In this lesson, we will focus on Mary, mother of Christ. Who was she? What can we learn from her? How can modern men and women emulate her? This lesson is scheduled for January in Come Follow Me, but would also make a great Christmas lesson if presented in December.

People often point to Mary as a role model for women, and she is one, but she is also a great role model for men. Encourage class members to think about how her example applies to each of them personally, regardless of their gender.

With that said, it is important that Luke 1 focuses on women.

The first thing we find out about God, is that God is okay with womanhood, that God has found favor in a particular woman—I really hesitate to call her a woman because she is really probably a teenage girl—and that God is applauding a teenage girl growing up in a patriarchal background is worth mentioning and worth celebrating. …The fact that the greatest story of our time, that through Jesus the Christ, God has made provision for our redemption and for our repair, is a story that is not only presented to us through the perspectives of two women, Elisabeth and Mary in the Gospel of Luke, but it is also framed by an experience exclusive to women and that is pregnancy. And that is remarkable considering the time that this is happening in, where women could not initiate divorce, where women probably didn’t even choose their husbands; their husbands were chosen for them. We’re looking at women’s stories being privileged and pushed to the forefront of the Gospel of Luke. …The Gospel of Luke is important to us because it is showing us how the world should be, not how the world is, and you see this by the focus on women in this Gospel. You see this in the focus on the rich and the poor dynamic. And you see this in the focus on helping people who need our help.

— Kimberly Peeler-Ringer, A Feminist Christmas Nativity Story with Kimberly Peeler-Ringer, Religious Feminism Podcast, December 2, 2018

With God nothing is impossible

An Angel Foretells Christ’s Birth to Mary (start at minute 1:19)

Consider each line of dialogue from the angel Gabriel and Mary one at a time and discuss any messages modern men and women might learn from their statements. A couple examples are provided in 2023 Come Follow Me for Individuals and Families: Matthew 1; Luke 1. One of the examples provided by the manual is that the angel’s statement, “The Lord is with thee” in verse 28 might remind someone that “The Lord is aware of my situation and struggles.” Another is that Mary’s question, “How shall this be?” in verse 34 could tell someone, “It’s OK to ask questions to better understand God’s will.” But class members may also interpret these statements in other ways that are meaningful to them. There are no wrong answers. Find other ideas at There’s Something about Mary by Deborah, the Exponent, April 15, 2008.

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among ^awomen.

29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, ^aFear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name ^aJESUS.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the ^aSon of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the ^bthrone of his father ^cDavid:

33 And he shall ^areign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no ^bend.

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I ^aknow not a man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The ^aHoly 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 ^bSon of God.

36 And, behold, thy ^acousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her ^bold age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

37 For with God nothing shall be ^aimpossible.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:28-38

• Which messages that apply to you did you find in Gabriel’s and Mary’s words?

Remember that this whole narrative of Jesus’s birth does not start with his being born, but rather it starts with a young girl giving consent to God’s will. The gospel of Luke introduces us to Mary by highlighting her consent, or rather her submission, to the will of God. …It’s a perfect teaching opportunity to teach men and women and children about consent. …Gabriel comes to Mary and asks for consent before this supernatural thing happens in her body.

— Kimberly Peeler-Ringer, A Feminist Christmas Nativity Story with Kimberly Peeler-Ringer, Religious Feminism Podcast, December 2, 2018

• Why are agency and consent necessary to God’s plan?
• How can we emulate God’s respect for agency and consent in our lives?

Like Mary, we sometimes find that God’s plans for our life are quite different from what we had planned.

—2023 Come Follow Me for Individuals and Families: Matthew 1; Luke 1

• What do you learn from Mary about accepting God’s will?
• What can we learn about overcoming the seemingly impossible by studying Mary’s words and actions?
• Would anyone like to share an experience in which God helped you accomplish something you thought was impossible?

Blessed is she who believed

Upon learning that her older cousin Elisabeth was also miraculously pregnant, Mary traveled to see her. She spent three months in her home, leaving just before Elisabeth gave birth.

41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was ^afilled with the Holy Ghost:

42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among ^awomen, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

43 And ^awhence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance [fulfillment] of those things which were told her from the Lord.

Luke 41-45

Mary and Elisabeth Rejoice Together (start at minute 1:15)

Let’s pause from our discussion of Mary for a moment to talk about Elisabeth. Consider these words from a Latter-day Saint woman who struggled with infertility.

