Free Republic

The motherliness of God has been neglected for far too long, says Martina Bär. For the fundamental theologian from Graz, practising a "Our Father-Mother" prayer therefore makes sense. "We have neglected the motherliness of God for far too long," says theologian, Professor Martina Bär. She is a Professor of Fundamental Theology in the Catholic Faculty in Graz and herself a mother of a one-year-old child. She explains why practising an "Our Father-Mother" prayer makes sense.

Meridian Magazine, a Mormon magazine, (its website is http://ldsmag.com) has published an excellent article by Warren Aston, titled “The Other Half of Heaven: Debunking Myths About Heavenly Mother.” (Read) It’s refreshing to see this piece published in Meridian, which is often a vanilla-plain LDS-themed publication. (Hat tip for learning about the article goes to LDS writer Joanna Brooks, via her Facebook page).For a divine individual who is presumably equal to her spouse, Heavenly Father, Mormons are hesitant to discuss Heavenly Mother. As Aston points out, the most condescending reason sometimes offered for the silence on Heavenly Mother is that to...

Listen to these words from the LDS hymn, “O My Father”: “In the heav’ns are parents single? No, the thought makes reason stare! Truth is reason, truth eternal Tells me I’ve a mother there.” It’s a beautiful hymn, written by Eliza R. Snow. We sang it in our ward yesterday. No doubt it was sung in hundreds of other LDS wards and branches. (link) It’s clear Mormons believe in a Heavenly Mother. So why does she gets so little press? My colleague Cal Grondahl quips it’s because she left Heavenly Father a long time ago. Jokes aside, it may because...

As Gerald Lund once put it, many members simply assume that “the Church teaches many principles which are accepted as doctrines but which the First Presidency has seen no need to declare in an official pronouncement.” ("I Have a Question," Ensign, Feb. 1982, 38) While there is no reference to a Heavenly Mother within the standard works (canon) of Mormonism, it is a commonly held belief and an integral part of the traditional Mormon worldview. References One of the most modern explicit teachings on the matter comes from the Achieving a Celestial Marriage Manual: "By definition, exaltation incudes the ability...