The Women’s Exponent is full of articles about the greatness of women.  I don’t think we can talk too much about the subject.  Too many women still think they don’t have much to offer in this world.  And there are women who think they are so amazing, they deserve more than what they’re given.  We need to recognize ourselves as valued daughters of our Heavenly Father.  I have to state here that I do not call myself a feminist.  I choose not to align myself with the connotation of that name.  I would rather call myself a woman of God.  I know and understand my place in the scheme of things.  I accept my responsibilities and I just hope I can do all that is required of me.

Emmeline Wells searched the scriptures to discover the place of women in the Lord’s eyes.  And she wrote articles about her discoveries.  In one, she recalls Deborah and Huldah, both Prophetesses.  These are women we don’t speak of very often, but maybe we should.

In Judges, chp. 4, we read how Deborah is confronted with the decision to go after the king of Canaan.  Deborah (an Israelite) is told, by the Lord it is time to get rid of the heathen people of that land, and goes after the Captain of the king’s army, Sisera.  She says, “the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman”.  She goes with Barak (who was himself a force to be reckoned with) to capture Sisera.  With their own armies of tens of thousands of men, Deborah sends Barak to charge after Sisera and his armies and they kill everyone except Sisera, who “fled away on his feet” to the tent of Jael (a woman) for safety.  She puts him to bed, covers him with a blanket, and hammers a nail through his temple.

Okay, that may seem pretty graphic, but it shows us that women were right there, in the middle of the works of the Lord.  Yes, the Israelites were commanded to kill the Canaanites and assume possession of the land…several times.  I like to know that women are just as involved in the building of the kingdom of God.  The Lord needs us, and our special abilities (even if it is just using a hammer).

King Josiah (2 Kings chp. 22) took the throne at the tender age of eight.  When he was eighteen, while cleaning out the temple, someone found the Book of the Law (which had been buried and forgotten) and showed it to him.  At this time, he was king over idol worshippers and he could now see how off base everyone had become.  He sent people to talk to the Prophetess Hulda, to enquire of the Lord what they should do.  Hulda, speaking in the name of the Lord said, “Thus saith the Lord…My wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.”  King Josiah began immediately to destroy the idols, the groves, and the wicked priests.   (By the way, don’t be scared away by the hard-to-pronounce names in the Bible.)

Another prophetess we need to recognize is Eliza R. Snow.  This woman was sent throughout the territory of Utah to tell the Bishops to begin organizing their women into Relief Societies.  She spoke to packed houses about righteous living.  She understood the priesthood order of things, saying, “We stand in a different position from the ladies of the world; we have made a covenant with God, we understand his order, and know that that order requires submission on the part of women.”   Yet, she was not afraid to say, “Sometimes I think we can do more than the brethren.”

These women were admired, and looked up to, by all those around them.  These women had authority and respect.  When they spoke, people understood they spoke for the Lord, their righteous words could command thousands with nary a hint of challenge or rebellion.  Today, we tend to question our women leaders; even our men leaders sometimes.  We forget that they are the Lord’s mouthpiece for our day.  We forget to whom we are really listening.

Emmeline ends her article with these words, “There are abundant testimonies that God acknowledges women as capable of thinking and acting for herself, also that she could be trusted with sacred messages. “

It’s clear the Lord has confidence in women.  A righteous woman is indeed a pearl to be cherished.  Women have shown stamina, grit, and courage in the face of wickedness and those who would belittle and ignore her.  May we all stand tall, without fear, to do the Lord’s work, which He places in our hands.