The Shoutout to Heavenly Mother You’ve Been Missing in 1 Nephi Chapter 11


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6 hours ago, Vort said:

Well, except that the baby in question is in fact the Savior.

Okay. Strikes me as a bit of a stretch. But...I get what you're saying. 

I did finally read the article and read through 1st Nephi 11 again as well as ch. 8., and all I can say is that this theory has about as much merit as my angels-have-wings proposal:

...except the angel theory is much, much more innocuous.

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On 1/29/2019 at 8:00 PM, Third Hour said:

Most of us in the Church know that we have a Heavenly Mother. After that, things get a little murky. There’s a lot of myths concerning her, and one of those is that there are just not a lot of direct references to her as an individual. Actually, that’s not true. But if you’re just looking at things on a surface level, it’s easy to get the wrong idea since a lot of these references, such as 1 Nephi 11, are hidden under layers of cultural nuances that we just aren’t familiar with as modern readers. Appreciating How Ancient Israel Helps Us Understand Heavenly Mother If you want to pick up on some of the references to Heavenly Mother in the scriptures, then we’re going to have to go back in time a little bit. Well a lot actually, all the way back to ancient Israel. The first thing you should know about the ancient Israelites is that they were actually a lot more polytheistic than we’re probably comfortable...

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Very interesting indeed!

My apologies if I am not correct but due to near death experience accounts and somewhat similar spiritual experieces I have arrived at the conclusion that "The Comforter" could well be YHWH the Mother, the Divine Feminine?!

The idea of the Holy Spirit of the G-d family appearing as a Woman if She chooses to do so even has a basis in Theoretical Physics, specifically Wave Theory.

http://www.grandunifiedtheory.org.il/gender/g1.htm
 

"Pulling and gravitation, which resemble basic feminine traits, are the dominant properties of the magnetic loop. Consequently, magnetic loops have a capacity for storing energy and act to maintain the structural integrity of the entire wave formation. The electronic/energetic loop consists of expanding properties that disperse energetic matter that “disappears” into space. This is synonymous with masculine characteristics." (Dr. Chaim Tejman)
Edited by DennisTate
grammar
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An online friend of mine wrote the following article on this topic:

https://rationalfaiths.com/yom-kippur-post/

On Yom Kippur

by Michelle Wiener | Sep 23, 2015 | Agency, Compassion, Faith, Featured, Feminism, Forgiveness, Heavenly Mother, Individuality, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, Mormonism, Mother in Heaven, New Testament, Priesthood, Relief Society, Revelation, Savior, spirituality, Symbolism, The Holy ghost, Theology, Truth, Why I Am Mormon 

 

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With today being Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in the Hebrew calendar, I would like to reflect on a very sacred experience that I had, and one that is very unique within Mormonism, although I was actually not yet a member of the Church when I had this experience. That said, this experience restored my faith in Christ and led to my belief in Joseph Smith as a prophet.

My Jewish husband and I shared this sacred experience a year before we were married and a couple years prior to me joining the LDS church in 2010. Please forgive me if the details are sketchy, as it is never easy- and deeply personal- to recount spiritual experiences. This sacred experience would mark the beginning of my journey into the Sacred Feminine and my love for Heavenly Mother.

I share these stories as I experienced them. I believe they happened because of my need at that particular time in my life – and God’s love.  Whether you believe me or not, please respect them as my sacred stories. Nevertheless, I do testify these sacred experiences are true.

On this particular day in 2007, my husband and I were in the mountains of North Carolina. We were not yet married, and my husband later admitted he was about to break off the relationship since we have a significant age difference and there were just too many complications. That same day, he made it clear he had no intentions of getting married. Frustrated, I went off by myself and “yelled” at God – “You have GOT to fix this!”

