I had the fun opportunity to share some thoughts about women in scripture at Girls Camp. How awesome is it that the youth leaders preparing for camp made space in the busy schedule for daily scripture study, reflection, and a class on women in the scriptures! Last year they asked me to speak about scripture study, and I used women in the scriptures for all my examples, so felt delighted that the youth wanted to continue that topic again.
As I prayed for divine guidance, clear direction emerged. The Holy Ghost instructed me to show how women in scripture lived covenant lives. I gathered information from the Church’s website on the saving ordinances women participate in and the covenants made during the endowment. I included a quote for each ordinance and covenant that I felt helped describe the ordinance or covenant and attendant blessings. I included a couple of ideas of women in scripture that I felt applied but actually gave the young women a long list of women in scripture that they could choose as their own examples. We also briefly talked about women in scripture who did not live covenant lives and how we could use their lives as examples of the loss of promised blessings and power.
I wanted the girls to identify a woman in scripture and read her story, identifying how her life exhibited one of the ordinances and covenants. I also asked them to apply the story to their lives. Why does that woman’s story matter to them? Which of the woman’s characteristics or actions impacted the young woman? And most importantly, what did the woman in scripture’s story teach the young woman about Jesus Christ’s purpose, mission, characteristics, ministry, and relationship with women/her?
After our discussion on the ordinances and covenants, I gave an example that we worked through and then I turned them loose to discover their own examples. Some of them shared their examples. I loved how their takeaways and examples were diverse and individual. We explored so many women’s lives.
My hope was that they could identify the many women in the scriptures and perhaps look at their stories in new ways.
Women in Scripture Handout
President Russell M. Nelson reminded us that
“every activity, every lesson, all we do in the Church, point to the Lord and His holy house. Our efforts to proclaim the gospel, perfect the Saints, and redeem the dead all lead to the temple. Each holy temple stands as a symbol of our membership in the Church, as a sign of our faith in life after death, and as a sacred step toward eternal glory for us and our families” (“Personal Preparation for Temple Blessings,” Ensign, May 2001, 32; Liahona, July 2001, 37).
Baptism and Confirmation
Elder David A. Bednar said:
“I encourage you to study, to search out your ancestors, and to prepare yourselves to perform proxy baptisms in the house of the Lord for your kindred dead. … As you respond in faith to this invitation, your hearts shall turn to the fathers. The promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be implanted in your hearts. … Your love and gratitude for your ancestors will increase. Your testimony of and conversion to the Savior will become deep and abiding. And I promise you will be protected against the intensifying influence of the adversary. As you participate in and love this holy work, you will be safeguarded … throughout your lives” (“The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 26–27).
Ideas: Lydia (Acts 16:14-15, 40), Manoah’s wife (Judges 13:2-24)
Woman’s name:
How did she live the covenant?
How do you apply her story to yourself?
How is her story an example of Jesus Christ’s mission and purpose?
The Endowment—Initiatory and Endowment
The initiatory ordinances include special blessings regarding your divine heritage and potential. As part of these ordinances, you will also be authorized to wear the sacred temple garment and instructed to wear it throughout your life.
An endowment is literally a “gift.” In this context, the temple endowment is a gift of sacred blessings from God to each of us. The endowment can only be received in His way and in His holy temple. Some of the gifts you receive through the temple endowment include: *Greater knowledge of the Lord’s purposes and teachings. *Power to do all that God wants us to do. *Divine guidance and protection as we serve the Lord, our families, and others. *Increased hope, comfort, and peace. *Promised blessings now and forever.
Covenants of the Endowment
Law of Obedience, which includes striving to keep God’s commandments.
“Obedience leads to true freedom. The more we obey revealed truth, the more we become liberated. … Just as order gave life and beauty to the earth when it was dark and void, so it does to us. Obedience helps us develop the full potential our Heavenly Father desires for us in becoming celestial beings worthy someday to live in His presence.” President James E. Faust, (“Obedience: The Path to Freedom,” April 1999 general conference)
Woman’s name:
How did she live the covenant?
How do you apply her story to yourself?
How is her story an example of Jesus Christ’s mission and purpose?
Law of Sacrifice, which means doing all we can to support the Lord’s work and repenting with a broken heart and contrite spirit.
“We are still commanded to sacrifice, but not by shedding blood of animals. Our highest sense of sacrifice is achieved as we make ourselves more sacred or holy. This we do by our obedience to the commandments of God. Thus, the laws of obedience and sacrifice are indelibly intertwined. Consider the commandments to obey the Word of Wisdom, to keep the Sabbath day holy, to pay an honest tithe. As we comply with these and other commandments, something wonderful happens to us. We become disciplined! We become disciples! We become more sacred and holy—like our Lord!” President Russell M. Nelson (Lessons from Eve, October 1987 general conference)
Ideas: Eve (Moses 5:11-12, D&C 138:39), Tabitha (Acts 9:36-42), Joanna (Luke 8:1-3, Luke 24:1-11)
Woman’s name:
How did she live the covenant?
How do you apply her story to yourself?
How is her story an example of Jesus Christ’s mission and purpose?
Law of the Gospel, which is the higher law that He taught while He was on the earth.
