The Face of My Mother

When I was younger my favorite book was The Mists of Avalon.  The characters, many of them strong, independent women who don’t need no man in Dark Age Britain, worshipped the Mother Goddess—a powerful, mysterious deity that embodied every facet of womanhood from virgin to crone.  Even now I get the appeal.  As much as I believe and trust in my Father in Heaven, it is occasionally hard to believe that He knows me and understands me on a deeply personal, female level.  I want to see myself reflected in the divine—or the Divine reflected in me—just as easily as my brothers can.

This brings us to one of the beautiful, sacred parts of the gospel: the idea that we have a Mother in Heaven.  Usually the closest that Christianity comes to having a Sacred Feminine is the Virgin Mary, who is largely relegated to the side as a benevolent and compassionate onlooker, an adoring mother to Christ, and the occasional intercessor for us sinners.  The concept of a Goddess, equal in might and wisdom, a companion to our Heavenly Father, is nothing less than revolutionary.

Though some members of the Church are uncomfortable mentioning Her, Mother in Heaven is not a secret.  The earliest official published mention of Heavenly Mother by name in the writings of the Church date back to 1844 after the death of Joseph Smith Jr, but unofficial writings from members (including women) make mention of the Prophet Joseph teaching and referencing Her multiple times.  Subsequent prophets and leaders have affirmed Her existence as well.  “In 1909, the First Presidency taught that ‘all men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity.’” (Mother in Heaven, Gospel Topics Essays). 

 Unfortunately, we don’t know very much about Her doctrinally, we don't speak about Her often, and we don’t pray directly to Her.  This is a problem for some sisters in the Church.  They feel slighted, as if Heavenly Mother (and themselves by extension) were being relegated to the sidelines, kept secret and silent. Twenty years ago, I would have agreed.  Today, I cannot disagree more.

Throughout the gospel, particularly in the New Testament, Doctrine and Covenants, and other Latter Day revelation, we hear over and over that “neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 11:11)  In the Book of Mark, Jesus teaches “But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.  For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.” (10:6-8) Adam was guided by Eve who was not a divine afterthought but the summation of Creation itself (more on that in another post).  Prophetic visions showed Adam and Eve enthroned together in Heaven. Even in the temples, the highest ordinances are undertaken by men and women together.  Man is made in the image of God, remember.  Man is not meant to be alone. It logically follows, therefore, that God is not alone either, but has a Companion with whom He undertakes the work of Creation.

Continuing that thought, it also does not concern me that I do not pray explicitly to Heavenly Mother for a couple of reasons.  First, the pattern of Christian prayer was set by Christ in the New Testament, when he commanded his followers to pray to his Father in Heaven (Matt. 6:9-13, Luke 11:2, 3 Nephi 13:9, and many others). As a follower of Christ, His is the example I should try to follow in all things. Second, I have a private suspicion that “God” encompasses both of my Heavenly Parents.  If They follow the pattern of the scriptures and are indeed “one flesh”—not physically, but joined together in purpose and intention, just as an ideal earthly mother and father should be—then “God” refers to both of Them, and praying to one is praying to both.

Some of my sisters in the Church suggest that isn't enough.  They are troubled by the fact that we don’t know much about Heavenly Mother.  They are offended by the counsel from prophets and leaders not to speculate about Her. “What about revelation?” they claim.  Personal revelation is a good thing.  We should seek knowledge.  There is a difference, however, between seeking understanding and (often unintentionally) remaking God in our own image because it soothes some wounded part of ourselves. Some revelation is meant for us, personally, and not to be casually shared or taught.  It is the responsibility of the prophet to share revelation for the church. Our God is a God of order.  I understand how it can be hard to wait for revelation, especially when you think it should happen immediately and at your convenience—and yet that is often, scripturally, not the case.

Personally, I’m not bothered by my currently faceless Mother.  The brooding, woad-browed priestess part of me finds it fitting that the omniscient Mother Goddess would be unknowable and unpredictable as the silver moon. The more reasonable, less dramatic disciple in me trusts that all will be revealed in the fulness of time—there is already quite enough for me to be getting on with.  I can be patient. I am a Daughter of the most High.  One day I’ll know my Mother again.

 

Next week: The Plan of Salvation

 

 Further reading:

Mother in Heaven (churchofjesuschrist.org)

 

Not an official Church resource, but for those of you who like to dig in the weeds:

"A Mother There": A Survey of Historical Teachings about Mother in Heaven (byu.edu)