The Old Testament was written in Hebrew. In that language, one of the words for God is Elohim— a plural term. Elohim is used over 2500 times the Old Testament— however, not all of those are references to Heavenly Mother. But Genesis seems clear— We are taught that we are made in Their image, both male and female. The plural and the gender being both male and female indicates that the Gods are both. 

This matters. 

Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother are God TOGETHER.

“No matter to what heights he has attained or may attain, he does not stand alone; for see by side with him, in all her glory, a glory like unto his own, stands a companion, the Mother…” —Elder Melvin J. Ballard

When I consider the plan of happiness, I think of infinite pie. (Specifically, strawberry rhubarb with a great crust, if you wondered.) This is not the pie that says more divinity for some is less divinity for others. If we honor our Mother in Heaven, it in no way takes away from our Heavenly Father and Jesus. In fact, we all benefit from expansiveness. 
Additionally, if we think of Heavenly Mother as essential… that means that the supreme power of the universe is not just one entity. To me, this makes divinity a much more powerful concept. While our Heavenly Parents are united, They are (quite obviously) not the same.

Sameness is not divinity. Unity is divinity.

Now, what becomes interesting to me is what I do with this knowledge. As it is approaching the new year, we set goals. One of my personal goals for the new year is cultivating unity.

In General Conference October 2021, Elder Renlund’s expressed this: 

“Do you think that the people were unified because they were all the same, or because they had no differences of opinion? I doubt it. Instead, contention and enmity disappeared because they placed their discipleship of the Savior above all else. Their differences paled in comparison to their shared love of the Savior, and they were united as “heirs to the kingdom of God.”

How does this apply to our lives? There are obvious applications to couples trying to work together in married life. But I also think it has a more universal application as well. To me, it feels like there is a lot of differences in our world… though perhaps Christ always knew that there would be.  

Recently I have been thinking about loving the other and what it means to be a united people. United in our families, our church, our country our world. This is not an exercise in nicety or political correctness. Christ was clear: “I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine” (D&C 38:27).

What does being united look like? What does it feel like? How do we get there? These are questions I think are worth considering. (And, we will— in an upcoming blog post titled “Loving the Other.”)

However, one of the key take-away lessons from understanding that Heavenly Mother is essential is that Her existence demonstrates how two opposites can work united… Heavenly Mother and Heavenly Father together… and create GLORY. 

“I testify there is no greater goal in mortality than to live eternally with our Heavenly Parents and our beloved Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. But it is more than just our goal—it is also Their goal. They have a perfect love for us, more powerful than we can even begin to comprehend. They are totally, completely, eternally aligned with us. We are Their work. Our glory is Their glory. More than anything else, They want us to come home—to return and receive eternal happiness in Their presence. “—Russel Ballard, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Return and Receive,” April 2017 General Conference.

We are Their work and Their glory. 

If they can align with us (mere flawed mortals)… then it behooves us to not count the ways we CANNOT align with other flawed humans. Let us follow Their example is promoting unity.