Chapter 10
Adam and Eve
It was almost 7 pm before Bishop Earl rang the bell to bring our group together, having Shane and another boy I didn't know, and his sister passed out pamphlets and numerous documents that ranged from medical to a signed contract by each parent and the child signature. They stated that they had read and understood what they were about to do and talk about. He stated that if anyone feels that they wish to leave after this "Roundtable," they may do so with no hard feelings. Also stating that this is not a church function, but a group of friends and family willing to share a beautiful and spiritual experience and they are under no obligation to participate, but to allow others to do so without embarrassment or shame.
Bishop Earl waited for anyone to turn to the first page of the document, which began with a scripture Genesis Chapter 2 verse 18. The story of Adam and Eve:
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And the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make him a help mete for him." And out of the ground, the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature that was the name thereof.
And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam, there was not found a help mete for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof, and the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
And Adam said. "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man. Therefore, shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh," and they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, "Yea, hath God said, Ye, shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"
And the woman said unto the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. But of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden because they were ashamed of their nakedness. In which the serpent had caused in the lord's garden.
And the LORD God called unto Adam and said unto him. "Where art thou?" And he said, "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself." And God said, "Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast, thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?"
And Adam said. "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." And the LORD God said unto the woman. "That is this that thou hast done?" And the woman said. "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." And the LORD God said unto the serpent. "Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field, upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life."
Chapter 3 verse 20
And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins and clothed them. (He did this not to hide their nakedness, but to protect them from the elements,)
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Bishop Earl put down his scriptures and looked out amongst us until he had met each of us as our eyes locked on his and said. "God was not ashamed of Adam and Eve who he had molded with his own hands, it was the serpent known to us as the devil whose name is to us, as Satan, leashed upon the world to corrupt the beauty that God had made hoping to turn our souls and our hearts from him. Today, our world is becoming more corrupt with pornography, drugs, and alcohol. Teenage pregnancy is on the rise and along with prostitution and child sex rings. Our prisons are filled with predators that abuse children and adults regardless of their sex… male or female makes no difference.
"Satan has tainted once was a beautiful thing now is corrupt by sexual desires. Degrading the very thing that God has given to us to have a family regarding creation. Everywhere you look you'll find nudity and sex so appealing that you dare not turn on the TV and on billboards as you drive down the freeway. We cannot hide our children from it and pray they do not seek it out, destroying their lives and their family lives. But we can make it so it is not part of our lives by desensitizing them. Bring back family values, bring back the closeness of family, and bring in Christ into our lives and in our homes, and in our hearts.
"If we take hold of the tainted roots and remove them, plant the seeds of spiritual values with God's teaching and sexual awareness. We can win this battle by making God's image in us beautiful again instead of making it tainted and dirty and disgusting. Our children will become closer to us, and they will become closer to God, by not being ashamed or embarrassed when it comes to sex of any kind, they will be able as well as you as parents will have a more open relationship with each other and God.
"Very few parents today are willing to even to discuss topics like sex and how their body works, giving the impression that by doing so it is dirty and immoral lending them down that path when it comes to their personal lives, and soon before you know it. They have been experimenting and testing the waters. Leading to being ashamed and embarrassed, opening the door to drugs and alcohol, hoping to numb the feeling of being ashamed and embarrassed. Which could lead to anger to the point of mental, physical, and sexual abuse and rape, defiling themselves and others. When that happens, the devil has won. He wants you to be ashamed, he wants you to feel embarrassed, he wants you to feel dirty and immoral.
"Today my friends I with your help will remove the wool from their eyes, expose the dark tainted secrets that bound us to chains, which Satan has placed upon all of us, but if you feel that you rather take the chance and feel you are doing enough to keep your children from these harmful immoral opportunities, and already feel you have an open relationship. You may leave anytime you like; we are not and will not force you." The mess hall was silent, so silent you could hear the waves crashing against the shore, and the soft breeze rustling in the trees. No one said a word, but many of them shifted in their seats.
Dr. Whitmore stood up, telling everyone to turn to the next page. In front of us is a male and female copied from a medical book or something I had seen in my health class. On the following pages were diagrams listing every part of the human body with a notation of what each part is for and how it works. Dr. Whitmore describes in great detail of every muscle, every skin cell, and the sexual anatomy. Goes into greater detail regarding what causes sexual arousal and how babies are made and where they come from. He made it easy to understand, so easy a nine-year-old could understand it. Having their parents take it from there to their younger children.
