“The events associated with the Garden of Eden make it the archetype of our temples. Here Adam received the priesthood, here Adam and Eve walked and talked with God; here our first parents were eternally married by God himself; here they learned of the tree of good and evil and of the tree of life; here they were taught the law of sacrifice and clothed in garments of skin; and from here they ventured into the lone and dreary world that they and their posterity might prove themselves worthy to return again to that divine presence” (McConkie, Gospel Symbolism, 258).
“When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, they lived in a state of innocence—meaning they only had a limited knowledge of good and evil. Lehi described their condition as follows: ‘Wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin’ (2 Nephi 2:23).
“Suppose for a moment my wife and I invited one of you good Saints from California to drive to our home in Utah. Further suppose I asked you to drive in neutral.
“You might smile and respond, ‘That’s not possible.’
“What if I further replied, ‘Just push the accelerator all the way to the floor—you know, as they say, ‘Push the pedal to the metal.’
“You might respond, ‘That would make no difference. I cannot reach your destination until I put my car in gear.’
“So it was with Adam and Eve. They were in a state of spiritual neutral and could not progress toward their divine destiny until they were cast out of the garden and thus put in spiritual gear” (Callister, “Our Identity and Our Destiny”).