We drove on, and came to this beautiful waterfall called Hooker Falls in DuPont State Forest. Shortly after we arrived, three mysterious women appeared. One was middle aged, one was a younger mother and the other a child. They all looked Hispanic. As the child splashed around in the water, middle-aged woman spoke with my husband at length, while the young mother kept me occupied. I did not realize at the time the middle-aged woman was trying to convince my (now) husband to marry me. My husband agrees the woman knew things about both of us that she had no business knowing. A couple months later, my husband proposed.

Some time later as my husband and I were talking, he mentioned “those angels.” I was taken back by that statement; I knew there was something “different” about them, but by that point, I had not yet put all the pieces together.

In time, I would join the LDS church and learn about Heavenly Mother. I quickly began to see the connections. In time, as I was preparing for a lecture on the Sacred Feminine at the community college where I teach,  I would stumble upon an Eastern Orthodox icon of Sophia Wisdom that looked very similar to the  featured picture. To my surprise, these women fit the description perfectly!

But that is not all.

In time, I would have two more encounters with the middle-aged woman. By this time I knew exactly who She was. I even believed I have figured out who the other two women were, but I will leave that up to you – the reader – to decide.

With each encounter, She appeared Hispanic. There was something very familiar about Her, even if She did not look exactly the same each time. I am choosing to leave out the details of the past two encounters due to the deeply personal nature of these experiences. Maybe someday I will share more. However, I will say She appeared as a normal human being; not as a vision. My husband was with me the second time, and my  friend the third. Both saw them too. (my husband recognized Her before I did and never said a word!) The third time when I was with my friend, there were two women standing there with Her, although I did not look directly at them. My friend confirms she saw all three women standing there too, even though at that time she did not know the whole story.

It appears I am far from unique  in having divine encounters with the Sacred Feminine. According to one source, “Thousands of Marian apparitions have been reported over the centuries.”1 To date, nine apparitions have received official recognition in the respective dioceses where they occurred. These include (1) Guadalupe, Mexico, 1531, (2) Paris, France, 1830, (3) La Sallette, France, 1846, (4) Lourdes, France, 1858, (5) Pontmain, France, 1871 (6) Knock County Mayo, Ireland, 1879, (7) Fatima, Portugal, 1917, (8) Beauraing, Belgium, 1932-1933, and (9) Banneux, Belgium, 1933.2 Please understand, I am not trying to say I encountered the Virgin Mary; however, my experiences really aren’t so unusual when viewed beyond our Mormon lens.

Recently I read about another encounter with the divine feminine that occurred in the Russian Orthodox tradition.  Around 1862, nine year old Vladimir Solov’ev, who is regarded as the founder of Russian sophiology, had a powerful vision in of a beautiful lady he called “Sophie” while worshiping in the chapel of Moscow University. This mysterious lady would appear twice more during his lifetime. Later, as is consistent with Russian Orthodoxy, he would go on to compose beautiful poetry in her honor in which he would describe Her as “his Eternal Friend, his Queen in the presence of whom his heart beats ‘in sweet ecstasy.'”3

All of this to say, encounters with the Sacred Feminine have been occurring throughout the ages, so perhaps there is very little that is unique about my encounter. I have spent many years pondering these experiences, and I am at a place now where I know in my heart the magnitude of what I saw. Even if nobody on earth were to agree with me, Heaven knows it happened. I realize the First Presidency may never “canonize” my experiences and that is okay. She knows.

Works Cited:

(1) University of Dayton. “Officially Recognized Apparitions” (page 24) in Mary Catt, “Keeping Up Appearances” US Catholic67, no. 5, May 2002: 23-27. Courtesy of the Marian Library of the University of Dayton, Ohio.

(2) See Mary Catt, “Keeping Up Appearances” for the official listing of Marian Apparitions: 24.

(3) Brenda Meehan, “Wisdom/Sophia, Russian Identity, and western feminist theology.” Cross Currents 46, no. 2 (Summer 96, 1996): 149 (17 pages). Meehan quotes briefly from Paul Allen, Vladimir Soloviev, Russian Mystic (Steinerbooks, 1978).

