How to Worship Our Mother in Heaven (Without Being Excommunicated) A Reflection

I don't often get comments on my blog, though I guess that will begin to change the more often I comment on blogs like the Exponent and Feminist Mormon Housewives. I do fill in my blog address here as my website so it really shouldn't be a surprise to me that my quiet corner is attracting guests (welcome, I will add).

On my recent post about praying to Heavenly Mother, Seth, a commenter recommended an article from the journal Dialogue entitled "How to Worship Our Mother in Heaven (Without Being Excommunicated." I bit the bullet, subscribed to an online subscription and now have free reign to search the archives and read according to my interests and where I am led. It really is exciting.

For more details beyond my shorthand notes, please read the entire article. A $25 subscription for one year of gospel study is in truth an affordable price to gain greater understanding into the scriptures and gospel. Often, one download from the site is $15, so its a good idea to save some money and get the one year access.

The basic points of the "How To Worship Our Mother in Heaven (Without Getting Excommunicated)" are:

1) We know Mother in Heaven's name and it is Asherah. A discussion of how that is known is included in the article.

2) There are some rules relating to her worship and they are namely:

• No idols (those were banned with the 10 commandments, and tended to be a weakness of the Hebrews in the Old Testament)
• No public prayer as per the direction given by President Hinckley in 1991 (see my recent post).

3) There are ways to acknowledge her in everyday life and some of the suggestions are:

• Name a child after Her (Asher for boy, Sophia for a girl, or even Asherah);
• Think of Her as present and part of the creation of the world; consider the Christmas tree as a symbol of her (trees were a symbol of Asherah throughout the Old Testament);
• Take part in the Jewish Earth Day (Tu Bishvat);
• View or create visual and artistic representations of her (though not to be worshipped as idols);
• Recognize and take part in fertility, childbirth and lactation as symbols of her domain and understanding;
• Consider the olive oil used in blessings as "the fruit of the tree of life" (a belief in the Jewish tradition);
• Look at the instances of the word "happiness" in the scriptures as evidence of Heavenly Mother (a word/meaning associated with the word Asherah); view instances of "wisdom" similarly;
• Study as much has been written about Asherah and keep in mind that a Jewish tradition holds that study is a form of worship (an appendix is provided by the author of the article);
• Show a greater concern for the earth and environment by learning about and participating in ways to protect it.
• Lastly, with the most emphasis, participate in the temple.

An insight provided me by this article is some of the translated meanings and connotations of the Hebrew word and words associated with Asherah. The words that stood out most to me were "Sanctuary," "Holy Place," and "Holiness."

My mind whipped immediately to the inscriptions on each Latter-day Saint Temple "Holiness to the Lord, the House of the Lord" and then next to the union of male and female. A wife can be a refuge to her husband, a sanctuary from the toils and heartaches of life. It also cannot be ignored that quite literally a man can be in a woman. The thoughts are more fleeting than anything else, brief impressions that I have not done justice or perhaps even been respectful as the topic warrants, but the parallel is drawn. Perhaps, one of the reasons why the temple is such a salient feature in LDS theology because it is a symbol of our Mother in Heaven. That when we are there, our worship of Father and Mother is complete and we are literally surrounded by Her love. Though the author may not have considered this, its what my mind went to immediately upon reading that a connotation of Asherah was analogous to the temple.

The author makes some interesting points about the temple; one of which is that the ancient Israelite women worshipped Asherah by weaving fine textiles for use in the temple. Those women lucky enough to work at Deseret Distribution in the manufacture and construction of the temple garments, and clothing now have a new way of looking at their work. While a student at BYU, I had learned about job opportunities there. How amazing it would have been to have that on my list of experiences. The temple clothing is predominantly manufactured centrally and by the institution of the church but there are still items that can be made for use in the temple that does not require an official pattern. For this reason, I would suggest that sewing women's temple dresses and men's white trousers and shirts could be added to the list of ways that the everyday Latter-day Saint could show appreciation and reverence for our Mother in Heaven.

As a teenager, I took up sewing and on a trip to the fabric store, I found a pattern for a wedding dress that I was drawn to. I bought it and said that I would sew my own wedding dress and I would alter it so it could be worn in the temple on the day of my sealing and that afterward, it could be worn as my temple dress. I actually did it and now I am looking at my wedding dress in a whole new way and wonder if perhaps Mother in Heaven guided me in that instance.

