“We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us and we love Him.”
We want to be like Him, but we are female.
What then?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a revolutionary religion. Besides the fact that we claim additional scripture alongside the Bible, believe in modern day revelation, build temples for ordinance work, and seal families together for the purposes of eternal increase and progression, there are a myriad of other doctrinal beliefs that set us apart. Perhaps one of the most significant and beautiful is our belief in Heavenly Mother, which leads to our concept of the Divine as a male and female married together to form the union known as Elohim.
You would think that a religion with such a belief would practice unprecedented gender equality and cooperation. While gender equality is doctrinally supported, it often does not seem to be the case in practice. An opinion editorial recently written about the common thread of oppression between women and members of the LGBT community in the LDS church told a tale of woe regarding the status of the female gender within the context of the faith. [1] Although it was a misrepresentation in many respects, it espoused a sentiment that is felt by many – including quite a few active members of our faith. Publication of various controversial articles regarding temple rituals, church administration, and other hot topics in Mormon theology on a myriad of blogs and websites have allowed these sentiments to further surface in a variety of ways. There have even been books written about this presumed inherent gender inequality – some with the intent of fixing it, others with the intent of criticizing it.
The point is, despite the revolutionary doctrine regarding Heavenly Mother, along with other teachings that support gender equality, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that many are confused about the standing of Mormon women in the LDS church. For some of these women themselves, this translates into an even more alarming distress about their standing in the eyes of God and their relevance in the face of eternity.
I am not a stranger to this struggle. In fact, despite my extensive research on Mormon feminism, the significance of women, Jesus Christ’s teachings on women, and the incredible stories of women from the scriptures, I too have had moments where I found my way to my knees, overwhelmed by the seemingly insurmountable stack of “evidence” against my spiritual significance. A few weeks into my freshman year of college, I was having one of those tidal wave moments when I walked into the BYU bookstore to purchase a book on gender equality. As I completed my transaction at the cash register, the cashier – who was a young woman – looked me straight in the eyes and asked, “This book looks interesting. You see, I’ve been wondering – do women really matter in the eternities, besides having babies forever?” I had never met this person before, and as I myself was struggling at the time, I was completely blown away by the timing and nature of her question. I did my best to answer her, given the situation, but I found myself pondering the significance of her words for many weeks thereafter.
This woman, who was an active member of the LDS faith, had a clear understanding of male divinity. She had grown up hearing about her Heavenly Father and her Savior, Jesus Christ. For years, she had heard of her Father’s love for her and of the importance of His hand in her life. She knew that, according to Mormon doctrine, all of the men around her were aspiring and training to become just like Him. However, for her and many other women, the lessons about becoming like God contained in them a discordant note. This note stemmed from the fact that “gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose,” thus indicating that divinity must surely look different for a woman than it does for a man. [2]
This disconcerting dilemma is highlighted by the Young Women’s theme, which is recited every Sunday in LDS churches all around the world by girls ages 12 through 17. The theme is essentially a blueprint for living, laying out the values and purposes that girls are taught to embody in their daily lives. It even points out the ultimate purpose for such a plan: “to enjoy the blessings of exaltation.” [3] Ironically, however, it fails to mention the person who has already fulfilled this plan and has achieved the female version of that exalted state, which is, of course, our Heavenly Mother. Instead, it opens with: “We are daughters of our Heavenly Father…” Any stranger to Mormon cultural practices would surely be puzzled as to why only one parent was being highlighted in a sentence that clearly focuses on familial bonds – especially considering that the people reciting it happen to be female.
As if the situation wasn’t perplexing enough, it is even more confusing in light of the publication of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” which is essentially the church’s ultimate statement of our stance on the family unit. Within the first few lines of this well-known document, it states: “All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.” Therefore, if we as a church are openly proclaiming our belief in heavenly parents, as well as our own divine potential, then why are our daughters (and presumably, future Heavenly Mothers) continually reciting a sentence that leaves out our Mother in Heaven?