 

 

 

Assuming the M-Theory variation of String Theory it is conceivable that the Ancient of Days the Father might be composed primarily of Super Strings that exist primarily in eleven dimensions, The Comforter could be composed mostly of Super Waves / Super Energetic Matter that exists primarily in ten dimensions and the Word / Logos / one of the Elohim might exist primarily in nine dimensions of space and time.  Theoretically the Ancient of Days the Father, the Comforter / the Holy Spirit and the Word / Logos / Messiah Yeshua - Jesus would be able to walk inside of each other..... and be fully One if they chose to do so??????? (For the record I lean toward Bosonic String Theory for Philosophical reasons because twenty six dimensions of space and time would fit better with some NDE or similar accounts).

 

If it is true that The Comforter does equal YHWH the Mother then in a sense Messiah Yeshua - Jesus seems to be saying that like the Heavenly Father that She also....... was greater than Him..... when he stated so clearly that His Bride, the Church, was better off with The Comforter..... than to have Him stay on earth with the church?

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

 

 

Edited by DennisTate
coding??? I couldn't figure out how to correct it though??
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On 1/30/2019 at 10:17 AM, estradling75 said:

I think you might have that reversed...  Canaanites borrowing the imagery of the Heavenly Mother to create Asherah.. I think there are alot of pagan mythology that are distorted and twisted 'truths.' 

Having said that I think one of the reason we do not know more about subjects such as Heavenly Mother, is that the Path is through Christ. (not anyone else, including Heavenly Mother).  Sadly the moment some people learn of her, they throw Christ under the bus and focus on her.

 

 

I just found another article on this that I have got to read soon:

https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1461&index=9

Does God Have a Wife?

Alyson Skabelund Von Feldt

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On 4/14/2019 at 2:18 AM, Vort said:

Please, ThirdHour. Do us all a favor. Delete this discussion topic, along with the unfortunate column that inspired it.

I second that.

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(Michelle Wiener): "So imagine my surprise when I learned – firsthand, and then later through the LDS Church – about Heavenly Mother! Yes, we have a Mother in Heaven, and while the gender neutral God is a step in the right direction, it does very little to bring the Sacred Feminine aspect of the Godhead to light. This is why I think liberal Protestants could learn something from Mormons, who have God in two persons – Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother. In that respect, God is beyond gender, but gender neutrality can only go so far in affirming the fullness of divinity.

Mormons too, have a long way to go, but at least we recognize, in accordance with the Hebrew Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4, that God is indeed one, just as humankind was created in God’s image – male and female; and reflect that divine image through marriage, whereby which husband and wife become united as “one flesh” and become co-creators with God (a very Jewish concept!). That said, certainly gender inclusive language in reference to divinity could help in affirming non-traditional views on gender and relationships, but such would be a topic for another discussion.

Which brings me to another point – the Holy Spirit? Growing up, I always heard the Holy Spirit referred to “He,” but in my seminary training, I learned that the Holy Spirit—Chokmah, or Lady Wisdom – is referenced in the feminine throughout the Hebrew Scriptures (example: Proverbs 8). This understandably left me conflicted for the longest time, especially as I learned about Heavenly Mother, but would hear a completely different message at church. Certainly the Holy Spirit – as pure spirit – could be gender neutral, but this too, I believe, misses the whole point.

One day, the answer came to me as I was reading the Book of Mormon, and I have to say it was quite a personal revelation. In I Nephi 11:11, Nephi is conversing directly with the Holy Spirit concerning his father Lehi’s vision of the Tree of Life, – which is sacred feminine imagery – and the Holy Spirit appears to him “in the form of a man…as a man speaketh with another.” Here the reader is shown the male aspect of the Holy Spirit – which I have since realized is the Spirit of Heavenly Father. This would mean Chokmah (Lady Wisdom of the Proverbs) is the Spirit of Heavenly Mother. Both Father and Mother each have their own respective Spirit. To overlook this aspect in favor of a gender neutral Holy Spirit would only weaken this understanding – along with the power it manifests when Heavenly Parents work together as one, collectively." (Michelle Wiener)

 

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