December in Review

Our Heavenly Mother and Father gave us their son, receive us, speak to us through Christ, receive glory, speak to us in dreams, and we worship them.

Heavenly Mother on the Internet
This month started with a post by LovelyLauren thinking about why the "Heavenly Mother" issue isn't very high on her concerns at the moment.
Like Unto Eve posted for the Mother Fast this month.
At fMh, worthoursalt mentioned that Heavenly Mother is a very important part of her feminism.
At Mother Wheel, the connection between the ruby and the Goddess was discussed and then there was a wonderful post on the Heavenly Mother imagery in the Young Women's program medallion.

Happy New Year!

Doctrine and Covenants 18:38-40

I changed "Father" to "Parents" for this one. Have a beautiful weekend!

38 And by their desires and their works you shall know them.

39 And when you have found them you shall show these things unto them.

40 And you shall fall down and worship the Parents in my name.

Matthew 2:11-12

Being post-Christmas, I thought I'd share a post-Christmas scripture today. I added the Goddess.

11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

12 And being warned of Goddess and God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

O Come All Ye Faithful

Happy Christmas, everyone! This was our closing hymn today and I changed, "Father" to "Parents" and I pluralized "God" but if you are thinking of Christ as "God" in this song, you don't need to do that.

1. Oh, come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant!
Oh, come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold him,
Born the King of angels;

2. Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation;
Sing, all ye citizens of heav’n above!
Glory to Gods,
Glory in the highest;

3. Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
Born this happy morning;
Jesus, to thee be all glory giv’n.
Son of the Parents,
Now in flesh appearing;

Chorus
Oh, come, let us adore him;
Oh, come, let us adore him;
Oh, come, let us adore him,
Christ, the Lord.

Galatians 4:4

I added the Goddess to this one. Getting ready for Christmas!

4 But when the fulness of the time was come, Goddess and God sent forth their Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains

This was our opening hymn today in sacrament. I made "men" inclusive by changing it to "all" and I added the Goddess. You have to do some syllable-moving in the chorus, but it's doable. I like it!

1. Far, far away on Judea’s plains,
Shepherds of old heard the joyous strains:

2. Sweet are these strains of redeeming love,
Message of mercy from heav’n above:

3. Lords, with the angels we too would rejoice;
Help us to sing with the heart and voice:

4. Hasten the time when, from ev’ry clime,
All shall unite in the strains sublime:

[Chorus]
Glory to God, Glory to Goddess,
Glory to God and Godess;
Peace on earth, goodwill to all;
Peace on earth, goodwill to all!

Hebrews 1:1-2

Sorry for my absence. We went out of town for my birthday and I didn't have any posts scheduled ahead of time! I hope everyone is having a beautiful December!

In this one, I changed "fathers" to "parents" and added the Goddess.

1 God and Goddess, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the parents by the prophets,

2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by their Son, whom they hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also they made the worlds;

Ether 5:5

Changed "Father" to "Parents" and included the Goddess

5 And if it so be that they repent and come unto the Parents in the name of Jesus, they shall be received into the kingdom of Goddess and God.

Isaiah 7:13-14

And suddenly the Christmas season is upon us! Because, this scripture is about Christ's birth, I added Bathsheba to the "house of David" because according to the gospel of Matthew, it is through her that Christ is born. You can include other wives, Michal, Ahinoam, Abigail, Maachah, Haggith, Abital, or Eglah if you like. And as always, I added the Lady to the scripture.

13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David and Bathsheba; Is it a small thing for you to weary people, but will ye weary my God and Goddess also?

14 Therefore the Lord and Lady themselves shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

November in Review

We praise often, serve, give thanks many, many, many, many, many, many times our Heavenly Parents.

Elsewhere in the Internet this month,
Lynette at Zelophehad's Daughter's critiqued The Two Trees and mentions how Heavenly Mother plays in that.
Elisothel at fMh discussed the Feminine Evil and how that is connected to the Feminine Divine in "H" - "E" - "Double Hockeysticks" Part 3.
DefyGravity asks, "Is there Divinity without Motherhood?" at the Exponent II blog.
Jenni at Spiral Grove wrote If Heaven has a Speakerphone about prayer and Heavenly Mother and mentions Heavenly Mother in Everything is Holy Now.
Jena wrote about asking her  church leaders to ask for revelation about Heavenly Mother in As a Woman on Fire. Jena's Mother Fast was about overcoming patriarchy this month. Don't forget that the Mother Fast is the third Sunday of every month!
Rixa Freeze mentioned God the Mother in her interview, God Was My Midwife, at Layda-Birth.

We're now in Advent and coming up on a year for this blog! It's been exciting. I hope there will be many more years here. As always, feel free to send in guest posts. I've not been very good about writing articles or essays here lately. Maybe a new year will give me the push I need.

2 Corinthians 2:14

More Thanksgiving for the end of the month. I added the Goddess.

14 Now thanks be unto God and Goddess, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of their knowledge by us in every place.

1 Timothy 4:4-5

Here, I added the Goddess. Happy Thanksgiving!

4 For every creature of God and Goddess is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and Goddess and prayer.

1 Corinthians 1:3-4

I added the Goddess in this one.

3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from Goddess our Mother and God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 I thank my Goddess and God always on your behalf, for the grace of Goddess and God which is given you by Jesus Christ;

Romans 7:24-25

I made the language gender-inclusive and included the Goddess.

24 O wretched one that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

25 I thank God and Goddess through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of Goddess and God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

This was probably the most sung hymn in American wards today. I pluralized the pronouns, but had to do a little bit of fiddling with the one syllable of Lord to be inclusive to the Lady. On the last line I ended up with just adding an "s" to "Lord," but feel free to change that around.

We gather together for Lord and Lady's blessing;
They chasten, and hasten their will to make known;
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
Sing praises to their names;
They forget not their own.

Beside us to guide us, our Gods with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining their kingdom divine;
So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Lord, Lady at our side;
All glory be thine!

We all do extol thee, thou leaders triumphant,
And pray that thou still our defenders wilt be.
Let thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy names be ever praised!
O Lords, make us free!

Alma 24:7

In this one, I added the Goddess, changed fathers to parents, and included sisters. We're coming quickly to Thanksgiving week! Hope you all are staying close to your family and friends.

7 Now, these are the words which he said unto the people concerning the matter: I thank my God and Goddess, my beloved people, that our great Goddess and God have in goodness sent these our sisters and brothers, the Nephites, unto us to preach unto us, and to convince us of the traditions of our wicked parents.

1 Chronicles 29:13

More Thanksgiving! I added the Goddess.

13 Now therefore, our God and Goddess, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious names.

Now Thank We Goddess, God

More Thanksgiving! The first lines "Now Thank we all our God" I changed to "Now Thank We Goddess, God." I did a similar change with the second verse. I also pluralized the masculine pronouns. When it came to "Who, from our mothers' arms," I was tempted to leave it because I like having another reference to mothers in a very masculine hymnbook, but decided to go with "parents." Sing it however you like!

Now thank we Goddess, God
With hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done,
In whom their earth rejoices;
Who, from our parents’ arms,
Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love
And still is ours today.