Consider this enigma in light of what was mentioned earlier in this essay regarding the standing of women in the LDS faith. Eventual exaltation is a key goal for most church members, but young women (or really, all women) rarely hear about the form their exaltation will take. Although the Family Proclamation does briefly mention the concept of “heavenly parents,” young women are rarely taught or even reminded of the female Divine that they are supposed to emulate. As stated poignantly by Sarah Familia, “Who is this God I am to comprehend and someday become like? The Heavenly Father we worship is spiritually, physically, and in every other way, male. What is the character of his shadowy female companion? Who am I really if my divine counterpart is a mysterious cipher?”
This is a question we need to help our young women answer. If we can encourage them to plant their identities in the knowledge of their divine destinies, that will surely have an effect on the way they live their lives and the way they view themselves. We cannot delay in seizing this opportunity, for the time is ripe for such an action. The church recently published an essay on Heavenly Mother, discussing Her significance and eternal role. [4] Although it was neither long nor detailed, it signified that an increased amount of discussion about our Mother in Heaven is not only long overdue, but also is anticipated, expected, and officially sanctioned. The words that young women recite every Sunday present the perfect opening line – both literally and metaphorically – for this crucial conversation.
I do not pretend that changing the opening line of the Young Women’s theme will resolve all the issues surrounding gender equality in the church. For one thing, it must be noted that the theme affects a limited, albeit important, section of the church’s population. Broad-based efforts must be made to increase the discussion about Heavenly Mother and other egalitarian principles found in church doctrine. However, I do believe that once we actively encourage this discussion amongst church membership and ensure that it continues to grow in breadth, depth, and volume, we will see many other issues regarding inequality resolve with time. For example, at the moment, because the discussion of divinity revolves almost entirely around Heavenly Father, women often feel at a loss eternally because they lack the tools – i.e., priesthood keys – which men possess to become like Him. This causes many women to feel disenfranchised, while it causes many men to subconsciously view women as less powerful individuals who need to be eternally coddled. However, with a more active discussion about Heavenly Mother, we can begin to explore more practically (and less fluffily) the powers and gifts that women possess in their training to become like Her. An unprecedented appreciation for the feminine identity can be realized and embraced by all of our Mother’s daughters, allowing a realization of the complementarian equality that is celebrated by church doctrine, but often seems culturally out of reach.
Ultimately, there are still many unanswered questions about our Heavenly Mother. Her identity, as well as the ways and means by which we may come to know her better, often seem unclear and ambiguous. However, we do know She exists, and we know She loves her children. Because the Young Women’s Organization exists to train the future grown women of the church, proclaiming this knowledge weekly will prove to be extremely beneficial as each girl is imbued with an awareness of her destiny that will last far beyond her eighteenth birthday. It will carry forward as she seeks to “strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.” [5] It is my hope and belief that as we recognize and celebrate our Heavenly Mother’s existence, we may in time come to know Her voice, for it is only through seeking that we find; it is only through asking that we receive; it is only through listening that we hear that which has seldom been heard before.
What now?
Let us recognize Her presence alongside the Father.
We have loving Heavenly Parents, and we are Their daughters.
NOTES:
[1] Peffer, Anne McMullin. "Op-ed: Women Share the Plight of Oppression with LGBT Mormons."
The Salt Lake Tribune. N.p., 28 Nov. 2015. Web. 29 Nov. 2015. [Back to manuscript].
[2] "The Family: A Proclamation to the World." LDS.org. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,
23 Sept. 1995. Web. 29 Nov. 2015. [Back to manuscript].
[3] "Young Women Theme ." LDS.org. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, n.d.
Web. 30 Nov. 2015. [Back to manuscript].
[4] "Mother in Heaven." LDS.org. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 23 Oct. 2015.
Web. 29 Nov. 2015. [Back to manuscript].
[5] "Young Women Theme ." LDS.org. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, n.d.
Web. 30 Nov. 2015. [Back to manuscript].
