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The doctrine is also attributed to several other early church leaders. According to one sermon by [[Brigham Young]], Joseph Smith once said he "would not worship a God who had not a father; and I do not know that he would if he had not a mother; the one would be as absurd as the other" (Journal of Discourses, vol.9, p. 286).
The doctrine is also attributed to several other early church leaders. According to one sermon by [[Brigham Young]], Joseph Smith once said he "would not worship a God who had not a father; and I do not know that he would if he had not a mother; the one would be as absurd as the other" (Journal of Discourses, vol.9, p. 286).

This post is flawed in using the singular. There are Heavenly Mothers whereas there is only one Heavenly Father, who is married to mutliple women. Those who pray to Heavenly Mother know not to whom they are praying since they know not who is their Mother.


== Worship and prayer to the Heavenly Mother ==
== Worship and prayer to the Heavenly Mother ==

Revision as of 16:59, 23 September 2010

This article is about Heavenly Mother within the Latter Day Saint movement. For a more broad view, see Heavenly Mother.

In Mormonism, Heavenly Mother or the Mother in Heaven is the mother of human spirits and the wife of God the Father. Those who accept the Mother in Heaven doctrine trace its origins to Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. The doctrine was not widely known, however, until after the movement's succession crisis upon the death of Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1844.

The Heavenly Mother doctrine is mainly taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)[1][2] , the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ [3] and branches of Mormon fundamentalism, such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.[citation needed] The doctrine is not generally recognized by other faiths within the broader Latter Day Saint movement, such as the Community of Christ, where Trinitarianism is predominant.

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she is sung about in one church hymn and briefly discussed in church teaching manuals and sermons.[4] She is also the object of prayer by a small minority of members[citation needed]; however, that practice is officially unacceptable.[5][6]

Origin of the Heavenly Mother theology

The theological underpinnings of a belief in Heavenly Mother is attributed to Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, who shortly before his death in 1844 outlined a controversial view of God that differed dramatically from traditional Christian consensus.[7] Smith's theology included the belief that God would share his glory with his children and that humans might become exalted beings, or gods and goddesses, in the afterlife (see Exaltation).

Although there is no clear record of Joseph Smith teaching of Heavenly Mother publicly, several of Smith's contemporaries attributed the theology to him either directly, or as a consequence of his theological stance. An editorial footnote of History of the Church, 5:254, presumably quotes Joseph Smith as saying: "Come to me; here's the mysteries man hath not seen, Here's our Father in heaven, and Mother, the Queen." In addition, a secondhand account states that in 1839, Joseph Smith had told Zina Diantha Huntington, one of Smith's plural wives, after the death of her mother, that "not only would she know her mother again on the other side, but 'more than that, you will meet and become acquainted with your eternal Mother, the wife of your Father in Heaven'."[8]

In addition, members of the Anointed Quorum, a highly select spiritual organization in the early Church that was privy to Smith's teachings, also acknowledged the existence of a Heavenly Mother.[9] Also, the Times and Seasons published a letter to the editor from a person named "Joseph's Specked Bird" in which the author stated that in the pre-Earth life, the spirit "was a child with his father and mother in heaven".[10]

In 1845, after the murder of Joseph Smith, the poet Eliza Roxcy Snow, published a poem entitled My Father in Heaven, (later titled Invocation, or the Eternal Father and Mother, now used as the lyrics in the popular Latter-day Saint hymn O My Father), acknowledges the existence of a Heavenly Mother.[11] This hymn contained the following language:

In the heavens are parents single?
No, the thought makes reason stare.
Truth is reason: truth eternal
tells me I've a mother there.

Some early Mormons considered Eliza Snow to be a "prophetess".[12] Later, however, Church President Joseph F. Smith (a nephew of Joseph Smith, Jr.) explained his own belief that "God revealed that principle that we have a mother as well as a father in heaven to Joseph Smith; Joseph Smith revealed it to Eliza Snow Smith, his wife; and Eliza Snow was inspired, being a poet, to put it into verse."[13]

The doctrine is also attributed to several other early church leaders. According to one sermon by Brigham Young, Joseph Smith once said he "would not worship a God who had not a father; and I do not know that he would if he had not a mother; the one would be as absurd as the other" (Journal of Discourses, vol.9, p. 286).

This post is flawed in using the singular. There are Heavenly Mothers whereas there is only one Heavenly Father, who is married to mutliple women. Those who pray to Heavenly Mother know not to whom they are praying since they know not who is their Mother.

Worship and prayer to the Heavenly Mother

Orson Pratt, an early LDS Apostle, opposed worshiping Heavenly Mother, because, he reasoned, like wives and children in any household, Heavenly Mother was required to "yield the most perfect obedience to" her husband (The Seer, p. 159). However, in 1865, a majority of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church officially condemned Pratt's doctrinal declarations contained in The Seer, mostly because of Pratt's vocal opposition to the Adam-God theory; thus, Pratt's views in the periodical are not considered authoritative.[14]

Some feminist Mormons have adopted the practice of praying to the Heavenly Mother. However, deceased LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley opposed this practice, saying that Mormons should not pray to the Heavenly Mother.[15] A feminist professor was fired from Brigham Young University for teaching prayer to Heavenly Mother in her class.[16]

Views of various Mormon denominations regarding the Heavenly Mother

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Acknowledgment of the theology

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not formally acknowledge the existence of a Heavenly Mother until 1909, in a statement on evolution by the First Presidency marking the 50th anniversary of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species.[17] The Church also later inferred the theology in the 1995 statement The Family: A Proclamation to the World, where the Church officially stated that each person is a "spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents". Other references to Heavenly parents can be found in Latter-day Saint speeches and literature.[18]

Elaborations on Heavenly Mother

According to historian Linda Wilcox, Heavenly Mother "is a shadowy and elusive belief floating around the edges of Mormon consciousness".[19] Though the belief is held by most Mormons, the doctrine is not actively advertised by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, though Heavenly Mother is sometimes mentioned in talks or sermons in Sacrament meetings and in Sunday School classes. The topic is most often consistent with the theology discussed above.

