Not Afraid Of The Snow

¹The mother of King Lemuel describes the many admirable traits of a virtuous woman, including the following: “She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.” (Proverbs 31:21). This description of snow and scarlet reminded me of another verse. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18). A virtuous woman is not afraid, either for herself or for her household, of the pure white snow of redemption and forgiveness through the Atonement of Christ. The virtuous woman knows that she and her household all have sinned and are thus clothed in scarlet. She does not have to pretend that she or her family are perfect because she doesn't need to pretend. She and her family may find themselves clad in scarlet sins from time to time, but she knows in whom she has put her trust. Although they are all clothed in scarlet they are not afraid of the snow. A virtuous woman is not sinless but fearless and unstoppable in her efforts for her whole household to repent and attain a remission of their sins. Let us all follow the example of the virtuous woman. Let us be realistic and truly acknowledge how often we ourselves and those we look after end up clothed in scarlet sins. And let us not be afraid of the snow. Let us fearlessly confess our sins to our Savior and humbly and gratefully allow His Atonement to blanket us in the snow of forgiveness. And most of all, let us extend that same fearless compassion to our families and households. We should care much more about helping our loved ones back to Christ than caring whether any of our friends or neighbors spots one of our family members sporting some scarlet threads. If we are not afraid of the snow or the scarlet, then they will follow our example and cast out their fears and boldly go before the throne of grace that they may be clothed not in scarlet but in purest snow. I hope however much or little scarlet we are all wearing we will come to truly believe that we can still be virtuous so long as we do not fear the snow for ourselves or for our households.