A brief account of how Mormons have been crushing sexist ideas for a long time

One of the best things about modern revelation is the knowledge and understanding we have about Eve. I’ve heard that Joseph Smith was one who did the most for women because by restoring the gospel he made it possible for women to return to God. While that is true and certainly essential, modern revelation clarifying misunderstandings about Eve and women is also essential. Eve, or rather, the interpretation of her, has been a major justification for the slights women have had to endure for millennia.

Eva C. Topping, Ph.D., a devout Orthodox Christian, wrote an article titled “Patriarchal Prejudice and Pride in Greek Christianity - Some Notes on Origins.” This article explains how the interpretation of Eve by early Christians still affects the treatment of women in modern society. A major step in ending this maddening trend of treating women like we’re subpar is to clarify that Eve (and all women) were never meant to be treated less than Adam (and all men).

Early Christians really held on to the whole Adam rib idea, like a dog with a bone. “Eve’s creation from one of Adam’s ribs therefore placed woman second in the order of creation. This was interpreted to mean that not only was woman different from man, but also inferior to him” (Topping, 8-9). We Mormons put our focus on the idea that God created both sexes. In the Proclamation to the Family we read, “ALL HUMAN BEINGS—male and female—are created in the image of God” (LDS.org, Proclamation to the Family). And no, I did not put in the capitalization, that was already there—because we wanted to be clear that women were created in the image of God, not man.

The rib is symbolic. We don’t believe that God actually removed a rib from Adam (The Eternal Family Teacher Manual, 2015 Lesson 7). Russel M. Nelson had this to say about the rib, “The rib signifies neither dominion nor subservience, but a lateral relationship as partners, to work and to live, side by side (Lessons from Eve, Nov. 1987). Modern revelation clarifies that the rib isn’t to symbolize that woman is secondary to man, but that man and woman are of the same fiber. There is no superior or inferior, we’re equal. Different, sure, but equal.

Early Christians and other sexists really like the verses in 1 Corinthians that discourages women from talking in church. Aren’t we lucky that the bible isn’t our only source of information? Modern revelation has encouraged women to teach, expound, and preach. And, as more and more of the gospel is revealed to us, the more responsibility and opportunities women have to speak in church, thus suggesting that women, in God’s finished church, will have a lot of talking to do. We have a lot of talking to do now. In October 1978, Boyd K. Packer said, “We need women who are organized and women who can organize. We need women with executive ability who can plan and direct and administer; women who can teach, women who can speak out” (The Relief Society, Oct. 1978). If you are a woman waiting for permission to speak in church, or if you think you must always defer to your husband, stop waiting. You never needed the permission. Packer told us to speak out almost forty years ago, and many others have too before and after him.

“Following the example of the Church Fathers, Christendom’s prince of liturgical poets (St. Romanos the Melodos) absolves Adam of responsibility in the Fall, and expresses sympathy for him, Eve’s first victim….Romanos attacks Eve for being ‘more serpent-like than the serpent.’”(Topping, 14). I have a list of people I would like to meet in heaven, and this Romanos guy is not on it. But, it’s not just Romanos, the idea that everything is Eve’s fault still prevails.

Modern doctrine helps clarify the Garden of Eden for us. Joseph Smith in 1842, wrote a letter to John Wentworth, a newspaper editor. In this letter was the thirteen Articles of Faith, which primary children have been forced to memorize since. The second Article of Faith reads, “We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.” (Yes, gender neutral language wasn’t a thing in the 1800s—but, we move on.) This teaches us and clarifies a number of things for Christianity. One of them is Adam’s shared responsibility for the Fall. I think the reason why Joseph Smith said Adam’s name specifically was to clarify that Adam also has responsibility for the Fall. Eve wasn’t alone in the Garden, and besides, it’s not even a sin. It also clarifies that women, or anybody, are not to be punished because of the Fall.

We also emphasize the importance of the Fall. Because we understand that if it were not for the Fall, none of us would be here and would thus be in a never progressing state, we tend to view Eve in a much more positive light. “It was Eve who first transgressed the limits of Eden in order to initiate the conditions of mortality. Her act, whatever its nature, was formally a transgression but eternally a glorious necessity to open the doorway toward eternal life” (The Great Plan of Happiness, Dallin H. Oaks, October. 1993). If a negative view of Eve had a negative impact on her daughters, then certainly a positive view can result in a positive impact.

Modern revelation is a defense against the apostasies’, current and past, war against women. The church, its doctrine and core, has been feminist since its origins.