Oh, may our Goddess, God
Through all our life be near us,
With ever-joyful hearts
And blessed peace to cheer us,
And keep us in their love,
And guide us day and night,
And free us from all ills,
Protect us by their might.

Psalm 75:1

For Thanksgiving this month, I think I will try to use scriptures and songs that talk about thanks. I added the Goddess to this one.

1 Unto thee, O God and Goddess, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy names are near thy wondrous works declare.

Parents, Thy Children to Thee Now Raise

I'm getting in the mood for Thanksgiving! For Father, Thy Children to Thee Now Raise, I only needed to change"Father" to "Parents." This was really straightforward! Happy November!

Parents, thy children to thee now raise
Glad, grateful songs for thy love and grace,
For thy protecting and watchful care
Over thy Saints dwelling far and near;
Grateful to thee for the gospel light,
Which with its truth fills us with delight,
Glad that we’ve chosen the better part.
Songs of delight fill each grateful heart.

Oh, may our songs to thy courts ascend;
Pleasing to thee may our voices blend.
Lead us as thou hast the faithful led;
Feed us with knowledge and daily bread.
Let us not stray from the paths of truth;
Forgive the folly and faults of youth.
Parents, accept thou the songs of praise
Which from our hearts unto thee we raise.

October in Review

Heavenly Mother and Father love us, created all, forgive us, give us revelation, hear our prayers, heal us, and guide us.

This has been a big month for talk about Heavenly Mother.

Sarah wrote Half Doubting, Half Hoping at Feminist Mormon Housewives, which touches on how it's an uncomfortable place to be in to not know more about Heavenly Mother.
Like Unto Eve wrote a post titled, I Need my Mother. She also wrote My Facebook Coming Out: Seeking Revelation.
Daughters of Mormonism did a podcast entitled, "If Any of You Lack Sophia," in which Julene discusses the Divine Feminine.
Whoa man at the Exponent wrote a poignant piece called "Dear Mom."

Something is telling me I missed a really important one from earlier this month- have you seen any? Link in the comments!

I'm a Pilgrim, I'm a Stranger

This might sound silly, but I wanted to find a "Halloween-y" hymn. I think the first two verses of I'm a Pilgrim, I'm a Stranger are actually pretty spooky (if you're in that mind set). It's actually a beautiful hymn for non-Halloween times as well. I changed "Father" to "Parents" and also added "Mother" to the third verse.

I’m a pilgrim, I’m a stranger
Cast upon the rocky shore
Of a land where deathly danger
Surges with a sullen roar,
Oft despairing, oft despairing,
Lest I reach my home no more.

Misty vapors rise before me.
Scarcely can I see the way.
Clouds of darkest hue hang o’er me,
And I’m apt to go astray
With the many, with the many
That are now the vulture’s prey.

O my Parents, I entreat thee,
Let me see thy beck’ning hands;
And when straying, may I meet thee
Ere I join the silent band.
Guide me, Mother, guide me, Father,
Safely to the promised land.

Jeremiah 17:14

This was shared at a church meeting on Sunday and I liked it. I added the Lady.

14 Heal me, O Lord and Lady, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

Secret Prayer

I added "and Lady" in the third line of the first verse where "I go" is and you have to stretch the syllables, but I think the meaning is preserved. Once I included the Lady by name, I used "They" and "Their" to take the one syllable position of "God" and "God's".

There is an hour of peace and rest,
Unmarred by earthly care;
’Tis when before the Lord and Lady
I kneel in secret prayer.

The straight and narrow way to heav’n,
Where angels bright and fair
Are singing to Their praise, is found
Thru constant secret prayer.

When sailing on life’s stormy sea,
’Mid billows of despair,
’Tis solace to my soul to know
They hear my secret prayer.

When thorns are strewn along my path,
And foes my feet ensnare,
My Savior to my aid will come,
If sought in secret prayer.

Chorus
May my heart be turned to pray,
Pray in secret day by day,
That this boon to mortals giv’n
May unite my soul with heav’n.

Amos 3:7

Scripture mastery time! I added the Goddess and made the scripture gender inclusive.

7 Surely the Lord GOD and Lady GODDESS will do nothing, but they revealeth their secrets unto their servants the prophetesses and prophets.

Gods, We Ask Thee Ere We Part

I'm not sure what to do with the one syllable of "Lord" to include Heavenly Mother, so I used "Gods." In the fourth verse, I changed "Lord" to "please" because it fit and the reference from "Father" to "Parents" in the third verse gives the fourth verse direction, so I didn't really need to re-name the recipients of the hymn.

Gods, we ask thee ere we part,
Bless the teachings of this day.
Plant them deep in ev’ry heart,
That with us they’ll ever stay.

In the innocence of youth,
We would all thy laws fulfill.
Lead us in the way of truth.
Give us strength to do thy will.

Parents, merciful and kind,
While we labor for the right,
May we in thy service find
Sweetest pleasure, pure delight.

All our follies, please forgive.
Keep us from temptations free.
Help us evermore to live
Lives of holiness to thee.

Sing Praise to Them

We sang Sing Praise to Him today and I had never heard of it before. I loved the analogy of God as a mother and enjoyed inserting the gender-inclusive language. "Him" to "them" and verb tense changes. I changed "Lord" to "Parents" or "Gods" and added "Lady" once as well.

Sing praise to them who reign above,
Parents of all creation,
The source of pow’r, the fount of love,
The rock of our salvation.
With healing balm my soul they fill
And ev’ry faithless murmur stills.
To them all praise and glory!

What their almighty pow’r hath made
Their gracious mercy keepeth.
By morning glow or evening shade
Their watchful eye ne’er sleepeth.
Within the kingdom of their might,
Lo! all is just and all is right.
To them all praise and glory!

Lord, Lady- never far away,
But, thru all grief distressing,
An ever-present help and stay,
Our peace and joy and blessing.
As with a mother’s tender hand,
They lead their own, their chosen band.
To them all praise and glory!

Thus, all my toilsome way along
I sing aloud thy praises,
That all may hear the grateful song
My voice unwearied raises.
Be joyful in the Gods, my heart!
Both soul and body bear your part.
To them all praise and glory!

Conference-style

There was one mention of "Heavenly Parents" during General Conference and I thought I'd share it here. I didn't have to modify anything! It's taken almost exactly from the Proclamation to the World, but still a mention! This is from Elder Randall K. Bennett's Sunday afternoon talk.

Each of you—as we have been taught this conference—is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents. You do have a divine nature and destiny.

September in Review

Our Heavenly Parents cheer us, name us, receive our thanks, judge us, speak to us, reveal themselves to us, call us, and manifest truth to us.

Can you believe October is upon us? This past month, I've found these links about Heavenly Mother. What have you found?

Faith Promoting Rumor posted a review of the BYU Study's article, A Mother There.
Like Unto Eve hosted the third Mother Fast this month and is praying for some good things this weekend.
Apame at Zelophehad's Daughters mentioned her Heavenly Parents in her talk she always wanted to give.

Moroni 10:4-5

For Conference this weekend! As we are getting ready to listen to talks and music about Christ, let's not forget to ask for the Holy Ghost to guide us to truth. I added "Goddess" and change "Father" to "Parents."

