I just don’t think that we’ve appreciated the wives of the prophets nearly enough. They are the unsung heroes in history. They’ve had to put up with a lot. And I, for one, appreciate them.
Think about it. What about Eve? “Honey, I’d like to talk.”
Adam: “Didn’t we talk yesterday?”
Eve: “Yes, but I want to talk again today. You’re the only one I have to talk to.”
Adam: “Oh, yeah, right . . .” Now that had to be hard!
And Noah’s wife. Now there is a faithful woman. Noah comes home from work one day and announces, “Sweetheart, I’ve decided to take you on a cruise.” Probably not quite what she had in mind when all was said and done.
Then there was Moses’ wife. I can’t remember her name but in the movie, she seemed like such a lovely woman. But can you imagine?
Moses: “Darling, we’re moving to Egypt.”
“And then what?”
“Well, I’m going to threaten the Pharoah a bit, then we’ll move again.”
“Where?”
“Well, I haven’t quite figured that out but I suspect it will involve a lot of camping.”
“For how long?”
“I think maybe at least forty years.”
“How am I supposed to pack for that?”
Then there was Sariah, Lehi’s wife. The poor woman had to deal with the whole camping thing, the cruise across the ocean, starting out again in the middle of nowhere. And the whole time her kids are fighting like crazy and asking, “Are we there yet?” That could not have been easy!
There’s more. Alma’s wife had to put up with her husband getting fired, being threatened with death, starting a new church, moving, and then he spends years dealing with his wayward son. It seems like a lot of prophet’s wives had to put up with quite a bit of moving and threats on their husband’s life. That’s certainly not something I’d be thrilled with.
There are many prophets that we don’t even know whether they were married or not. Take Paul, for instance. I wonder if he was married. It’s likely that he was. But I can’t imagine his poor wife.
“Dear, I’m going off on another mission. See you in a few years.”
“Alright honey, don’t forget your toothbrush.”
I don’t know. That seems like a lot. And Isaiah—was he married? Probably.
Isaiah: “Sweetie, let me read you this one part I just wrote.”
Wife: “But why? I couldn’t understand the rest of it at all!”
Things didn’t get much better in the latter days. Poor Emma Smith had to put up with all kinds of stuff and we read story after story of the poor woman sleeping on her coat on the floor so the houseguests could have her bed. Such a selfless woman. I’m sure her idea of the celestial kingdom is having her own bed.
Then there was Sister Hinckley. She had the same traveling to deal with, only in a different way. Here she was in her eighties and nineties, having to jet all over the world! She probably had decades of jet lag to catch up on.
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| Photo by Tom Smart, Courtesy of Deseret Morning News |
I think about President Monson’s wife. Just think how many talks she’s had to give and how many talks she’s had to listen to. She has got to be a patient woman. He’s been a Church leader for a crazy long time. I’d love to meet her someday. Just for a minute. Just long enough to tell her:
“Thank you for being the prophet’s wife. We appreciate it.”
