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I can just imagine
Moroni now.
Dear Plates,
And it came to pass
that in my twenty and first year, I became captain in the Nephite
armies. I used much stratagem in defending the my people against our
enemies, the Lamanites. My best friends, Helaman and Teancum, were
valiant supports as we fought in battle. And then it came to pass that
I met this girl . . .
What kind of
girl do you think would interest a man like Moroni? What attributes do
you think that kind of man would really appreciate in a girl?
Let me introduce
to you the idea of a "help meet." If you look at Genesis 2:18 under
the footnote for help meet it says: "i.e. a helper suited to, worthy of,
or corresponding to him" Each man is or should be looking for a woman
who corresponds to him--who shares his dreams, goals, and desires, who
supports him, who shares many of his attributes and has developed other
important attributes that complement him.
Now that you
know this, what did these righteous men hope their wives would be like?
Of course they probably ALL wanted righteous women who were faithful,
obedient, and supported them in their righteous endeavors, but let's dig
a little deeper. What do we know about these men? What did they love?
What did they do? And what attributes would have been especially
helpful to each man's unique circumstances?
Attributes I think
these men really appreciated about their wives:
Captain
Moroni--loves country, loves family, loves God, keeps covenants, can
take care of the family while he's away fighting in wars, good with
children, manages a household well, modest, beautiful, studies word of
God, prays with faith, intelligent, serves in callings, attends meetings
and keeps commitments, trustworthy
Moroni, son of
Mormon--one who will not deny the Christ, stands up to peer pressure,
makes home like heaven, modest, virtuous
Adam--wants
children, loves Lord, knows Gospel plan, good friend, has proper
priorities, shares her testimony with her family, keeps covenants,
virtuous, modest
Enoch--pure in
heart, loves people not material goods, supports husband's priesthood
callings, loves the Lord, serves
Noah--has integrity,
supports husband even when no one else believes in him, raises children
in gospel truth, does not follow the ways of the world, trust in the
Lord and his promises, good with animals
Abraham--believes
the promises of the Lord, supports husband as priesthood holder, follows
her husband wherever he goes, loves children
Isaac--in covenant
(faithful member of the Church, honors covenants, loves God), wants to
be wife and mother, serves others, trusts God
Jacob (or
Israel)--in covenant (faithful member of the Church, honors covenants,
loves God), wants to be wife and mother, accepts doctrine of plural
marriage
Moses--believes in
God and that he speaks with man, supports husband's priesthood calling,
follows husband wherever he leads, believes in him and loves him in
spite of opposition, brave, strong, faithful, does not murmur, good at
wilderness travel, loves the temple
Lehi--has faith,
believes God communicates with man, long-suffering, packs light,
rejoices in God, follows husband, camping skills, mothering skills,
loves God more than money, loves scriptures, loves family, thankful,
keeps commandments, gardens
Nephi--loves to read
Isaiah and other scriptures, values record keeping, honors parents,
educated, hard-working, doesn't complain during hardships, has faith,
obey commandments, sober-minded, in shape, thankful, loves family, not
worldly, loves children, gardens, loves the temple
Jacob (brother of
Nephi)--takes Gospel as seriously as husband does, fulfills commitments
and callings, teaches children the way to return to God, supports
husband's calling, tender, delicate and chaste, humble, loves the temple
King
Benjamin--serves others, loves God, loves fellowmen, intelligent,
teaches children, humble, willing to labor with her own hands, considers
all around her brothers and sisters
King Mosiah--faith
in God, loves children even when they go astray, endures to the end,
fasts and prays, wise, intelligent, can make own clothes, gardens
Alma the
elder--faithful, supports husband's callings and commitments, loves the
Lord, loves children even when they go astray, endures to the end, fasts
and prays, strong testimony of the Gospel, can grow food
Ammon--loves
enemies, missionary spirit, faithful in all things, humble, makes own
clothes, can tend flocks and herds, can grow food
Alma the
younger--missionary spirit, loves enemies, supports husband going out
and preaching for long periods of time, rejects costly apparel, humble,
makes her own clothes, can tend flocks and herds, can grow food
Helaman--strong
faith in the Lord, testimony of prayer and prophets, can take care of
family while husband away at war, makes own clothes, can tend flocks and
herds, can grow food
2,000 Stripling
Warriors--have faith in God, honor parents, love country and will serve
others, honor covenants, faithful in all things, feel motherhood is
important
Mormon--righteous in
spite of wicked world, supportive of husband's calling, teaches children
in righteousness, modest
Read more about
these men and think about the women who must have supported them and
loved them and encouraged them as they filled their earthly missions.
Are you that kind of woman? How will you change to become more like a
woman of faith?
(You might want to
have each girl pick a faithful man in the scriptures and read about him
for 10 or 15 minutes silently and then figure out what attributes he
would have appreciated in his wife before sharing the above list. Of
course this list is not comprehensive and is only my own conjecture, but
there are many things in the scriptures that can help us understand what
women did and how faithful women acted even if we don't know their names
or much about them personally.)
Personal Progress
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