BOOK NOOK REVIEW

WOMEN of the BOOK OF MORMON
by Heather B. Moore


Only a few woman are named in the Book of Mormon. A few more are noted in regard to their husbands, sons and lovers. Despite their anonymity, no one can deny that the powerful men of the the Book of Mormon had equally noble women by their sides, comforting them, bearing and raising their children, and waiting for their return from war. What lessons do their lives hold for us in our day?

Heather B. Moore is a prolific author of scripture-based historical fiction, but her newest book, "Women of the Book of Mormon," is a scholarly piece packed with splendid research and astute analysis on these oft-forgotten scriptural women.

I consider myself fairly well-versed in the scriptures, but Heather B. Moore has again done what she does so well--humanizing her subjects with cultural and historical details that illuminate their lives, making them real to us in ways this reader never before considered. Moore draws from the research of anthropological and scriptural scholars to recreate the locations and times in which these women lived. We weigh their sacrifices and feel the burden of their struggles, while the power of their influence for good or evil is also powerfully felt.

For example, Moore's depiction of the privileged life a wealthy matron in Jerusalem helps us empathize with the changes that likely occurred in the women's lives of Lehi's and Ishmael's households once they headed into the wilderness. Their lives of luxury were over, their beautiful clothing, jewels and household goods were now gone. I understood this, but Moore goes on to explain that without the benefit of servants, the responsibility for cooking, cleaning and serving the men fell to these once-privileged wives and daughters. The nomadic lifestyle required their pampered hands to set up camp, raise tents, toil, spin and weave. According to tradition, the women would have walked the long distances from site to site while the men rode. I saw brave, noble Sariah through new eyes.

The chapter describing the wife of Mormon also moved me deeply. Moore reminds us that Mormon's wife was alone most of her married life, raising at least one noble son while her husband led a fallen, depraved people in battle. I had just finished reading Moroni nine when I reached this chapter, recalling Mormon's horrific details of depravity and torture, and then Moore connected the dots, reminding readers that these were the times and circumstances under which this hero's wife likely lived and died. The heroism and courage of this this unnamed woman leaped off the page at me.

Moore also notes that one fallen women has the distinction of being named in the Book 0f Mormon--the harlot Isabel. Moore again pulls in fascinating research to explain why this woman's actions likely warranted her name being held in remembrance.

"Women of the Book of Mormon" is filled with wonderful insights that make these women and their stories come alive. These were women who understood sacrifice and who had their eyes fixed on eternity. As I read each chapter my mind kept drifting to Relief Society General President Sister Julie Beck's recent conference talk about the need for women in the Church to "live so that we qualify for, receive, and know how to follow the Spirit." Heather B. Moore's book is filled with such women . . . strong, tender, remarkable, and under-considered women.

"Women of the Book of Mormon" is a treasure to add to any family's library. Though the research is solid, Heather B. Moore wrote the vignettes simply, making this book a comfortable, easy read that will satisfy young readers as well as Gospel Doctrine students.

You will learn, and readers will never again gloss over the contributions of these great women. But more than that, careful consideration of this volume could improve one's overall scripture study habits, reminding us to pause as we read, to draw lessons from each character's life and circumstances. This is a book I'll refer to often. Bravo, Heather B. Moore!

"Women of the Book of Mormon" is available wherever LDS books are sold.

THE GIFT OF OPPOSITION

I've mentioned before that one of my all-time favorite stories is about a king who sends his three sons out on a quest to return with a picture of peace. A year passes, and when they return, two of the sons present sketches of serene settings. The third returns with a sketch of a solid rock face marred by a crack. Emerging from that crack is a tenacious little branch upon which rests a tiny bird. The king's eyes moistened as he looked upon the image, for he knew that a man who understood that true peace must be found despite opposition would make a wise ruler.

