God the Mother, and Other Theological Essays

Download or read book God the Mother, and Other Theological Essays written by Janice Merrill Allred and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like street philosopher Eric Hoffer, whose years as a longshoreman informed his keen observations of life and society, Janice Allred interprets Mormon theology from her perspective as a housewife and mother of nine. But for writing about the traditional, though recently controversial, LDS belief in a Mother in Heaven, she was excommunicated just after Mother's Day 1995 and thereby catapulted into the public spotlight. "Jesus taught us to pray to the Father, " Allred writes, "not to set up barriers between us and God, but to remove them. (God is also) our Mother, a Mother who knows our needs before we can express them, a Mother who is here before we called out to her." LDS church leaders forbid speculation about or praying to the Goddess, but they have stopped short of repudiating her outright. Whether or not one agrees with the author's views, one has to acknowledge her skill in stimulating thought-provoking possibilities that empower women -- which is what she intended.