2022/04/01 by Margaret Toscano · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Mormonism, Religion, and History #American Constitutional Law and Politics #Marriage and Sexual Relationships #Philosophy #Theology
paper · pdf · doi:10.5406/15549399.55.1.02
published in Dialogue A Journal of Mormon Thought 55(1), 37-68 (University of Illinois Press)
openalex publication_date 2022/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Does the existence of the Heavenly Mother in Mormon theology promote heteronormativity that marginalizes gender nonconforming individuals? If so, why does the divine female, but not the divine male, bear the bulk of the blame for this marginalization? Why has her body and not his increasingly become the battleground over the nature and meaning of sex and gender for persons both human and divine in Latter-day Saint discourse and practice?Though she has achieved acceptance in Mormon theology and culture, Mother in Heaven is still marginalized by the LDS Church. She is mostly absent in church worship and everyday orthodox practice and primarily referenced not as an individual deity but as one of the heavenly parents, a vague designation that subsumes her into a divine patriarchal family, serving as model for the 1995 “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a result, her nature, dignity, and godhood remain vague in mainstream Mormon discourse because her status is uncertain, her role in creation and redemption is undefined, and because even her weakened standing in Mormon theology has been used by Evangelicals as an argument that Mormons are not fully Christian. In addition, many LDS women, orthodox and feminist alike, have long worried that Heavenly Mother is emblematic of nineteenth-century LDS apostle Orson Pratt's version of a polygamist godhead consisting of a Heavenly Father joined to multiple heavenly mothers who are eternally pregnant and, like queen bees, forever reproducing offspring not in a matriarchal hive but in a patriarchal kingdom. In their 2020 article, “‘Mother in Heaven’: A Feminist Perspective,” which is a response to the LDS Gospel Topics essay on this subject, Caroline Kline and Rachel Hunt Steenblik point to hopeful, recent developments that work toward “dismantling cultural silence,” “legitimizing as authoritative church doctrine” positive statements about the divine female, and using capital letters and the singular in the printed term “Heavenly Mother.”1 Nevertheless, the authors argue that the Church's short essay does not go far enough to establish Heavenly Mother's godhood or her nature and standing in LDS practice and theology.Recently, scholars with progressive views have also questioned depictions and possibly the value of Mother in Heaven, arguing that she promotes heteronormative sexuality that privileges just one image of “woman.” In “Rethinking Mormonism's Heavenly Mother,” Taylor G. Petrey criticizes certain Mormon scholars (namely, Janice Allred, Valerie Hudson Cassler, and me): “Mormon feminists writing about Heavenly Mother have been complicit in heteronormative narratives that universalize a subset of women as the hypostasis of ‘woman.’”2 Petrey's concern has become the center of LGBTQ gender critique in current LDS theological discussions where the Mother God, rather than her male counterpart, is seen as the culpable party. This new liberal critique accepts as normative the LDS Church's simplistic view of Heavenly Mother as supportive wife of a presiding patriarchal Heavenly Father, as a female figure whose presence reinforces the structure of the conservative nuclear family that the LDS Church now projects into the eternities. Consequently, Mother in Heaven has become a stumbling block for many people.In this essay, I will interrogate the views and arguments surrounding Heavenly Mother advocated in Mormon discourse on both the right and the left. I do not have space to answer and explore all the questions raised above. Instead, I will focus on the place where mainstream and liberal discourses converge, namely on Heavenly Mother's role as the wife of the Father God and the mother of his I will both current Church as as Petrey's of I have multiple and that the female as a of and who the male godhead in and and who been in and the In this essay, I will and the or as of God the Mother who her divine and not her role in the patriarchal family of the Mother God in Mormon the view that she reinforces one of or the her many a who for gender nonconforming the of to as as an God with as or sex on that who with God are over who do A God human but a God the of many who not to the divine in and that God human as orthodox and in the of the of the of the human the female body of the and of in to the of the God of God of theology has Mormon of God as an to the orthodox theology the creation on an with the body and and as and for a of has been to Mormon authoritative and are to to for the of male which is now a of the Mormon This that the like the is a for a place for all the and of that the gender to an theology that a God male and female to the of gender and a and theology will and with the of and not in the that vague of a will the that in the and Mormon with the of and this not or the Heavenly Mother as the of the Heavenly do this of Mormon in the of the of gender and not the of Mormonism's of divine for the orthodox of divine also the for a divine female in LDS by Heavenly Mother she has been to become fully his that male to to establish divine female in new of the female divine in culture, as and the and that the female human that and and is that many Mormons on a to and the Mother God, in and mostly absent in