Reference to Heavenly Mother in BOM

[Sunday21]

http://www.ldsliving.com/One-Surprising-but-Subtle-Reference-to-Heavenly-Mother-in-the-Book-of-Mormon/s/85628

This writer feels she has found a reference to Heavenly Mother in 1 Nephi 11. I think the author has mistaken a reference to Mary as being a reference to Heaveny Mother. Eg verse 19

Chapter 11
Nephi sees the Spirit of the Lord and is shown in vision the tree of life--He sees the mother of the Son of God and learns of the condescension of God--He sees the baptism, ministry, and crucifixion of the Lamb of God--He sees also the call and ministry of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb. About 600–592 B.C.

1 For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot.
2 And the Spirit said unto me: Behold, what desirest thou?
3 And I said: I desire to behold the things which my father saw.
4 And the Spirit said unto me: Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken?
5 And I said: Yea, thou knowest that I believe all the words of my father.
6 And when I had spoken these words, the Spirit cried with a loud voice, saying: Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God; for he is God over all the earth, yea, even above all. And blessed art thou, Nephi, because thou believest in the Son of the most high God; wherefore, thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired.
7 And behold this thing shall be given unto thee for a sign, that after thou hast beheld the tree which bore the fruit which thy father tasted, thou shalt also behold a man descending out of heaven, and him shall ye witness; and after ye have witnessed him ye shall bear record that it is the Son of God.
8 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father had seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow.
9 And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the Spirit: I behold thou hast shown unto me the tree which is precious above all.
10 And he said unto me: What desirest thou?
11 And I said unto him: To know the interpretation thereof--for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.
12 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look! And I looked as if to look upon him, and I saw him not; for he had gone from before my presence.
13 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.
14 And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?
15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.
16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?
17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.
18 And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.
19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!
20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.
21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?
22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.
23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.
24 And after he had said these words, he said unto me: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.
25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.
26 And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the condescension of God!
27 And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove.
28 And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them.
29 And I also beheld twelve others following him. And it came to pass that they were carried away in the Spirit from before my face, and I saw them not.
30 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the heavens open again, and I saw angels descending upon the children of men; and they did minister unto them.
31 And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out.
32 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.
33 And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.
34 And after he was slain I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lamb; for thus were the twelve called by the angel of the Lord.
35 And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious building, like unto the building which my father saw. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Behold the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the house of Israel hath gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
36 And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Do you see this reference? I cannot. Perhaps the writer is misinterpreting a reference to Mary?

Edited June 18, 2017 by Sunday21

[zil]

I despise these sort of sites that are nothing but the first few paragraphs from other sites and you then have to click into an unknown site to get the full story.  Nonetheless, I followed the link to: http://happiness-seekers.com/2017/01/16/this-book-of-mormon-reference-to-heavenly-mother-may-surprise-you/ and there the author explains that the existence of a Heavenly Mother is implied by the author's reworded version of verse 18.   Why people need to twist things in order to find "evidence" of a truth God clearly chooses not to reveal a lot on is beyond me.

[Sunday21]

@zil Thanks! I did not see this!

[skalenfehl]

I've read such things in these kinds of sites. I disagree with their interpretations. 

[Fether]

 I think Nephi's inclusion of the phrase "after the manner of flesh" is kinda cool and can be interpreted as referencing Heavenly Mother in a round about way. It isn't anything I plan on re-sharing, nor do I really find it all that effective on my testimony... but reading this does get me excited to study more closely. I think whenever I find a truth referenced in a place we haven't noticed before ("deep" or "basic"), I get really excited and it makes me want to pay even more attention to what I study.

[Just_A_Guy]

I don't think the reference is an unambiguous one--it could simply be a reiteration that the Messiah will indeed be born after the manner of the flesh.

Much more intriguing with that chapter, IMHO, is the idea of the tree as a symbol of Asherah or a divine feminine.  There's an article out there called "Nephi and His Asherah" that builds on this notion.

Edited June 18, 2017 by Just_A_Guy

[The Folk Prophet]

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2003/03/looking-beyond-the-mark.p1?lang=eng

[Guest]

56 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2003/03/looking-beyond-the-mark.p1?lang=eng

From the article.

Quote

Some who are not authorized want to speak for the Brethren and imply that their message contains the “meat” the Brethren would teach if they were not constrained to teach only the “milk.” Others want to counsel the Brethren and are critical of all teachings that do not comply with their version of what should be taught.

 

[JohnsonJones]

I haven't read the other article that supposedly illuminates the idea, but I think it refers to where Nephi states the virgin (Mary) is the Lord's Mother after the manner of the flesh, indicating that there may be another who can also be considered his mother.  It is thus utilized to differentiate that the specific individual he is seeing (Mary) is the mother of the Lord in the flesh, or of his mortal body.

It could be interpreted various ways and in many different opinions.  It could merely mean he was specifying that the Lord was being born into the flesh, by Mary, or it could have greater inflections as indicated in this thread.