The lack of focused teaching and more information about her has caused speculation among Mormons that lack of information may have an Eternal purpose, to avoid drawing attention to her and to preserve the sacredness of her existence.[20]

Restoration Church of Jesus Christ

In the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ, a Latter Day Saint church founded in 1985, the Heavenly Mother is accepted as a equal member of the Godhead along with the Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Thus, the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ believes in a quadriune Godhead; the Godhead is referred to as the Holy Quaternity. Prayers in the church are offered to Jesus Christ in the name of the Heavenly Parents (the "Heavenly Father" and the "Heavenly Mother").[3] New members of the church who have never been previously baptized as a member of a Restoration Church of Jesus Christ are baptized by immersion in the name of The Father, the Mother, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Notes

  1. ^ "The Role of Women in the Church". Restoration Church of Jesus Christ. Retrieved 2006-07-17.
  2. ^ "Pre-Mortal Existence". BBC.
  3. ^ a b Role of women in the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ (On menu on right of website, click on "Core Beliefs" and then click on "The Role of Women"):
  4. ^ O My Father, LDS hymn #292, refers to a mother in heaven. Oh, What Songs of the Heart, LDS hymn #286, refers to "heavenly parents". The Family: A Proclamation to the World mentions "heavenly parents". Various LDS curriculum materials refer to a Heavenly Mother, for instance see the conclusion of The Latter Day Saint Women, Lesson 9 and "Chapter 2: Our Heavenly Family", Gospel Principles, 11 (1997). See also a statement by a former President of the Church in Spencer W. Kimball, "The True Way of Life and Salvation", Ensign, May 1978, 4.
  5. ^ "Guide to the Scriptures: Prayer". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved 2006-07-23.
  6. ^ ""Pray unto the Father in My Name"". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved 2006-07-23.
  7. ^ See King Follett Discourse; Smith 1844.
  8. ^ Wilcox 1987, p. 65.
  9. ^ Wilcox 1987, pp. 65-67; Orson Pratt 1876, p. 292; Wilford Woodruff 1875, pp. 31-32.
  10. ^ Joseph's Specked Bird 1845, p. 892.
  11. ^ Snow 1845. See also Derr 1996-97; Pearson 1992.
  12. ^ "Abstract of Poems, religious, historical, and political". Harold B. Lee Library/Online Collections at BYU. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  13. ^ Wilcox 1987, p 65.
  14. ^ Deseret News, Aug. 12, 1865, 373; see also B.H. Roberts, Defense of the Faith and the Saints, 2:294 (1912).
  15. ^ Hinckley 1991, pp 97-100.
  16. ^ "Academic Freedom and Tenure: Brigham Young University" (PDF). American Association of University Professors. September–October 1997. Retrieved 2006-07-20. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: date format (link)
  17. ^ Smith et al. 1909.
  18. ^ See, for example, Hinckley 1991, encouraging Latter-day Saint women not to pray to the Heavenly Mother; or M. Russell Ballard stating "we are part of a divine plan designed by Heavenly Parents who love us" in his book When Thou Art Converted.
  19. ^ Wilcox 1987, p. 64.
  20. ^ In 1960 a statement from an LDS seminary teacher (Sunday School teacher) who speculated that “the name of our Mother in Heaven has been withheld” because of the way God the Father’s and Jesus Christ’s names have been profaned. (See Melvin R. Brooks, LDS Reference Encyclopedia (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1960), 309-10..) Whether he is the source of the idea or is reflecting a prevalent belief is hard to say. It should be noted that a seminary teacher is not considered an authority in the LDS faith and therefore cannot speak for the Church or alter doctrinal principles. In addition: While no General Authority has made an official statement denying belief in a Heavenly Mother nor stating that her existence is too sacred to discuss, several factors may influence the current trend that sees even a mention of Heavenly Mother as treading on forbidden ground. Members take their cues about what is acceptable doctrine from talks of General Authorities and official Church manuals and magazines. The most recent reference to her was made by President Gordon B. Hinckley in a talk given at the General Women’s Meeting in October of 1991 and printed in that year’s November Ensign. While President Hinckley says the prohibition (on praying to Heavenly Mother) in no way “belittles or denigrates her,” it surely makes her secondary in some way to Heavenly Father, as does President Hinckley’s assertion that men have a “governing responsibility” over women. (Also) while he does not forbid discussion about Heavenly Mother, he does mark her position as problematic, especially given the way he contextualizes his comments about her. For Church members eager to follow their leaders to the letter of the law, President Hinckley’s prohibition can easily be read to mean that any who pursue the topic of the Heavenly Mother are also “misguided.” Add to this a grassroots feeling that Heavenly Mother is too sacred to talk about because her husband does not want her name “taken in vain” like his is, and the result is the disappearance of specific references to the Heavenly Mother altogether in Church publications since 1991. No doubt the publicly discussed excommunications of feminists like Janice Allred, Lynne Kanavel Whitesides, and Maxine Hanks, all of whom were disciplined in part for talking about the Heavenly Mother, adds to the general sense that discourse about her is strictly forbidden. Mostly taken from Is There a Place For Heavenly Mother In Mormon Theology; Margaret Merrill Toscano; Sunstone; July 2004.

References

See also

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