"The Fall of Adam and Eve"

Megan Knobloch Geilman (American, born 1986)
The Temerity of Eve (2025)
Digital collage, 30 x 46 inches
Used with permission of the artist
Artist’s website

In 1987, President Russell M. Nelson taught, “Eve came as a partner, to build and to organize the bodies of mortal men. She was designed by Deity to co-create and nurture life, that the great plan of the Father might achieve fruition. Eve ‘was the mother of all living’ (Moses 4:26). She was the first of all women.”

Even so, Eve remains a figure of curiosity in both scripture and culture. Throughout history, artists have been inspired by Eve in the Garden of Eden. The story raises questions of deep religious importance. These include deception versus choice, temptation versus purpose, and innocence versus wisdom.

The Temerity of Eve, a recent artwork by Megan Knobloch Geilman, explores the idea of female agency. The piece builds on traditional images of Eve while also expanding them. Geilman explains that she became interested in showing Eve with more than one apple, something she had never seen before. Eve is usually shown holding a single fruit, which represents the dramatic moment of the Fall. But Geilman asks a different question: What if the Fall was the result of many small choices rather than one single act?

Geilman’s work is rich with symbolism and meaning. In this image, notice the different stages of decay in the apples, the darkened halo, and the ship made of lightbulbs. What might these symbols suggest about choice, consequence, and growth?

More by Megan Knobloch Geilman:
**The Delicate Ties That Bind**

What should we focus on building and what needs to be let go?

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Gospel Questions
1. Thinking about Adam and Eve as our first examples, what do you learn from their choices and their decision-making methods?

2. "We all owe a great debt of gratitude to Eve…. Eve made [a great] statement of visionary wisdom after leaving the Garden of Eden: 'Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.' (Moses 5:11). If it hadn't been for Eve, none of us would be here." (James E. Faust, "What It Means to Be a Daughter of God," October 1999 General Conference) How has your life been blessed by Eve's choices? What is the legacy of "our glorious Mother Eve" for "many of her faithful daughters" (D&C 138:39)?

3. What does the story of Cain and Abel teach about jealousy and comparisons in families?

For Children and Youth
Hi. Every day, you have many choices to make. They are like little divisions on the road. You can go this way or that way. How do you know what choice to make? In 1909, Henry A. Tuckett (music) and J. L. Townsend (words) wrote a song that Latter-day Saints have been singing every since. Here is the chorus:

Choose the right! Choose the right!
Let wisdom mark the way before;
In its light, Choose the right!
And God will bless. you evermore.

1. Adam and Eve made choices in the Garden of Eden. What about you? What is a recent choice that you had to make, and how did you decide what to do?