Adam and Eve, Examples of Equality?

In the Family Proclamation to the World it states that men and women should work together as equal partners.

Equal Partners, but what does equal mean exactly. According to Dictionary.com equal means as great as; the same as. In other words equal means identical, we can't be the same as others no matter how hard we try.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin taught: "The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father's children are different in some degree. yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole.
This to me means that it's important to be who we are and be the best of whom we can be. The Proclamation does after all teach that gender is essential characteristic of who we are.

We are told that neither the man nor the woman is above one another. As Elder Earl C. Tingey stated : "You must not misunderstand what the Lord meant when Adam was told he was to have a help meet. A help meet is a companion suited to or equal to us. We walk side by side with a help meet, not one before or behind the other. A help meet results in an absolute equal partnership between a husband and a wife. Eve was equal to Adam as a husband and wife are to be equal to each other."

Many believe that Eve partaking of the fruit was a great tragedy, but we are taught that it was the exact opposite. Elder Dallin H. Oaks tells us that although it was a transgression it was an eternally a glorious necessity to open the doorway toward eternal life. Joseph Smith taught that she did not sin in the since we think of because God decreed it. If Eve hadn't partaken of the fruit then the world would never had started.

Many think that Genesis 3:16 says that Adam was to rule over and it does state that in English. But Elder Bruce C. Hafen explains that over in the "rule over" uses the Hebrew bet, which means ruling with not ruling over. Help meet is even interpreted differently as Elder Hafen points out that meet means that Eve was adequate for, or equal to, Adam She wasn't his servant or his subordinate.

Eve was to hearken to Adam, just as Adam was to hearken to Eve. We as husband and wife are suppose to hearken to each other. More on that in another post.

Adam and Eve being our first parents help set this perfect example. They were able to show their children the importance of working together and with one another. The were told to go out into the world after partaking of the fruit and to work for their food. As I can only imagine this took a lot of time and patience together as working the ground without any pre-made tools would have been a tough task to do day in and day out.

Successful Marriages and Families Proclamation Principles and Research Perspectives
Alan J Hawkins et al Chapter 4 pg 38-40