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God and Goddess, the Eternal Parents, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, they will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

Hark All Ye Nations

We sang this last night as part of the Relief Society General Broadcast. I changed "throne" to "thrones" and God to "Gods" to include the Goddess.


Hark, all ye nations!
Hear heaven’s voice
Thru ev’ry land that all may rejoice!
Angels of glory shout the refrain:
Truth is restored again!

Searching in darkness, nations have wept;
Watching for dawn, their vigil they’ve kept.
All now rejoice; the long night is o’er.
Truth is on earth once more!

Chosen by Gods to serve them below,
To ev’ry land and people we’ll go,
Standing for truth with fervent accord,
Teaching their holy word.

Chorus
Oh, how glorious from the thrones above
Shines the gospel light of truth and love!
Bright as the sun, this heavenly ray
Lights ev’ry land today.

Job 19:25-26

Another scripture mastery. I'm feeling school-y with the fall air. I added the Goddess.

25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that che shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see Goddess and God:

Voices of Gods Again Are Heard

I did a few edits to The Voice of God Again is Heard.
First, the two syllable beginning "The voice..." is "Voices." This messes up the emphasis in the word "voice" but you could work around that with "The Words of Gods..." That actually might be a better edit, now that I think of it. I also made God plural because I wasn't sure how to be inclusive while being true to the structure of the hymn. I did
I changed "To greet the King of glory" to "For Queen and King of glory" as well as "The Lord from heav'n has spoken" to "All those from heav'n have spoken." I considered doing "Both those..." but went with "all" so that Christ was also included as this is a restoration hymn.



Voices of Gods again are heard.
The silence has been broken.
The curse of darkness is withdrawn.
The Lord from heav’n has spoken.
Rejoice, ye living and ye dead!
Rejoice, for your salvation
Begins anew this happy morn
Of final dispensation.

O messengers of truth, go forth,
Proclaim the gospel story,
Go forth the nations to prepare
For Queen the King of glory.
We shout hosanna, shout again,
Till all creation blending
Shall join in one great, grand amen
Of anthems never ending.

Romans 14:10-12

I haven't been keeping up with the Sunday School lessons because I'm in nursery and my husband is usually chasing our baby around the halls. I figured we should give at least one shout out to the book of Romans. I made it gender-inclusive and included Goddess.

10 But why dost thou judge thy sibling? or why dost thou set at nought thy sibling? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to Goddess and God.

12 So then every one of us shall give account of ourselves to Goddess and God.

Family Prayer

Our lesson in nursery today was about family prayer and I used the modified first verse here for a little activity. "Father" to "Parents" and "him" to "them."

Let us gather in a circle
And kneel in fam’ly prayer
To thank our Heav’nly Parents
For the blessings we all share.

Let us thank them for our mealtime,
For clothes we daily wear,
For parents, home, and fam’ly,
For their kind and loving care.

Oh, may we always serve them,
In thought and action too,
And humbly kneel at prayer-time
As so many fam’lies do.

Moses 7:18

In honor of seminary starting up again this school year, here's a scripture mastery! I added "and Lady."

18 And the Lord and Lady called their people ZION, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.

Parents, Cheer our Souls Tonight

This was our closing song today. It's not a commonly-sung one, but I think it is a very sweet prayer. All I needed to do was change "Father" to "Parents."

Parents, cheer our souls tonight;
Lift our burdens, make them light.
Let thine all-pervading love
Shine upon us from above.

Calm the surges of the soul;
Bid the dark waves backward roll.
Let us all thy mercies feel
Thru the pow’r thou dost reveal.

Bless our loved ones far away;
Grant them health and peace, we pray.
In their hearts let holy light
Beam to guide their steps aright.

Let implicit faith and trust
Help us know thy ways are just.
May thine ever-tender love
Lead our hearts to thee above.

August in Review

Where was I when August flew by? Our Heavenly Parents love us, are our Gods, gave us our bodies, give us the spirit of prophecy, comfort us, deserve our reverence, are full of glory, and reveal themselves to us.

This month, I also shared a coloring page that I made up for my nursery class titled, "I Have a Body Like Heavenly Mother." The children enjoyed the coloring activity and I'm grateful for the opportunity to help all the children know their divine origins.

Elsewhere in the Bloggernacle...
By Common Consent hosted a quick poll titled, "Are You There, Heavenly Mother? It's Me, BCC."
Daughters of Mormonism published an episode interviewing Jena called, "Every Third Sunday- Fasting for the Goddess." Jena also posted her thoughts about the fast this month about discernment on her own blog.
And Heavenly Mother got a little mention in Apame's The Talk I Always Wanted to Give over at Zelophehad's Daughters.

Did I miss a post? Share in the comments!

Seek the Lord Early

This one is difficult because "Lord" so often means Christ, but here, praying to our Father is one of the ways to seek the "Lord" so here, I'm taking "Lord" to mean "Heavenly Father." I changed "The Lord" to "my Parents," but because of the syllables, you have to sing "my" as a pick up note.

I’ll seek my Parents early while in my youth,
And they will help me to know the truth.
I’ll search the scriptures and find them there,
Then go to our Parents in fervent prayer.
I’ll seek my Parents early, and I’ll obey
Their living prophets in all they say.
I’ll keep their commandments; their love will abound.
I will seek my Parents early, and they will be found.

Acts 7:55-56

My husband was home with a sick baby on Sunday, so I don't know where our ward is in the manual, but we can't skip the martyrdom of Stephen! I added "Goddess" to these verses.

55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of Goddess and God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God and Goddess,

56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God and Goddess.

Two Happy Feet

Today's nursery lesson was about taking care of our bodies, so here's a song about our feet. I changed "Father's" to "Parents'."

I have two happy little feet
To take me where I go.
They hop me and they skip me,
And make a noise, I know.
But in my Heav’nly Parents' house
So softly do they fall
That, though I walk, you cannot hear
My little feet at all.

I Have a Body like Heavenly Mother

A few months ago, in a monthly review, I linked to Mrayne's Exponent post, What My Daughter Learns, about the messages about our bodies that are taught in nursery class. I taught Sunbeams and hadn't run into handouts like that, though I would mention Heavenly Mother in conjunction with Heavenly Father. I did remember thinking, "Well, I turned down the nursery calling, so I probably won't have to deal with it, but if I did, I'd make sure I mention Heavenly Mother just like I do in Sunbeams."

My ward is persistant, though, and 6 months after working in the Sunbeams, I was asked again to go teach nursery. I relented on my "I don't teach the classes of my own children" rule and accepted the nursery leader calling. Two weeks ago I shadowed the nursery leader as she taught lesson 7, Jesus Christ Created the World for Me. Then I was on my own.

I decided to just go onto the next lesson in order because I wasn't feeling very creative and did lesson 8 last week. The handout for lesson 8 says, "Sunday is a day to remember Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ." I lamented the lack of Heavenly Mother and decided that instead of coloring that whole sheet with the words, they would color the pictures and paste them on a construction paper sun (for "Sun-day"). It was an easy way to avoid having to full-on photoshop the handout. I made sure to say that we remember our Heavenly Parents on the Sabbath.

