The Power of a Converted Woman (Divine Nature Of Women Series 3 of 7)

Dear Reader,

So far, in our Divine Nature of Women series, we’ve talked about the struggle with feeling unworthy and given examples of when God comes to women. This week, we’re jumping into the power of a converted woman. Why? Because it’s the natural progression of a woman learning to be confident in herself, trusting in God, and knowing that He’ll always be there for her. 

When a woman is converted to the gospel through these means, she becomes a powerful thing to behold. 

Woman at the Well 

If you recall in our last two emails, the Woman at the Well went there in the heat of midday to avoid other women. We learned that she had five husbands and was currently living with a man who wasn’t her husband. We also learned that she was struggling with feeling unworthy and MOST importantly we learned that Jesus chose her to be the first person He told publicly that He was the Christ. 

What was her response to this?

In John 4:28-29 we read, “The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come see a man, which told me all things that I ever did: is not this the Christ?”

I love that John put in that she left her waterpot. It shows just what a hurry she was in to proclaim Jesus as the Christ. And what was their (the men) response to her? 

“Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.” (30)

They went to see what she was talking about! How amazing is that? This woman who always kept to herself, who was ostracized by her community, bore her testimony in such a way that the men went out to see Christ. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. Her change in countenance must have been profound. 

And that’s not the end of her story. There’s more; and it’s marvelous. 

John 4:39-40 says, “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.”

And it gets better. “And many more believed because of his own word.” (41)

Because of her conversion, because she saw her worth in His eyes, she helped bring “many more” into the gospel. 

Makes you feel all warm inside, doesn’t it?

Abish

If you recall last week, we talked about Ammon, King Lamoni, and King Lamoni’s wife. But just in case you missed it, here’s a quick recap. 

Ammon testified of God, and the plan of salvation to Lamoni, and Lamoni fell to the ground as though dead. Many believed he was dead and others didn’t, including his wife, who was sure if he’d died, that after two days, he’d stink. (She makes an excellent point, if you ask me.) She called Ammon to her and told him what she thought. Ammon knew the king wasn’t dead, but “sleepeth in God” (8), and that he would wake by the next day. 

When she told him she believed him, he proclaimed, “I say unto thee, woman, there has been no such great faith among all the people of the Nephites.” (Alma 19:10) 

This is what happened next. 

King Lamoni did wake the next day, and bore his testimony to his wife, and the two of them fell to their knees, along with Ammon, being overcome with the spirit. Ammon began to “pour out his soul in prayer and thanksgiving to God for what he had done for his brethren.” (14) 

Well, this led to servants falling to the earth, all calling the name of the Lord until they passed out, (that’s some pretty intense prayer, right there,) with the exception of a “Lamanitish” woman, “whose name was Abish.” (16) 

Abish had been converted years before because of a vision her father had. 

I’m sure you can imagine how shocking it must have been to have everyone around you fall to the earth unconscious, but she knew it was the power of God, and decided to take this opportunity to run from house to house in her village “making it known unto the people.” (17)

So, here we have another woman, converted by the power of God, spreading the word. 

There’s such a great lesson in this, because as I mentioned a couple paragraphs up, she’d been converted for years. 

What I didn’t mention was that she had never made it known. (17) We can only assume why she hadn’t, but my guess is because of where she was. At the time of her conversion, the Nephites were hated by the Lamanites, and everything they stood for. The Nephites believed in God, and this wasn’t the custom of the Lamanites. So, she said nothing. To avoid censure? For safety? Because she didn’t know how? Maybe all these things?

BUT I love  that as soon as she saw an opportunity—the entire household of King Lamoni falling to the ground in the Spirit—she took it. And she brought everyone in the village to the king’s home. 

Of course, it didn’t all go smoothly at first, the people saw the fallen king, queen, servants, and Ammon and began to fight. Because of course. One of them even tried to kill Ammon while he was unconscious, but before he could, he fell dead. Which led to some thinking he was sent by the Great Spirit, and others to become more angry. 

And this is when Abish comes to the rescue! 

Of course all this fighting was upsetting, and she began to cry (28) and she went to the queen and grabbed her hand, hoping she could wake her from her sleep. “And as soon as she touched her hand she (the queen) arose and stood upon her feet, and cried with a loud voice saying: O blessed Jesus, who has saved me from an awful hell! O blessed God, have mercy on this people!” (29)

And then the queen took King Lamoni by the hand and woke him. 

And this beautiful moment happened in Alma 19:31. “And he, (King Lamoni), immediately seeing the contention among his people, went forth and began to rebuke them, and to teach them the words which he had heard from the mouth of Ammon; and as many as heard his words believed, and were converted unto the Lord.”

All because Abish waited for, saw, and took the right opportunity to share her belief. Way to go, Abish. Way to go.  

Eliza R. Snow 

Eliza R. Snow was the second general president of the Relief Society, a woman of great faith, who dedicated her life to serving the Lord. 

Because I’ve already spent a lot on this email, I’m going to keep this short, but here’s a few amazing things you should know about Eliza. 

