How Many Women are Mentioned in the Book of Mormon

[Anonymous]

I have been re-reading the Book of Mormon. One little trivial tidbit has me questioning, exactly how many women are mentioned by name in the B of M?

This BYU studies link lists a total of six women, mentioned by name in the Holy Text (this over more than a 1,000 year period). Of those six women, we have:

Mary, the mother of Jesus

Sarah, Abraham’s wife and mother of nations

Eve – Mother of all living and wife of Father Adam

You will notice that the above 3 women didn’t actually live in the B of M times or geographical area, but are mentioned in spiritual context.

Now for the 3 women who are mentioned by name in the B of M – the women who actually lived during B of M times, we have:

Lehi’s Wife, Sariah

Isabel – famous harlot who stole away many hearts

and Abish

So, what are we to learn about the 3 women mentioned by name in the Book of Mormon? The Bible already teaches us about Mary, Sarah and Eve. What do we learn from Sariah, Isabel and Abish?

http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Women_in_the_Book_of_Mormon

Can anyone find any other references to women named in the Book of Mormon?

[Anonymous]

That is a fascinating description, MWallace. Thanks for providing it.

It would surprise me greatly to find very many women named in the BofM. It was a record written by men about the politico-religious structure of the time – which wasn’t friendly to women. Also, as the linked article says, mention of people in those times often was done by stating their relationship to the societal leadership – not by name. (BOTH male and female – e.g., the brother of Jared)

Frankly, if there were lots of women named it would be one more thing that would be called an anachronism by critics – and much more difficult to explain than perhaps any other such claims, imo.

[Anonymous]

And how many women are mentioned in the bible?

There are prophetesses, etc. is this anachronistic for the bible?

How many women are mentioned by name in D&C?

[Anonymous]

Quote:

There are prophetesses, etc. is this anachronistic for the bible?

This is not my specific area, but I have studied this out a bit academically. Though it is true there are prophetesses in the Bible, women are clearly not significant, and even in the case of the prophetess Miriam, her “murmuring” resulted in being “smitten with leprosy” (see Bible dictionary p.733). Thus, her power was thwarted because she refused bend to patriarchal control-a “great” cautionary tale. My personal take on the Bible is that it was canonized in order to create and sustain a strict patriarchy that subjugated women. Some religions have taken this to the extreme, while others have rejected this tradition outright. IMO Mormonism falls somewhere in the middle.

What has always resonated more with me is the presence of women in the life of Christ, especially in thinking of the misogynistic canonization of the Bible. It seems that women were so prominent that they could not be removed from Jesus’ experiences, and leaves me to wonder how much this strong presence was diluted in the process of canonization.

Concerning the BofM and D&C, this has always bothered me, but I do agree with Ray that if women played a prominent role in Mormon scripture, it would be seen as anachronistic and would instantly be debunked by critics.

I don’t know much about this, but have found it interesting: I have an historian friend who was raised Seventh-Day Adventist who has told me that their church also began in the second great awakening and has some similar doctrines to Mormonism, but their leader was a prophetess. I wonder what their scripture looks like?

[Anonymous]

In answer to the original question, not nearly enough. The roles and actions of women in the Bible has always helped me to understand the gentler sex. Raised without sisters (actually without a mom for the first four years of my life), I learned of true womanhood mostly by reading. The bible explained nurturing, caregiving, unconditional love, even multi-tasking to a degree. And at the forefront of these important diadems; women. My mission amongst the Navajo confirmed everything, as I witnessed the action of female Saints, often with deep personal loss, sending their children away for a chance at a better life.

[Author]

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