“We covenant to live the law of the gospel. The law of the gospel embraces all laws, principles, and ordinances necessary for our exaltation. We agree to exercise faith in Jesus Christ and sincere repentance borne out of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. As we comply with the ordinances of baptism and confirmation, and continue in faith and prayer, the power of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice covers our sins and we are cleansed from all unrighteousness. … The law of the gospel is more than understanding the plan of salvation. It consists of partaking of the ordinances and the sealing powers culminating in a man being sealed up unto eternal life. ‘Being born again,’ said the Prophet Joseph Smith, ‘comes by the spirit of God through ordinances.’” President Ezra Taft Benson (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, 337. From Prophetic Teachings on Temples)
Ideas: Emma Smith (Doctrine and Covenants 25), Lamoni’s Queen (Alma 18:43, 19:1-13, 29-30, 33-34 – whole story 18:39-19:36), Esther (Esther 4:12-17)
Woman’s name:
How did she live the covenant?
How do you apply her story to yourself?
How is her story an example of Jesus Christ’s mission and purpose?
Law of Chastity, which means that we have sexual relations only with the person to whom we are legally and lawfully wedded according to God’s law.
“The power to create mortal life is the most exalted power God has given to His children. Its use was mandated by God’s first commandment to Adam and Eve (see Genesis 1:28), but other important commandments were given to forbid its misuse (see Exodus 20:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:3). The emphasis we place on the law of chastity is explained by our understanding of the purpose of our procreative powers in the accomplishment of God’s plan.” President Dallin H. Oaks (No Other Gods, October 2013 general conference)
Ideas: Mary (1 Nephi 11:13-20) Rebekah (Genesis 24:15-67), Ruth (Ruth 3:11), Daughters of the Lamanites (Moroni 9:9)
Woman’s name:
How did she live the covenant?
How do you apply her story to yourself?
How is her story an example of Jesus Christ’s mission and purpose?
Law of Consecration, which means dedicating our time, talents, and everything with which the Lord has blessed us to building up Jesus Christ’s Church on the earth.
“Sacrifice is what we will offer, surrender, yield, or give up. Consecration, on the other hand, is to fully develop and dedicate to a sacred purpose. … As we live the law of consecration, we are willing not only to offer anything and everything that we possess for the sake of the gospel—but we also promise to develop and devote our best selves—our time, our talents, and our ever increasing capacity—to the building of the kingdom of God on the earth. Our pledge is: I will give me and all that I can become, and I will live for the gospel of Jesus Christ. … True consecration is motivated by charity and produces an increased desire to serve. In these latter days, more is required of us as children of the covenant than our money, substance, and time. We need to consecrate unto the Lord our whole souls.” David A. Bednar “Your Whole Souls as an Offering Unto Him,” BYU-I devotional, January 5, 1999
Ideas: Mary (Luke 1:26-38), 3 Virgins (Abraham 1:11), Vienna Jacques (Doctrine & Covenants 90:28-31), Eve (Moses 5:11-12), Women (Hebrews 11:33-35)
Woman’s name:
How did she live the covenant?
How do you apply her story to yourself?
How is her story an example of Jesus Christ’s mission and purpose?
Sealing
The sealing ordinance is God’s greatest gift to His children. It enables us to return to live with Him and all of our loved ones forever. It offers marvelous blessings for this life and the next. It is a constant reminder that families are central to God’s plan and to our happiness here and in eternity. It provides peace, hope, and joy for all who faithfully receive it.
The covenant of eternal marriage is also needed for exaltation. Exaltation is eternal life—the kind of life God lives. He is perfect. He lives in great glory. He has all knowledge, all power, and all wisdom. He is loving, kind, and merciful. He is the Heavenly Father of every person on earth. We can someday become like Him. This is exaltation.
“The ultimate end of all activity in the Church is to see a husband and his wife and their children happy at home, protected by the principles and laws of the gospel, sealed safely in the covenants of the everlasting priesthood.” President Boyd K. Packer (And a Little Child Shall Lead Them, April 2012 general conference)
Ideas: Eve (D&C 138:39), Sarah (Hebrews 11:11-12, Doctrine & Covenants 132:29-30)
Woman’s name:
How did she live the covenant?
How do you apply her story to yourself?
How is her story an example of Jesus Christ’s mission and purpose?
Women in the Plan of Happiness
Women are a necessary part of the plan of happiness, and that plan cannot operate without them. Women participate in the work of salvation, which includes missionary work, convert retention, activation of less-active members, temple and family history work, teaching the gospel, and caring for the poor and needy. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, every woman in the Church is given the responsibility to know and defend the divine roles of women, which include that of wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. They stand strong and immovable in faith, in family, and in relief. Women participate in councils that oversee congregational activities throughout the world. They also have, by divine nature, the greater gift and responsibility for home and children and nurturing there and in other settings.
“Eve was given the identity of ‘the mother of all living’ … before she ever bore a child. It would appear that her motherhood preceded her maternity, just as surely as the perfection of the Garden preceded the struggles of mortality. I believe mother is one of those very carefully chosen words, one of those rich words—with meaning after meaning after meaning. We must not, at all costs, let that word divide us. I believe with all of my heart that it is first and foremost a statement about nature, not a head count of our children.
“… all of us are Eve’s daughters, whether we are married or single, maternal or barren. We are created in the image of the Gods to become gods and goddesses” Sister Patricia T. Holland (“‘One Thing Needful’: Becoming Women of Greater Faith in Christ,” Ensign, Oct. 1987, 33).
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