I'm also getting a sense of where my "earth mama" tendencies are coming from. Since the time when I had begun seriously to consider what I wanted to do in this world, I had two goals: 1) be a wife and mother and 2) make a difference in the world through helping others. As I followed my educational path, I found my desire of helping people rested in family studies--how family processes can contribute to individual, familial, communal and societal well-being. Through becoming a mother, while at the same time completing my master's investigating public policies pertaining to the family, I discovered a new passion for birth, environmentalism and sustainability; sensing that there was a connection between a healthy earth and healthy people and that somehow birth was related (see my blog Descent into Motherhood: Connecting with Earth through Birth). The last three years of my life have been dedicated to providing a toxin free, well nourished, balanced, emotionally secure and happy childhood to my son and daughter.

As I learned about the environmental and biochemical affects of modern life on gestation , I have been cognizant of the need I have to cleanse my body to be a healthy vessel for the children that I will bear. There is something of a spiritual nature that draws me to birth and now I am enrolled in a midwifery school and hope to someday provide the spiritual, physical and emotional support that expectant mothers crave. I strive to emulate the characteristics I envision in Heavenly Mother and become "a wise woman" in my community. If you follow my blog page on Facebook, you'll find my two favorite subjects are respecting the birthing woman and cleansing the earth from harmful bioaccumulating toxins.

If you are sensing a connection to "cleaning the earth from the blood and sins of this generation" in my efforts, you are right. I think that is what I'm trying to do. In my own small way and on behalf of women and children.

Direction to Not Pray to Heavenly Mother

Last week I blogged about, what up until that point, was the only direction I had learned by church leaders regarding whether LDS church members should worship a Mother in Heaven as equally as they do Father in Heaven. Evidently, a more firm prohibition does exist.

I've continued my study and found this from "The Mormon Concept of a Mother in Heaven" a chapter in "Women and Authority."

In a meeting for church regional representatives n 5 April 1991, Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor in the First Presidency, responded to reports that "here and there, prayers have been offered to our Mother in Heaven." He had searched and found "nowhere in the Standard Works an account where Jesus prayed other than to His Father in Heaven...I have looked in vain for any instance..[of] 'a prayer to our Mother in Heaven." He said he "consider[s] it inappropriate for anyone in the Church to pray to our Mother in Heaven" and instructed regional representatives to "counsel priesthood holders to be on alert for the use of this expression and to make correction where necessary. Such correction can be handled in a discreet and inoffensive way. But it should be firm and without equivocation." (Gordon B. Hinckley, "Cornerstones of Responsibility" address Regional Representative Seminar, Salt Lake City, 5 Apr. 1991, 3-4.)

Elder Orson Pratt in The Seer I from 1853 also taught we are not to worship Heavenly Mother. Although we worship the father, "For the Father of our spirits is the Head of His Household and His wives and children are required to yield the most perfect obedience to their great Head. It is lawful for the children to worship the Kind of heaven, but not the 'Queen of heaven.'...Jesus prayed to His father, and taught His disciples to do likewise; but we are nowhere taught that Jesus prayed to His Heavenly Mother."

I have to point out that both of these quotes are relying upon inference from the scriptures and do not appeal or reference an answer to prayer regarding the topic. Providing counsel and direction without prayer to know the will of God does not seem correct to me and I do not understand why a simple question as "Father in Heaven, is it correct for members of thy church to pray to thee and thy queen?" could not be asked.

It also must be mentioned that both President Hinckley and Elder Pratt are referring to scriptures that are openly acknowledged as not complete, having "many plain and precious truths taken" from them and also being in many cases translated incorrectly due to "the interpolations of men." It seems a weak argument to say that because it is missing from our scriptures that no evidence exists.

Another hypothesis is that when Christ was praying to his Father, that he knew in his heart and mind that his Mother in Heaven also heard his prayers and without openly acknowledging with his words that he was praying to both his parents, that he indeed was.

All of that is conjecture and my attempt to point out the possibilities and should not be taken as statements of belief or perceived as truth. I'm glad that I continued my study to know what has been taught regarding worship of God the Father's equal and partner without first going forward in including her in my prayers.

Does being a Mormon Feminist make me an oxymoron?

I'm getting into the world of Mormon feminism. It started with my work as a birth activist when Henci Goer, author and activist, said to me, "That's a feminist argument. Can Mormons be feminist?"

"I guess so. I don't know any but watch me be one," I replied.

Parallel to that, I was on a quest to understand Mormon women's predominant views on childbirth and why the majority of Mormon women heeded the "trust your doctor" advice. I have things to say about that, of course. But it was through Henci's question that I started looking to Mormon organizations that were working on social justice issues and Mormon Women's organizations to see if there were other LDS writers on childbirth issues. I started following the blogs at Feminist Mormon Housewives and Exponent.

