Episode 62. Understanding the Eve Mindset with Melinda Wheelwright Brown

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I recently sat down with Melinda Wheelwright Brown who is the author of “Eve and Adam: Discovering the Beautiful Balance.” She is also a wife, mom, grandma, and she shares her journey to writing her book and why she feels so strongly about helping women. We also discussed the many aspects of who and what Eve was and what women can learn about their own feminine divinity from her and her mission on Earth.

Eve Can Help Me

In 2016 Melinda Wheelwright Brown was working with a non-profit organization that helped women in difficult circumstances. Her experiences gave her deep insights to the horrific situations that many women face daily. She was overwhelmed with the thought that in this day and age women were being so incredibly mistreated. Women right here in her own country and state. At this time in her life she was also facing difficulties with extended family that left her feeling discouraged and wondering why life was so hard for many women. 

As she sat in her office one day pondering what she could do to help women she was brought to tears in sorrow and confusion. She felt there was a gap between her reality and what she expected from our Heavenly Parents plan of happiness. She frustratingly looked up and was drawn to a painting of Eve. She felt as though the image in the painting was jumping out at her and thought to herself, "Eve can help me."

 Painting by: Caitlin Connolly

What We Learn From Eve

For centuries Eve was portrayed as weak, evil, troublesome and many other mischaracterizations. So much so that in many cultures it has led to the mistreatment of women and a disregard for their value. When in all reality, Eve should be revered as a courageous faithful heroine who worked closely with the Savior to enact agency and the Plan of the Salvation here on the Earth. When we view Eve in a reverent way, we can learn many lessons about our own lives and our own divinity. Two lessons we can learn from Eve that I discussed with Melinda Wheelwright Brown are as follows.

1. Agency is Key

In the Garden of Eden, Eve faced two mutually exclusive choices. She had to make a very difficult choice. A choice that would have a huge impact on not only her life, but everyone else as well. We too face choices in our lives. Choices that often feel heavy and overwhelming to us. However, choices are imperative to The Plan of Salvation. As Melinda shared when speaking of agency,

"It is the most crucial part of the plan. We have to be put into a situation where we have to make a choice. Because it is by making choices that we learn. That we figure out what matters more to us. What matters less to us. What feels good. What feels bad. What is a blessing that brings us closer to Christ. What is a deterrent the pushes us away from Christ."   

We know from scripture that Eve was "like unto Adam." Meaning that she, like Adam, was a valiant faithful disciple who wanted to do what was right. She wanted to make the right choice and when faced with the need to choose she was uncertain of what to do. It wasn't an easy decision. If she had known exactly what to do, she would not have needed to choose or enact her agency.

The same is true for us. There is so much uncertainty in our lives. We face opposition and confusing forks in our road and we don't always know exactly what to do. Often times the answers we pray for when making choices are not clear. Specifically when both choices will offer blessings and progression. It doesn't make it easy but knowing that having to choose for ourselves which direction we want to go will bring us growth, stronger faith and a deeper connection to Christ.

2. Heavenly Mother 

There has recently been somewhat of a "conflict" among members of the Church around the topic of Heavenly Mother. There is a broad spectrum of opinions about how She is spoken of, taught about, or to what extent we can and should connect with Her. As we seek to understand more about Heavenly Mother we can look to Eve.

It has been taught that Eve and Adam were married while in the Garden of Eden. They were a couple and partners in their immortal, and subsequent mortal, lifetimes. Being that they were the first children of God and human beings on the Earth, where then did they learn their roles as man and woman and how to have such a balanced partnership and marriage? By emulating Heavenly Parents.

They were being mentored and taught while in the Garden of Eden. Everything they knew about their existence was taught to them by heavenly beings. They learned about marriage, parenting and what it meant to be a family. Adam learned what it meant to be a man and Eve learned what it meant to be a woman. They learned from the perfect roles models of a Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother who were two separate beings married, equal, and united as one in all things. 

Eve was the first woman on the Earth. She was the first wife and mother. She was a valiant servant who was chosen to be the "mother of all living" and she made the choice that only she could make. A choice that ultimately opened the door to progression and salvation. When we look to her story and what she did there are endless possibilities to what we can learn from her about faith, courage, and the divinity of womanhood.