Wouldn't Heavenly Mother Would Want Us To Pray To Heavenly Father

[Erin15]

Edit- sorry about the mistake in the title, can't figure out how to fix it.

I usually don't dip my toe in doctrinal speculation, but this one has been itching at the back of my brain, so I though I'd bring it up.

Sometimes people feel the desire to pray to Heavenly Mother. While this desire may be sincere and heartfelt, I cannot help but think that Heavenly Mother would want her children to pray to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus, as we are commanded to. She would want her children to be obedient.

Furthermore, I think she would want her children to follow the prophet. President Hinkley addressed this specifically a while back and clarified this point that we should pray to Heavenly Father and not to her.

Now, as to why we cannot pray to Heavenly Mother, in spite of the fact that in very specific circumstances prophets have prayed to Jesus directly, I honestly don't know. I suspect it is because plural marriage is the norm in the eternities, and there are a great many Heavenly Mothers, not just one. But that is just a guess.

Edited August 15, 2014 by Erin15

[VideoGameJunkie]

I thought too about the plural marriage and many Heavenly Mothers. Are we allowed to say thank you prayers for Heavenly Mother watching over us when we pray to Heavenly Father?

[Erin15]

Are we allowed to say thank you prayers for Heavenly Mother watching over us when we pray to Heavenly Father?

Since we are commanded to give thanks to Heavenly Father, I'd guess the answer is no.

[Ahab]

I'm usually very curious about things and will try to seek out knowledge on just about anything, but the idea of praying to our (or my) Mother in heaven just doesn't feel right, as if it kinda hurts to even really think about it. I am sure that when I do talk with her after this mortal experience we will connect on an emotional level in a way that is different than when I talk with our Father in heaven, but I just don't feel right about trying to do that right now. Maybe it's just a guy thing or about the way I compartmentalize my emotions. I don't really know, and I don't even want to deal with it now.

But sure she does want us to talk with our Father about things, and I sometimes feel like that is what she would say to me. Like "Go talk to your Father about that".

[mfbukowski]

Edit- sorry about the mistake in the title, can't figure out how to fix it.

I usually don't dip my toe in doctrinal speculation, but this one has been itching at the back of my brain, so I though I'd bring it up.

Sometimes people feel the desire to pray to Heavenly Mother. While this desire may be sincere and heartfelt, I cannot help but think that Heavenly Mother would want her children to pray to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus, as we are commanded to. She would want her children to be obedient.

Furthermore, I think she would want her children to follow the prophet. President Hinkley addressed this specifically a while back and clarified this point that we should pray to Heavenly Father and not to her.

Now, as to why we cannot pray to Heavenly Mother, in spite of the fact that in very specific circumstances prophets have prayed to Jesus directly, I honestly don't know. I suspect it is because plural marriage is the norm in the eternities, and there are a great many Heavenly Mothers, not just one. But that is just a guess.

I am absolutely certain that Mother sustains her eternal spouse completely and is not badgering him for "more Priesthood" than what they already share together, since she understands how all this works as well as He does.  I would like to know more about this all, and we will be taught what we are ready for as we grow, I am sure.

 

I think speculation about eternal polygamy is pointless because the Godhead itself is made up of at least 3 Gods that we know of, and as our family of humanity reaches exaltation for those who make it, the Family of Eloheim will continue growing in unity of purpose, bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of the mortal children.  As on earth, I am sure that each of us has one mother being who is our personal Heavenly Mother, so it really is pointless to speculate if there are others.  John 17 speaks about how we will all sit with Father on his throne and be one with him  as he is with Christ.  The temple teaches us symbolically that we take upon ourselves the name of the Son and therefore become sons (and of course daughters) as we become endowed and the promise of the endowment distills on our spirits.

 

Just as Eloheim is the only God we hold as our Father, our Mother is our Mother, and their personal business is none of our business at this point of our (lack of) progression.

[mfbukowski]

I'm usually very curious about things and will try to seek out knowledge on just about anything, but the idea of praying to our (or my) Mother in heaven just doesn't feel right, as if it kinda hurts to even really think about it. I am sure that when I do talk with her after this mortal experience we will connect on an emotional level in a way that is different than when I talk with our Father in heaven, but I just don't feel right about trying to do that right now. Maybe it's just a guy thing or about the way I compartmentalize my emotions. I don't really know, and I don't even want to deal with it now.

But sure she does want us to talk with our Father about things, and I sometimes feel like that is what she would say to me. Like "Go talk to your Father about that".

Agree!

I think she "sustains the leadership as it is presently constituted" ! 

[mfbukowski]

An interesting question for the OW people would be to ask them if they think Heavenly Mother supports OW. 

 

I think not.