I was thrown headlong into Mormon Feminism with this post from Jessawhy at Exponent. I jumped at the idea because it seemed like what I was looking for: a platform for LDS women to address issues of social injustice that they saw through out the world and a way for LDS women to work together to promote the civic policies that would be supported by the LDS Church (which were my educational and professional activities developed at BYU).

I've been working with organization since. It is in its formative stages still. Through my involvement with that organization, not only have I met a number of Mormon Feminists, I've found that there is a legacy of Mormon Feminism that started in the very beginnings of the LDS Church. Its become apparent to me that its a good idea to know this legacy and to learn more about it.

The first book I'm starting with on this topic is an anthology of articles called "Women and Authority: Re-emerging Mormon Feminism." From the table of contents and reviews I've read, it covers analysis of church policy in relation to Heavenly Mother as well as priesthood authority and women's roles in the church. For me, I'm seeking to understand where other women are coming from in their thoughts and desires relating to these issues and I'm finding that I am beginning to care to know the answers for myself as well.

The first thing that struck me from reading Women and Authority is the following passage:

There are different ways Mormon women and men receive access to priesthood power; through the baptismal covenant with Christ and gifts of the spirit; setting apart or ordination to various church positions; through the temple endowment and through temple marriage. Currently permission to use this priesthood is granted in full to men (through ordination to a priesthood office) and in limited form to women through setting apart to a church position. Priesthood discussions in this book focus on the temple endowment as the means of conferral of priesthood to women.

Historically in nineteenth-century Mormonism, priesthood offices have been conferred only to men; yet priesthood power and ordinances were administered by both women and men. After the turn of the century women's exercise of priesthood was discouraged and ultimately revoked, while men's priesthood was expanded. If the momentum of women's nineteenth-century priesthood had been maintained, women might have been fully included in the priesthood correlation program and perhaps would be fully able to exercise their priesthood power today.

Activation of women's priesthood power has been suggested by many Mormon feminists over the past decade. if this were to happen, women might not sense possession of something new but rather a loosening of bonds, perhaps a freedom to use something they have always had, or a spiritual liberation.

This crystalizes for me what I have been pondering as I've attended the temple recently. The language for women having an expanded role in the priesthood is there in the wording of the endowment ceremony. The historical legacy of feminist women in the early church is also there as I learned from reading biographies of the early presidents of the Relief Society.

I'm learning that some major shift happened in the church between then and now where it is no longer acceptable for women to act in the same ways that they did in the late 1800's. Additionally, this shift took place quietly and is marginalized in the history of the church. It is this combination that is upsetting to me.

I do know that given what I have learned regarding women giving blessings of healing, having greater autonomy in the Relief Society organization in the past and their role today as ordinance workers in the temple, that there is more that women can and maybe should be doing in the church today. I have sensed in the past that I as a woman in the church is held back from doing what I feel led to do and I'm realizing the background and history that is going into that.

At this point, I am honestly seeking to understand why this shutting out of women from the priesthood has occurred and to ask honestly and earnestly if the time is coming for when that will be changed.

Do Mormons Pray to Heavenly Mother?

It’s not a secret that Mormons believe that God the Father has a wife and she is called Mother in Heaven or Heavenly Mother. In one of the distinctive LDS hymns "O My Father," poet Eliza R Snow wrote, “In the heav’ns are parents single? No the thought makes reason stare. Truth is reason, truth eternal, tells me I’ve a mother there.”

When Larry King asked president of the church at the time about the LDS belief in Heavenly Mother, Gordon B. Hinckley responded, “Yes, but we don’t pray to her.”

It appears to me that many members of the church who feel a desire to learn more about our Mother in Heaven believe that President Hinckley’s response was also an instruction that Mormons ought not to pray to Heavenly Mother.

This is the only source I have encountered that would specifically prohibit praying to God’s equal and feminine counterpart, if indeed it is a prohibition.

The scriptures remain silent to even a mention of heavenly mother (as far as I know, maybe Isaiah or somewhere in the Old Testament makes some oblique, cloaked in allegory reference to her). The Doctrine and Covenants, a collection of recorded revelations after the establishment of the LDS church, mentions that those who remain faithful in keeping their covenants to the ordinances of the gospel can become gods. Gods in this context remains gender neutral. It logically follows since women are as capable at fulfilling the commandments that they do can become gods—or in the feminine—goddesses.

The Doctrine and Covenants in expanding on the state of those who are exalted describes that those men and women who are sealed in the new and everlasting covenant (temple marriage), “shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths” (D&C 132:19). Referencing Psalms 82:6 and Christ’s own words in John 10:34, Doctrine and Covenants 76:58 states,” Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God.”

