about a serpent. In my dream, A man came into my home and pretended to be welcomed. As he sat around my table, ate my food, and enjoyed my company, he subtly opened a nap snack that he had brought with him. From the nap snack ever so quietly slid a small inconspicuous serpent. 

The serpent slipped in a circle around the group that sat entranced by this man and his entertainment. As the man spoke his captivating words, the serpent wound himself around the group such that he eventually encircled all. Then this seemingly small and inconspicuous serpent rose and doubled in both strength and in size. He body seemed to grow with the courage that he had triumphed over those that sat unaware of his deceit. 
Soon he began to squeeze the life out of all that were in the group. Soon he began to have them beg for mercy. 
I was not part of the group. But I sat and watched in horror as those who allowed themselves to be carried away by words of enchantment, words of beguiling, and words of entertainment were no longer aware of their own circumstances to the point that they were unable to defend themselves. 
After the serpent beguiled and subtly led these away, I threw them from my home. I began to prepare food. As I prepared my stew I noticed I had but a few potatoes to feed those who stayed. Before I fed them I asked them, "Are you a believer in Christ?" 
They assured me they were and so I began to feed them. Each time I dipped my ladle into the pot of stew, I discovered it would not go empty. Each time I believed I was at the last of my food, more filled the pot. 
A servant of God walked behind me and said. 
"He who serves the Lord will never hunger. And, God's love feeds you with an eternal food." I realized that this dream marked the division between those who live by faith to be fed and those that live by reason. We are often deceived by reason. Eve was. But faith will always fill our hearts with eternal joy. When our souls are filled with Heaven's joy, our stomachs can never know hunger. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Genesis 3: 1-4 
My dream made me wonder. Why did the serpent ask Eve about "eating" (food) and about the trees of the garden? He didn't know something. He needed information from her so he slyly crafted his question so as to get Eve to answer in such a way as to lead him to the tree that he needed her to eat of. Why? Was he playing on her sense of reason? 
I believe it was to ensure that he would be able to do his will. Remember Satan was the one who was cast out of Heaven for his rebellion. In heaven he was forbidden to participate in the plan. But on earth he was not forbidden, not if he could get Eve to understand the relationship between eating of the fruit of the garden and eating of the "fruit of knowledge of good and evil." 
This is the first account of Satan working through a non human source to tempt a human in an attempt to keep them from returning to God. Satan knew Eve. He knew she was the mother of all living. He knew she was "creation", but she did not command creation, Adam did. He understood that Eve was created from Adam, but Adam was created from the earth. He understood that her physical body allowed for her to know reason. So this is the angle he chose when he wanted to win her over. 
Reason then, (it could be said) is to put man's purpose before all else. 
Faith is then to put God's purpose before all else. 
Eve needed to create. He understood this and he spoke to her need to create when he asked about the knowledge of good and evil. Before she partook she was naive, she could not understand that her decision would separate her from God by allowing her to choose evil or good.  But she did understand that in creating, she actually did as God had commanded. She must have understood the joy that the animals conveyed as they suckled their own. She must have been lonely for humanity.
Why did the serpent tell Eve she would not die? Did Eve understand death? What had she seen die? How long had she been in the Garden? Were the animals of the garden allowed to procreate? Yes. (Genesis 1-2) Was she able to watch this creation? 
What kind of death did Satan refer to when he said, "Ye shall not surely die?" What kind of death did God refer to when he instructed Adam and Eve not to partake of the tree? Why would the purposes of each (God and Satan) be important when considering how and what they said and asked of Eve? Why is it important to understand the purposes of any who would seek to "ask something of us?"
Perspective... God loves us and wants us to live forever. He wants us to enjoy his love. But he realized that in order to feel of his love we first had to experience a love so divine that we too would learn how to forgive, how to sacrifice and how to serve others with charity. He knew that Satan did not understand this love. So he waited and soon Satan's greed and selfishness caused him to put the plan into action. 
Adam and Eve had to be disciplined because they broke a commandment (not to eat of the tree). But in doing so they allowed our first parents to become... "our first earthly parents." And in doing so we learn to value the glory of God and the love that he has for us. 
The pain of our mistakes and that our first earthly parents felt that day can be erased when we allow God to wipe our tears. The pain that comes from regret lasts forever unless we counter it with forgiveness and forgetness. 
Thinking about My dream ... serpents are real. They exist all around us. The basic concept of Eve's story is often lost in the "first sin" of sex. I believe the deeper meaning is that we are all too gullible and that if we are not careful we allow the many different serpents in our lives to encircle us with their subtle and crafty ways until they squeeze the love of God out of our lives. 
If we can only learn to eat of the fruit of the garden...then like the garden of Eden that provides the fruit of God's eternal love, we will never hunger. 



Saturday, March 12, 2011

Genesis 2: 15-25 Drawn from the Dust










           Drawn from the Dust 

Oh, Naked man drawn from the dust,
What purpose in Eden's garden did God to you entrust? 
Who is your help mete that should ease your loneliness?
And from whence did God draw her life to give you loves caress? 


Oh, Naked man drawn from the dust,
What purpose in Eden's garden did God to you entrust? 
          To dress it? To keep it? To feed upon the nector of God's pure seed?
How then did the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil fulfill your every need?

Was the spiritual death that the children of your children have come to know,
The opposition you needed to help your garden grow?  
And who told you the call of beasts that came up from God's ground?
If your help mete that came from within you had called
Would you have heard her sound? 

As you sat alone and called each of God's earthly beasts by name, 
From what tongue was it that your family of language came? 
Why did God wait for you to claim power of their name,
Before your help mete was taken out of you? Was it to tame? 

