Women in the Scriptures

This week, I share a talk given in a church service.

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Music
Intro: Chilled Acoustic Indie Folk by Lesfm
Price of Freedom by ZakharValaha
The Cradle of Your Soul by Lemonmusicstudio
All music from Pixabay.

Transcript

Hi. This is Ginger Johnson and you’re listening to Past Perfect: A Podcast.

This week, I have something a little different for you. Last year at this time, I was asked to speak about women in the scriptures at my church service. As it is women’s history month, I thought it would be appropriate to share excerpts from it here. Please note that I was specifically asked to speak about women in the scriptures and in this discussion of gender, I mean no offense to transgender, nonbinary, or gender-neutral folks in their exclusion here.

Six years ago this past week, my husband and I were celebrating our 20th anniversary. We planned a trip to Italy, which included an overnight layover in Istanbul, so we found ourselves walking through the streets on the evening of March 8th. We came upon a group of about 30 people, mostly women, congregated on the steps of a church. Some of them held signs, but they were, of course, written in Turkish so we didn’t know what they said. 

To our dismay, just beyond them were dozens and dozens of policemen in full riot gear standing elbow to elbow with clear body-length shields. It seemed to me like there were hundreds of them in battle formation, outnumbering the women ten to one. Some distance away, there were even more gathered together casually as if for backup.

My husband asked someone what was going on, anticipating an answer like a protest against some government decision, as there had been some political turmoil there in recent years. The answer surprised us both, which is why this memory has been indelibly imprinted on my mind. The answer my husband received was that it was International Women’s day. The women were having a rally in support of women’s rights and we were standing smack dab in the middle of a gender war.

How ironic that I was in that place celebrating my marriage—an eternal union between a man and a woman—while just feet away a very different relationship between men and women was being played out. 

This is not how our Father in Heaven would have us be. This is not how we began, but somewhere along the line, things changed. Being a woman was considered a bad thing in many cultures, and women were pegged as being ignorant, weak, and less worthy than men. In fact, many people have pointed to the lack of women in the scriptures as evidence of women’s inferiority.

Some have blamed Eve, the mother of all living, placing the burden of the world’s ills at her feet. They try to justify their beliefs by saying that Adam was created first and Eve was simply an afterthought on God’s part, and not a very good one at that. That she was the one who got us into the mess in the first place. 

This is simply not true. Nor is it true, in fact, that there are a lack of women in the scriptures. There are more than 500 women and groups of women mentioned in the scriptures. Yes, very little is known about most of them, but they are there. Women have a rich spiritual heritage and yet we don’t often realize it.

In order to see and claim this spiritual heritage, we have to understand God and His work, and thus we have to go back to the beginning, to creation. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth—all that was in and on and under the earth—and then He created us, humankind. In the beginning, God created.

The Hebrew word that has been translated as “create” in Genesis, can also be translated as “organize.” So God created, and He organized. “Create” and “organize” are two ends of one spectrum. In our usual understanding, create means to make something out of nothing, and organize means to make something out of something already present. Either way, the end result is greater than its beginning.

In Genesis, chapter 2, we read of the creation of man and woman: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” 

Once again, if we return to the original Hebrew text of the Bible, we would find that the word translated as “man” (“the Lord God formed man) is the Hebrew word ha-adam. In Hebrew, the word ha-adam doesn’t actually mean man, as in “male person.” It means “human.” If we were to retranslate the story of the creation in Genesis 2 from the original Hebrew, it might read more like this:

4.These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not [humankind] to till the ground.

6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

7 And the Lord God formed [humankind] of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and [humankind] became a living soul.

8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the [humankind] whom he had formed.

15 And the Lord God took the [humankind], and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

16 And the Lord God commanded the [humankind], saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the [humankind] should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

The Hebrew words for man, meaning “male person,” and woman, meaning “female person” are not used until after this verse, after woman is taken from the side of humankind to be a help meet.

We often think of the phrase “help meet” as “an assistant” or “a helper.” But once again, if we go back to the original Hebrew, we can learn that the two root words of what has been translated as “help meet” mean “to rescue,” “to save,” “to be strong”, and also “in front of,” “opposite,” or “exactly corresponding to.”  

In other words, Eve was designed to be Adam’s mirror opposite, possessing spiritual attributes corresponding to the ones Adam had, a strong companion who would have a unique saving power, just as Adam had a unique saving power. 

Now, I’m not trying to diminish the saving power of the Atonement. That is unquestionable. Nor am I trying to wrest the scriptures or make meaning where there is none. I can’t tell you exactly how we were formed or created or organized, nor can I say how or when gender came into the picture, but I can say that this small shift in meaning tells me something important: regardless of how we were created, man and woman are two halves of one whole and no woman should be denigrated because of her gender. 

“Behold, this is my work and my glory,” it says in Moses 1:39, “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf has said, “Heavenly Father is able to accomplish these two great goals—the immortality and eternal life of man—because He is a God of creation and compassion.” Thus, our work, too, must be a work of creation and compassion. 

Acting under the authority of His Father, the Lord Jesus Christ created and He organized. And in the framework that He set up, He assigned stewardships and tasks—stewardships and tasks, again of creation and organization. To women, He assigned the work of creation—one end of the creation/organization spectrum—for it is a biological possibility given to woman in her physical structure, whether she is able to bear a child or not. To men, He assigned the work of organization—the other end of the spectrum. He has assigned or placed each individual somewhere along that spectrum of creation and organization. 

Let me return to the Garden of Eden. In the garden of Eden, there were two trees: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the tree of life. Partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil separated Adam and Eve from God and ushered them into this world. Partaking of the fruit of the tree of life would ensure their return to God. In order for them to perform their work, God set guards so they could not partake of the fruit from the tree of life prematurely.

It seems only right that since women were assigned the task of escorting souls into this world that Eve should be the one to give the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil to Adam. Adam, created by God, naturally could not be born. In offering him the fruit, Eve, in a sense, escorted him into this world, putting into motion the plan of our Father in Heaven.

As I mentioned before, there are hundreds of other women mentioned in the scriptures, women who were fearless peacemakers, prophetesses, receivers of revelation, an early Christian missionary companionship, builders of the tribes of Israel, law changers, women of faith, mothers of nations, rebuilders of the walls of Jerusalem, followers of Christ, influencers, successful business women, those who were healed, and especially everyday courageous women. 

We have been provided with the examples of women of faith in the scriptures from the very beginning of creation, down to this final dispensation. Even now, we are surrounded by women of faith who uplift us and strengthen our testimonies of Jesus Christ and His gospel. I’m grateful for the many women who have provided examples and guidance and love for me. I’m grateful for my role in God’s work, a work of creation and organization. 

[Note: I am indebted to Heather Farrell and her website for information: www.womeninthescriptures.com]

From my quiet office to your ears, wishing you empowerment in your works of creation and organization. And also, a reminder to donate if you can to help the people of Ukraine. If you aren’t able to, then simply review and share this podcast, and I’ll increase my donation. Until next time, be well and let your light shine.