The temple ceremonies of the LDS Church more clearly state that women through participating in the ceremonies and their faithfulness that they will be priestesses and goddesses with the implication that they will be equal to their husbands.

The play “Mother Wove the Morning” by Carol Lynn Pearson illustrates how, throughout human history, knowledge of the feminine divine has been removed from cultural wisdom to the point that now our belief in a female counterpart to God earns us the status of a pagan cult in the eyes of many religious denominations.

If then it is acknowledged as truth and women are in training to become goddesses, a Mother in Heaven does exist and must hear our prayers. If she hears our prayers and there is no specific prohibition to praying to Her then it appears to me that it is a personal choice, one not condemned by God, to include prayers to a Mother in Heaven if Father in Heaven to whom his people have been commanded to pray is not cast aside.

It could be argued, however, that when addressing our prayers to Heavenly Father that actually we are praying to Elohim, a Hebrew title that implies male and female diety (see my previous post on this topic: More Ponderings on Heavenly Mother

I then ask, is it appropriate to address our prayers to Elohim? What about our Parents in Heaven, Father and Mother in Heaven, or our Heavenly Parents?

And since I’m not yet comfortable to take my prayers there, I am currently feeling that the generic term “God” is least restrictive and most inclusive. This is a interesting circle of development because when I first started believing in the existence of God, I found the title too impersonal, ambiguous and felt that the divine was largely unknown and unknowable. I then preferred the humanity, intimacy and closeness that came from viewing God as my Father. And now I’ve come back around to embracing the title of God again, even if it is borne out of a discomfort that is coming from considering a change in believe that is not officially sanctioned by church doctrine.

It feels right, in my mind, to include Heavenly Mother in my prayers, though, I suspect whether I have been addressing her all these years, she has been hearing my prayers all along.

Until next time when I contemplate what Heavenly Mother might be thinking if response to her invisibility in the world today.

Working woman in the scriptures?

“She stretcheth out her hand to the poor, yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favor is deceitful, an beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates." Proverbs 31:20-31 KJV

This woman is not defined solely by her homemaking, but she is praised for her work outside the home. She is a professional at her craft of making fine linen. She is active and involved in caring for the needy and poor and she is praised equally for her work in these disparate roles.

How many women in the history of the world have not done what they were capable of because they accepted the teaching of men that they were to only focus on their children and husband?

It is still an issue facing women today, one that is a hot button topic in the LDS Church which is where I am trying to make my way as a woman, mother, wife and person. With skills, talents, passion and abilities to do many things that are not limited by my biological capabilities.

I am finding the balance of loving and caring for my children, being united in love and purpose with my husband and using the skills, and talents I've been inspired to develop. And through it all, I feel the Spirit leading me to know what is right and to be successful in each are of my life. I enjoy a fullness that I didn't anticipate and I'm grateful for. I hope that all women in the church can enjoy the fullness that this woman from Proverbs achieved and that church policies will encourage and promote this possibility greater than they have in the past.

If you could choose

Lay aside your current beliefs. Try to be open-minded. Think critically. Be fair. Try to think like God. If God were a loving God, how would the plan go? If you were God and wanted to make a world that was fair and good and right for all people in it, how would you do it?

1. God would be....

• Male
• Female
• Neither, a spirit
• Male and female, separate beings but one in equal partnership
• Nothing, no god

2. The afterlife would be...

• Nothing, just death
• Heaven and Hell
• Levels depending on a person's relative goodness
• everyone all together, no separation from each other, like in life
• everyone is "saved" and is happy

3. Marriage and families after death would be...

• 'til death do you part, not with your spouse and children from the earth
• forever, with your spouse and children from life if you chose to remain with him/her
• can be forever if you have a shared affinity with each other

4. Ordinances/ sacraments (baptism, etc) are...

• optional for salvation
• required for salvation
• not necessary for salvation
• nice ceremonies and have nothing to do with salvation

5. Any ordinances...

• must be done in this life
• are not necessary in the life
• can be done on behalf of a person if they were unable to obtain them in this life

6. God's church on the earth should be led by:

• paid clergy who pursue church leadership as a career
• a person or people who decide to start their own religion
• apostles, prophets called by God
• people elected from the church body

7. The purpose of life is...

• a joke
• meaningless
• to be good to others and be happy and then we die
• to worship God
• to become like God

8. The effects of sin (wrongdoing)...

• are limited to this life
• demand justice so therefore cannot be forgiven
• repentance is possible through one's own efforts
• repentance requires an intermediary to take away the effects of sin
• there is no sin

