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?

A Good Name: Wisdom Ecclesiastes 7 P

Ecclesiastes 7

A Good Name:

Layeth not his heart

In the house of feasting.

But seeks to mourn

With those who mourn

And comfort those

In need of comfort.

Strengthens his heart in sorrow

And considers a sad countenance.

Seeketh the heart of the wise

In the house of mourning

And leaves the fools to their mirth.

Hears the songs that upbraid,

With an excellency of wisdom

That is meant to make better the heart.

Waits with a patient spirit;

For a thing's end brings more

Satisfaction than its beginning.

Resteth his anger,

Not in the hasty

Bosom of fools,

But rather in

He that giveth life.

Sees wisdom in he

Who can see the sun

And knows from whence

An inheritance finds profit

Knows that both wisdom

And money bring protection,

But wisdom alone giveth life.

Rejoiceth in his prosperity

But considers God

In his day of adversity.

Balances his righteousness

So that he perisheth not.

And considers his foolishness

So that he lives a long life.

Fears God

With the strength of wisdom

That brings the sadness of truth

That he is a sinner.

Judgeth not others

For their cursing.

But knows of his

Own cursing.

Asks, how do I truly know

The wisdom that elusively

Stretches before me

And dives exceedingly

deep within me?

Will yet apply his heart to know,

to search, to seek the reason of things.

Realizing that a good name

May be found in

Only one man

Amongst a thousand.

Is a precious ointment

on the day of death.

Linda Conkey Shaw copyright July 9 2010

Wisdom. Why does it elude us so? Why do we think we are wise and find out we have come so short a distance after traveling for so many years? Wisdom is defined as having experience, knowledge and good judgment. Sometimes children seem to have more than adults.

One child who was celebrating his 5th birthday with his grandfather who was celebrating his 50th birthday, said to his grandfather, "Hey we are the same age, because zero's

don't count."

And they don't. And true wisdom helps us know that age is but a number on our journey of eternal life. Experience shapes our lives, but not necessarily the wisdom within us.

Children often surprise us with the wisdom they possess, not because of their knowledge or experience, but because of their lack of experience and knowledge. It amazes me with what they often can say and come up with as it relates to the world of adults. They see life so matter of fact. It is their naivete's, honesty, and limited perspective that brings them the wisdom that so often eludes adults. Untainted by the world "of foolishness", they serve to remind us of what our maturity has forgotten.

Jesus said we should see life as little children. I am often reminded of how much humility and joy comes from a little child. My youngest grandson has a smile that lights up my world. He enjoys life to the fullest. His smiles, laughter, and questions delight me. We were sitting outside (he's 5) and he noticed our lawn chair, and its ability to have its back lowered or raised. He began to look at it from all angles. Finally he said to me,

"Gramma, look see how high this can go? Gramma, look see how low it will go? Look what makes it stay high. See how this works?"

He is observant beyond his years. His wisdom lies in the structure of life. I marvel at how much wisdom he already has in learning to understand how things are put together.

My other grandson need only hear a song and he will sing it and then play it on the piano. I marveled at his piano talent at such a young age. His wisdom lies in the melody of life. Then there is my youngest granddaughter.(18 months) She speaks to us with sign language (and a few words) and manages just fine to maneuver all through her world of discovery. Her wisdom comes through her pure joy of discovery, and the delight of her soul in making all around her smile.

It is my prayer that we will discover that wisdom comes not only from knowledge, experience, and good judgment, but also from the pureness of a new soul that craves life and sees it all anew. I believe that if we can all remember this child-like wisdom of seeing the world through the magic of belief in ourselves, in others, and in all that we experience we might just find some sense of true wisdom and give ourselves "A Good Name".