I think of that image often. I'm in a relatively quiet stage of life right now. My husband and I are basically quiet people. I'm a little more animated than he, but life is peaceful--we eat what and when we choose, we nap when we like, and we play when we want. I'm free to write most days now.

It sounds lovely, but I miss the chaos of family life from time to time. My memories are rose-colored, I know. I see cherubs racing home from school with with stories and adventures to share, forgetting the pushing and shoving as they dove into the pantry for after-school snacks, and completely ignoring the hectic rush to prepare and serve dinner to four busy kids who had practices, homework and games to attend.

I'm visiting grandkids now, and life is noisy, busy, messy, chaotic and sleepless. Today my four-year-old granddaughter and eighteen-month-old grandson pulled all the pots and wooden spoons out and held a kitchen-band jam session. I aged five years in twenty minutes. But a few minutes later, after that joy lost its thrill and the floor was littered with abandoned cookware, my grandson toddled over to the shelf, pulled down the family's illustrated Book of Mormon, opened a page and searched for the page he loves best--the picture of Jesus. "Ashus" he said with a reverent timbre befitting an angel.

Yes, Christian, "Ashus" is here.

Like the bird on the tenacious little branch, we have to find peace in the storm. It's there. Because of Ashus.

WISDOM FROM FOOTBALL AND WAR

Vince Lombardi is credited with saying, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all." The same words have also been credited to General George Patton. Irregardless, the truth remains that if manly men of football and war know that fatigue can break our spirits and cause us to cower, we can admit it too.

We've all had those days when the laundry list of life overwhelms us and instead of beginning at the top and working through it, we slump in a chair and whimper, unable to organize our thoughts enough to even choose where to start.

I remember day five of a siege of illness that plagued our family. The laundry backed up with fetid linen--the refuse of the children's illness--the dishes were piled like Mount Vesuvius and you could have turned my stove top into a Science Fair contender. Still, meals needed to be prepared and well-intended classmates kept stuffing make-up work through the doorway, despite my complete disinterest in participles, dangling or otherwise. It had been days since I had had more than two hours of uninterrupted sleep, and REM was a distant memory.How did I handle it? I sat in a chair and stared at the greasy water marks running down the front of the sink cabinet, the residual by-product of the well-est of the children's attempts to do the dishes. . . and then, good soldier that I am, I cried.

Tom was out of town as I recall, but other help was available. It almost always is, but I was too stubborn or proud to ask. And so, determined to stay in the pocket, to march on, I wore myself to a frazzle. I'm two decades older now, and I'm still that way to a degree. I'm buried by obligations right now and pressed against a wall of deadlines, but experience and wisdom have taught me to recognize when it's time to accept proffered help. And help is coming in abundance this weekend.

It's Conference weekend for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I will sit and listen to the voices of modern day apostles and prophets of God, and feel the Lord's peace. And next week? Some of the things I pushed back today will still be there, but they'll concern me less. I'll remember what few things really matter, and I'll be still and remember that God is ultimately in charge.

Sometimes we get ourselves into trouble. But sometimes stuff just happens. Stuff is happening to a lot of people these days, but help is still at the ready, if we will accept it. Comfort? Peace? Could you use some of that? Then push the debris back for a few hours, and come listen with me. Their counsel isn't just for Mormons. It's for anyone hungering for a pocket of quiet and hope in the storm.

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ONE OF MY FAVORITE STORIES

I was visiting fellow-author, Anne Bradshaw's "Not Entirely British" blog today, and her post reminded me of one of my all-time favorite stories. The following is an excerpt from Elder Hugh B. Brown's personal tale, "The Currant Bush". You can click the link to read it in its entirety, or just enjoy the short version below. It's truly a gem, and a lesson we all need from time to time. Enjoy!

