My Review of “Women of the Book of Mormon: Insights and Inspiration"By Heather B. Moore

From the back cover we read:

Explore the lives, circumstances, and choices of women in the Book of Mormon in this uplifting and inspiring volume that illustrates the parallel between the lives of the women of the Book of Mormon and LDS women today. With new insights on practically every page, author Heather B. Moore explores the written and unwritten stories of the prominent women in the Book of Mormon—taking familiar material and providing vivid details about family dynamics, domestic practices, and other aspects of daily life. By applying historical and cultural contexts to the situations of women like Sariah, Abish, Eve, Mary and the faithful mothers of the stripling warriors, you will peek beneath the surface of the scriptural accounts to better understand both the righteous women of the Book of Mormon—and the women who didn’t use their agency wisely.

Even before reading the contents of the book, you are drawn in by the beautiful cover. There stands a lovely woman, all dressed in white, who you find out is Mary, the Mother of Jesus. This book covers the lives of the women that lived in Book of Mormon times, such as Abish, the Twenty-four Lamanite Daughters, Queen of King Lamoni, Daughters of Jared and Wife of Mormon and others. You learn more about the women from the bible who were mentioned in the Book of Mormon. These women are Eve, Sarah and Mary, Mother of Jesus.

I love what Heather says in the preface of her book,

“The women of the Book of Mormon are our sisters, and their stories lie within those sacred pages. Not only can we learn from the messages of their husbands and sons, we can discover how much the Savior loves us through the experiences and enduring faith of these women. “

As you read this book, you will learn many things from these faithful women of the Book of Mormon. Sariah, Lehi's wife, showed us how to be humble, resourceful and faithful. Eve, demonstrated how the pursuit of faith should continue all of our lives.

Heather quotes in her book:

"Faith was a lifelong pursuit for Eve, and her need mirrors our need to continually " call upon" the Lord. Just as our first mother did, and as the women of the Book of Mormon did, we have the privilege of turning to the Lord in our times of need. "

The chapter that touched my heart the most was "Mothers of the Two Thousand Stripling Warriors". These women were new converts to the gospel of Jesus Christ. They taught their sons about their past and how their lives, living the gospel, had changed them and their hearts. I love how Heather points out here that the women taught their sons about faith and what it meant to possess it, to embrace it. Isn't that something that we would all like to do for our children? I know that is what I am striving to do. I must share with you, one more quote from Heather that I would like to print out and hang on my wall.

"As our own children grow and mature, we might ponder their innocent natures and wonder what we have taught them. How, like the mothers of the stripling warriors, can we prepare our own children to face the battles they'll certainly encounter? We make every effort to raise our children in the gospel, but once they're away from the protective arms of family, will they stray from the narrow path? Will their faith sustain them?"

Not only does "Women of the Book of Mormon" have beautiful art in it, but the words are also written so eloquently. This book is easily read and is 93 pages long. Heather is such an intelligent woman and it truly shows in her research and writing. I also admire Heather for her great love of the Book of Mormon and it's people. She has written many novels about the Book of Mormon people such as the "Out of Jerusalem" series, "Abinadi," " Alma" and the soon to be released "Alma the Younger" that is also coming out this year. Heather in 2008, won a Whitney Award and the 2009 Best of State in Literary Arts, for "Abinadi".

You can learn more about Heather at her website here.

Go visit her blog here

Better yet, go meet her in person, at a Book Signing, where you can pick up a copy of this wonderful book for you or for a gift for Mother's Day.

Friday: April 16, 2010 - Lunch hour at Spanish Fork Seagull Book 12:00-1:30 p.m. Join me at Seagull Book where I’ll be signing copies of Women of the Book of Mormon. 1052 N. Main, Spanish Fork, Utah.

Saturday: April 17, 2010 - Signing at Clinton Seagull Book 2:00-4:00 p.m. Join me at Seagull Book where I’ll be signing copies of Women of the Book of Mormon. 1803 West 1800 North, Clinton, UT.

Women of the Book of Mormon: Insights and Inspirations is available at Deseret Book and Seagull Book.