Women of the Scriptures: Good Works

Ruth   Ruth 1

The classic Old Testament tale of service. When all the men in her family died and she had no means to support her daughters-in-law, Naomi told Orpah and Ruth to leave her so they could have a chance to remarry. Orpah tearfully left, but Ruth, seeing that Naomi would have no means to take care of herself, decided to stay. Ruth knew that this would mean that she would likely never remarry. She knew she would live in squalor for the rest of her life. She knew that she would be shunned by society for being a Moabitess. But she stayed anyway because she loved Naomi. And as we see later in her story, Ruth is immensely blessed for her act of kindness and charity. God will do the same for us. Perhaps he won’t send us a knight in shining armor, but He will reward us for serving His children.  

 

Rahab   Joshua 2, James 2:25

Talk about a dramatic story. You are living a less-than-respectable life to support your family. An infamous wandering nation is closing in on the city and two spies decide to stop by your house. You could turn them in and save your own skin, or you could hide them and help them. What a predicament. But Rahab knew that these were good men and that some Supreme Being was with them and their people. Even though there would be dire consequences if she were caught (and she almost was, they knew she had spies in her home), she helped the Jews achieve victory over Jericho. She is a great example to modern-day women of courage and compassion, and also that no matter our background, we can still do the work of the Lord.

Women of the Scriptures: Divine Nature

Eve   Moses 5:11, Genesis 1:26-27

Eve does not get nearly as much credit as she deserves. The whole eating the apple thing, yeah I get it. But here is the thing: She was created in the image of God, she was the culminating act of creation, and she was filled with the desire to live up to her divine potential. Living in the glorious presence of God on a daily basis, Eve likely wanted what every child wants: to become like her Parents. One of the main points in Satan’s pitch was that in eating the fruit Eve would become wise like unto her Father. I don’t think Eve partook of the fruit out of stupidity or rebellion – I think she ate the fruit so that she could become wise like her Father. Though she was instrumental in the fall of man from God’s presence, Eve exemplifies humanity’s innate connection to our Heavenly Father in that each one of us, male and female, was created in His likeness. Because of her, we each possess yet another spark of divinity within us: agency and knowledge. Thanks to Eve, we now have the ability to grow and choose for ourselves to follow our Savior and become more like Him.

 

Mary   Luke 1:28, 46-55

Mary the mother of Jesus is one of the most beloved Biblical figures. What we can glean from her story is that she was a thoughtful, faithful, devoted, and virtuous young woman, and therefore highly favored of the Lord. Of all young women, God chose her to be the vessel through which the Son of God would enter the world. Mary, among her many other qualities, exemplifies the divine power that all women innately possess – the power to create. She brought into the world the One who would make it possible for each of us to harness and achieve our divine identity – our Savior. She also demonstrates how we – as imperfect and lowly as we are – can be molded and shaped by celestial hands to magnify the great potential that lies within us.

Women of the Scriptures: Knowledge

Huldah   2 Chronicles 34

Now here is an obscure figure for you. In the Old Testament, King Josiah found some troubling prophecies in scripture and was desperate to have them interpreted. So his servants sought out the prophetess, Huldah. She read the scriptures and explained them to the king, adding in further inspiration that she received from the Lord. What makes her story so cool, other than the fact that the King sought out the help of a woman to educate him on the meaning of scripture, is that she used the gifts of intelligence that God had given her and then relied on the Lord for further guidance. When we seek knowledge, we should follow the pattern set forth by Huldah: use our gifts, but do not forget from whom those gifts come.

 

Mothers of the Stripling Warriors   Alma 56:45-48, 57:21

This group of women was not always righteous. They used to be part of a fallen and ruthless people. But when the gospel entered their lives thanks to the missionary work of Ammon and his brothers, these women forsook their sins and lived the teachings of Christ. They treasured the light they had received and made sure they taught their children everything they knew. So great were their teachings and examples that their sons were exactly obedient and had iron-clad faith in God which led them to victory. The mothers of the stripling warriors valued the knowledge of Christ and made sure that their children grew up in and were strengthened by that knowledge. May we treasure the knowledge we have and then spread that knowledge to benefit those around us.

Women of the Scriptures: Faith

Faith was tough to choose for, in that virtually every woman in the scriptures is an exemplar of faith. In the end, I settled on these strong women whose stories reflect a very intense trust in the Lord.

The Widow of Zarephath   1 Kings 17:9-16 

Like many women in the scriptures, (including many women in this list) the Widow of Zarephath goes unnamed, but this in no way diminishes her importance. She lived in a time of drought, a single mother with no means of supporting her family. One day, the food ran out and hope ran out with it. In this dire moment, she met a man – whom she recognized immediately as a holy man – who asked her for the unthinkable. He asked her to feed him first instead of her own son. Even with the promise of food thereafter, I am mesmerized by her ability to agree to his terms and use all of the ingredients she had left to make him a small cake. Through her faith in the prophet and promises of the Lord, despite not having any proof that food would arrive thereafter, she and her son did receive and endless supply of meal and oil, and thus survived the drought.

 

King Lamoni’s Wife   Alma 19

There are not a whole lot of women mentioned in the Book of Mormon, but the ones that we do have are incredible, and King Lamoni’s wife is one of my favorites. She lived in troubling times – her kingdom was divided against itself with rebellious men stealing her husband’s sheep on a regular basis. Then a mysterious, enemy Nephite prince arrives and starts working as a servant. Matters only get worse when one day after having an extended conversation with this Nephite, her husband the king dies. We see from a later account with Lamoni’s father that it would have been easy for her to execute the man supposedly responsible for Lamoni’s death. But instead she does something interesting – she listens to her servants’ side of the story. She seeks out information from those of lower status than her. Then she ultimately decides to confer with the possible murderer of her husband. When Ammon arrives, she does not accuse. She does not rail on him. She asks him for help. When Ammon tells her that her husband is not dead, she has no one to confirm his claims – but all the same she humbly submits to his advice and believes his words. “There [had] not been such great faith among all the people of the Nephites” (Alma 19:10). This queen stands as a wonderful example of the humility and grace of faith.

 

 

 

 

Women of the Scriptures: Integrity

Hannah   1 Samuel 1, 2

In the Old Testament, those women who could not bear children carried a heavy weight of shame. Hannah was one of these women. She sought divine aid many times, but it was not until she made a promise to the Lord that she would give her son to Him that her pleas to have a child were answered. Here comes the tricky part: you finally have the son you have always wanted. You could easily make excuses to keep him. Plead with the Lord again, ask Him for more time, another child. But Hannah didn’t do this. She kept the covenant she made to the Lord, even though giving up her only child was the likely most difficult thing she had ever done. She stayed true to her word when the stakes were high, just as we should always stay true to our values and promises no matter the circumstance.

 

Shiphrah and Puah   Exodus 1:15-21

These women are hidden gems. In their story, Pharaoh had just decided to slaughter every newborn Jewish boy in order to halt insurrection. One of his extermination methods was to recruit Jewish midwives as undercover executioners. Pharaoh demanded the following: if Shiphrah and Puah helped birth a baby boy, they were to immediately and discreetly kill the baby. For obvious reasons, Shiphrah and Puah were not too keen on this task. So they straight up lied to Pharaoh’s face in order to save these children. They explained that the Jewish women gave birth so fast that the kids were already born before they could get there in time. Under this excuse, they were able to continue to save the lives of many male infants. Shiphrah and Puah demonstrated the higher virtue that nothing is more precious than life, and it should be protected at all costs. They held true to what they knew was the most important, even when this put their own lives in danger. Dang cool ladies.