As an infertile woman with no hope of ever bearing a child, the celebration of birth was just a reminder of my own imperfection… The incessant reminder that Mary was “highly favoured” (Luke 1:28), which hallowed her womb only served to solidify the idea that I was not favoured of God….

As I read through Luke’s first chapter, I found myself focused on Elisabeth. It seemed in the time previous to this, the story of Elisabeth was taught to me as though it were but a side-plot or witness of Mary’s story. But it isn’t; it is a powerful source of inspiration in and of itself. She was called barren (Luke 1:36), but she remained faithful. She remained faithful after a lifetime surely filled with trials that were probably not just related to infertility, but may have been harder because she was publicly, and correctly, labeled as barren. She and her husband worshiped and served in the temple. They were known to be righteous, good people, even at a time when the birth of a son was paramount to…well… everything. Like me, she may have even been judged by fellow church members as unrighteous, not faithful enough, not good enough to do what women are supposed to do. Like me, she may have had to reconcile the religious tradition of women only as mothers, and understand that against religious trends and traditions that women are, and should be, spiritual leaders. And that female spirituality is wholly unrelated to motherhood.

Her empty womb surely caused her grief, I mused. But she was so in tune with the spirit that she, upon sight of Mary, was the first to know through the spirit that Mary was carrying Christ (Luke 1:41). Previous to Elisabeth, the scriptures only note Mary and Joseph having been told this fact by angels. Elisabeth did not need an angel because she was so very powerfully in tune with the spirit. She knew. Her own barrenness did not turn to bitterness that depleted the spirit from her.

—Sherrie L.M. Gavin, Christmas Series: “…and her name was Elisabeth…”, The Exponent, November 29, 2014

• How can we emulate Elisabeth?
• What does Mary’s decision to make this journey tell us about Mary, Elisabeth and their relationship to each other?
• How might Elisabeth have influenced Mary?

My soul doth magnify the Lord

Known as the Magnificat, Mary’s speech to Elisabeth is the longest discourse by a woman recorded in the New Testament. (See Jason Porterfield, The Subversive Magnificat: What Mary Expected The Messiah To Be Like, Enemy Love.)

The Magnificat has been set to music by many composers. Here is a version I like:

“Magnificat” by Ruth Elaine Schram; art and music by Augsburg Fortress

46 And Mary ^asaid, My soul doth ^bmagnify the Lord,

47 And my spirit hath ^arejoiced in God my ^bSaviour.

Luke 1:46-47

• What does it mean to magnify the Lord?
• How can we better rejoice in our Savior?

48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his ^ahandmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me ^bblessed.

49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great ^athings; and ^bholy is his name.

50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

Luke 1:48-50

• Can you think of “great things” God has done to you?
• How have you witnessed God’s blessings and mercy?

Mary’s Magnificat, Mary’s song of praise liturgy, “My soul does magnify the Lord” in Luke 1:47-55: It’s important to note we have the testimony of a woman a celebrating her relationship with God in the sacred text.

— Kimberly Peeler-Ringer, A Feminist Christmas Nativity Story with Kimberly Peeler-Ringer, Religious Feminism Podcast, December 2, 2018

• Why would we we celebrate our relationship with God? How do we do that?

So much about God is a mystery. But I do believe. And something about Mary — swaddling Jesus at his birth and again at his death, holding him so close that a “sword” of grief pierces her heart – helps me believe it is possible to bridge the chasm between humanity and divinity. As the angel said, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” And with us.

— Deborah, Something About Mary, Revisited, The Exponent, November 29, 2014

• What have you done in your life to build a bridge toward the divine?

51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the ^aproud in the imagination of their hearts.

52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of ^alow degree.

53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

Luke 1:50-53

• What is Mary telling us here about how what she is seeing in her society and how it contrasts with God’s plan?

This part of Mary’s discourse reveals a different side to Mary’s personality than the meekness she demonstrates while talking to the angel.

What does it mean to wait for God in a broken world? What does it mean to wait in a time in which God’s promise of redemption is met by the despair of the poor, the greed of those who exploit others, and the rage of those who commit violence? What does Advent mean for the real world?

Mary had some thoughts on that.

Her Magnificat is a powerful poem that holds together the grittiness of life on the margins and the resilient hope of those who trust in God. Mary found herself pregnant and not yet married in an ancient culture in which coercive control of female sexuality was a primary measure of masculine honor. Mary faced an uncertain future at best and devastating retribution from her community at worst. Indeed, the Gospel of Matthew is careful to note that Joseph planned to dismiss her quietly rather than expose her to public humiliation (Matt 1:18-19): the latter scenario could theoretically have included stoning for adultery, according to Jewish law. So I don’t envision Mary as the radiant woman peacefully composing the Magnificat in Marie Ellenrieder’s 1833 painting, but as a girl who sings defiantly to her God through her tears, fists clenched against an unknown future. Mary’s courageous song of praise is a radical resource for those seeking to honor the holy amid the suffering and conflicts of real life.