THE CURRANT BUSH

by Elder Hugh B. Brown

I was living up in Canada. I had purchased a farm. It was run-down. I went out one morning and saw a currant bush. It had grown up over six feet high. It was going all to wood. There were no blossoms and no currants. I was raised on a fruit farm in Salt Lake before we went to Canada, and I knew what ought to happen to that currant bush.
So I got some pruning shears and went after it, and I cut it down, and pruned it, and clipped it back until there was nothing left but a little clump of stumps. It was just coming daylight, and I thought I saw on top of each of these little stumps what appeared to be a tear, and I thought the currant bush was crying. I was kind of simpleminded (and I haven’t entirely gotten over it), and I looked at it, and smiled, and said, “What are you crying about?”

You know, I thought I heard that currant bush talk. And I thought I heard it say this: “How could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful growth. I was almost as big as the shade tree and the fruit tree that are inside the fence, and now you have cut me down. Every plant in the garden will look down on me, because I didn’t make what I should have made. How could you do this to me? I thought you were the gardener here.”

I said, “Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be. I didn’t intend you to be a fruit tree or a shade tree. I want you to be a currant bush, and some day, little currant bush, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down, for caring enough about me to hurt me. Thank you, Mr. Gardener.’ ”

I wanted to tell you that oft-repeated story because there are many of you who are going to have some very difficult experiences: disappointment, heartbreak, bereavement, defeat. You are going to be tested and tried to prove what you are made of. I just want you to know that if you don’t get what you think you ought to get, remember, “God is the gardener here. He knows what he wants you to be.” Submit yourselves to his will. Be worthy of his blessings, and you will get his blessings.

CHRISTIAN COURAGE: The Price of Discipleship

We members of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints have been taking it on the chin for some time now, with barely enough time to take a breath between blows. A question from a young member of the church voices what many in and out of the Church want to know. “Why doesn’t the Church defend itself more actively when accusations are made against it?” The following reply is taken from an address given by Elder Robert D. Hales Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 2008.

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The Savior responded differently in every situation. When He was confronted by wicked King Herod, He remained silent. When He stood before Pilate, He bore a simple and powerful testimony of His divinity and purpose. Facing the moneychangers who were defiling the temple, He exercised His divine responsibility to preserve and protect that which was sacred. Lifted up upon a cross, He uttered the incomparable Christian response: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34)

When we do not retaliate—when we turn the other cheek and resist feelings of anger—we too stand with the Savior. We show forth His love, which is the only power that can subdue the adversary and answer our accusers without accusing them in return. That is not weakness. That is Christian courage. . . This is not to suggest that we compromise our principles or dilute our beliefs. We cannot change the doctrines of the restored gospel, even if teaching and obeying them makes us unpopular in the eyes of the world.

As true disciples, our primary concern must be others’ welfare, not personal vindication. Questions and criticisms give us an opportunity to reach out to others and demonstrate that they matter to our Heavenly Father and to us. Our aim should be to help them understand the truth, not defend our egos or score points in a theological debate. Our heartfelt testimonies are the most powerful answer we can give our accusers. And such testimonies can only be born in love and meekness.

. . .We are always better staying on the higher ground of mutual respect and love. In doing so, we follow the example of the prophet Nehemiah, who built a wall around Jerusalem. Nehemiah’s enemies entreated him to meet them on the plain, where “they thought to do [him] mischief.” . . .Nehemiah wisely refused their offer with this message: “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?” Nehemiah 6:2–3. We too have a great work to do, which will not be accomplished if we allow ourselves to stop and argue and be distracted. Instead we should muster Christian courage and move on. . .In His Intercessory Prayer . . . the Savior warned of persecution, (but) He promised peace: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27)

. . .To my inquiring sister and all who seek to know how we should respond to our accusers, I reply, we love them. Whatever their race, creed, religion, or political persuasion, if we follow Christ and show forth His courage, we must love them. . . .He is “the way, the truth, and the life”
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In closing, allow me to add this quote by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who is also a Member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

"Something is going to be asked of this dispensation that has never been asked before. We must be prepared to present the church of the Lamb to the Lamb. And when that happens, we must be looking and acting like His church."