In General Conference 2022, Elder Renlund clarified the Gospel Topics Essay is our doctrine on Heavenly Mother. You can find that essay here.
On this page you will find ONLY that information. Dig in! You will see links to all the footnotes— including A Mother There article that has over 600 historical references to Heavenly Mother. Also, coming spring 2025 there will be a study guide available called Cherish 3: The Study of Our Mother in Heaven that provides a year-long study with curriculum, essays, art, and more resources — all in line with our doctrine. Enjoy!
The Essay
“We have heavenly parents, a Father and a Mother. The doctrine of a Heavenly Mother comes by revelation and is a distinctive belief among Latter-day Saints. … Very little has been revealed about Mother in Heaven, but what we do know is summarized in a gospel topic found in our Gospel Library app.” – Elder Dale G. Renlund, April 2022.
Footnote 1: Genesis 1:26–27; Moses 3:4–7; Romans 8:16–17; Psalm 82:6; Doctrine and Covenants 132:19–20.
Footnote 2: Gospel Topics essay, “Becoming like God.”
Footnote 2: Mother in Heaven,” Encyclopedia of Mormonism (1992). By Elaine Anderson Cannon.
Footnote 2: “‘A Mother There’: A Survey of Historical Teachings About Mother in Heaven,” BYU Studies 50: 1 (2011), p. 70-97. By David L. Paulsen and Martin Pulido.
Footnote 3: “History of the Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,” Deseret News (1911), p. 16. By Susa Young Gates. Summary: Zina Diantha Huntington recalled that when her mother died in 1839, Joseph Smith consoled her by telling her that in heaven she would see her own mother again and become acquainted with her eternal Mother.
Footnote 4: “Come to Me,” in “Poetry, for the Times and Seasons,” Times and Seasons 6 (Jan. 15, 1845), p. 783. By W.W. Phelps.
Footnote 5: “The Significance of ‘O My Father’ in the Personal Journey of Eliza R. Snow,” BYU Studies 36: 1 (1996), p. 84–126. By Jill Mulvay Derr.
Footnote 6: “The Origin of Man,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1909, p. 75–81. By the First Presidency (President Joseph F. Smith).
Footnote 7: “The Vision Beautiful,” Improvement Era, Apr. 1920, p. 542. By Susa Young Gates.
Footnote 8: “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Sept. 1995. By the First Presidency (President Gordon B. Hinckley).
Footnote 9: When Thou Art Converted: Continuing Our Search for Happiness, Deseret Book (2001), p. 62. By Elder M. Russell Ballard.
Footnote 10: “The Influence and Responsibility of Women,” Relief Society Magazine, Feb. 1964, p. 85. By Elder Harold B. Lee. (Word search for “General Session of the Relief Society Annual General Conference”.)
Footnote 11: 3 Nephi 18:19–21; Matthew 6:6–9; John 17:1, 5, 21, 24–25; see also Matthew 4:10; Luke 4:8; and 3 Nephi 13:9; 17:15.
Footnote 12: President Gordon B. Hinckley, “Daughters of God,” October 1991 general conference.
Footnote 13: “Our Mother in Heaven,” Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star 72, no. 39 (Sept. 29, 1910): 620. By Elder Rudger Clawson (editor of the periodical and likely author).
Footnote 14: 1 Corinthians 11:11.
Footnote 15: Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Apostasy and Restoration,” April 1995 general conference.