From chapter one of the book “Eve and the Choice in the Garden,” author Beverly Campbell wrote:
The Prophet Joseph declared Adam to be only second to the Savior in powers and priesthood. Much has been written and spoken of him. The task is at hand to examine vital insights and clarifying information about his glorious companion, Eve. As myths, cultures and translational bias are pierced by the truth and light of the restored gospel, I hope all will come to know, as I have, that a righteous, brilliant, vital woman was chosen, called, and tutored by God, loved and honored and cherished by Adam, and trusted by the spirits in the Grand Council to act with her magnificent eternal companion in their behalf. . . .
. . . . I believe that women and men will be better able to articulate their roles, understand their lives, accept their responsibilities, and complete their missions in mortality when they have a clearer understanding of the priesthood and the powers of Father Adam, a more exalted view of Mother Eve, and a greater appreciation of the beauty of the partnership of our first parents. Our culture and our consciousness can be transformed, individual by individual, as we come to know truth. Elder B. H. Roberts counseled: “To be known, the truth must be stated, and the clearer and more complete the statement is, the better opportunity will the Holy Ghost have for testifying to the souls of men that the work is true.”8
From chapter 1 “Mother, Matriarch, Mentor”
Who is this woman, the Mother of All Living, this Eve, who with Adam, the mighty premortal Michael, Ancient of Days, aided the Creator as this world was organized? Why do we find her persona imprinted on virtually all cultures, all societies and all religions? Why have these self same religions, societies, and cultures used her story to proclaim appropriate activities of women, to justify ecclesiastical positioning, and to extend or withdraw privileges and legal access to families, properties and position?
. . . . “Eve, first woman of earthly creation, companion of Adam and mother and matriarch of the human race, is honored by Latter-day Saints as one of the most important, righteous, and heroic of all the human family. Eve’s supreme gift to mankind, the opportunity of life on this earth, resulted from her choice to become mortal.”
The first clues to Eve’s true magnificence I came upon were written by Elder Bruce R. McConkie: “As there are no words to extol the greatness of the Ancient of Days unto whom thousands and thousands shall minister and before whom ‘ten thousand times ten thousand’ shall stand in a day of judgement, so there is no language that could do credit to our glorious mother Eve.” (1. Tierney, “Search for Adam and Eve,” 46.) ~Beverly Campbell, Eve and the Choice Made in the Garden (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2003), 14-25 (continued)
