For the last 23 years, Elspeth Young has been painting women of the scriptures, many of whom are found in the Old Testament.
Throughout her artistic process, which includes hours of historical and cultural research, Young has come to see each woman as a real person, with challenges and emotions similar to those faced by people in the 21st century.
“I really like communicating that — that Hannah is you. Hannah is me. Eve is you. Eve is me,” Young said. “Because that’s how the Lord wants us, I believe, to feel about the scriptures, is to feel that their story is our story and that their courage can be our courage.”
Although Young has been painting since she was 7 years old, her journey painting women in the scriptures began at Brigham Young University in 2002, where she attended a presentation on women in the scriptures given by Camille Fronk Olson, professor emeritus and former chair of BYU’s Department of Ancient Scripture.
While presenting, Olson remarked that someone with artistic talent should create more visual representations of lesser-known women in scripture. Young said the invitation resonated with her.
“I really feel like the Spirit brought it home to my heart, because I think it was a message intended just for me,” she said.
By the end of that semester, Young had worked up the courage to approach Olson and ask for insights on studying the scriptures so she could begin painting women from the Old Testament. Ultimately, Young and Olson arranged a directed studies course, where Olson mentored Young on familiarizing herself with the historical and linguistic aspects of the Bible.
Since then, Young has created many paintings of women in the scriptures, even illustrating Olson’s books “Women of the Old Testament” and “Women of the New Testament.”
Young said it’s been difficult to bring real people to life using scriptural accounts, but she’s seen the Lord guiding her as He has the people in her paintings.
“I can truly testify that the Lord loves us and has always loved His children, and there’s nothing different about us in our generation than there was in the eras of the Old Testament,” Young said. “Our challenges are really still the same. And the challenge is to find the Savior, focus on the Savior and make covenants with the Savior.”
The value of women’s perspectives
Olson, who received a doctorate in sociology of the Middle East and a master’s degree in Ancient Near Eastern Studies, had been immersing herself in the biblical world for years.
“Old Testament is a whole different culture. It is a different world, and I think we cheapen the message of it when we try to make it just like our world today,” Olson said. “It gives us another witness of another time period in another culture, but the same gospel applies.”
She talked about the value of reading the scriptures through many different lenses, including women’s perspectives during biblical times.
“If we can expand and get different perspectives, we see there is so much more to the gospel, and it’s so much bigger and grander and more awesome than we typically think,” she said. “To see how it affects different cultures, and how it fits with men and women, only expands our love for God and our reverence for what Jesus Christ has made available to us. We diminish our ability to appreciate that if we only see it through the eyes of a small population.”
Throughout her career, Olson has taught the "Women in the Scriptures" institute course at several colleges. She said she’s noticed more men taking the course in recent years, such as one young man who said the principles he learned in the class helped him minister better to his assigned ward sisters.
On an episode of the Latter-day Saint Women podcast, Olson said one of the “marvelous truths” found in the Old Testament is the power that comes from working in tandem with others.
“The greatest accomplishments happen when men and women are working together and they appreciate the contributions from each other,” she said.
She continued: “The purpose of scripture is to bring us to Jesus Christ. It is to bear witness of Him. And scriptures tell me you cannot do that without including the voices of men and women. Collectively, individually, they help us see our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.”
Stories to watch for in 2026
As members of the Church prepare to study the Old Testament as part of the "Come, Follow Me" 2026 curriculum, they can anticipate learning about some of the women Olson and Young have come to love through their studies. In fact, of the more than 170 women mentioned in the standard works, the majority appear in the Bible, according to Olson.
“I think the women in the Old Testament normalize women’s participation in the work of God and the salvation of His children,” Olson said.
Olson said she has recently been reflecting on the story of Rahab, who is described in the Old Testament as a harlot. Despite her lower-class standing, Rahab had a testimony of the Lord, which she shared with spies sent into Jericho by the prophet Joshua in Joshua 2. Rahab hid and protected the spies in her home and asked them to save her and her family when the city was destroyed. The spies agreed, and Rahab and her family were the only people spared from destruction in Joshua 6. Centuries later, Jesus Christ was born through Rahab’s lineage, as recorded in Matthew 1:5.
For Olson, Rahab’s story illustrates that good things can come from imperfect people.
“The people in the Old Testament are imperfect, and it’s so easy to see it in them,” Olson said. “You see weaknesses, and it’s so refreshing that God uses people with weakness to do incredibly wonderful things.”
The story of the widow whose oil was multiplied by the prophet Elisha stands out to Young.
In 2 Kings 4, Elisha invited a widow to bring him vessels of oil, which he then multiplied for her to sell. Young said it’s suggested that Elisha would have given the woman more oil had she brought more vessels.
Young compared the vessels of oil to one’s personal spiritual preparation.
“For instance, when I come to general conference, if I really, prayerfully pondered, and I have come with questions, the answers are always overflowing,” she explained. “But if I haven’t put in my due diligence, I may not receive all of the messages that the Lord wants me to be able to receive.”
Kaylee Westhora — who took the “Women in the Scriptures” class at the Logan Institute of Religion in 2024 — said that as she learned about the many women in the scriptures, she initially felt sad and even angry because so many remarkable women were going seemingly unnoticed. Then she realized that many similar stories were happening all around her.
“There are incredible, modern-day women who are doing so much good and have so much to offer this world — we can’t possibly know all of their stories,” Westhora said. “But God does. He sees our every effort. Through His Son, Jesus Christ, He knows us perfectly and is proud of the work we do — even if we go unknown or nameless to others.”
Making the most of the Old Testament
To truly make the most of the Old Testament, Olson advised, Church members should slow down, ask questions and study beyond what is covered in Sunday School.
Young explained the process she takes on before beginning a new painting, which she said anyone can employ to enjoy the scriptures more.
To begin, Young reads the story in as many translations of the Bible as possible. Next, she reads what biblical scholars both within and without the Church have said about the subject. She also reads what Church leaders have taught about the story in general conference talks or books. She rounds out her research by studying archaeological finds relevant to the era or geological location of a painting subject.
Following these steps brings the scriptures to life for Young.
“I think it’s all about relatability, making sure that the scriptures become accessible and don’t feel like this foreign artifact that we really don’t know what to do with,” she said. “I think it’s a lot easier to have faith in something that we can really step inside and start to learn from and apply in our lives.”