Tomorrow is lesson 9, the one Mraynes' daughter had. And I decided that I would follow through on my vow to mention Heavenly Mother. So tomorrow, I will go to nursery with a basket full of handouts and half of them will say, "I have a body like Heavenly Mother." The little girl image was taken from the handout of lesson 11, so it's a little extra pixelated, but I don't think the 2 year olds will care.

As I teach, I may run into other lessons and find ways to mention Heavenly Mother. If I find some great ideas, I'll share them here. Feel free to use that handout in your own classes!

Have you tried adapting lessons to include Heavenly Mother? What has worked for you?

Isaiah 49:13-17

Last week was World Breastfeeding Week and this month is National Breastfeeding Month, so in the spirit of that, today's scripture is about how the Lord (or as I put in here, Lady) nurtures us figuratively at the breast. I made this gender-neutral in places by substituting "child" for "son." In verse 14, instead of wordily putting in "Lord and Lady" twice, I left Lord in for forsaken and put Lady in for forgotten. This leads nicely into verse 15, which I kept feminine-focused because breastfeeding is simply something you need breasts for. But other than that I tried to be inclusive about the genders. I wasn't entirely sure what to do about verse 16. Should we keep the Lady speaking in first person, or switch to the plural first person, "We have graven thee..."?

13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lady and Lord hath comforted their people, and will have mercy upon their afflicted.

14 But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lady hath forgotten me.

15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the child of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.

Acts 2:14-24

Sunday School was on the Pentecost this week. Fun times! I added Goddess and made the language more gender-inclusive. I left "Lord" alone because I considered it a reference to Christ.

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye people of Judæa, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith Goddess and God, We will pour out of our Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men and women shall see visions, and your old men and women shall dream dreams:

18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

22 Ye people of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of Goddess and God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which Goddess and God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God and Goddess, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

24 Whom Goddess and God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

My Parents Gave me a Temple

This is the song the Primary is learning this month for the Primary program this fall. I changed "Father" to "Parents." I also changed "The Lord" to "My Parents." The syllables don't line up, but it's not too hard to fit that extra one in.

My Parents gave me a temple to live within on earth.
Once in Heaven I was spirit, but I left my home at birth.
I’ll make my temple brighter; I’ll keep my spirit free.
My body is the temple my Parents gave to me.

If I keep my body clean and pure and habit-free,
I may in my Parents' temple claim blessings promised me.
On resurrection morning, I’ll take my body bright
And in celestial glory forever live in light.

1 Nephi 11:21-23

I really should do more verses from Nephi's dream in the future. Here, I included "Goddess" and changed "Father" to "Parents" and "men" to "all."

21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God and Goddess, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Parents! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?

22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of Goddess and God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of all; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.

23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.

John 20:15-18

This was from the Sunday School lesson on Sunday (we're a little behind the rest of you). I changed "Father" to "Parents." I love this scene. I also added sisters.

15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Parents: but go to my sisters and brothers, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Parents, and your Parents; and to my Gods, and your Gods.

18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

July in Review

Our Heavenly Parents give us our bread, call us, guide us, gave their Son, grant us their Spirit in temples, care about our temporal salvation, "will never us forsake," lift us, have a place for us, and created everything.

Elsewhere in the Internet in July:
Finding the Feminine Divine at Mindful Serenity
Tresa Edmunds' God's Wife, the mysterious mother of Mormons at the Guardian.
Our Mother, the Creator at Feminist Mormon Housewives.
Like Unto Eve has a Mother Fast, asking for more revelation about Heavenly Mother. She has also blogged a little bit about her Heavenly Mother questions at I got so Angry Today, and How the LDS Church grew this Feminist
And a beautiful poem at Spiral Grove, Is her Glory So Unspeakable?

Have you seen Heavenly Mother mentioned this month? Share your links in the comments!

ETA: This link was shared on Facebook, "Our Mother Who Art in Heaven."

All Things Bright and Beautiful

We have had a beautiful Sunday today; All Things Bright and Beautiful came to me. This is a lesser-known children's song, but I sing it with my kids a lot. I've changed "The Lord God" to "Our Parents" and changed the male pronouns to be plural.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
Our Parents made them all.

1. Each little flow’r that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
They made their glowing colors,
They made their tiny wings:

2. The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brighten up the sky:

3. The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
They made them ev’ry one:

4. The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water
We gather ev’ry day:

Ether 12:32

I've been thinking a lot about hope lately, so I searched for a scripture related to hope for today. I changed "Father" to "Parents" and "man" to "all."

32 And I also remember that thou hast said that thou hast prepared a house for all, yea, even among the mansions of thy Parents, in which all might have a more excellent hope; wherefore all must hope, or they cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared.

3 Nephi 27:14-15

This is one of my favorite passages of the doctrine of the cross. My husband said Sunday School was about the crucifixion, so while this isn't in the New Testament, it's there in spirit. I changed Father to Parents throughout these verses. I also made the verses more gender neutral by changing "men" to "all."

14 And my Parents sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all unto me, that as I have been lifted up by all even so should all be lifted up by the Mother and Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—

15 And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father and Mother I will draw all unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.

Come, Come Ye Saints

"God" to "Gods" in the second verse, "God" to "They" in the third verse, and "God and King" to "Queen and King." Happy Pioneer Day, everyone!

Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear;
But with joy wend your way.
Though hard to you this journey may appear,
Grace shall be as your day.
’Tis better far for us to strive
Our useless cares from us to drive;
Do this, and joy your hearts will swell—
All is well! All is well!

Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?
’Tis not so; all is right.
Why should we think to earn a great reward
If we now shun the fight?
Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.
Our Gods will never us forsake;
And soon we’ll have this tale to tell—
All is well! All is well!

We’ll find the place which They for us prepared,
Far away in the West,
Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid;
There the Saints will be blessed.
We’ll make the air with music ring,
Shout praises to our Queen and King;
Above the rest these words we’ll tell—
All is well! All is well!

And should we die before our journey’s through,
Happy day! All is well!
We then are free from toil and sorrow, too;
With the just we shall dwell!
But if our lives are spared again
To see the Saints their rest obtain,
Oh, how we’ll make this chorus swell—
All is well! All is well!

Doctrine and Covenants 89:1-3

This was prompted by a friend asking "What if we saw the Word of Wisdom as coming from Heavenly Mother?" and another friend making the Wisdom as Divine Feminine connection. I also included "priestesses" and other gender-inclusive language.

1 A Word of Wisdom, for the benefit of the council of high priests and priestesses, assembled in Kirtland, and the church, and also the saints in Zion—

2 To be sent greeting; not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of Goddess and God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days—

3 Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints.

Luke 22:41-44

Just a couple of weeks ago, I put up Matthew's version of verse 42, but I was apparently a few weeks ahead in our ward's lesson schedule! So this week is Luke's version. I picked this one over Mark, but it's the one that mentions the angel appearing and I know a woman who likes to think that the angel was perhaps Heavenly Mother. I think that's a beautiful thought.

41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

42 Saying, Father and Mother, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: band his sweat was as it were great drops of cblood falling down to the ground.

I Love to See the Temple

I changed "Father" to "Parents." And everywhere else I simply added an "s" at the end of "God," but I'm not entirely satisfied with that fix.

