I keep coming back to these two ideas:
1) Joseph Smith taught that, “If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves.”
2) The church website proclaims that “The doctrine of a Heavenly Mother is a cherished and distinctive belief among Latter-day Saints.”
Put these two phrases together and it becomes an injunction, even an obligation, for us as children of Heavenly *Parents* to learn more about not only God the Father, but also God the Mother, so that we can better understand ourselves.
This is especially imperative for women, as daughters of both a male and a female deity. My quest for a relationship with and understanding of Heavenly Mother is driven not only by a personal desire for it (for comprehending Her character helps me comprehend myself), but also to guide my daughters in their journey to understand their own divinity.
My deepest conviction is that “God will yet reveal”—both on a personal level and on an institutional level. But I also know that God reveals *when we ask*.
So we have to wrestle, if we want further light and knowledge. We’ve got to, like Eve, eat the fruit; not just sit in the garden waiting for God to manifest.
by Brittany Gardner