Paul really seemed to have it out for women. In his first letter to Timothy, chapter 2 verses 11-13 he said, “. . .suffer not a woman to teach. . . but to be in silence. . .” 

If your blood is boiling just wait! President Joseph Fielding Smith explained Paul’s words. He said: “The counsel that Paul gave in the branches of the Church in his day was in strict conformity to the law of the times in which he lived. . . In the days of Paul. . .  it was the universal custom that women should play no part in political government or minister in churches.. . . The custom that women should remain silent may have been borrowed from [the Israelites’] pagan neighbors. . . .” (Answers to Gospel Questions, 5 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1957-1966], 3: 66-67.)

President Smith’s point is that silencing women is NOT God’s way. In fact the Bible is full of women who actively participated in the gospel such as Eve, Moses’ sister Miriam, Hannah, and Anna. 

This means that Paul’s teachings were not a reflection of God’s standard for women, but simply in line with the customs and laws of the time he lived in. 

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