McArthur Krishna - Girls Who Choose God: Stories of Strong Women from the Book of Mormon

Illustrations 2015 Kathleen Peterson

Art direction by Richard Erickson

Design by Shauna Gibby

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Krishna, McArthur, author.

Girls Who Choose God: stories of strong women from the Book of Mormon / McArthur Krishna and Bethany Brady Spalding; illustrated by Kathleen Peterson.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 9781629721019 (hardbound : alk. paper)

1. Women in the Book of MormonJuvenile literature. 2. Book of MormonBiographyJuvenile literature. I. Spalding, Bethany Brady, author. II. Peterson, Kathleen B., 1951 illustrator. III. Title.

BX8627.3.K75 2015

289.3'2209252dc232015017118

Printed in China06/2015

R. R. Donnelley, Shenzhen, China

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To Andy, and our shared fight for joy.

BBS

For all my sistersthose best friends who came biologically, those who my brothers were wise enough to snag, and those who came through blessed life crossings. You are a gift.

MK

To my sweet daughters, Starr and Summer.

KP

In painting these scenes from the Book of Mormon, I hoped to convey two important concepts: First, the love of God blesses all of us. The tree of life in Lehis dream is a representation of Gods love (see 1 Nephi 11:2122), and each story opens with an image of a native Mesoamerican tree to reflect that love. Second, the Savior taught, by their fruits ye shall know them (3 Nephi 14:20). All of these trees are fruit bearing, reminding us that we come to know these women by the exemplary choices they made.

Kathleen

Women in the Book of Mormon are powerful models of choosing God. When we discovered these womens stories for ourselves, we wanted to herald their extraordinary acts of faith to others. We believed families would be inspired by the choices these women made. Book of Mormon women chose to defend their families, protect their husbands, risk their lives for others, and live for peace. They chose to learn about the magnificence of Gods plan and then taught truth to their children and others.

We personally feel it is vital for Latter-day Saints to learn about and celebrate the women in the Book of Mormon. Over 150 passages have explicit references to women, offering an exciting bundle of information about our fore-sisters in the gospel. Their stories highlight that women, whether as individuals or part of a group, used their agency to be active participants in Gods work. The scriptures often dont tell us their names, but they tell us what they didand these womens brave choices should be honored.

Womens choices impact the entire human family. As Elder M. Russell Ballard said, As we look for and find women in our scriptures and in our history, we will see far better the power and influence women have on family, community, the Church, and the world. He further encouraged, We need to develop the skill to find their influence. We wrote this book with the intent of helping families develop the skill of seeing and emulating strong women.

In telling these stories, we have been true to the scriptures while also ascribing natural human emotion and attributes and drawing logical conclusions. We feel the Book of Mormon gives sufficient information about these strong women to bless our lives through their examples and teachings. Regardless of how much we know about them, God knows and loves themand each of usindividually, distinctly, and perfectly.

May these womens stories inspire all of us to choose God.

Bethany and McArthur

Marjorie Meads Spencer, My Book of Mormon Sisters, Ensign, Sept. 1977, 6671.

Righteous Women Essential to Gods Work, Elder Ballard Says, Church News, May 4, 2015.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, The Influence of Righteous Women, Ensign, Sept. 2009, 5.

Sariah was a goodly parent. She and her husband, Lehi, nurtured each of their children and taught them many important truths. Despite their efforts, two of their sons struggled to believe in God. When Sariahs family left Jerusalem for the wilderness, Laman and Lemuel made many poor choices that hurt themselves and others. Their hearts were hard.

Sariah had a choice to make. She could give up on Laman and Lemuel,

or

she could continue to love and lead all of her children....

Sariah chose to love unconditionally. Even though she grieved over Laman and Lemuels actions, she tried to encourage them. As the wise matriarch of her family, she counseled her children and reminded them that God had protected them. Regardless of her sons choices, Sariah tried to love them as God loves. Sariahs wisdom and love influenced generations. Her children were among those who settled the promised land, and many of her descendants were visited by Jesus Christ.

When have you chosen to love unconditionally?

1 Nephi 1:1; 5:8; 18:1718