And why do you believe that woman, who is of your bone and of your flesh
Has come to distract you from God's holiness?  
Who is this help mete that should plead for your loneliness?
And from whence did God draw her life to give you loves caress? 

Oh, naked man drawn from the dust, 
What purpose in Eden's Garden did God to you entrust? 


copyright March 12, 2011 Linda Conkey Shaw


There is a deep relationship between God's garden and man. Each are dependent upon one another for purpose. The garden depends on man to keep it and to dress it (feed, fertilize and clean). Man depends on the garden to keep(protect and watch over)  and dress (feed and clean) him.

What is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? A metaphor for man's sexuality?
What is knowledge? Do we ever know something without experiencing it? Who has the greatest knowledge? One who has read about something or one who has lived it?

Notice how many times the reference to Adam's being alone is mentioned? Is it significant that Adam's need for a help mete  is mentioned just before he is gain power over the creatures of the earth by naming them? Or just after the edict to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil?

Is it significant that Woman did not help Man name the creatures? And later she will be called the Mother of all living? Is there a distinction here in their roles?

More Questions:

  • What is the connection between Adam being able to eat of the every fruit for the body but not being allowed the fruit of morality?
  • Is it important that God did not want him to know of right and wrong before he had a Woman to be a help mete?
  • What would have happened if Adam had eaten of the fruit before Eve had come to keep him from being lonely?
  • Would it have been possible for him to eat of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil without her?
  • Was Eve important to God's plan? How important? Who was Eve before the fall? Just a part of Adam? Why did God choose to connect the Man and the Woman's body and yet they have seperate roles?
  • How long was Adam alone before the Woman was created?
  • Did the creatures that came from the ground come as male and female or was the female also taken from the males ribs?

It is a side note that men actually do have one rib less than the woman? Do male mammals follow this same trait?
Was it Adam's right or left rib that was taken?

Why didn't God just create another person out of the dust? After all... the beasts came from the ground? Why did the woman come from man and not from the ground?

Adam was an archangel come down to dress the Garden of Eden and to enact God's Plan of Salvation.
Who was Eve? If Adam was to have dominion over all of the beasts (he named them) then who was Eve to have dominion over? Why is it significant that she did not come from the ground as Adam and beasts did?



Monday, March 7, 2011

Geneses 2: Searching For Eden





I have always been enchanted by the four rivers that run out of Eden. I, (like many others) it turns out thought of them as a treasure map that would help find Eden. But like the chasing of rainbows Eden is not to be found. It is magical. It is not mystical. It is real.  It is not something you hold, but rather something deep and inspirational that holds you.  Eden comes to those who seek what Eden has to offer not- where is was originally found. 
I did some searching of my own. 
  • I discovered that people have looked for centuries as to the whereabouts of the Garden of Eden.
  •  I discovered that many believe it was in Africa, Mesopotamia, the Mountains near Iran, China, etc. 
  • The 4 heads of the river were known as Pison, Gihon, Euphrates and Hidekkel
  • There are as many speculative ideas as there are evidences for and against. So I decided not to be distracted by the exact whereabouts of Eden's Garden. 
When you consider there was a flood, etc.. it is unlikely that it is where it once was. Then I found a LDS reference to the Garden of Eden by Bruce A Van Orden, associate professor of Church history, BYU. Some key points he made concerning the whereabout of Eden are: 
  • Before the fall of Adam (before he left the garden) the earth was in a paradisiacal form
  • Before the fall, the Garden was the center of the paradisiacal earth. 
  • After the fall there was no paradisiacal place. All of the earth fell. 
  • Joseph Smith declared that (D&C 57) the ancient Garden of Eden was in Jackson Missiouri
  • Brigham Young stated, "Joseph the Prophet told me that the garden of Eden was in Jackson Missouri."   (Journal of Wilfor Woodruff, vol. 5, 15 Mar. 1857 Archives Division, Church Historical Dept., Salt Lake City.) 
  • President Joseph Fielding Smith said: “In accord with the revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, we teach that the Garden of Eden was on the American continent located where the City of Zion, or the New Jerusalem, will be built. 
  • When Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden, they eventually dwelt at a place called Adam-ondi-Ahman, situated in what is now Daviess County, Missouri. … We are committed to the fact that Adam dwelt on [the] American continent.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 3 vols., comp. Bruce R. McConkie, Salt Lake City:Bookcraft, 1956, 3:74. Compare Answers to Gospel Questions, 5 vols., Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1957–75, 2:93–95, 4:19–24; and Alvin R. Dyer, in Conference Report, Oct. 1968, pp. 108–9.)
What I found more interesting is that Eden represents all that we hold dear. It's as if we are always searching for it, ever since Adam left Eden.  
Verse 9... talks about how God gave 
1. Beauty (trees that are pleasant to the sight)
2. Food (trees that are good for food)
3. Eternity (tree of life ) (Immortality)
4. Truth (tree of knowledge of good and evil) 
5. Water ( we know that a river ran out of Eden and divided into four branches.) 

 Think for a moment about your home. What do the common comforts of home offer? 
1. Water 
2. Food 
3. Beauty - for the soul.. visual, audio, touch, taste, thought (the 5 senses)
4. Truth - for the spirit
5. Knowledge of good and evil .. -for the experience of man that he might exercise his agency.

If a home has all of these things then you will have no need to leave. But they don't have them all and we must often leave our homes to find food, to find beuaty, to seek for truth and to learn about good and evil. 

It's as if we are always searching for the home we once knew as Eden's Garden. While we were there we did not have to work because all of our needs were provided for us. We did not have to fear because we did not know of evil.. or good.. we only knew of existence. 
As beautiful as the Garden of Eden was, I believe that I enjoy the experience of Eden much more than the place called Eden. For when we carry Eden in our hearts it can be with us everywhere we go. 

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