Full Citation for this Article: Bach, Kayla B. (2015) "We are Daughters of Our Heavenly Parents: The Opening Line of a Crucial Discussion," SquareTwo, Vol. 8 No. 3 (Fall 2015), http://squaretwo.org/Sq2ArticleBachYWTheme.html, accessed <give access date>.
Would you like to comment on this article? Thoughtful, faithful comments of at least 200 words are welcome. Please submit to SquareTwo.
I. Diana Grant
For several years now, when invited to join with the YW in reciting their theme, I have personally replaced "father" with "parents." We don't have time to wait for this large, slow-moving institution to correlate truth.
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II. Leslie Rees
I enjoyed reading your article, Kayla, and it caused me to wonder if we might, at some point, see the YW Theme changed to “We are daughters of a Heavenly Father and Mother who love us, and we love them.”
For as long as I can remember, I have known this statement to be true, and have felt I already knew much about my Heavenly Mother by recognizing that she and my Father have to be One--in purpose, in obedience to eternal law, in perfect love. They then must be unified in their desire for all their children to achieve that same state in which which they now dwell. I have not spent a lot of time concerned that I did not know more about her as an individual personality – or in feeling I needed to acknowledge her importance in the great Plan of Happiness. But I realize a number of women in the Church, and I think more especially some of the young women today, feel the need to have their Heavenly Mother become more of a “role model” as they seek to find their own identity.
It is my conjecture that many of the present problems facing our youth, which concern gender identity and role, call out for a clearer understanding of this eternal male/female identity and destiny. “ALL HUMAN BEINGS—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World).
I think we need to understand that God is a title bestowed-- in its complete and perfect sense-- on a perfected man and woman, united as one flesh. Man and woman were created and commanded to become “one flesh,” united by the authority of God in an eternal union.
“And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (Genesis 2:23-24)
“ So the Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them.”(Abraham 4:27) (emphasis added)
“neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 11:11).
“And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; . . . and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.
'Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them. (D&C 132:19-20) (emphasis added)Yes, Jesus was a member of the Godhead before coming to earth. He was the God of the Old Testament. But He himself said he was not yet perfect.
To the rich young ruler who called Him “Good Master,” he replied “Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.” (Luke 18:18-19)
He said to those living during His time in mortality, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). It was only after he completed His mortal mission, atoning for mankind's sins and conquering death, that He then said to those assembled descendants of Lehi “Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect” (3 Nephi 12:48) (emphasis added)
Perhaps we could make somewhat of a comparison by looking at a Presidency--whether Stake or First Presidency. The President holds the necessary keys- but they can be exercised by his counselors as he gives them authority to do so. Yet all bear the title President. Jesus created this world and many others, but he did so under the authority and direction of His Father. Without that authority granted to Him by His fully perfected Father, He could not have done any of this. He has announced that He is now perfected--a God in every sense of that title.
MAN WITHOUT WOMAN IS NOT A PERFECTED GOD! As the scriptures cited make clear, it requires both perfected man and perfected woman, united, to merit the title God- in a perfected, exalted state.
So--if one can only become a Perfected God when having fulfilled all the requirements to do so (and that would include gaining the status of a man sealed to a woman by the power and authority granted by God through His Holy Priesthood), did that definition fit the resurrected Christ?
A number of the early leaders of the Church wrote quite clearly that Christ was married in mortality. Some writers named Mary Magdalene, and several pointed out the change in JST John 20:17, from the Lord telling Mary Magdalene “Touch me not” to “Hold me not,” as obviously a more intimate phrase.
