The Garden of Eden was the first temple. After man is placed in the garden, the first items mentioned are the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. (We will just call the latter tree, “The Tree of Knowledge” going forward). Genesis 2:9 tells us that these trees are in the “midst” of the garden. Thus, they are highlighted as the sacred center.
This is important for two reasons. First, they are central to the Plan of Salvation and to the three pillars of eternity—the Creation, the Fall, and the atonement of Jesus Christ. In fact, according to gospel scholar, C. Robert Line, the Tree of Life is actually Jesus Christ. He noted the wording in 1 Nephi 11, where Nephi has a temple-like dialog with the Holy Ghost, or Spirit. Nephi is given a sign. Verse 7 states,
“And behold this thing shall be given unto thee for a sign, that after thou hast beheld the tree which bore the fruit which thy father tasted, thou shalt also behold a man descending out of heaven, and him (Jesus Christ) shall ye witness; and after ye have witnessed him (Jesus Christ) ye shall bear record that it (the Tree of Life) is the Son of God.” (see C. Robert Line, Endowed With Power).
Notice the last line does not say, “ye shall bear record that he is the Son of God.” It says, “ye shall bear record that it is the Son of God.” The Tree of Life also becomes an important symbol for Eve and her role in the garden. We will examine this further in the next post.
The other reason that the placement of these two trees is important is that Adam and Eve had to walk by them every day to eat of the other trees and plants.
The idea of these two trees being in the sacred center of the garden creates an interesting scenario. Jeffrey M. Bradshaw points out that Jewish tradition held that the foliage of the Tree of Knowledge hid the Tree of Life from direct view, and Adam and Eve could only come close to the Tree of Life after partaking of the Tree of Knowledge and moving its branches to clear a path to the Tree of Life. Thus, the Tree of Knowledge would act as a veil hiding the Holy of Holies. (see Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Temple Themes in the Book of Moses).
The next thing mentioned in Genesis 2 is the river that watered the Garden of Eden, which was parted into four heads (verse 10). The river was parted into the four cardinal directions. The four sides of a square would face outward in the four cardinal directions, symbolizing the earth or mortality. The original Nauvoo Temple had a weathervane on top pointing in the four cardinal directions. (see photo below). In order for the river to run out of the garden in four directions, the garden would need to be on a mountaintop, and the mountain would be a symbol of the temple, and before temples were built, the mountain was the temple.
Onyx stones and gold could be found in the land where the first river ran (verse 12). Onyx stones were placed in the shoulders of the Levitical High Priest’s vestures, which were worn in the Tabernacle and later in the temple. On the stones were engraved the names of the Twelve Tribes of Israel—six names on each shoulder. The onyx stones were in settings of gold. (Exodus 28:6-12). Thus, the High Priest would symbolically carry the sins and burdens of the Twelve Tribes on his shoulders recalling Jesus, the Great High Priest, who would carry “the government . . . upon His shoulder” (Isaiah 9:6).
Besides the onyx, there were other precious gems in Eden further described in Ezekiel 28:13-14 which states, “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.”
The High Priest also wore a breastplate with 12 stones, representing the 12 Tribes. The stones in the breastplate are similarly described in Exodus 28:17-20: “And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.” A similar list of precious stones is described in the foundation of the celestial city in Revelation 21:19-20.
After the commandment to not eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge comes the naming of the animals in Genesis 2:19-20. In the King James Genesis account, it says the animals were brought to Adam “to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” It sounds like Adam is merely making up names. But in the Quran, this is actually a testing for Adam to verify if he can give the correct name in each case. The question is asked and Adam receives the correct name through revelation.
So, did Eve get her name from Adam? Genesis 3:20 reads, “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.” Again, restoration scripture comes to our aid for a correct understanding. Moses 4:26 reads, “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living; for thus have I, the Lord God, called the first of all women, which are many.” This verse makes it clear that Adam could give the correct name of Eve which he received from God.
Perhaps it’s in the giving of the correct names of the animals that Adam realizes he is incomplete. Perhaps he noticed the animals had mates, yet he was alone. It is at this point when the Lord provides a “help meet” (ezer in Hebrew) for Adam.
AND SPOILER ALERT: Not a maid to clean the house or do the dishes!
