What if one of the most powerful testimonies of God's love in the scriptures comes from a woman whose story we often skip over? In this episode, BYU professor of ancient scripture Amy Easton discusses a compelling study of Hagar–the enslaved Egyptian woman who becomes the only person in the Old Testament to name God–by discussing her article "'You Are the God Who Sees Me': God's Loving-Kindness to Hagar." Professor Easton guides listeners into the heart of Hagar's story, showing how her experiences of trauma, exploitation, and exile reveal a God who is intimately aware of those on the margins. She highlights Hagar's transformative encounters in the wilderness, where God sees her, hears her, makes promises directly to her, and ultimately liberates her and her son. Through these moments, we come to understand a God who works both within hardship and beyond it. Further, Professor Easton explains how Hagar's story affirms a universal truth that God sees all His children and invites us to see and care for one another with that same loving‑kindness.

Publications:

"'You Are the God Who Sees Me': God's Loving-Kindness to Hagar," in Tender Mercies and Loving-Kindness: The Goodness of God in the Old Testament, Religious Studies Center (2026)

"A Multiplicity of Witnesses: Women and the Translation Process," with Rachel Cope, in A Hundredth Part: Exploring the History and Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Religious Studies Center (2023)

"Recognizing Responsibility and Standing with Victims: Studying Women of the Old Testament," in Covenant of Compassion: Caring for the Marginalized and Disadvantaged in the Old Testament, Religious Studies Center (2021)

"Lehi's Dream as a Template for Understanding Each Act of Nephi's Vision," in The Things Which My Father Saw: Approaches to Lehi's Dream and Nephi's Vision, Religious Studies Center (2011)

Click here to learn more about Amy Easton

Episode 140: You Are the God Who Sees Me (Amy Easton)