The writings of many Jewish scholars declare Jesus would not have been allowed to teach in the synagogues were he not married. Well-known rabbis Hillel and Shammai, though differing on many points of scriptural interpretation, were united in affirming that no righteous man can abstain from keeping God's first command, "Be fruitful and multiply." Also, ancient Judaism identified five principal responsibilities of a father to his son, the last of which was to arrange his marriage. Around the time when a son was physically mature his father made a betrothal agreement with the guardian of an eligible girl. To delay this more than a decade beyond puberty was forbidden. Some have noted that it is significant that no ancient Jewish writer accused Jesus' earthly father, Joseph, of failing to fulfill his five principal duties, and that if Joseph had failed in meeting any one of those responsibilities, Jewish critics surely would have used this against both him and his son.
I have my own opinion on this subject, which surely is NOT given with authority to make any pronouncement impacting the beliefs of others in any way. I, personally, believe that logic based on all those scriptures already quoted, gives the obvious answer. For whatever reason (perhaps knowledge of great ridicule and persecution which would surely follow from those who do not understand the principles involved in reaching exaltation? I honestly don't know), modern Church leaders have not chosen to address the subject of the Savior and marriage. However, I do feel it proper to share the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith, which – I believe-- are clear to those with “eyes to see and ears to hear.”
Joseph taught, “If a man gets a fullness of the priesthood of God he has to get it in the same way that Jesus Christ obtained it, and that was by keeping all the commandments and obeying all the ordinances of the house of the Lord.” ( Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 308. ) (emphasis added)
Concluding thought: Besides changing wording in the Young Women's Theme, how would it have changed perception for our young sons and daughters were we to have changed just two words in our beloved children's hymn, singing “I am a child of God, and they have sent me here” ?
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III. Heather B.
Thank you, Kayla Bach.
As a mother of two daughters, I have been troubled by the opening line of the Young Women’s theme for several years now. Below is an excerpt from the body of a letter that I wrote to a church leader on February 6, 2015:
"I believe that we are offspring of Heavenly Parents, as stated in The Family: A Proclamation to the World. I believe that knowing we are children of God (Heavenly Parents) changes everything, including our attitudes and our behavior toward ourselves and others. And I believe that as we embrace the Atonement and teachings of our Savior and brother, Jesus Christ, we will realize our divine nature and destiny. For women, that destiny is to become as our Heavenly Parents…more specifically, our Heavenly Mother. Contemplating this doctrine is inspiring and comforting to me.
"My youngest daughter is age 7 and will soon be baptized. As she approaches Young Women’s age, I want to teach her that, “We are daughters of Heavenly Parents who love us, and we love Them. We will stand as witnesses of God [a gender inclusive title] at all times and in all things and in all places as we strive to live the Young Women values.” And, under the value heading of Faith, I wish to teacher her that, “I am a daughter of Heavenly Parents, who love me. I have faith in Their eternal plan, which centers on Jesus Christ, my Savior.” This teaching would remind her of the importance of God, of celestial marriage, of dual parenthood, of her own divine womanhood, and that she is due equal respect from both males and females. My dream is that all of the Young Women might be able to recite that wording by the time my daughter turns 12 so that she would not feel alone in her training to openly embrace and honor her divine destiny. Is there any hope for my dream?” (Personal Correspondence dated 2/6/15)
I don’t see any way that we can confront the challenges facing the family in today’s world and fulfill President Nelson’s “Plea to My Sisters” unless we are willing to bring our Heavenly Mother out of the shadows and into the light of our official teaching and discourse. I believe this so strongly that when I attempt to speak the YW Theme aloud, I choke on the half-truth of the first line. For my part, I have determined to remain silent during this portion of the Theme or speak the whole truth, depending on the circumstances. I still have hope that my now-8-year-old daughter will not have to face this choice, but she will be prepared either way. She is already in the habit of editing the first and second Articles of Faith to make them gender inclusive.
Heather B
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IV. Paul Albers
I find it confusing that on one hand you talk of gender equality being part of the gospel (which is true), and on the other hand have a problem with the theme starting off by young women affirming their connection to their Heavenly Father. It is a statement of fact. I'm not sure if the remark "We want to be like Him, but we are female. What then?" was part of what you submitted or not, but I am sure that nobody thinks that being like Heavenly Father refers in any way to anatomy. The pledge tells young women that they are able to become like Heavenly Father by developing those values in their life which is an affirmation of women having the same divine potential as men.
