Latest Review of Women of Virtue by Book Reviewer Karen Hamilton

REVIEW BY KAREN HAMILTON

"As a mother with a daughter in the Young Women's program, this was atitle that caught my attention. The new Young Womens¹ value that wasadded, is Virtue. While I can tell you a basic concept of what virtue isand how it is a part of daily life, I was surprised at how much morethere is to virtue. With my limited understanding of virtue, I did notcompletely comprehend virtue as it is meant to be. Jodi Robinson takes virtue and details the what, how, why, where andwhen virtue is used in daily life. She has a series of subtitles withinthe chapters that cover many thoughts on virtue. For example, in thefirst chapter, "The Beauty of Virtue," some of the subtitles are: "Virtue makes a Woman Beautiful." "Defining Virtue,", "Seeking Virtue," "We are confident because of Virtue," "Virtue is what makes us Strong" and "Beauty is more Spiritual than it is Temporal."

"So, you're writing about virtue. Mom, what exactly is virtue?" "Well," I said, letting out a sigh of desperation, "virtue means beinggood and making right choices.² I figured that answer would suffice the curiosity of a ten-year-old" (p.1) This begins the authors' exploration on the importance of virtue and how it will be tested as her daughter grows up. "Satan would try to convince her that virtue doesn't matter, when in fact it does matter." (p.1) Robinson writes about women in the scriptures and in modern history that exemplify virtue. "Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. ­Proverbs 31:10" (p.11) This is but one of the scriptures that is used in this book.

Jodi Robinson gives a brief description of precious gems and how rare it is for rubies to exist. The same chemicals that give them their color arealso the same chemicals that can destroy the gem, making it impossiblefor the ruby to form. This is why the Lord compared virtuous women tobeing more precious than rubies. Helen Keller said, "The most beautiful things in the world cannot beseen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart." "This is whatbeing beautiful is about. To a virtuous woman of God, beauty is something that is felt far more than it is seen. (p.7) Jodi Robinson uses an experience that she had with her Grandmother just before she passed on and comments, "Grandma taught me a lot about whatit means to be beautiful because her beauty was felt far more than itwas seen. Thank you, Grandma, for letting me see in you the beauty ofvirtue." (p.8) The concepts that devalue virtue are addressed in this book in simple to understand words and phrases. They are further illustrated by stories pulled out of scripture, history, and personal experiences.

This is abook that I recommend that everyone read, but especially young women,young men and their parents. It is another tool to helping our young women and young men to understand that there is so much more to virtue than sexual purity.