[Buckeye]

In my life, I've joined with LDS congregations at least 100 times in saying the following prayer to Heavenly Mother:

 

When I leave this frail existence,

When I lay this mortal by,

Father, Mother, may I meet you

In your royal courts on high?

Then, at length, when I've completed

All you sent me forth to do,

With your mutual approbation

Let me come and dwell with you.

[sethpayne]

 

In my life, I've joined with LDS congregations at least 100 times in saying the following prayer to Heavenly Mother:

 

When I leave this frail existence,

When I lay this mortal by,

Father, Mother, may I meet you

In your royal courts on high?

Then, at length, when I've completed

All you sent me forth to do,

With your mutual approbation

Let me come and dwell with you.

 

 

 12 For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.

[JeremyOrbe-Smith]

Matthew 15:4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother.

 

P. S. If the Holy Spirit of Wisdom = Lady Wisdom = Asherah = Tree of Life, then we're invoking Her a lot more than we realize - "And the Holy Ghost giveth authority that I should speak these things, and deny them not." - 1 Nephi 10:22

[Guest]

Edit- sorry about the mistake in the title, can't figure out how to fix it.

I usually don't dip my toe in doctrinal speculation, but this one has been itching at the back of my brain, so I though I'd bring it up.

Sometimes people feel the desire to pray to Heavenly Mother. While this desire may be sincere and heartfelt, I cannot help but think that Heavenly Mother would want her children to pray to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus, as we are commanded to. She would want her children to be obedient.

Furthermore, I think she would want her children to follow the prophet. President Hinkley addressed this specifically a while back and clarified this point that we should pray to Heavenly Father and not to her.

Now, as to why we cannot pray to Heavenly Mother, in spite of the fact that in very specific circumstances prophets have prayed to Jesus directly, I honestly don't know. I suspect it is because plural marriage is the norm in the eternities, and there are a great many Heavenly Mothers, not just one. But that is just a guess.

It is Heavenly Father who answers out prayers, and who Christ commands us to pray too. So, no she would not want us too, as doing so exalts her above the Father, even Christ prays only to him and according to Scripture even him or any other can only be equal to him. So praying to her (not even knowing her name) is a violation of commandments and fruitless.

[Buckeye]

Erin, if you really want to know whether praying to HM is approved, may I suggest you get off this board and try it.  If you experience a stupor of thought, or if the spirit departs, you have some experiencial evidence to know it's a bad idea.  On the other hand, if the spirit stays with you and you have a similarly good experience to when you pray to Father, well then perhaps talking with Dad does not exclude you from talking with Mom (just like with earthly parents).  By the fruit you shall know. 

[JeremyOrbe-Smith]

Not to be a monotonous spambot, but ... 

 

 

In this old post, I tried to get a source page going so resources are more convenient to be passed around. Here's the index again, and I also encourage folks to link to these sources (and add to them!) when the usual questions bubble up from the bloggospherical archipelago and people start claiming that we don't know much about Heavenly Mother simply because they haven't read any of these:

A Mother There: A Survey Of Historical Teachings About Mother In Heaven by David L. Paulsen and Martin Pulido
The Other Half of Heaven: Debunking Myths about Heavenly Mother by Warren Aston
Nephi And His Asherah by Daniel C. Peterson
Where Shall Wisdom Be Found? by Margaret Barker
What Did King Josiah Reform? by Margaret Barker (presented at BYU)
The Images Of Mary In The Litany Of Loreto by Margaret Barker
Nephite Feminism Revisited by Shauna and Kevin Christensen
Kevin Christensen On The Scholarship Of Margaret Barker
Does God Have A Wife? by Alyson Skabelund Von Feldt
The Assyrian Tree Of Life: Tracing The Origins Of Jewish Monotheism And Greek Philosophy by Simo Parpola
Shadday As A Goddess Epithet [For Asherah] by Harriet Lutzky
How To Worship Our Mother In Heaven (Without Getting Excommunicated) by Kevin L. Barney
Asherah, The Tree Of Life, And The Menorah: Continuity Of A Goddess Symbol In Judaism? by Asphodel P. Long
The Deseret Connection by Hugh W. Nibley (plus a whole bunch of stuff from his last -- amazing -- book One Eternal Round)
The Sacred Tree Of The Ancient Maya by Allen J. Christensen
Did God Have A Wife? by William G. Dever
The Hebrew Goddess by Raphael Patai
The Mother of the Lord Volume One: The Lady In The Temple by Margaret Barker
The Chalice and the Blade by Riane Eisler (an uneven book, which I recommend primarily -- for the purposes of this discussion, anyway -- for her views on the Holy Spirit of Wisdom.)
The Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe: Myths and Cult Images by Marija Gimbutas (a much-maligned book that still has some useful bits)
The White Goddess by Robert Graves (an even more-maligned book, but hey, Nibley cites him so he can't be all bad, right?)
The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image by Jules Cashford

