Anna
Anna was a very righteous woman. She fasted and prayed so much that she had the gift of prophecy. She was known as a prophetess. She was at least 84 years old when Christ was born. She visited the temple often. She was there when Mary and Joseph took Christ to the temple when he was 8 days old. In Luke 2: 36-38, Anna praised God that she was able to meet the Messiah before she died. She told everyone that Jesus would be the redeemer of the world.
(If you’re unfamiliar with this series, check out my first post about Women of the Bible.) It appears to me that through fasting and prayer, we can all become prophets or prophetesses. Is this story problematic for the LDS, in that Anna is known as a prophetess? Do you think this story should be emphasized more than it is?
No problem with Anna being styled a prophetess. Any other person who can bear a testimony of Jesus Christ has the spirit of prophecy. At least, that was Joseph Smith’s answer when someone asked him if he was a prophet. I hope I can think of myself as a prophet, too.
Anna and Simeon are two of my favorite characters from the Bible, in spite of the near dearth of actual information about them. They persevered in their hopes in spite of competing claims and evidence.
I had a seminary teacher tell my class that the reason there were prophetesses was because there were no righteous males.
I find that explanation quite suspect. Joseph and Mary both saw angels. Zacharias and his wife had just given birth to John the Baptist.