I love to see the temple.
I’m going there someday
To feel the Holy Spirit,
To listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of Gods,
A place of love and beauty.
I’ll prepare myself while I am young;
This is my sacred duty.

I love to see the temple.
I’ll go inside someday.
I’ll cov’nant with my Parents;
I’ll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place
Where we are sealed together.
As a child of Gods, I’ve learned this truth:
A fam’ly is forever.

Matthew 26:39

39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Mother and Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Teach Me to Walk in the Light

I hope everyone is doing well. I'm really loving this hymn now.

Teach me to walk in the light of their love;
Teach me to pray to my Parents above;
Teach me to know of the things that are right;
Teach me, teach me to walk in the light.

Come, little child, and together we’ll learn
Of their commandments, that we may return
Home to their presence, to live in their sight—
Always, always to walk in the light.

Parents in Heaven, we thank thee this day
For loving guidance to show us the way.
Grateful, we praise thee with songs of delight!
Gladly, gladly we’ll walk in the light.

Called to Serve

The biggest hurdle in this hymn was the last line of the chorus, "Called to Serve our King." It's only 5 syllables and I wanted to keep the rhyming scheme as well. I asked around and got a couple of suggestions: "Serving Queen and King," "Called by King and Queen," and even "Called to Serve our Queen and King" if you sing "Called to" as pick up notes. You can pick your favorite and sing it that way.

After I modified this hymn, I sang it and it was very powerful. Do I tell their stories? What are their stories? Do I confess Heavenly Mother and Father's names?

It is Fast Sunday today. Perhaps you'll get a chance to do these things.


Called to serve Them, heav’nly Gods of glory,
Chosen e’er to witness for their names,
Far and wide we tell our Parents' stories,
Far and wide their love proclaim.

Called to know the richness of their blessings—
Sons and daughters of a Queen and King—
Glad of heart, their holy names confessing,
Praises unto them we bring.

Chorus
Onward, ever onward, as we glory in their names;
Onward, ever onward, as we glory in their names;
Forward, pressing forward, as a triumph song we sing.
Gods, our strength will be; press forward ever,
Called by Queen and King!

Exodus 16:11-15

Since we do scriptures from the Sunday School lesson, I thought today I'd do a scripture from the lesson we had in Sunbeams. Our lesson was "I'm thankful that I can smell and taste," and we talked about manna.

11 And the Lord and Lady spake unto Moses, saying,

12 We have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that We are the Lady and Lord your Gods.

13 And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.

14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small around thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.

15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord and Lady hath given you to eat.

June in Review

Heavenly Mother and Father help us inspire others, made the trees, are our "refuge and strength", hear and listen to our prayers, are whom we love and believe in, claim us theirs, know the end, give us visions, and call us blessed.

Like I mentioned earlier this month, Daughters of Mormonism did two podcasts on Finding the Divine Feminine (part 1) (part 2). There was also another episode about Symbols of the Divine Feminine.

I also came across this collection of references to Heavenly Mother in Church manuals and publications from 1971-2002, that was gathered this past April. Take a look-through!

At Like Unto Eve this month, there was a post about fasting together for more knowledge about our Heavenly Mother. I think this is a wonderful idea- don't forget that Fast Sunday is coming up!

Where else have you seen Heavenly Mother mentioned this month?

Matthew 25:34-36

From yesterday's Sunday School lesson! The "King" here is Christ, so I didn't add Queen, but I was inclusive later in the verse.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Mother and Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

In Memory of the Crucified

This was our sacrament hymn today, and was a simple exchange of "father" for "parents". I also pluralized "Spirit" because it fit well in the first verse, but I don't think it's a necessary change. In verse 4, I changed "he'll" to "we'll" even though the sentence doesn't quite make perfect sense. "They'll" would be a better fit grammatically, but I really love the inclusiveness of "we'll."

In mem’ry of the Crucified,
Our Parents, we have met this hour.
May thy sweet Spirits here abide,
That all may feel their glowing pow’r.

Our Savior, in Gethsemane,
Shrank not to drink the bitter cup,
And then, for us, on Calvary,
Upon the cross was lifted up.

We rev’rence with the broken bread,
Together with the cup we take,
The body bruised, the lifeblood shed,
A sinless ransom for our sake.

Our Parents, may this sacrament
To ev’ry soul be sanctified
Who eats and drinks with pure intent,
That in our Savior we’ll abide.

Amos 8:1-3

This is not a happy scripture; I chose it because I wanted something with the word "summer" because of the solstice yesterday. I guess what we can come away with this is that God and Goddess both give us visions of the things we need to know.

1 Thus hath the Lord God and Lady Goddess shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.

2 And they said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lady and Lord unto me, The end is come upon our people of Israel; We will not again pass by them any more.

3 And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God and Lady Goddess: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.

Joseph Smith-Matthew 1:40

Our Sunday School lesson this week was the Second Coming lesson, so here's an oft-quoted quip to quash the Type-A anxiety of prepared people in the world (sorry, the alliteration had to happen, it was begging me to).

40 But of that day, and hour, no one knoweth; no, not the angels of God and Goddess in heaven, but my Mother and Father only.

Our Parents, By Whose Names

Our Father, By Whose Name, was one of our songs in sacrament meeting today and while we sang it I changed some of the lyrics:

Our Parents, by whose names all parenthood is known,
Who do in love proclaim each family thine own,
Bless thou all parents, guarding well,
With constant love as sentinel,
The homes in which thy people dwell.

As thou thy Child didst fill with wisdom, love, and might,
To know and do thy will and teach thy ways aright,
Our children bless, in ev’ry place,
That they may all behold thy face,
And, knowing thee, may grow in grace.

May thy strong Spirit bind our hearts in unity,
And help us each to find the love from self set free.
In all our hearts such love increase,
That ev’ry home, by this release,
May be the dwelling place of peace.

I only needed to change "father" to "parents" and some of the verbs so that they are plural. I thought it was a very fitting hymn for Father's Day.

Articles of Faith 1:1

I love this statement. It's a belief I can really get behind.

1 We believe in Goddess and God, the Eternal Parents, and in Their Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

Matthew 22:34-40

This is from the Sunday School lesson we had yesterday, or more correctly, my husband. I was learning about being thankful for my eyes!

34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.

35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God and the Lady they Goddess with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the alaw and the prophets.

A Child's Prayer

Multiple people have asked me to do this song. It's definitely a favorite among the parents I know who use it as a lullaby.

Heavenly Parents, are you really there?
And do you hear and answer ev’ry child’s prayer?
Some say that heaven is far away,
But I feel it close around me as I pray.
Heavenly Parents, I remember now
Something that Jesus told disciples long ago:
“Suffer the children to come to me.”
Parents, in prayer I’m coming now to thee.

Pray, they are there;
Speak, they are list’ning.
You are their child;
Their love now surrounds you.
They hears your prayer;
They loves the children.
Of such is the kingdom, the kingdom of heav’n.

It is also very poignant if you sing only about Heavenly Mother. Heavenly Mother, are you really there?

Psalms 46

I chose to do the whole chapter since it is pretty short. I added the Goddess and made sure verbs were plural and included Leah and Rachel alongside Jacob.

