The Women of Mormondom

by Edward W. Tullidge

Woman's apostleship as the minister of the "word of God" commenced at the death of Abel.

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Turn we now to Mary, the mother of Christ, to see what kind of man she "hath gotten from the Lord." From the first Eve to the second Eve, to find the grace of woman's nature spreading abroad in her Jesus, for the salvation of the world. Motherhood now in the regeneration.

"Hail thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

"And behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus."

As also note the episode of her meeting with her cousin Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.

These mothers were conscious of the salvation to be born of woman. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost, and blessed the greater mother; and Mary magnified the Lord in psalm, and said: "Behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed."

We shall yet have to give to the gospel word "regeneration" a very literal meaning. The world must be regenerated, in fact, before much salvation can come unto it; regenerated through the divine nature of woman endowing her sons; and regenerated in her apostolic ministry to the race; which in this age is being so universally acknowledged.

The world must be born again. "Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven." Except mankind be regenerated, no Christ can reign with his saints on earth. There is something more than mere figure of speech in this gospel.

The generation of mankind began in Cain; the regeneration of mankind began in Christ. The one born with the club; the other endowed with all-conquering love. The scepters of the two creations typed in Cain and Jesus.

Jesus was not only the first fruits of the resurrection, but of the regeneration also. And motherhood was (before fatherhood) first with God in this regeneration. Has egotistic man sufficiently cogitated over this fact? And does he fully comprehend the equally significant fact that woman was the first witness and testament of the resurrection?