Susan and Becky's faces were so red with embarrassment, begging my mother to take them home, but Grandma stepped in and told them that wasn't going to happen. Even more so being caught red-handed on several occasions looking at playboys and watching boys shower in the boys' locker room with their friends. I knew when they got home my father was going to have words and they would not be pleasant. If I were to guess by counting heads there were approximately thirty-five people and some of them, I didn't even know from Adam, but the biggest portion of them were my closest friends and neighbors with kids ranging from one to seventeen or older, basically a good mix.
When we came to the last page, the discussion opened up for questions, regarding laws and church teaching regarding the word of wisdom, as well as faith in Christ going deeper into his ministry of healing and family and chastity when came to sex, and other hardcore church doctrine. Bishop Earl referred to the pamphlet listing, books, and articles that can be found in your local library. Today's websites have been set up (if you are interested. Here are a couple of links. Here you will find stories and information regarding making a change to a carefree lifestyle.) No pictures were posted.
http://mormonmatters.org/2009/04/06/families-forver-naked-and-not-ashamed/
http://www.ldssdc.info/
Both my Moms signed on the dotted line without a hint of hesitation. I, on the other hand, hesitated. Asking myself, am I making the right decision? When I looked into Bishop Earl's eyes, I could see the light pulsating. I didn't feel dirty; I didn't feel embarrassed or ashamed. What I did feel was peace and overwhelming love inside of me. The same peace I had felt when I shook Bishop Earls and Bishop Lanwall's hands. I was hoping the burning feeling of love was from God, even though my faith that he answers prayers is up for debate. Bishop Earl's words ring true when I look at my sisters or my mother's bodies, relation or not. I have no sexual desire, instead; I find it beautiful, and I feel loved and closer to them, spiritually. In the end, I added my signature adding it to the other thirty-five.
Like my foster sisters, I had my own special moment later that night, as I watched a father and mother with their two children, one boy and one girl no more than nine years old. Watching them stand against the shore hand in hand, the last rays of the sun shining down on their naked bodies as they walked slowly into the water. I could feel the love radiate from them. There wasn't a hint of shame or embarrassment. Only love for each other and nature. I knew right then, without a single doubt in my mind there was nothing immoral or wrong with my carefree lifestyle, not that didn't have doubts about it from time to time.
Yet there was sorrow as it broke my heart, knowing my father would never embrace it or me. To him, we are breaking one of God's laws when it comes to modesty and chastity. Wanting people like the Rothwells and my closest friends to feel dirty and immoral when there is nothing sexual going on. Yet this was only one-tenth of the problems my father had with me and Aaron when it came to the hatred, he had for us. I have lost count of the number of times he has tried to kill me.
In some ways, I was glad that it took most of the day before we actually got in the water. It made things less awkward for those first-timers experiencing a combined gathering of both females and male when came to showing off their naked bodies. Yet there were some still not brave enough to try it, not many maybe a handful at best, and that was ok too.
Even my grandmother and my mother were shy, grandma sitting on the shore watching her grandsons frolic in the sun. She was proud of me and Aaron, neither embarrassed nor ashamed of the fact we had chosen to be one of the first ones in the water. Mom wasn't shy, unlike my sisters who chose to wear a bathing suit. I laughed as she ran as fast as she could, hoping nobody saw her as she slipped quickly into the water.
Everyone who had chosen to swim tonight had chosen a swim partner, and we were given boundaries on how far out we could go. Every time the whistle blew, we were supposed to show our hands clasped together. By nightfall, meaning when the sun goes down, we all need to be out of the water and ready for group prayer. Even though it wasn't a church function, we all wanted to have God in our hearts. It was our choice if we wanted to participate in the prayer circle. Which I knew my mother and my sisters were on the fence when it came to prayer in the home, but I knew my foster parents would never let it stand if I did not participate, I also knew that my foster Mom would insist on family prayer before we all turned in tonight, some battles are just not worth fighting.
So, we all gathered as a family, only missing Dad and the three bad boys, leaving Shane to lead us instead. My foster Mom reminded me she still wanted to have that talk after she put my two younger foster brothers to bed. Personally, I could have gone the whole day without knowing what she wanted to talk about. Feeling the words would not be pleasant, but what choice did I have? I knew she couldn't hurt me here, or mark me in any way, not even my mother could if she wanted to, and so I felt fairly safe. Well, let's be honest I still had my doubts.