mainstream LDS worship and Heavenly Mother is in the everyday of of Church Mother's in the is a of in this divine Latter-day has become a also that the is the and She a God of to her that LGBTQ and do Mormon the questions by Heavenly Mother and cultural in also the current about sex and In response to this I argue that an female deity an figure and of and for all the the and the for their their their their or their status as or their or Mormon theology and practice also Heavenly Mother to than a the of the divine is a She in and as a of Heavenly she seen as a who as the to the male God, of or even into a of divine and of this essay is the of the Mother God also that she that godhood authoritative to Heavenly Mother do not focus on her role in a patriarchal family but on divine as emblematic of her role in the work of I will of the divine I with in in the of where she is as the divine of that in the to have is not but to her for the and body of God, the divine male as a and I the deity in and in and She that the female God all for divine in the I will to the of the or in the and and Mormon As God the Mother has a place in the where she in the of the the or of God that in both the Father and the for and and the meaning of male and I will that the Mormon godhead is of in and as as the divine that male and the of Heavenly Mother in Mormon the of in the of Mormon is a point because in the of the Mormon In this with and the of a of the LDS has the that the to a female deity as the and to in that is also with the still as a figure in the by that is her with a and her with the that the meaning of the the focus rather than who is a LDS Church and to an status for the because of her place in their to their for a and place for Heavenly Mother in the Nevertheless, she in the of Mormon in the figure of as the of as seen with the and image that to the and the of I not arguing that is the Heavenly but rather that she Heavenly Mother's and in as Jesus in her God the Mother to about the of the Mother's work for the of her is to the of Jesus as a and in views the his to the and she and is the answer to his she is the meaning of the is that she is with the and but to not to but to her and which are in divine as an consisting of all that the of Mormon many to who to as a of the of with the of In this and with divine and divine that the of and are of This is because a is a of the mother in the depictions of many and in the the to this is a of to that and is that the is in the of Mormon and in the both to the divine female into and the and new which is a of the of is that in with an in her and in the of divine her as a she is as a This that is not divine because she she Jesus because she the of Jesus in her the the a the of that his I do not the meaning of all the which is the mother of God the of the the the about the of to the of she in is the answer to the because as the mother of the God, is a and as the she is the of the of using version of the of Mormon because scholars as to the In this Jesus is and the current LDS published of the of Mormon of the to Jesus as of the mainstream LDS the not just of Jesus but of the status of the Mormon as mother of rather than the mother of the of God, her and as the mother of the she is not a human but a a mother God, of the of is is as the mother of the new just as is the mother of the the is by the a in her In this the LDS Church is with the and image to the of God, even the the meaning of the which is the of God, which in the of the of is the all that is to the the term of is by the one which the and of the of God and of and that I the and the of the and in the of the and of the in the Mormon of the of In current the of on In this is to to or that the of God is the of the of God to because not to This is by the the and that on as also all in that all that in and all the of all Christ with to to and to This in by the of and both to the and of into to for who are to as a she is the or of the Mother as by the the female deity in as of to and to the as as and as mother Jesus in her and as the on Jesus his the center of the the with the to the to is by all the Gospel and is not a or is to the presence of a female deity in because the is an of the Mother as many scholars A long the divine female with the also the to certain to the of to the of Mormon scholars like Janice for who the view of Jesus as Father and as that in the is and is the the as do the of and that are in is as a of redemption as the of and are in the of the and which also the the an image that and Jesus in her and She is a human and a deity She in the as a a is not as but as of or in to an to an whose status is not on a or If role as mother of she not as a she this that she in her not as wife or of a male, the of In the she as a but not in a patriarchal she is a a singular the of the whose to her is to the of as and not theological of the Mormon that divine in who and not and in the of in the in with the in to the in by their and as in and This in the of is the has in for of liberal have to worship to promote a as this has been by has to the or of women or of marginalized to a and for because she is as the of God that to LDS the for the Mormon Heavenly as by the recent by in the and and in and the Mother God as in and in Mormons now the as a of the Heavenly Mother in the is in the of because she the of the female God a or mother to a with an is the for all divine because and all and the of scholars have the worship of in practice and her place as the wife or of where her is with in or not as wife but as a deity of status in her She with God the in an of her divine status is in the authoritative she in where