Mary, the Mother of Jesus by Camille Fronk Olson

Mary, the Mother of Jesus Reviews

• 
  Becky Maness

  Fascinating insights into Scriptural accounts of Jesus's mother Mary. I learned so much!
• 
  Kathy

  Quotable:
  Far from any urban center and families of elite social status, parents in Nazareth could not have afforded to keep their daughters in seclusion. Their girls would more likely have been involved in assisting with the family vocation, whether farming, raising livestock, creating stone masonry, pottery, or textiles or selling such goods. Daughters would have also assisted their mothers in preparing food and caring for the home. Praising rural women in the Roman Empire generally, the Roman scholar Varro (116 B.C. – 27 B.C.) reported that their fortitude and usefulness put to shame the pampered women in the cities. One scholar noted Varro: “He describes the women who look after the herdsmen watching the livestock in the mountains, claiming that the women are often not at all inferior to the men in working with the flocks. Not only can they look after the animals, but they can also cook food and keep the huts clean. And they do this all with nursing babies at their breast!”
  
  The law of purification for new mothers. Mary needed to be purified after giving birth (Luke 2:22-24), not she and Joseph or she and the baby. According to the law of Moses, birth, not conception, rendered a woman ritually unclean for seven days before a son was circumcised and thirty-three days afterwards, for a total of forty days (Leviticus 12:2-8). After giving birth to a daughter, the days a mother was “unclean” were doubled to eighty (Leviticus 12:5). No explanation for this difference is provided in scripture.
  
  {Anna, who approached the holy family at the temple when Jesus was 12] was known as a descendant of the tribe of Asher, the eighth son of Jacob and the second son of Leah’s handmaid, Zilpah.
  
  “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” (Mark 6:3)
  
• 
  Christine

  I found this to be an interesting study in Mary's life. Camille Fronk Olson, who is an LDS scholar, points to several things as she explores Mary's life from prophecies about her to her role in Jesus's ministry after the resurrection.
  
  Olson also points out what is known about Mary and other customs for young women and mothers at the time, including marriage customs and the rules of the Law of Moses regarding childbirth, as well as what isn't known specifically about her, which I found very helpful.
  
  While interspersed with several pictures, it isn't a book just to glance through, but to study.
  
  It helped give me a deeper perspective and respect to a woman and mother who shared in one of the pivotal events in Biblical history and would be very useful — and enjoyable — to those wanting to know about her life.
  
  
  Here's a link to a review I did for Mormon Times: "Mary the Mother of Jesus' explores her life."
• 
  Kaylynn Johnsen

  This book read more like a text book than a Mother's Day present.
  
  I enjoyed it for the first part and then I had serious issues with it at the end. I'm not saying that Sister Olson is wrong, but I will go as far as saying we must read the same scriptures differently. "Unexpectedly, we read that the brothers of Jesus were at this time (postresurrection) numbered with the believers. They must have experienced a mighty change of heart in the intervening weeks since Jesus had died."
  
  They may not have been the first believers but it's pretty hard to be an apostle (the first 12) when you aren't a believer. (Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.) Maybe not all of his brothers became apostles but James, Juda and Simon did during Christ's ministry. And this isn't the only problem I have with the suppositions made by Sister Olson.
• 
  Ruth

  This is a truly lovely book. It's the perfect blend of stunning art and meaningful, historically-based commentary. This is meaningful to read at Christmastime, of course, but can be enjoyed all year long. The author is always careful not to pander to common myths about Mary while gently 'supposing' of the possibilities of Mary's life--details which no scholar has been able to know. This is a quality book in every way; a treasure.
• 
  LeeAnn

  As a writer, I'm fascinated with Camille Olson's ability to treat a subject like this carefully, presenting multiple points of view while expressing her own. She also succeeded in avoiding speculation of specific facts (that cannot be verified) while probing into a mother's heart. I think this book was less about Mary than about teaching gospel truths and insights for each of us. As a mother, I learned a great deal of a better way to be.
• 
  Janelle

  My mother reccommended this read. I enjoyed reading how the author gave insight into a figure from scripture I thought I knew well. I learned a lot about Mary, and was surprised how much I learned about Christ. The pages of this book are designed beautifully which only adds to the experience of reading it.
• 
  Jessica

  I found this book going through my books and realized I hadn't read it yet and thought Christmas was the perfect time to read it. It was a nice summary of what we know about Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The paintings were beautiful and it was interesting to think about her life and what it might have been like to be the Jesus's mother.
  
• 
  alisonwonderland (Alison)

  This is a beautifully designed and illustrated little book, including artwork from Liz Lemon Swindle, Elspeth Young, and Carl Heinrich Bloch, among others.
  
  I was disappointed that the text offered me little in the way of new insights or scriptural analysis, however. Almost three stars.
• 
  Janalyn

  The author uses scriptural and historical accounts to help the reader learn and ponder more about the life of Mary. I read this book near Christmas time, with my bible close at hand. I learned more than I expected to. I appreciate that the author doesn't drift into speculation.
• 
  Lisa

  I thought this was really interesting. It brought out a lot of points about Mary's life, and of life in general at that time, that I didn't know, or had never thought of. I loved the pictures throughout the book; they were beautiful. Thanks, Mom Weight!
• 
  Anna

  I really enjoyed this book for its cultural and scriptural insights into Mary, Jesus's mother. Camille Fronk Olson does a good job of including sources and making me want to go back and study scriptural passages.
• 
  Jessica

  This book presented many ideas about Mary I had never before considered. Of course there is speculation involved because there is so much we don't know, so much that isn't told. However, I believe Olsen had to have done a lot of research and thus I found this book informative and knowledgeable.
• 
  Karisa

  I learned a ton about Mary, and now I'm really ready for Christmas! This author is an exceptionally deep thinker, and it was satisfying to dive into the scriptures, rather than just skimming the surface.
• 
  Sierra

  This book is absolutely beautiful--material, writing, art...everything! Beautiful and really well done. Definitely need a copy for my personal library.
• 
  Ashlynn

  This book was fantastic. A very well written book....I would recommend everyone interested in Mary to read this book. It's educational and inspiring. I have a new love for Mary.
• 
  Loni

  I love the insights, through much studying, that Camille Fronk Olson puts into her books. Mary was a remarkable woman and mother of Jesus.
• 
  Barbara

  It's a lovely little book. Not a lot of new information but very nicely presented with a lot of wonderful pictures. Just taking time to read it is worthwhile.
• 
  Cathy

  I read this for a December book club. The art work is excellent. The story is heavy doctrine, and though good, I wanted a much lighter read.
• 
  Carol

  Well done book with scriptural and cultural insights to the life of the mother of Jesus. Beautiful artwork adds to the spiritual nature of this book. I highly recommend it.
• 
  Amy

  Ms. Olsen does a nice job placing Mary in her historical context and explaining Mosaic law as it related to her. It is a quick, simple read, but has helped me understand her life better.
• 
  Danielle

  This book gave me a lot of good insight and good things to think about.