I think I was 22 or 23 when I heard Chieko Okazaki* speak. My dad had bought tickets to Time Out for Women for my mom and me, and we attended in St. George, Utah. We heard from a number of speakers and musical presenters over the two-day event, and Chieko was among them. I’m sure my notes from her talk are buried in some notebook or another, but off the top of my head, the thing I remember from her talk is a contemplation on competing virtues. She gave an example of how the virtue of “moderation in all things” would tell her not to take a second slice of chocolate cake, while the virtue of “don’t be wasteful” would tell her to gobble it right up. She talked about how often in our lives, we have to choose between virtues, and in her humble opinion, the ruling virtues in every situation are love and agency. She applied this to parenting in particular, as I remember, and said that as we do our best to raise children, our priorities should always be to express love and to honor agency.

That’s the only time I was ever in the presence of Chieko Okazaki, and I was in a large ballroom with 1,000+ other people, but she still made an impression on me. I’ve gotten to know Chieko better through her books and talks over the last few years. To me, she is an educator, a prophetess, and a true friend. Her words are inspired and bold. Her approach is refreshing. And along with some other permabloggers at fMh, I want to introduce Chieko to you in a special way over this coming year.

Chieko Nishimura Okazaki was born in Hawaii in 1926. The child of Hawaiian-born parents of Japanese descent, she was raised in the Buddhist tradition and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at the age of 15. She eventually relocated with her husband, Ed Okazaki, to the Intermountain West, where she became the mother of two sons as well as an elementary school teacher and principal. In 1961, she was called to serve on the YWMIA (Young Women) General Board (making her the first person of color — of any gender — to serve at that general level), and in 1990, she became the 1st Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, serving under President Elaine Jack. That presidency was active for seven years, and following her release, Chieko continued to write and speak to audiences of Mormon women until her death in 2011.

On every Sunday in 2015, fMh will publish a short excerpt from the writings or speeches of Chieko Okazaki. This idea is modeled somewhat on The Teachings of The Presidents of The Church series that is used in Relief Society, Elders’ Quorum, and High Priest meetings in the church. The idea is to share the perspectives of these leaders on a number of relevant gospel topics (repentance, tithing, family relationships, etc.), allowing class members to ponder these topics while also becoming more familiar with former church leaders. The Teachings of Chieko Okazaki series might not be as organized or cohesive as the church publications (we don’t have an entire curriculum committee, after all!), but we hope that they will provide at least occasional insight, encouragement, and spiritual promptings to our readers. Chieko was truly a magnificent person, and I’m excited at the prospect of demonstrating her goodness and wisdom to you in the coming months.

*for those who are curious to know, the name is pronounced chee-AY-koh oh-kuh-ZAH-kee