While the gospel does teach that men and women have equal worth, value and potential for glory, the idea that gender equality means gender sameness is the doctrine of the world, not the doctrine of Christ. Men and women have different roles in Heavenly Father's plan, neither role being more important or valuable than the other. The kingdom of God is based on a patriarchal order. The Proclamation on the Family says both parents are to work as equal partners in providing, protecting, and nurturing their children, but it also says that 'By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness' . The temple endowment, covenants, and even the sealing ceremony reflect this patriarchal order and many prophets and apostles have taught that it is the Lord's divine system of government. Bishops and Stake Presidents and the rest of the church's priesthood hierarchy won't exist in the eternities, it will be fathers presiding over their sons and their decedents. Because of that it is improper to make Heavenly Mother a subject of worship or to pray to her. Affirming one's connection to Heavenly Father also affirms their connection to the patriarchal order and their divine daughtership within it, another good reason for the theme to start as it does.
I must say I'm rather saddened to hear of women who, like the bookstore cashier, can only see of their role in the eternities as 'having babies forever' and imply (or state) that being a mother for eternity matters less than being a father for eternity. Everything Heavenly Father has done falls into the role of fulfilling his duties as a father, he needs nothing more than that to 'really matter in the eternities'. Why then look down on the duties of a mother as less worthy of respect or less desirable or insufficient to really matter?
Being a mother takes far more than simply gestating a fetus to birth, just as being a father takes far more than impregnating a female. Women should feel insulted at eternal motherhood being portrayed as a negative thing. The work of motherhood requires nurturing children physically, emotionally and spiritually. A good mother will be teaching and training and counselling and guiding her children all her life. As a wife, her husband is in need of her counsel and she can do much to enable his success as a father while sharing the joy of a close marriage relationship.
The problem as I see it is not how the theme starts off, but rather the acceptance by some women of an ideology that goes beyond gender fairness to the point of creating division, encouraging women to view men with distrust, and holding the patriarchal order in distain. Exaltation requires a husband and wife to become one with each other and with God, which is not going to happen when such obstacles are in place. Heavenly Mother herself embraces and accepts the patriarchal order of God's kingdom.
The solution is not to become critical of the church and try to reshape it to fit worldly ideas, but to reshape our hearts and minds to fit with how God sees things.
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V. The author, Kayla Bach, responds to Paul Albers
Dear Brother Albers;
It is wonderful that you have internalized the concept that men and women have equal importance and divine potential, but different roles. The issue that arises is how we decide to see that truth in context. Perhaps it is unintentional, but it appears that your view of equality entails men and women performing their respective roles, but the women doing so silently – or perhaps, invisibly. Somehow, for you, this feels better. I drew that conclusion for a few reasons.
First, you believe it is adequate for women to connect themselves to their Heavenly Father, but you see no need for them to also be connected to their Heavenly Mother. It is though their connection to Her is too unimportant or unnecessary to mention, which I can assure you is false. Even here in mortality, both sons and daughters need a close connection with their mother as well as their father. What is more surprising is that, in the very next paragraph, you reaffirm that men and women are different, and thereby, women can never be completely like Heavenly Father. That would seem to suggest that the connection to both Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother is necessary for women to affirm so that they may consider their distinctive existence in the eternities. (Please note that I think it is important for both genders to reaffirm their connection to both of our Heavenly Parents so that men and women may better appreciate the divine roles of one another.)