Feminine Features In The Imagery Of God In Israel: The Sacred Marriage And The Sacred Tree by Moshe Weinfeld

The point is not that these sources have all the answers (they contradict each other in places, for one thing). The point is that if one works through them, then we can start to have a more informed discussion, instead of relying on the supposed argument from silence that surrounds this topic. We don't have to just throw our hands in the air and say that we just don't know anything; think of reading as a treasure hunt, and we'll start getting somewhere! There is still a lot we don't know, but people have done excellent work, if we're willing to take the time to search for it. I think this currently-downplayed aspect of the Restoration holds much promise for good fruit to blossom in the future. While we are often strangely reticent about the topic, I consider the teaching of the existence of Goddesses right alongside Gods to be one of the most important aspects of the Restoration Joseph Smith organized. 

Nibley got the ball rolling with the Lady in the Garden sections of Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri and the Deseret Connection in Abraham in Egypt, but there's still work to be done. I apologize to anyone who's annoyed by this hobby-horse of mine, but with all the archaeological stuff coming out these days I just find it really exciting, and I think it's going to be a really fruitful avenue for Mormon scholars to pursue in the future. 

 

 

   

 

                                           

 

                                              

 

   

 

[Erin15]

I've got a better idea, Buckeye.

Instead of breaking a commandment to see if it is true, I'll obey it to see if it is true.

I'll follow the scriptures and the prophets.

Ugh, just reading your post gave me the darkest spiritual sensation just now. I know for a fact that I should not listen to you.

 

This is very tiring. You are within a whisker's length of being permanently banned.

[Jeanne]

Trying to add alittle humor to the board..but of course Heavenly Mother wants us to go to Heavenly Father...I mean if we were to pray to her...she would say "Go Ask Your Dad"!

[Buckeye]

I've got a better idea, Buckeye.

Instead of breaking a commandment to see if it is true, I'll obey it to see if it is true.

I'll follow the scriptures and the prophets.

Ugh, just reading your post gave me the darkest spiritual sensation just now. I know for a fact that I should not listen to you.

 

In that case you should definitely not listen to me.  Well, except for this post. 

 

All the best!

[Senator]

Trying to add alittle humor to the board..but of course Heavenly Mother wants us to go to Heavenly Father...I mean if we were to pray to her...she would say "Go Ask Your Dad"!

 

Heh, having been a father, and having being the son of a father and mother, I have learned that it is much more efficient to just go ask Mom first.

[Senator]

I've got a better idea, Buckeye.

Instead of breaking a commandment to see if it is true, I'll obey it to see if it is true.

I'll follow the scriptures and the prophets.

Ugh, just reading your post gave me the darkest spiritual sensation just now. I know for a fact that I should not listen to you.

 

Interesting, I got the opposite sensation.

[VideoGameJunkie]

What I do know is that our Heavenly Mother is there watching us and deeply loves us. And I love Her.

[Ahab]

Heh, having been a father, and having being the son of a father and mother, I have learned that it is much more efficient to just go ask Mom first.

I understand that, and I also understood what my Mom was telling me when she told me to go talk about it with my Dad.

[Buckeye]

I understand that, and I also understood what my Mom was telling me when she told me to go talk about it with my Dad.

 

Oddly enough, though, you did feel comfortable talking with your mother in the first instance.  And your mother did not say, "never talk to me again." 

[VideoGameJunkie]

I figure that exalted couples become one and when we pray to Heavenly Father, both hear our prayers.

[katherine the great]

My own personal experience growing up was that I was much more likely to get what I wanted when I asked my father than when I asked my mother.    I guess it depends on the couple.

[Ahab]

Oddly enough, though, you did feel comfortable talking with your mother in the first instance. And your mother did not say, "never talk to me again."

Yeah, and I'm sure I talked with my Mom before I came down here. It kinda feels like she has already told me go and talk things out with my Dad and she doesn't want me to go back to her until that gets settled.

[juliann]

 

Not to be a monotonous spambot, but ... 

 

 

In this old post, I tried to get a source page going so resources are more convenient to be passed around. Here's the index again, and I also encourage folks to link to these sources (and add to them!) when the usual questions bubble up from the bloggospherical archipelago and people start claiming that we don't know much about Heavenly Mother simply because they haven't read any of these:

Jeremy, would you mind going to Mormon Women Connect and posting it there?  http://www.mormonwomenconnect.com/index.php?/topic/21-heavenly-mother/

 

I'd love to promote as an article there for reference.