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.