Perhaps many in our day never expect to be called to fulfill their Ephraimite birthright role of serving as end-time saviors of the house of Israel. That, however, is the reality many will face. Some—like Apostle Orson Hyde, who in 1841 traveled to dedicate the Holy Land for the return of the Jews—will fulfill their task. Others who are called, as was John E. Page, never will.
But behind the exterior reality of those faithful servants whom God calls to graft the natural branches of the olive tree back into their mother tree (Jacob 5:61) exists an internal reality of faithful handmaidens who empower their charges to perform their tasks. For them, the collective phenomenon known as the “Birthpangs of the Messiah” takes on a personal or individual aspect.
Together, these kings and queens of the Gentiles—alias the 144,000 servants of God (Isaiah 49:22–23; Revelation 14:1–5; Doctrine & Covenants 77:11)—accomplish Israel’s restoration that precedes Jesus’ coming in glory. Called as judges of Israel’s twelve tribes in the pattern of his apostles, they reign with him a thousand years (Matthew 19:28; Revelation 7:1–8; 20:4, 6).
Just as a king’s role is to be an intercessor or savior of those to whom he ministers—as was King Hezekiah (Isaiah 37:15–20)—so a queen’s role is to validate and empower a king. Her spiritual, mostly hidden role is one of “birthing the king,” as without her he is no king. When a woman fulfills this for a man, he feels motivated to live up to her expectations and perform his part.
So was Zipporah to Moses when the Lord tasked him with delivering Israel out of bondage in Egypt (Exodus 4:18–26). So was Deborah to Barak when the Canaanites oppressed Israel for twenty years, and he smote them with the edge of the sword (Judges 4:1–16). And so was Michal to David when the Philistines threatened Israel, and he slew them at will (1 Samuel 18:20–30).
When today’s women take ownership of their true identity as queens and birthing mothers of saviors—as the Lamanite mothers did of their sons who fought with Helaman—and when the men are made to feel validated and spiritually empowered by the women’s trust and confidence in them, then both grow into their full identities as end-time deliverers of the house of Israel.
To attain male–female parity, therefore—the only state in which ultimate joy and happiness is possible—a woman’s definition of “helpmeet” (‘ezer; Genesis 2:18, 20) doesn’t simply mean “helper.” Rather, as the first two components of the Hebrew term suggest (‘oz; “strength” or “power”), she is a man’s empowerer, just as Jehovah himself is (‘azar; Isaiah 41:13–14).
Under conditions of male–female parity, the Covenant of Brotherhood revealed through the prophet Joseph Smith—“Art thou a brother or brethren? I salute you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in token or remembrance of the everlasting covenant, in which covenant I receive you to fellowship, in a determination that is fixed, immovable, and unchangeable, to be your friend and brother through the grace of God in the bonds of love, to walk in all the commandments of God blameless, in thanksgiving, forever and ever. Amen” (Doctrine & Covenants 88:133)—may fulfill its fuller purpose.
