A Statue of the Mormon "Heavenly Mother" in the Salt Lake City Temple???

[WiccanWade]

Hello, All:

I hope no one minds this question, as it may sound like an odd one, but...I was speaking to a member (or an ex-member...I can't recall right now) of the Mormon Faith. And, he told me that inside the Salt Lake City Temple there's a statue whom everyone assumes is of the Virgin Mary. She is white (obviously meaning made of some white stone such as granite) with a crown and fruit around Her (as She was described by him). And, this person believed that She was Mary, too, until he asked someone who worked in the Temple, and they told him that it was a statue of their Heavenly Mother. And, I would love to recieve a photo of this statue. Do any of you know if this might be poossible, were I to write the Salt lake City Temple*??? And, does anyone know if I can E-Mail them somehow, and whom I might E-Mail, too??? Because, such a photo would make an amazing companion to the book I'm working on! heh heh heh...

* The Mormon Church has a strict guideline, that after the Temple is
consecrated to God, which is AFTER the "Public Open House", no one
but "worthy church members" are allowed inside- they even have strict
health guidelines, as well. Such as foods to avoid, etc...as I
recall it from my initiale Mormon teachings. So, would they even
have such a photo around, and if not, would they even allow anyone to
take such a photo, now, and mail it to me, perhaps??? Now, what
seems so initially odd about this, which is why I'd like to varify
it, is that the Church does not allow speculation about, nor their
members to pray to, their Heavenly Mother.

Blessed Be,
Wade MacMorrighan

"Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of children"
-- William Makepeace Thakeray, 1847

[I, Brian]

Sincere apologies for the late reply, Wiccan Wade - I'd personally advise you write to the temple for a photo - only that you only mention "a beautiful statue" and make no mention whatsoever about it being pagan - as that would likely be a great way to get your request binned.

[WiccanWade]

Originally Posted by I, Brian

Sincere apologies for the late reply, Wiccan Wade - I'd personally advise you write to the temple for a photo - only that you only mention "a beautiful statue" and make no mention whatsoever about it being pagan - as that would likely be a great way to get your request binned.

I beat ya' to it, already. ;o) However, I recieved a rather curt reply that, "We don't speak about the interior of the Temple."

[I, Brian]

Hm...now that is a little...impolite for lack of a better word.

I may be visiting an old haunt - to try and get some old friends to pop by. I could certainly consider asking about the matter then to Mormons present there.

Maybe, though, we'll just have to wait for a kindly Mormon to join here.

[WiccanWade]

Originally Posted by I, Brian

Hm...now that is a little...impolite for lack of a better word.

I may be visiting an old haunt - to try and get some old friends to pop by. I could certainly consider asking about the matter then to Mormons present there.

Maybe, though, we'll just have to wait for a kindly Mormon to join here.

Yeah, I thought it was "a littlte impolite," too. I'd be interested to see what those Mormon friend you know may have to say!

[bladewitch]

There are several pictures of the interior of the Mormon Tabernacle at http://www.hannahdustin.com/pictures11.htm. I haven't had time to look at them all, but maybe the statue you are looking for is in one of them.

I do know that non-Mormons are not permitted into the Tabernacle, as Mormons consider theirs to be a mystery religion open only to those who have studied it. But photos have been taken and I'm sure if the statue you were told about is there, someone has a photo of it somewhere.

Brenda

[buz]

Sorry to disappoint - there is no statue of "heavenly mother" in the SLC temple - been there a hundred times.

[littlemissattitude]

Originally Posted by bladewitch

I do know that non-Mormons are not permitted into the Tabernacle, as Mormons consider theirs to be a mystery religion open only to those who have studied it. But photos have been taken and I'm sure if the statue you were told about is there, someone has a photo of it somewhere.

Brenda

Actually, non-Mormons are permitted in the Tabernacle - it is the Temples which non-Mormons are not allowed to enter. But then, if you really get down to it, not all Mormons are allowed into the Temples. Only those with a "Recommend" (yes, an actual piece of paper) who have passed interviews with the local and regional church authorities may attend the temple.

And as far as the Mormon idea that there is a Heavenly Mother, it is very true that they don't talk about her at all. The line that I have always heard is that talk about her is discouraged because she is so sacred and if talk about her is allowed, some of it might be disrespectful. My own take on the matter is that they are concerned that no cult grow up around her that would take away from the central place of Heavenly Father, i.e., God. It is, after all, a highly patriarchal religion.

[wil]

Mother God
Mormonism not only teaches a Heavenly Father with flesh and bones, but also a "Heavenly Mother" with flesh and bones as well. LDS Apostle James Talmage wrote, "We are expressly told that God is the Father of spirits, and to apprehend the literalness of this solemn truth we must know that a Mother of spirits is an existent personality" (A. of F., p. 443).
And LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie wrote, "This doctrine that there is a Mother in Heaven was affirmed in plainness by the First Presidency of the Church (Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder, and Anthon H. Lund) when in speaking of pre-existence and the origin of man, they said that 'man as a spirit was begotten and born of heavenly parents and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father'" (M.D., p. 516).
And the same author declared, "We, the human family, literally the sons and daughters of Divine Parents, the literal progeny of God our Eternal Father, and of our God Mother, are away from home for a season" (The Philosophical Basis of Mormonism, p. 9).
Milton Hunter also said, "The stupendous truth of the existence of a Heavenly Mother, as well as a Heavenly Father, became established facts in Mormon Theology" (G.T.A., p. 98).
Hunter then quoted the familiar Mormon hymn, "O My Father." The third verse declares, "In the heav'ns are parents single? No; the tho't makes reason stare! Truth is reason, Truth eternal, Tells me I've a Mother there" (G.T.A., pp. 99-100).
The LDS teaching of a Heavenly Mother clearly indicates she has a body just like the Heavenly Father, so that they can procreate offspring. Since they have resurrected bodies of flesh and bones, why are their children born as baby spirits without bodies of flesh and bone?



No picture but a bunch more...

[Prober]

Smacks of the "queen of heaven" stuff of the OT (IMO).

[flowperson]

Asherah, Ishtar, Aphrodite, The White Buffalo Woman, Isis, Ninhursag, Tiamat. All present and accounted for. The old myths never die, they only re-incarnate.

flow....

[pfw]

My mums a Mormon convert- which explains why I moved over 400 miles away (lol-but they're bl@@dy persistant...). They def believe in a Heavenly Mother, def believe in the three parts of the trinity being seperate and distinct entities (I think they believe they 'evolved' on a diferent world which had a different God- maybe even a different universe-bit vauge on that point tho). The certainly believe the three Godheads to be physical, flesh and blood beings. If I remember it correctly they also believe that the 'Heavenly Mother's' spirit resides in the Earth (yet she has a physical body of her own as well)-yet seem amazingly unconcerned with any environmental issues. As a side line they also believe Jesus and Adam are the same person (reincarnated)- they've a few of those... As for the Temple before they are concecrated they are open to the public for viewings-but obviously things can be added later. As far as I know photos are allowed and they do publish photo's of the interior of their temples and specific statues etc. Maybe if you tried an official Mormon web site rather than a potentialy over zelous/pious member in a position of authority.

[beckysoup61]

There is not a statue of a "Heavenly Mother" in the Salt Lake Temple, nor any other temple. To be honest, you would think that you would take a members word for it.

[fourgrtkidos]

It's too bad that there isn't a staue to represent her. No doubt, it would be beautiful!! Give the temples and tabernacles of the LDS. I have heard my friends that are LDS talk about "heavenly Mother"..... is she too, underrepresented in Mormonism as in all the world's religions (except Paganism ) at the moment?
~Michelle