Mother's Day Re-cap

For the past few years with this blog, I've noticed a resurgence of Heavenly Mother in Mormon blogs during the Mother's Day season. On the Mormon Facebook groups, I saw many reports of Heavenly Mother being mentioned in talks and lessons for Mother's Day.

First, probably the most passed-around Heavenly Mother article was Peggy Fletcher Stack's Tribune article, "A Mormon mystery returns: Who is Heavenly Mother?" Great quotes in the article. Read it!

Real Intent has a post, "Truth Eternal Tells Me I've a Mother There."

As for myself, yesterday in church, I decided to change the hymn lyrics, not just from "Father" to "Parents" but to "Mother" just for the day. Our opening and closing songs were Sabbath Day and Lord, We Ask Thee Ere We Part, which I've already re-written here, but I wanted to share Sabbath Day with "Mother" here.

In sweet remembrance of thy Son,
We gather in thy house as one
To join in prayer, to sing thy praise,
To worship thee and learn thy ways.
Mother, on this the Sabbath day,
Be with us gathered here, we pray.

And may our thoughts still turn to thee,
With loved ones, friends, and family.
In all we do till day is gone,
May worship still continue on.
Mother, on this the Sabbath day,
Be with us in our homes, we pray.

Help each to seek a quiet hour
To read thy word and feel thy pow’r,
To hear thy voice, though small and still,
Renew our strength to do thy will.
Mother, on this the Sabbath day,
Be with us in our hearts, we pray.

Happy Mother's Day!

Heavenly Parents, Conference Edition

Remember when I looked at how often "Heavenly Parents" was mentioned in church materials? Well, this past weekend in Conference, it seemed like there was unprecedented mention of "Heavenly Parents" in talks.

Most fun was Elder Ballard's mention of "Heavenly Parents." His talk is here, and at 10:55, you can here him start saying "Heavenly F... Parents." He changed his mind mid-word!

Here are the quotes I found:

Elder Ballard, "And the primary purpose of this priesthood power is to bless, sanctify, and purify us so we can live together with our families in the presence of our heavenly parents, bound by priesthood sealings, participating in the marvelous work of God and Jesus Christ in forever expanding Their light and glory."

Elder Christoffel Golden Jr., "Seen in its true light, the doctrine of the Father and the Son is the doctrine of the eternal family. Every human being has existed previously as a spirit child with heavenly parents, with Christ being the Firstborn of the Father in this heavenly family.

Elder Bednar quoted the "Heavenly Parents" line in the proclamation.

Elder Oaks, "Under that plan we are all heirs of our heavenly parents."

That's all could find- it seems the Church has changed their "search" feature on their website and now it's more difficult to find what I'm looking for! Alas!

Interesting to note: when speakers refer to "Heavenly Father" the words are considered proper nouns and are capitalized. "Heavenly parents" is not considered a proper noun in these talks. I'm not sure I like that.

Behold the Great Redeemer Die

I thought about this song on Easter Sunday, but forgot to put it up. I changed "Father" to "Parents" as well as "man" to "all".

1. Behold the great Redeemer die,
A broken law to satisfy.
He dies a sacrifice for sin,
He dies a sacrifice for sin,
That all may live and glory win.

2. While guilty men his pains deride,
They pierce his hands and feet and side;
And with insulting scoffs and scorns,
And with insulting scoffs and scorns,
They crown his head with plaited thorns.

3. Although in agony he hung,
No murm'ring word escaped his tongue.
His high commission to fulfill,
His high commission to fulfill,
He magnified his Parents' will.

4. "Parents, from me remove this cup.
Yet, if thou wilt, I'll drink it up.
I've done the work thou gavest me,
I've done the work thou gavest me;
Receive my spirit unto thee."

5. He died, and at the awful sight
The sun in shame withdrew its light!
Earth trembled, and all nature sighed,
Earth trembled, and all nature sighed
In dread response, "A God has died!"

6. He lives--he lives. We humbly now
Around these sacred symbols bow
And seek, as Saints of latter days,
And seek, as Saints of latter days,
To do his will and live his praise.

Joseph Smith History 1:17

Earlier this year I thought, because we are studying the Doctrine and Covenants, it would be interesting to read the First Vision story including Heavenly Mother as the first personage. I discovered, I didn't need to change pronouns at all. More about it at the Exponent.

17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

Heavenly Mother in the Bloggernacle

Heavenly Mother has gotten more "screen time" these past few months. The Mormon feminist corridor of the Bloggernacle exploded! In January, I posted about the Finding Heavenly Mother Project. It's still going on if you want to read the posts or contribute one of your own.

Also of note is the "We Are Daughters" project. Their Facebook page is here, and their blog is here. They are compiling recordings of people reciting the beginning of the YW Theme with the words,

“We are daughters of our Heavenly Parents, who love us, and we love Them.”

I think it's a great project and you should all participate!

Recently the Exponent did a poll asking everyone when they first heard about Heavenly Mother. There were a lot of comments and were very interesting. Check them out!

I hope everyone's Easter is beautiful this weekend. Happy Good Friday!

God is Love

For this one, I changed "God" to "Goddess" in the second verse (using quarter notes instead of a half note and "God" to "They" in the third. You could mix it up if you like.

1. Earth, with her ten thousand flow'rs,
Air, with all its beams and show'rs,
Heaven's infinite expanse,
Sea's resplendent countenance--
All around and all above
Bear this record: God is love.

2. Sounds among the vales and hills,
In the woods and by the rills,
Of the breeze and of the bird,
By the gentle murmur stirred--
Sacred songs, beneath, above,
Have one chorus: Goddess is love.

3. All the hopes that sweetly start
From the fountain of the heart,
All the bliss that ever comes
To our earthly human homes,
All the voices from above
Sweetly whisper: They are love.

God's Daily Care

Tomorrow our Sunday School lesson will be on Doctrine and Covenants 25. This is the section given to Emma Smith which asks her to compile hymns for the Church. I've been thinking about the hymns and realized it's been a while since I've included hymns here so the next few posts will be hymns. This first one is God's Daily Care. All I had to do was change "Father" to "Parents."

1. As I watch the rising sun
When the day has just begun,
I am thinking of the love
That comes daily from above.

2. Parents, turn thine ear to me;
Let me offer thanks to thee
For thy wise and tender care
Of thy children ev'rywhere.