In some religions, Heavenly Mother (also referred to as Mother in Heaven) is the wife and feminine counterpart of God the Father.

Latter Day Saint movement

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Belief in Heavenly Mother within the Latter Day Saint movement is diverse. Some denominations disavow a belief in Her, some do not make Her a part of the official doctrine, and others openly acknowledge Her existence.

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the theology allows for the existence of a Heavenly Mother, which many members believe exists. She is not referred to in doctrine, scripture, or other Church canon; however, there is some support for Her existence.O My Father, LDS hymn #292, refers to a mother in heaven. 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 She is not the object of prayer, as members are instructed that prayers are to be addressed to God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ.

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 modern Christian consensus. (See King Follett Discourse; Smith (1844)). Smith's new theology included the belief that God would share His glory with his children and that we, both men and women, might become exalted being, 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 new 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 second-hand 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'." See Wilcox, p. 65 (1987).

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. See Wilcox, pp. 65-67 (1987); Orson Pratt, p. 292 (1876); Wilford Woodruff, pp. 31-32 (1875). 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". See Joseph's Specked Bird, p. 892 (1845).

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 the popular Latter-day Saint hymn "O My Father"), acknowledges the existence of a Heavenly Mother. See Eliza R. Snow (1845); see also Derr (1996-97); Pearson (1992). 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", and Latter-day Saint President Wilford Woodruff believed that Snow had obtained this understanding though her own revelation. Later, however, LDS 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." (Wilcox at 65.)

Acknowledgement of the theology by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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(See Smith et al. (1909)). The Church also later acknowledged the theology in the 1995 statement 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 Mother can be found in Latter-day Saint speeches and literature. (See, for example, Hinckley (1991), encouraging Latter-day Saint women not to pray to the Heavenly Mother.)

Elaborations on Heavenly Mother

In general, Heavenly Mother "is a shadowy and elusive ^* floating around the edges of Mormon consciousness". (Wilcox at 64.) Though the belief is held by some Mormons, the doctrine is not advertised by the LDS Church. Heavenly Mother is sometimes mentioned in the LDS Sunday School classes, and these discussions are most often consistent with the theology discussed above. The lack of focused teaching and more information about Her may be to avoid drawing attention to her and to preserve the sacredness of Her existence or it may be that her role, unlike those of Jesus Christ and God the Father, does not impact eternal salvation.

Prayer to the Heavenly Mother

Some feminist Mormons have adopted the practice of praying to the Heavenly Mother. However, the LDS Church has rejected this practice, saying that Mormons should not pray to the Heavenly Mother. A feminist professor was fired from Brigham Young University for teaching prayer to Heavenly Mother in her class. Reform Mormons and the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ are the only Mormon denominations in which the Heavenly Mother is addressed in prayer on an equal basis with the Heavenly Father.

Other faiths

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Unification Church

In the Unification Church, some members have been known to address God as "Heavenly Mother," emphasizing the divine attribute of femininity rather than indicating a distinct personage. Unificationists consider God a unified being of masculine and feminine characteristics, but they nearly always refer to Him as "Father"—as in Father, please forgive my sins or "Heavenly Father."

African Hebrew Israelite Movement

A growing segment of the African Hebrew Israelite Movement in America and abroad, founded by Kohan Shalomim Y. Halahawi espouses a belief in the Ruwah-Qodesh (Hebrew for Holy Spirit) as the eternal wife of Yahwah. They believe her name (the Holy Spirit) is Chockimah, also known as Wisdom, mentioned as co-creating with Yahwah in Proverbs chapter 8; Proverbs chapter 3:13-19 Yahwah founded the Earth by Chockimah (a female). Wisdom of Solomon 7:1-12, calls her the Mother and verses 22 reveals her as the Holy Spirit, as well as other biblical, psudepigrapha and apocraphal books of ancient Israel.

Notes

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References

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See also

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• Shekinah
• Matronit
• Elohim
• Henotheism
• The Hebrew Goddess
• Sophia (gnosticism)
• Pistis Sophia
• Goddess Worship
• Godhead (Mormonism)
• Mother Goddess
• Allat
• Asherah
• Restoration Church of Jesus Christ

External links

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• The Shekhinah in Judaism
• Article from the Encyclopedia Mythica, which describes the Shekinah's role as a goddess connected with Judaism
• Article about the Matronit/Maggid as an aspect of the Shekinah
• The Hebrew Goddess, Raphael Patai (Wayne State University Press)
• Hymn to the Sabbath by Rabbi Isaac Luria, the 16th century Kabbalist

Latter Day Saint doctrines regarding deity | Religious feminism | Unification Church