Few of the Greatest Characters of Scripture

I have often contemplated why the world is plagued with a desire to belittle. It comes in waves. Races, occupations, genders, etc. For a while it was popular to belittle men. They were seen as dumb, unimportant, and incompetent in movies, commercials, and other forms of media. Now the heme is belittling women. Ironically, not by undermining their capabilities, but by loudly declaring that they are not good enough as they are.

In reviewing the women in my life who have indented lasting impacts on me, I don't think there is anything wrong with privately and tenderly creating a permanent legacy in the hearts of children. 

Biblical heroes are often men, and for good reason. They were in charge of governments, armies, and religion. There are however few stories of women, and today that's what we're highlighting through a quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley. 

"Notwithstanding this preeminence given the creation of woman, she has so frequently through the ages been relegated to a secondary position. She has been put down. She has been denigrated. She has been enslaved. She has been abused. And yet some few of the greatest characters of scripture have been women of integrity, accomplishment, and faith. 

We have Esther, Naomi, and Ruth of the Old Testament. We have Sariah of the Book of Mormon. We have Mary, the very mother of the Redeemer of the world. We have her as the chosen of God, described by Nephi as "a virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins."

She it was who carried the child Jesus into Egypt to save His life from the wrath of Herod. She it was who nurtured Him in His boyhood and young manhood. She stood before Him when His pain-wracked body hung upon the cross on Calvary's hill. In his suffering He said to her, "Woman, behold they son!" And to His disciple in a plea that he care fore her, He said, "Behold they mother!"

Crossing through His life we have Mary and Martha, and Mary of Magdala. She it was who came to the tomb that first Easter morning. And to her, a woman, He first appeared as the resurrected Lord.  (Gordon B. Hinckley, The Women in Our Lives, 2004)