1 God and Goddess are our refuge and strength, very present helps in trouble.

2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of Goddess and God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.

5 Goddess and God iare in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God and Goddess shall help her, and that right early.

6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: they uttered their voices, the earth melted.

7 The Lady and Lord of hosts are with us; the God and Goddess of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel are our refuge. Selah.

8 Come, behold the works of the Lady and Lord, what desolations they hath made in the earth.

9 They maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; they breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; they burneth the chariot in the fire.

10 Be still, and know that We are God and Goddess: We will be exalted among the heathen, We will be exalted in the earth.

11 The Lady and Lord of hosts are with us; the God and Goddess of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel are our refuge. Selah.

Moses 3:9

I added the Lady Goddess and used gender inclusive language: where "man" was, I placed "people." I really really like this verse this way.

9 And out of the ground made We, the Lord God and Lady Goddess, to grow every tree, naturally, that is pleasant to the sight of people; and people could behold it. And it became also a living soul. For it was spiritual in the day that We created it; for it remaineth in the sphere in which We, Goddess and God, created it, yea, even all things which We prepared for the use of people; and people saw that it was good for food. And We, the Lord God and Lady Goddess, planted the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and also the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Daughters of Mormonism podcast

I normally save links like this for the Month in Review, but since this was posted at the beginning of the month and I don't want to wait 3 weeks to link to it, it's getting a little love now.

Last week, Daughters of Mormonism released two episodes about the Divine Feminine and I was lucky enough to be on the panel (I'm the one who talks to trees).

Finding the Divine Feminine Part I

Finding the Divine Feminine Part II

I hope you all enjoy it!

Help Me Teach With Inspiration

After a week off, this blog is back! Today's hymn was chosen because I was looking at the list of hymn titles and this one resonated with me. Next week, we will be combining the two sunbeam classes and I'll be the only regular sunbeam teacher, so any help I can get will be wonderful. I will probably not be completely by myself every week, but I won't have the luxury of knowing that if I'm sick or out of town, my co-teacher will take over for me.

I changed "Lord" to "Gods", and "Father" to "Parents" and used gender-neutral language for the friend in verse 2.

Help me teach with inspiration;
Grant this blessing, Gods, I pray.
Help me lift a soul’s ambition
To a higher, nobler way.

Help me reach a friend in darkness;
Help me guide them thru the night.
Help me show thy path to glory
By the Spirit’s holy light.

Fill my mind with understanding;
Tune my voice to echo thine.
Touch my hand with gentle friendship;
Warm my heart with love divine.

Help me find thy lambs who wander;
Help me bring them to thy keep.
Teach me, Gods, to be a shepherd;
Parents, help me feed thy sheep.

May in Review

We are grateful to our Heavenly Parents, who deliver us, hear our prayers, love the children, do wonders and works, and are God and Goddess of the living, know our hearts, grant us authority, and we know them through Christ.

This has been quite the month for Heavenly Mother on the Internet! In fact, for Mother's Day, Joanna Brooks asked, "Is Heavenly Mother Making a Comeback in Mormonism?" And in response, the Bloggernacle shouted, "Yes!"

There was a new BYU Studies article, A Mother There, which discusses the history of references to Heavenly Mother in the Church. I used quotes from it in my Mother's Day talk. It also spurred a Mormon Matters podcast, Heavenly Mother in Today's Mormonism and my own review.

There is a new podcast called Daughters of Mormonism and it has addressed the Heavenly Mother concept in a few podcasts: More Than Mothers, Not Perfect: Sara's Mother's Day Talk, and others.

Also, at Keepapitchinin, there was a post about the hymn "Our Mother in Heaven" and there's a link to an audio file where you can listen to it.

Let's get ready for June! I'm going to be out of Internet access for a few days, so this will be a slow week.

Moroni 8:15-16

I went searching for the "love casteth out all fear" scripture to use today. I didn't remember that it was originally in the context of baptism and original sin. Something for me to chew on today!

I added Goddess and turned "he" into "they" for more gender inclusive language.

15 For awful is the wickedness to suppose that God and Goddess saveth one child because of baptism, and the other must perish because they hath no baptism.

16 Wo be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord and Lady after this manner, for they shall perish except they repent. Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from Goddess and God; and I fear not what people can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear.

Luke 16:13-15

This is taken from lesson 17 this week. I tried to be gender-inclusive and include the Goddess.

13 No servant can serve two masters: for either they will hate the one, and love the other; or else they will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve Gods and mammon.

14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.

15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before people; but Goddess and God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among people is abomination in the sight of God and Goddess.

I am a Child of Gods

We sang this in Primary today and I realized that I hadn't done this quintessential song here yet! I added an "s" to "God" to include Heavenly Mother, though I'm split on if this still inadvertently keeps her hidden.

I am a child of Gods,
And they have sent me here,
Have given me an earthly home
With parents kind and dear.

I am a child of Gods,
And so my needs are great;
Help me to understand their words
Before it grows too late.

I am a child of Gods.
Rich blessings are in store;
If I but learn to do their will,
I’ll live with them once more.

I am a child of Gods.

Their promises are sure;
Celestial glory shall be mine
If I can but endure.

Chorus
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with them someday.

And while I was putting that up there, I thought about how we believe exhaltation is something we reach together in our families and wards and communities and not individual, so I re-did it again to reflect that. I think we're going to sing this version for Family Home Evening tomorrow.

We are children of Gods,
And they have sent us here,
Have given us an earthly home
With parents kind and dear.

We are children of Gods,

And so our needs are great;
Help us to understand their words
Before it grows too late.

We are children of Gods.

Rich blessings are in store;
If we but learn to do their will,
We’ll live with them once more.

We are children of Gods.

Their promises are sure;

Celestial glory shall be ours
If we can but endure.

Chorus
Lead us, guide us, walk beside us,
Help us find the way.
Teach us all that we must do
To live with them someday.

Review: A Mother There

The reason I haven't done reviews in months is because I wanted to do a review of When God was a Woman, but it's a very dense book: I've renewed it from the library around 5 times, and I'm still only a third of the way in. Meanwhile, there are other great articles and books that need attention and I don't want to miss those, so When God was a Woman is on hold for a little bit.

The biggest buzz around Heavenly Mother this month has been about the David L. Paulsen and Marin Pulido's BYU Studies article, A Mother There. I linked to it in my Mother's Day
 Talk post. You can find it for free here. Mormon Matters did a discussion on the article that you can listen to here. On to the review!

The authors state the thesis of the article, "In this paper, we will share important historical accounts that cast serious doubt on the specific claims that, first, a sacred silence has always surrounded this treasured Mormon doctrine and that, second, Heavenly Mother’s ascribed roles have been marginalized or trivialized." They then separate what they have found as references to various traits of Heavenly Mother into "Heavenly Wife and Parent," "A Divine Person," "Co-creator with the Father," "Coframer of the Plan of Salvation," "Involved Parent in Our Mortality," and "Mother in Heaven in the Hereafter."