she and in the to for are that She does not or as but as in and She not just the and for she the the of the to who will her In her are and for all her She and of the image of because a female deity with divine rather than with the female both women and gender nonconforming in the version of the by the are for the of and as or of the God, or the or male God rather than as the of a and female as scholars have are in both and that as a and her with the the and the of the Mother God with does not as an of the male God but into the of the In their of the of the and the the and the in is the that is with as the of the where in the is and to the on toward Mother God as the of her which all divine for and and on to all of and Mormon has the as a male of who is one of the male the Mother by Mormons to of the or as an God who in the creation of the and the redemption of her to her with the as Mormon feminists have answer to both questions is for and of the to the in the Mormon the the of the as of are or and that the is a of “The Father has a body of and as as the but the has not a body of and but is a of not so, the not in In the is to as the and and not with A of all that of are using the and In the the are and used with as the and not the of the male in a place in for Heavenly Mother as she as an who the of God to her in their toward a of In to Mormon current LDS discourse on the and with male as on the Church “The is the of the is a of a body of and is to as the the the of God, the of the or the Church a male of Father, and Mormon the of the a place in the for Heavenly the current LDS of the the as male, are in that the as female, which a space for the female in the Nevertheless, the in the has mostly the as male have been both because the gender of the is in all gender that is not with and also because the does not have the with and In the for is the which has but on the and term to this a of for the for is and the is and that the for that God all of like the for the which with his and the of where the one God is as male This has been the the to God and the are gender and as to the male for the In his of A of the why the but still to the in his because the than to that the patriarchal and to a has the by the as a female who is with and to many feminist still the of a female to a place for the in the as seen in and In the scholars like to that image the as a female the Gospel of the where Jesus to the the Gospel of where the is the of and the of which to the mother as and her in the place of the in the Father, and or to the in Mormon and the of the a place for the as Heavenly or a Mormon female she has been the Mormon in LDS mainstream a by the of the and which but are also in the the is for argument because a for both the in the of a divine female and also for the as a for with the for the and the of the used by LDS does not in the into which that version of the current LDS Church with that the the is a who is to as the the term is also to not to a but to divine that to as the of that this and is not the but the of divine nature, to in the and as the of and of Christ the of God and, as are all for divine the of God, the the of which in divine Mormon the as of fully of and for are the of in which the of the divine that and and to all this to in which and of in this of in which their and and as and that as divine and that this is not the of Christ but the that in the the by which in the in the and in the the presence of God to the of which is in all which to all and the of who I as Mormon theology the as the of God the Father and, by God the whose and all This that the is not a but a with of many that the has a the or of Church by the as a in to the of the the of the is a to and of the LDS Church who and to do this is does not the of God or theological as a of and as a of the divine nature that the to all creation point and all also the with the is and by and the of and the even the which all and the of the in the of Mormon in the of and in the Gospel of the term in the and in the for is gender is to this term in and where the or of is to as As with the term is to by the and a space for the Heavenly Mother as both and God the Mother the of that the of She is the who to the and godhood of Jesus as his she a Jesus is the who the of and to As she of his of her for who have to her the does not in Mormon as a on the role as of the and is a of and or for this also to or is or for the or who for the of the role of in as divine or the Mother's role as of and as of both and as as on who her She is the of the She is the of the She is the of role of Heavenly Mother is not to the of the for she to with and her of and even of as of the of the to the in the of Mormon in which and achieved by the of and of Mormon promotes that the all to and of his and that and and male and and the and all are God, both and Mormon of and of and is to to this who as the that is a to God, have not have seen the to Heavenly Mother the for an a divine of in all the divine are in the of and as a male God who the of the to with as one who and even as God, why has Jesus the that even the of is in the is and to in in the is persons bear and of Mormon are to and human or to with as in God is not just God is with in the of human of Mormon do not This for both male and female for the Father who in the of Jesus and for the Mother who in the of or is God with in as or who an in to to a a divine who is not Mormon with their both and not with and and in are also by female God to not the divine in but that is God with the I have of Heavenly Mother and have the both individual and a of the Mother In her is not an is a a to her of the of of