In light of the fact that March is women’s history month, I felt it would be appropriate to have the next installment of “lists of ten” feature ten women in the Book of Mormon. It’s no secret that religious texts tend to have male centric themes, are often set in the framework of patriarchal lineages, and at times can be downright misogynistic. Women are often written off as mere footnotes, or else are ignored completely. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich articulated this when she noted that “well-behaved women rarely make history.”

In examining the Book of Mormon narrative, we learn of several women, some well behaved, and some not, who had a great deal of influence on those around them and had pivotal roles in the sequence of events in which they found themselves.

Continuing in the series of “lists of ten,” this post identifies ten miracles recorded in the Book of Mormon. Again, this is not to say that there are only ten miracles on record, but rather is an arbitrary sampling of some that I, for whatever reason, found to be important or intriguing.

The criteria for selecting was a matter I put a little thought into; the Book of Mormon, being a religious text, deals with a great amount of spiritual content, and accounts for many individuals’ encounters with God. While these things could be considered miracles in their own rights, the miracles I mention here of a more public nature—manifestations of God’s power that are apparent to all present, and while the witnesses may very well have been righteous, they are not necessarily rewards for obedience, but are universal displays of God’s power. Events like the death of Sherem or the muting of Korihor, however, while being acts of God, do not qualify in this miracle criteria because they would best be classified as cursings.

This is the first in a series of “lists of ten” posts that identify and analyze ten similar elements found in the Book of Mormon. These lists will not be “top ten” lists, or even “the ten” lists, but simply lists with a common theme that arbitrarily identify ten examples relating to it.

This post deals with a very significant theme of the Book of Mormon: spiritual conversion. Jesus explained in no uncertain terms that “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 18:3) Conversion being an absolute prerequisite for salvation and admission into heaven, it would certainly be appropriate to examine some Book of Mormon accounts of conversion.