First, I loved having access to new Heavenly Mother quotes that I didn't have access to before. Most of the sources that Paulsen and Pulido studied are tucked away in the Church Archives and not available online. I loved this so much, that I used some of the quotes in my Mother's Day Talk. And I enjoyed the layout of the article with the focus on the traits of Heavenly Mother that aren't limited to being a mother. Women are more than their ability to be mothers. And Heavenly Mother is more than a Heavenly Mother- she's a goddess! Attributing godly traits to Heavenly Mother is one of my goals in this blog and the reason I put together Months in Review.

There were some fascinating references. I really enjoyed the sections on Heavenly Mother's involvement in our current lives. There was even one where a man felt that it was inspiration from Heavenly Mother that led to him giving up smoking.

I agree with Paulsen and Pulido's thesis that Heavenly Mother has not always been shrouded in "sacred silence." In the past 15 years or so, I think many people have felt that "sacred silence" is important and I heard that repeated in church classes growing up. But I don't believe that is helpful, needed, or even wanted. I feel that with the boom of the information age of the Internet, more discussion on Heavenly Mother has been happening and I hope that the "sacred silence" around her will disapear.

The other side of the coin of "How wonderful it is to have more quotes to reference!" is the fact that there's a reason most Mormons did not know of these quotes: they are hidden away and not accessible. On one level, I felt like Paulsen and Pulido's thesis was saying, "Of course she's been mentioned throughout the history of the Church. Why does anyone think we don't talk about Her? Look at all this proof!" But Paulsen and Pulido did years of research through old Church publications to find the 600+ references they mention. On the other hand, I can take less than a second and find 504 references to Heavenly Father in General Conference and over 13,000 references to Heavenly Father total on lds.org. Heavenly Mother doesn't get the same treatment.

What I hope that this paper will do is bring to light that Heavenly Mother has been, is, and can be spoken of. I would love to see a collection of all the 600 or more quotes in a database to read and access. It would be wonderful to add some of those quotes to WAVE's Words of Wisdom project! And we can all make sure that when we talk about growing closer to our Heavenly Father, we include Heavenly Mother. I'll keep mentioning her as She comes up in lessons and discussions, and you can too.

I enjoyed listening to the Mormon Matter's podcast on this. Pulido was on the discussion panel and one of the first things he mentioned was that in his research, he found no instances that anyone in the First Presidency or Quorum of the 12 has ever said that we can't talk about Heavenly Mother. There was also some discussion on the issue of praying to Heavenly Mother and at the end a mention of putting together an art project (perhaps a gallery collection?) of art and writing about Heavenly Mother.

I think you'll all enjoy reading the paper and listening to the subsequent podcast. Happy reading and listening!

Enos 1: 1-6

I've been thinking about prayer lately, due to this post on Feminist Mormon Housewives, so today's scripture is of one of the most famous prayers in the Book of Mormon. I added "Goddess" and included Enos' mother when he mentions his father, though I suppose the lack of her mention could be that she wasn't in his life growing up. But for the sake of gender-inclusiveness, I added her.

1 Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my parents that they were just people—for they taught me in their language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord—and blessed be the name of my God and Goddess for it—

2 And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God and Goddess, before I received a remission of my sins.

3 Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my parents speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.

4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Makers, and I cried unto them in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto them; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.

5 And there came voices unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.

6 And I, Enos, knew that Goddess and God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.

I'd like to do the rest of the prayer someday.

John 9:35-38

This was from this week's Sunday School lesson. I actually got to catch the last part because we only had 2 Sunbeams show up and my co-teacher said she could handle it. Nice change of scenery. So here we have Jesus speaking to the recently-healed, newly-cast-out blind man. All I needed to do was add "Goddess."

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God and Goddess?

36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?

37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.

38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

I really want to do this scripture again, with the blind man being a woman, just as an small exercise in relating the scriptures to myself. I found it very poignant.

35 Jesus heard that they had cast her out; and when he had found her, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of Goddess and God?

36 She answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?

37 And Jesus said unto her, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.

38 And she said, Lord, I believe. And she worshipped him.

Sweet is the Work

This was our closing hymn today and I had fun trying to come up with ways to modify this. When we sang it, we skipped verse 5, which is nice. For a hymn that starts with the word "sweet," the violent imagery of war is very stark.

To include Heavenly Mother, I changed "my God, my King" to "my Queen, my King" so that it's a list of multiple people instead of modifiers of one person. I also pluralized the rest of the verses. I completely re-wrote the first line of verse 3 to "In Them, my heart in triumph soars." I tried to maintain the feeling and rhyme there; I hope I succeeded. In verse 4, I changed, "thy face in full felicity" to "they faces in felicity" with "in" on the beat "full" was in.



Sweet is the work, my Queen, my King,
To praise thy names, give thanks and sing,
To show thy love by morning light,
And talk of all thy truths at night.

Sweet is the day of sacred rest.
No mortal care shall seize my breast.
Oh, may my heart in tune be found,
Like David’s harp of solemn sound!

In Them, my heart in triumph soars,
And bless their works and bless their words.
Thy works of grace, how bright they shine!
How deep thy counsels, how divine!

But, oh, what triumph shall I raise
To thy dear names through endless days,
When in the realms of joy I see
Thy faces in felicity!

Sin, my worst enemy before,
Shall vex my eyes and ears no more.
My inward foes shall all be slain,
Nor Satan break my peace again.

Then shall I see and hear and know
All I desired and wished below,
And every pow’r find sweet employ
In that eternal world of joy.

Psalm 77:10-15

Sorry this is so late! Blogger was down yesterday and I couldn't post and no one could comment. I feel like I've been neglecting the Old Testament lately, so today we're in the book of Psalms.

I use the suggestion to try to use "Deities" to mean "Goddess and God." What do you think? I also added the wives of Jacob and the wife of Joseph. While I didn't have to change verse 12, I love it.

10 And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.

11 I will remember the works of the Lord and Lady: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.

12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.

13 Thy way, O Goddess and God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great Deities as our Gods?

14 Thou art the Goddess and God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.

15 Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the children of Jacob and Leah and Rachel, and Asenath and Joseph. Selah.

Matthew 18:10-14

Our ward combined lessons 13 and 14 in order to catch up from falling behind. This scripture is from lesson 13. I added Mother and made the language gender-inclusive. Once again, I'm using "they" as a singular and I hope those of you who are grammarians will forgive me.

10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father and Mother which are in heaven.

11 For the Son of man and woman is come to save that which was lost.

12 How think ye? if a person have an hundred asheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth they not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

13 And if so be that they find it, verily I say unto you, they rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

14 Even so it is not the will of your Mother and Father which are in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Additionally, I'd like to thank Sybil at Daughters of Mormonism, for mentioning this blog in Episode 5 on Sunday. I hadn't read the show notes, so I wasn't expecting to hear "Mutual Approbation" mentioned at all! Fan girl (woman?) squealing ensued.

Daughters of Mormonism is a new podcast that is hoping to tackle Mormon women's issues and I know I've enjoyed what I've heard so far. Good stuff to think on. Thank you, Sybil!

Mother's Day Talk

Happy Mother's Day, everyone! I know Sundays are when I usually feature a hymn, but today I'm going to share the last few paragraphs of the talk I gave today. I was asked to talk about how being a mother has helped me increase in love and become more like Christ. The first 8 minutes of my talk consisted of me quoting a scripture from the Sermon on the Mount and then giving an example of how I have lived that or how I try to live that in my life. I also included the story of the rich young man and the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Then at the end, I added a few paragraphs, which I'll share here.