Words and Phrases

vs 1 -precious ointment - for healing, for comfort, for relaxation, for safety. a good name.

vs 9 anger restest in the bosom of fools.- Be slow to be anger or be foolish in your actions

vs 12 wisdom giveth life - without wisdom there is little life worth living. Wisdom keeps life balanced. Different people have different talents for wisdom.

vs consider the work of God - this alone is wisdom

vs 15 just man perisheth in his righteousness - He who is so sure he is right and is unwilling to change.. He who is not humble enough to admit his faults will cause himself so much grief, that he will perish in his righteousness

Vs 16 neither make thyself overwise - too much of anything is not good

vs 19 Wisdom strengthened the wise - I think of McGuiver (television) He was very wise with all of his knowledge and could always get out of trouble with his knowledge. Knowledge can keep us from trouble and help us fight our battles. The wise know that they need not be physically strong to win a battle. I think of David and Goliath.

vs 20 - not a just man upon the earth - we are all sinners. We all make mistakes even the wise. especially the wise because they believe their wisdom protects them.

vs 24 exceedingly deep who can find it - somethings that we contemplate about wisdom are much too much to comprehend. We must do our best and then let it go. it will come in time. For me it was understanding what love was. I thought it was about saying a few words. Now I know it is so much more. It is doing, saying, living, and breathing for another that you love.

vs 29 God hath made man upright - He wants us to live a good life. Man seeks many different ways to wander from God. But if we want we can have wisdom and walk upright before God.

A Plan to Look For

1 Nephi 11: 23-36

I was having a hard time finding something to draw from these verses so I began discussing them with my son. He told me to dig deeper, to think a little harder. First I had to let it go and walk away a bit. Then I had to go back and LOOK. Hidden in the story of Nephi's lesson with the angel I found a greater understanding.

There is always a plan. God gives us a plan. Most of the time we don't see it because we are so distracted with the daily chores of life, but I promise there is always a plan.

I think the angel wanted Nephi (and me) to see more than the story of God's life here on earth; he wanted me to understand that it was planned for from the beginning. We are the ones' who stray from the plan. If we will but look, there is so much we can see.

These verse deal with God's plan for man. Within the chapter there are 18 versions of the word LOOK. Most of them are dealing with how the angel was showing the vision to Nephi. But what exactly was he showing Nephi? A Plan for Man.

No words or phrases today. Just what I discovered.

Vs. 7 ... The angel tells Nephi that after he beholds the tree of life (vs. 22 tells us this is the Love of God), he will see a man descend from heaven. It is Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Vs. 8... Look and see the Love of God. After he has seen and felt the love of God, the angel asks what desireth thou?

Vs. 9. Nephi wants to know what it means? What does the love of God and the Son of God have to do with one another?

Vs. 12 Look! ... and he vanishes only to have a vision of the plan of earth comes into view.

1. Vs. 13. The Virgin Mary

2. Vs. 16 The condescension of God

3. Vs. 19 Look... the birth of Christ upon the earth

4. Vs. 21. Why does the angel ask him (after telling him of the birth of God) if he understands the meaning of the tree? Why does he put these two things together? What is the connection between the Tree of Life (love of God) and the birth of Jesus Christ? Look to vs. 25

5. 24. Look... the Ministry of Jesus upon the earth

6. 25. Look. the rod of Iron.. the word of God upon the earth and which leads to the tree of life (or to Jesus Christ).

7. Vs. 27... John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus with water and the Holy Ghost

8. Vs. 29 The Twelve Apostles

9. Vs 31. The power of the priesthood manifest in the healing of men

10. Vs 32. Jesus Christ is judged of the world

11. Vs. 34. Crucifixion of Christ and the apostasy of the Church

12. Vs. 35. The multitude of the earth is gathered together against the Church.

The angel will continue to lay out in vision the plan of God for man. He shows him that Jesus Christ was born to redeem mankind from their sins. There are many different lessons in these verses. The lessons will only be found if I will LOOK for them.

In looking at Nephi's vision I can see how God made manifest his love unto the children of men. I can see how God brings us love through providing a way for us to escape from our own mistakes and our own sins. I can see that if God wanted Nephi to LOOK and see the plan of salvation unto man, why would he not want me to look and discover my own plan.

In looking through the scriptures (like looking through a looking glass) I can see so much of my life and find the direction I need.

I wonder what keeps us from looking. If an angel came to me and told me to LOOK would I?

the pride of the world (vs. 36)... I think that is what keeps us from looking.

When I go on a trip, I look constantly at my map (my plan), my trip ticket (my plan), my route of travel (my plan). When I begin a project I have a plan and I refer back to it over and over.

The scriptures are our map and guide while we are here on earth. If we will take time to do what the angel instructed... to LOOK... at what? the plan.. the instructions, the story, the example that the Love of God left for us. We can find the strength to discover our own plan and discover within us a "most joyous soul". (Vs. 22).