Today I am going to write about one of the most famous women in all the scriptures. I am speaking of Mary the mother of Jesus.
Although little of Mary’s life is actually recorded, what is recorded reveals a pattern of righteousness. Many prophets had known of Mary’s vital role in the plan of salvation. Her mission had been recorded throughout the scriptures. (Alma 7, Isaiah 7) From the angel Gabriel, who was sent from God to declare glad tidings to her, Mary learned that she was the one to give birth to the Son of God . The angelic messenger declared, “Hail, thou virgin, who art highly favored of the Lord. The Lord is with thee, for thou art chosen and blessed among women.” (Luke 1:28) Following the announcement, Mary had a simple inquiry: “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34.) Mary’s question was not one of doubt, but of sincere curiosity as to how this was to be, for she was an espoused virgin. To Mary’s question, the angel answered, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35.)
After receiving the angel’s message, Mary, in unreserved obedience, replied, “Be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38.) In humbly accepting this opportunity of motherhood, Mary exemplifies the quality of obedience to which all disciples aspire.
Mary truly is an inspiration to us all, and example of obedience. When faced with great responsibility and uncertainty, she willingly and humbly did all that the lord asked. I love the way it refers to her in the Book of Mormon, In Alma 7:10 it reads "And, behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is in the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel,..." Mary indeed was a precious vessel, who the lord prepared for this great calling, she was an elect daughter of God.
May we all think of the great example of the Mary and always be willing to submit ourselves to the will of the lord.
I love learning about the faithful disciples of Christ that wern't necessarily spoken of that often but were just as important as the well known disciples and leaders throughout history. A coulple more examples would be Sam (Nephi's humble brother) in The Book of Mormon and Hyrum Smith (Josephs faithful brother). There are many more throughout the scriptures. In life we have our strengths, we have our weaknesses and we are all called to do specific things as we go through different experiences. I know that as we obey and trust in our Heavenly Father and His Son He will mold us to become the best we could ever be. As we make correct choices in life we will accomplish our lifes mission and will return to our Father, it will ALWAYS be our choice. Its simple really, we do our best and Lord will do the rest. Thanks for this post, Mary truly was an elect lady and a chosen vessel qualified to bare our Savior. We revere her.
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