— Carolyn J. Sharp, Yale University, On Scripture: Carolyn Sharp on Luke 1:39-56: Magnificat for a Broken World, December 14, 2011

• How should we channel our righteous indignation when we witness evil and oppression?

Mary’s discourse has been seen as so subversive by people in power that it has been banned multiple times by authorities in various countries.

Frequently throughout history, people on the margins have identified with this powerful poem and been inspired to believe that God can actually bring liberation to their plight. In fact, in the past century at least three different countries have banned the public recitation of Mary’s Magnificat. These governments considered the song’s message to be dangerously subversive. During the British rule of India, the Magnificat was prohibited from being sung in church. In the 1980s, Guatemala’s government discovered Mary’s words about God’s preferential love for the poor to be too dangerous and revolutionary. The song had been creating quite the stirring amongst Guatemala’s impoverished masses. Mary’s words were inspiring the Guatemalan poor to believe that change was indeed possible. Thus their government banned any public recitation of Mary’s words. Similarly, after the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo—whose children all disappeared during the Dirty War—placed the Magnificat’s words on posters throughout the capital plaza, the military junta of Argentina outlawed any public display of Mary’s song.

— Jason Porterfield, The Subversive Magnificat: What Mary Expected The Messiah To Be Like, Enemy Love

• Why would Mary’s words be so threatening to oppressive regimes?

54  He hath ^aholpen [helped] his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

55 As he spake to our ^afathers, to Abraham, and to his ^bseed for ever.

Luke 1:54-55

Here, Mary demonstrates her knowledge of scripture.

• How can better study scripture so that we can recall it and apply it?

Mary’s influences, and her influence

Mary’s hymn was influenced by the Song of Hannah, a triumphant paean to God dating centuries earlier. Hannah, a godly woman unable to conceive a child, finally becomes pregnant with Samuel, who will be celebrated in Israelite tradition as a mighty judge. She dedicates her boy to the Lord, singing of God’s power to overthrow the arrogant enemies of the lowly. Luke’s Magnificat draws on the Song of Hannah, inviting us to our own sources of memory to understand how God has transformed situations of risk and oppression.

— Carolyn J. Sharp, Yale University, On Scripture: Carolyn Sharp on Luke 1:39-56: Magnificat for a Broken World, December 14, 2011

Review the Song of Hannah and look for parallels between its themes and Mary’s Magnificat.

• What parallels do you see between these two discourses?
• How do you think Mary was inspired by her study of the teachings of Hannah in the Old Testament?

1 And Hannah ^aprayed, and said, My heart ^brejoiceth in the Lord, mine ^chorn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy ^dsalvation.

2 There is ^anone holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any ^brock like our God.

3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of ^aknowledge, and by him ^bactions are weighed.

4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.

5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the ^abarren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.

6 The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he ^abringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.

7 The Lord ^amaketh ^bpoor, and maketh ^crich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

8 He ^araiseth up the ^bpoor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the ^cpillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them.

9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be ^asilent in darkness; for by ^bstrength shall no man prevail.

10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall ^ajudge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his ^banointed.

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Mary was called not only to give birth to Jesus, but to raise him and prepare him for his role as the Savior. Review the beatitudes from Jesus Christ’s Sermon on the Mount and look for parallels between their themes and Mary’s Magnificat.

• What parallels do you see between these two discourses?
• How do you think Mary may have influenced and/or anticipated Jesus’s teachings?

3 ^aBlessed are the ^bpoor in spirit: for theirs is the ^ckingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are they that ^amourn: for they shall be ^bcomforted.

5 Blessed are the ^ameek: for they shall inherit the ^bearth.

6 Blessed are they which do ^ahunger and thirst after ^brighteousness: for they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the ^amerciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the ^apure in ^bheart: for they shall ^csee God.

9 Blessed are the ^apeacemakers: for they shall be called the ^bchildren of God.

10 Blessed are they which are ^apersecuted for ^brighteousness’ sake: for ^ctheirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are ye, when men shall ^arevile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of ^bevil against you falsely, ^cfor my sake.

12 ^aRejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your ^breward in heaven: for so ^cpersecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Matthew 5:3-12