9. The end result of all this is...

• a world that comes to its end through laws of nature
• people who have lived on the earth obtain God's knowledge and power
• people worship God forever as angels
• people become one with God by their spirits combining
• nothingness

10. Revelation and miracles...

• are no longer necessary
• are only for church leaders
• are available to anyone who asks in faith
• are only for God's chosen people
• are not real

11. The best church to join is....

• a source of community and a place to share spirituality
• people's best attempt at recreating the church that Christ set up
• whichever you feel most comfortable in
• God's vehicle for communicating his will and organizing his kingdom on the earth
• there's no such thing

12. Christ was/is...

• a wise teacher
• a heretic who claimed to be God
• a false prophet
• who he says he is

13. God is...

• a general sense of goodness, love and beauty that permeates everything
• angry and vengeful
• the perfect parent
• a benign presence in the universe

14. Christ's suffering and death was...

• a blood sacrifice
• the result of his delusions
• vicarious suffering for the effects of our sins so we could be free of them
• unimportant to the world and to us as individuals

15. People can act in God's name:

• whenever they feels like it
• when church leaders give them that authority
• when God inspires them to act
• when God confers that authority on them

If you chose:

• God should be male and female
• where a person goes in the afterlife depends on a person's relative goodness,
• families can be together forever
• God has instituted some essential ordinances for salvation but provides a way for them to be accomplished if they are not obtained in this life
• God's church on the earth should be led by apostles and prophets
• the purpose of life is to become like God
• repentance from sin is possible with an intermediary
• people who have lived on the earth gain God's knowledge and power (thereby becoming like God)
• revelation and miracles are available to all those who ask in faith
• the best church to join is led and directed by God
• Christ is who he says he is and that his suffering and death was an act performed vicariously for each person on the earth to have the spiritual effects of his/her sins taken away
• God is the perfect parent and gives people power to act in God's name like a parent who gives their child responsibility and they learn.

Then, you would probably be very interested to know that these doctrines are taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If you have questions about the LDS Church answered at mormon.org or by contacting the local LDS missionaries at LDS church buildings on Sundays.

I found that this set of doctrines and beliefs were unique to the LDS Church (often called Mormon) and was impressed at the fairness and completeness of their teachings. I felt like everyone was covered and if a person (like the many billions who have lived) had not learned and accepted the gospel, and had the correct ordinances performed, that they would not be lost or condemned to hell, not having had the chance to accept or reject it. To me, the LDS teachings are more logical and rational than what I had learned elsewhere; example: if God is our father and is male, don't we have a mother too?

When I was thinking about Christian churches, I felt that the right church for me had to possess certain beliefs that provided a means for salvation for all people. This list of questions is my attempt at summarizing the different views that are present in the world on the variety of topics I listed. It is by no means exhaustive. If you have want to add a topic to the list and have my suggest the various dominant world views on that topic, please suggest it to me in the comments.

Teaching children as the Lord teaches us

"Another scripture which has proved helpful many times is Abraham 4:18. I found this scripture while wondering how I could give instructions to my children and have them obey me. Just asking my 5-year-old and 3-year-old to go tidy up their room wasn’t working. “And the Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed.” I realized that for children that young, I actually had to watch them obey, and encourage them along the way. That was a very helpful insight which led to one of my parenting hints (I keep a list for myself inside the cupboard): “Never make a request unless you are willing to help them follow through.” Sometimes children just cannot obey without a little help from a parent. Happily, this gets better as time goes on. I don’t need to watch my older girls clean up their room, but I do follow up with them, always." Rebecca Hendrickson

A valuable lesson for me as a parent. How much frustration is there when I tell my child to do something, expect to get it done and then ignore the process they go through to either do, or try to do it just to find that it didn't work?

It shows you care and you are supportive and available to grant assistance when it can be useful. It relates to how God when we do all we can do and then he steps in to make up our lack or give us the inspiration and spiritual teaching that we would not have gained if not for divine intervention (2 Nephi 25: 23).

I'm pretty good at it but this lesson helps me not doubt my intuition as a parent. Not only will learning this insight help me remember my duty to supervise and be available for assistance more than I am, it gives me a sense of confidence in what I've been doing--that I'm actually getting something right.

This lesson has also helped me in feeling better about how I've been relating to my mother recently. She has been struggling in learning to care for herself after a stroke that required her to relearn to walk. I have been helping and having me close by knowing that I'm aware of her challenges is accomplishing a task and nearby to provide assistance if needed is very comforting. I'm glad I can provide that comfort because I know how much I value having that assurance coming from the Spirit.