and as as and with this and is a for Heavenly just as is for on to women with their women or to this I to her not as Mother God but as an divine female and Mormon feminists have the of Heavenly Mother to her and Mormon women in an patriarchal as of the of female and an the Mother body is a point of in Mormon feminist does not the of God, which rather and because his is as with his divine and Consequently, is to and to a Mormon the has to the of Mormon women Jesus to many are his and This is not to are or or as with God the Father and Jesus as God God in God as God as female God as mother God as God as like in God as God as mother God as mother as has a has a the offspring is or of all are also offspring are with the of and are to even with on mothers or are in is than a the long of and a which and a of gender this the is to an is of male to the to the of women, with of the Mother God, or her is and will to and gender nonconforming or the for a Heavenly Mother who is as as Heavenly Father and with the Mormon of an and Heavenly Mother and Heavenly Father, I a view of the that and women and that marginalizes who do not as one or the In is not with In is to in Mother and Father of status and of and sexuality for and their of the divine male and female are are as and this is not is in Mormon which that heavenly are of that are with for as as as of and that the of as that into where for Mormon are like that a that have the to a a or in which an of and and Heavenly Father and Mother are of male or female or In of the of and This is the Mormon of creation by the of the of the divine male and of is in the of where the that is an in all that the is to not all This that is a like and the in one the to become a that a in one body remain as This is male in female, female in male, in in in and in and is to male female existence the a human body or the are and and are and and is a of male and are as many of and gender as are If male and female are as and on a of and an of and the but where and remain Mormons view their as and is in Mormon theology that the that of many even female to male and or to Mormon of not that are that are and with God, that this and will about the and is a Mormon to sex as and and to multiple gender or in the by or is not by Mormon of the current patriarchal and of the LDS gender by LDS scholars have to Mormon but have Mormon women to promote Heavenly Mother for of a of God that place where LGBTQ with the divine Taylor Petrey's work over the has an toward Mormon sexuality both and as to and male I with his arguments for and is that in his “Rethinking Mormonism's Heavenly Mother,” Petrey does not with new of the Mother God or her in multiple arguing for a view of God, Petrey on and his a Mormon where the for or in the and of the does by female in and space for Heavenly Mother as that the of the of the and even the creation of the of and all the presence of female Petrey also an theological argument where the male God to the and, like an of the of the In Petrey's God male, to that are because creation and are the of in the or as divine or even and to the of as for this the of and that to status with to Petrey does not of who have to the and the female divine in new arguments to heteronormativity and views of “woman.” In “Rethinking Mormonism's Heavenly Mother,” Petrey privileges the male is not for that I that is gender or Petrey to Heavenly Mother by a divine for her as she toward their all the existence of Heavenly Mother promote heteronormativity that marginalizes gender nonconforming individuals? answer is God and are as in the as the the of and and and the answer is the heavenly in a patriarchal in the on the family or the in Church and on the Church God the and God the are not the version of and or of and his current wife are male and female of the of the of the who are both one and God the Mother and God the Father are and who in a of divine and with many and the of human and is that many to that heteronormativity is not an Mormons to the on the that the male are a female divine male are still which have heteronormative patriarchal for human in the If the Mother God is is a of that to the of If a female deity is as the of a presiding male the is a If in are for their a of If divine is the is to the or is to and which has the of the the and with I the in in Mormon and with to a place for female in the patriarchal and of I for this because of Mormonism's of a of and and of of and both and I that female and female to for women and in Heavenly Mother in is not a mother or wife but a and with and in a I her to as a to an to as an to views of In the than the of that I have to and for the divine In and of the and I explore or of the over in that than and and and and of and which value nonconforming I have to of Mother in all her is and that her and on a and long for just as many do for Jesus is work to to of God Mormon that the is not a male but a of has the for with multiple sex and gender as as the of and of God female to the male and female of all A of eternally and Mormon of and is to a of of depictions of Heavenly Mother and depictions of Heavenly is to of the as the Father and by to that is the not their that is and to mainstream Mormons and is with the of not but that like for as will like not God the Mother does not the raised by Mormonism's of divine and human as a of do not to of Heavenly Mother have not fully the of toward a God in her and Mother of the in the the of this as in the and that of the the female God the and worship to practice and This women for and a place for not to gender than Mormons the in the and in LDS and to for all and her are enough to all her