Mary was not only responsible for bearing Jesus, but for teaching him to be Jesus—merciful, kind, generous, just, nurturing. The traits that drew people to him to learn of God’s love were modeled by his mother. It’s the same throughout scripture. Moses became Moses because women acted in faith to save him so he could in turn become a deliverer. The stripling warriors were valiant because their mothers taught them to trust God. On close reading, our scriptures are imbued with a matriarchal power that is often overlooked because we focus on the men in the stories. As Latter-day Saint women, reclaiming these narratives might help us see more clearly the power and potential of our own faith.

Notes:
Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church, by Rachel Held Evans
Crossings: A Bald Asian American Latter-Day Saint Woman Scholar’s Ventures Through Life, Death, Cancer, and Motherhood (Not Necessarily in That Order), by Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye
Deliverers, Bishop Rob Wright’s For Faith written devotional
Faithful Women, For People with Bishop Rob Wright, podcast ep. 8/21/20
Dialogue and the Experience, Kajsa Berlin-Kaufusi’s blog