Second, you begin a portrayal of the patriarchal order that only shows half of the picture. You rightly point out that “The Proclamation on the Family says both parents are to work as equal partners in providing, protecting, and nurturing their children.” I am sure you got this from the line of the Proclamation that states: “In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.” You then listed all of the responsibilities that both men and women are expected to fulfill, except for one that you save just for the men: preside. Do you see the problem? Men and women are expected to “help one another” provide, protect, nurture, and yes, preside. Elder L. Tom Perry beautifully reinforced this concept of joint familial government when he stated: “There is not a president and vice president in a family. We have co-presidents working together eternally for the good of their family . . . They are on equal footing. They plan and organize the affairs of the family jointly and unanimously as they move forward.” As to your assertion about the temple, this is neither the time nor place for me to address the endowment, covenants, and sealing ceremony. However, I would recommend reading “Equal Partnership in Marriage” by Valerie M. Hudson and Richard B. Miller from the April 2013 Ensign before you take your next trip there.
Thirdly, your portrayal of life in the eternities truly does make women invisible. “In the eternities, it will be fathers presiding over their sons and their descendants.” I think I have provided enough evidence by this point to confidently assert that it will be couples presiding as co-Presidents (thank you, Elder Perry) over their sons and daughters. However, from this line, you then jump to the following: “because of that it is improper to make Heavenly Mother a subject of worship or to pray to her.” I am not going to conjecture how you made this erroneous connection. The reason we do not pray to Heavenly Mother is because that is not how Christ instructed us to pray. However, we have been told by President Gordon B. Hinckley that “the fact that we do not pray to our Mother in Heaven in no way belittles or denigrates her.” It certainly does not mean that we cannot talk about her! At no point in my essay do I purpose a new style of prayer or worship; I simply purpose a new type of phrasing that echoes the word choice already found in “The Proclamation on the Family,” where it states boldly in the opening “each [human being] is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents.” More importantly, I never suggest nor would I ever suggest that we eliminate the affirmation of the connection to Heavenly Father. “Parents” means Mother and Father. They are certainly not mutually exclusive—after all, They could not be God without being married, and thus They are “one.”
To move on to the rest of your comment –
The dilemma faced by the bookstore cashier and so many other women is not that we view Motherhood as unimportant; rather, it is that it is often portrayed that men will inherit great powers and responsibilities (your own comment “In the eternities, it will be fathers presiding over their sons and their decedents” comes to mind) while we women will sit at “home,” eternally passive, consigned to merely watch the grand production. Perhaps it is time for us to discuss more fully the point you made – which, by the way, is my favorite line of your comment: “Everything Heavenly Father has done falls into the role of fulfilling His duties as a father; He needs nothing more than that to 'really matter in the eternities'.” Bravo, sir! The problem is, we hear the incorrect equation that “motherhood = priesthood” far too often. It is time to remember the correct equation: “motherhood = fatherhood.”
Your mention of the “ideology that goes beyond gender fairness to the point of creating division” seems to suggest that I am a proponent of that view. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am all about unity between men and women, so much so that I wish to spotlight the ultimate, divine, united relationship of our Heavenly Parents in the first line of the Young Women’s theme to match that of the Proclamation on the Family. I do not believe women must be silent or invisible for us to trust men, nor do I believe that Heavenly Mother must be unmentioned and forgotten for us to trust our Heavenly Father. I certainly do not view the patriarchal order with disdain, for I understand it to be centered on the union of men and women to create families that extend infinitely, or to quote President Ezra Taft Benson, the Patriarchal Order is “described in modern revelation as an order of family government, where a man and woman enter into a covenant with God—just as did Adam and Eve—to be sealed for eternity, to have posterity, and to do the will and work of God throughout their mortality.” I am absolutely sure that both Heavenly Mother and Heavenly Father embrace that model, for They are living it perfectly as They unite together to form Elohim, governing Their kingdom as equals.
The Church has done an excellent job facilitating the discussion of Heavenly Mother with the publication of the recent essay about Her on lds.org. I am merely suggesting a logically subsequent step completely in line with Church doctrine, as evidenced by the text of the Family Proclamation. As to the criticism that we should not reshape the church to fit worldly ideas – well, I don’t know about you, but I certainly don’t hear the “world” proclaiming belief in a Heavenly Mother. All the more reason to share the exciting truth!