She was born in 1804, and was an excellent student, and a poet of over 500 poems in her life (that we know about). Her younger brother was Lorenzo Snow who would one day become the fifth prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ. (She often encouraged him in the gospel.) She was baptized in 1835, and shortly after moved to Kirtland to teach the Prophet Joseph Smith’s daughters and nieces. While there, she grew a deep and abiding testimony of Joseph’s divine calling. 

As the second general president of the Relief Society, she organized primary and young women’s, and the Relief Society also started sending women to medical school to become doctors, nurses, and midwives. (We’ll talk more about this in a future email.) Read her full church bio here.

“She wanted every woman to recognize her significance in the Lord’s eyes and act upon it. ‘No sister [is] so isolated,’ she declared, ‘but what she can do a great deal towards establishing the Kingdom of God upon the earth.” (Eliza R. Snow, Church of Jesus Christ.)

Her faith obviously led her to do marvelous things for the church, and most especially for the women in the church. 

Oh, and lest we forget, she also served a mission to Palestine in 1872-73. Read more about that and her in this article. 

While we’ll be talking about her again in future emails, she’s definitely worth looking up and learning more about. 

Kelly Thompson

Kelly Thompson is an excellent example of the power of a converted woman. She was a drug addict, a prostitute in order to support her addiction, and homeless. It took a lot for her to overcome all these problems, but with the help of her family, and God, she finally made it. 

It wasn’t until she decided to go to church one day, had a panic attack over it, then prayed while in her panic, that she finally got an answer that showed her that God knew who she was and that he answers prayers. The moment she finished praying, her doorbell rang, and there were the sister missionaries! This was her turning point. 

She is now an author (with Cedar Fort!), public speaker, social media influencer, who talks about addiction recovery with the help of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

Watch her story here. It’ll knock your socks off! 

Al Fox Carraway

And of course, we can’t do an email about the power of a converted woman, without talking about our very own, amazing, Al Fox Carraway—also known as the Tattooed Mormon, a nickname she hated, and managed to turn into a positive with her book, “More Than the Tattooed Mormon.” In her book, she talks about her conversion, redemption, and faith. 

Al started her journey years ago, when she saw two elders walking down the street, and told them that she’d be willing to listen to their message . . . provided they brought her a steak dinner. The last thing she expected was for them to actually bring her a steak dinner. After that, she had to listen. (Haha!) Slowly and surely, over time, after reading the scriptures and taking lessons with the elders, her friends and family started to notice a difference in her and told her so. 

It took her longer to see the difference in herself, but eventually she did, and decided to be baptized. This was a great moment, and heartbreaking one as well, as all her friends soon abandoned her, and not even a week after her baptism, her dad told her he didn’t want her as a daughter anymore, and that it was either the church or him. 

What I love so much about her story, every part of it, is the way she’s trained herself to listen and obey. Even when she didn’t want to. Which happened more than once. 

After that ultimatum from her dad, she picked the Lord, and her dad did stop talking to her—but a couple years later, he got a hold of her, and their relationship began again. And this isn’t the only time she chose to do what the Lord told her to do even though she didn’t want to, and others were telling her not too—sometimes even members!—and where she was later rewarded for it. Listen to her full conversion story here. (It’s so powerful and funny!)

Now, fifteen years after she was baptized, she has borne her unabashed testimony to millions of people via her books, social media, her website, and through public speaking, and always encourages people to strengthen their own testimonies. She’s phenomenal. But the big takeaway we get from her: Listen to God and obey. 

***

President M. Russell Ballard said, “Women have remarkable influence. No one else can help move the gospel kingdom forward and make the world a better place quite like they can.” 

We hope these examples of converted women, some at rock bottom, finding their way to their best selves, and sharing their testimonies with the world, will encourage you to see your own worth and share your light with the world. 

Happy Easter Sunday, you amazing women! And Happy Easter to your wonderful husbands as well. (We’re so grateful for the good converted men in the church, and our lives, who fight for us and the church every day through your strong examples!)

“Through the redeeming Atonement and glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ, broken hearts can be healed, anguish can become peace, and distress can become hope.” – Reyna I. Aburto

“Of all the victories in the chronicles of humanity, none is so great, none so universal in its effects, none so everlasting in its consequences as the victory of the crucified Lord, who came forth from the tomb that first Easter morning.” – Gordon B. Hinckley

“On Easter Sunday we celebrate the most long-awaited and glorious event in the history of the world. It is the day that changed everything. On that day, my life changed. Your life changed. The destiny of all God’s children changed. On that blessed day, the Savior of mankind, who had taken upon Himself the chains of sin and death that held us captive, burst those chains and set us free.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Don’t forget to join us next week; we’ll be talking about the blessings of being a woman in the latter-days, and you won’t want to miss it! In the meantime, hit that reply button, and tell us about the power of a converted woman in your life. We’d love to hear all about it! 

Love, 

The Cedar Fort Family

P.S. To learn more about the power of a converted woman, check out these books and more in our Celebrating Women Collection, Between Monsters and Mercy by Kelly Thompson, I See You by Julie Lee, and Sometimes I Cry by Jill Strasburg. 

P.P.S. Check out our Al Fox Carraway Collection here.

P.P.P.S. If you missed the first two emails in the Divine Nature of Women series, you can read them on our blog, starting here.