mother eve

A happy depiction of Mother Eve — the way I picture her, light, happy and beautiful. None of the sinfulness that hovers in most religious images of her. Mormons are progressive when it comes to Eve, decidedly different than the rest of Christianity. To me, Eve was not a sinner. She and Adam were given a choice: stay in Eden happy and childless forever, or become mortal, have posterity and lead all humanity into a life where we can gain a mortal experience. I like Eve here in this portrait, whose artist I don't know. I like the 4 different cats, the playfulness and variety they add to the scene (are they the 4 directions? the 4 elements?) I like the rift behind Eve, symbolic of the choice she had at hand. Two cats here, two there — both sides seemed equally good to her for a while. And I love so much that she holds, and covers herself with, a lilly: a symbol of purity, the same flower that Gabriel would later give to Mary. My beautiful and happy Mother Eve.