I love things that make me expand my way of thinking. This book was one of those things. I have read the Book of Mormon a number of times, and I’m constantly amazed at the different things I find there. “Women of the Book of Mormon” opened me up to aspects of the Book of Mormon that I had not yet considered, especially cultural considerations that make the text more meaningful.
Once such example was the fact in Jewish society about the importance of sons and what they meant to a woman in that society. It was seen as a sort of status symbol, as childbearing was considered a woman’s primary function in the society. Sons were prized higher in that society because they stayed in the family instead of becoming part of someone else’s . In that context, it makes Sariah’s lament about losing all four of her sons at once to Laban’s clutches much more poignant.
The book is a very quick read and left me wanting to look further into the characters mentioned and to pay closer attention to them next time I read through. Each chapter not only goes into the background of the characters, but ties it in nicely with personal applications for the reader’s life. Each chapter is nicely accented with a full-color painting, many of which I was not yet familiar with, but all very tastefully done.
The book releases in April and I highly recommend you pick it up. Visit http://www.hbmoore.com/ to learn more about Heather’s award-winning writing and to order her books.
Books by Michael D. Young 