Parents are important, because it is from them that children learn whether or not the world is dark and cold or warm and inviting. I know that their confidence and personhood is first developed at home. Home should be a place where they are built up, not brought down.

Elder James G. Duffin declared, “We, as parents, give an account to our Father and Mother in heaven of the manner in which we have conducted ourselves toward the precious souls entrusted to us.”

Speaking of a Mother in heaven, I think it would be disgraceful to go through Mother's Day and not reference Her at some point. The publication, A Short History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints says, “The theological conception of a Mother in heaven as well as a Father lends dignity to motherhood and wifehood.”

I would add that it lends dignity to womanhood and manhood: humanity and personhood in general. When we elevate the persons who created us, we elevate ourselves and understand our potential more greatly.

Elder John A. Widtsoe wrote: “The glorious vision of life hereafter . . . is given radiant warmth by the thought that . . . [we have] a mother who possesses the attributes of Godhood.”

How do we come to know Her? Just as Christ says we cannot know the Father but through him, I think that as we follow Christ, we grow closer to our Heavenly Mother. She is there. I do not think our lack of scripture and writings dedicated to her do not demonstrate that she is not important in our lives and eternally, but that we do not recognize her importance.

President Rudger Clawson urged, “It doesn’t take from our worship of the Eternal Father, to adore our Eternal Mother, any more than it diminishes the love we bear our earthly fathers, to include our earthly mothers in our affections.” Rather, “we honor woman when we acknowledge Godhood in her eternal prototype.”

When God comforts his children, so does she. When He wept before Enoch, I believe she was crying too. Together our Heavenly Parents bring us miracles, care for us, love us, sustain us. Together they grants us wisdom, command us, judge us, and edify us. They sent their Son to show us how to kind to each other and to be patient and merciful. I believe in the gospel of Christ, and I find hope in eternal life. Through Joseph Smith, many wonderful truths were brought together again to aid us in our eternal journey. I know our leaders are trying very hard to show us the way back to Christ. Happy Mother's Day to everyone. (name of Christ amen)

As an aside, I had to read my talk from my smartphone and that last paragraph somehow got deleted in the transfer from my laptop to my phone, so I had to come up with my testimony on the spot which involved crying and an off-handed remark on how I'm a mother who doesn't know a thing.

How was this received? I got lots of great feedback- much more than my intro-to-the-ward talk last year. Many people loved the structure of using the Sermon on the Mount and a few people mentioned how wonderful it was that I mentioned Heavenly Mother. One even asked for a copy of the talk so she could share it with her husband who wasn't here. The Heavenly Mother quotes I used at the end there were from this new BYU Studies paper, A Mother There, which I plan on doing a review on later this month.

How was Mother's Day in your ward? I'm guessing most wards gave Heavenly Mother the common shout-out in O My Father today, though strangely, ours didn't. We had a brunch afterwards for all the young women and Relief Society sisters instead of going to Sunday School or Relief Society classes and the men took over our callings (I was Sunbeam-free today!). There was a presentation highlighting the ways women in our ward have served in their lives and a focus on how we can serve in many different ways. Wonderful day overall.

Happy Mother's Day!

Matthew 22:31-33

I once heard someone include the wives of the Biblical patriarchs in a list: God of Abraham and Sarah, God of Isaac and Rebekah, God of Jacob and Rachel and Leah. I fell in love with that- after all, are they not the Mothers of Israel? And with Mother's Day approaching, I wanted to choose "mothery" scriptures. Because of this, along with including "and Goddess," verse 32 here gets quite the treatment.

31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by Goddess and God, saying,

32 We are the God and Goddess of Abraham and Sarah, and the Goddess and God of Rebekah and Isaac, and the God and Goddess of Jacob and Rachel and Leah? They are not the Goddess and God of the dead, but of the living.

33 And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.

I love the idea of "the Goddess and God of the living."

Alma 56:47

I didn't do a Sunday School scripture yesterday because our ward did 2 lessons on parables and so I'm ahead of them by a week. I'm giving them time to catch up.

Today's scripture is the quintessential Mother's Day scripture. How many times will we hear it quoted this Sunday? I added "Goddess" and added "and mothers" after "fathers" and "and fathers" after "mothers." Fathers can be wonderful teachers, too.

Happy Mother's Day this weekend!

47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers and mothers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers and fathers, that if they did not doubt, God and Goddess would deliver them.

Parents, We Thank Thee for the Night

Sorry this is up late! We had an unusually hurried Sabbath and it slipped my mind.

Today's song is one of the songs that I often use as a lullaby because of it's first line. As I was preparing for this post, I thought it was beautiful that the first thing it mentions is gratitude for the night. I had looked at a few other Primary songs as possible songs for today, some about light, and the contrast of being thankful for the night was poignant to me. As dark as it is, I am thankful for the night.

I added a syllable when changing "Father" to "Our Parents." When I sing it to my children the "Our" is a pick up note, or grace note. I love this little unknown song.



Our Parents, we thank thee for the night
And for the pleasant morning light,
For rest and food and loving care
And all that makes the day so fair.

April in Review

Heavenly Father and Mother are with us when we worship, judge us, work in miracles, guard us, are known through Christ, save us, love us, are with the righteous, are glorified in Christ, sent their Son, and give us the bread of Christ.

Heavenly Mother on the Internet this month:

Heavenly Mother was mentioned quickly in Jessawhy's beautiful peace, Real Life Good Samaritans.

Not directly related to Heavenly Mother, but somewhat named for Her, is a new Mormon blog called Our Mother's Keeper. It's an LDS take on being stewards over the earth. We often think of "Mother" Nature and "Mother" Earth and I like to think we are referring to Heavenly Mother when we refer to Nature. Maybe some of you will enjoy that blog as it grows.

I didn't see many other references to Heavenly Mother this month, but if you know of some, please share the links in the comments. As we get into May and Americans start talking about Mother's Day, perhaps we'll get a few more for next month.

John 6:32-33

This scripture is taken from the Bread of Life lesson. As usual, I changed "Father" to "Parents" and I added "and Goddess."

32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Parents give you the true bread from heaven.

33 For the bread of God and Goddess is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

Behold the Great Redeemer Die

Happy Easter everyone! Today's hymn was our sacrament hymn today which, when you sing all the verses, has the resurrection in the last verse. This is Eliza R. Snow's Behold the Great Redeemer Die. I changed "Father" to "Parents." I also changed "man" to "we." Along with being gender-inclusive, "we" feels more personal.


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

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.

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 Parent's will.

“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.”

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!”

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.

3 Nephi 11:3-7

I've been thinking about how beautiful these few verses of the Book of Mormon are. Today I didn't need to add Mother or change anything to Parents: I just changed "I" to "We" in verse 7.

3 And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.

4 And it came to pass that again they heard the voice, and they understood it not.

5 And again the third time they did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it; and their eyes were towards the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sound came.

6 And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto them:

7 Behold our Beloved Son, in whom We are well pleased, in whom We have glorified our names—hear ye him.