Heavenly Parents is the term used in

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of t ...

to refer collectively to the divine partnership of

God the Father God the Father is a title given to God in Christianity. In mainstream trinitarian Christianity, God the Father is regarded as the first person of the Trinity, followed by the second person, God the Son Jesus Christ, and the third person, God t ...

and a

Heavenly Mother A mother goddess is a goddess who represents a personified deification of motherhood, fertility goddess, fertility, creation, destruction, or the earth goddess who embodies the bounty of the earth or nature. When equated with the earth or th ...

who are believed to be parents of human

spirits Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

. The concept traces its origins to

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

, the founder of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

. The Heavenly Parents doctrine is taught by

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church), the

Restoration Church of Jesus Christ The Restoration Church of Jesus Christ (RCJC), based in Salt Lake City, Utah, was a church in the Latter Day Saint movement that catered primarily to the spiritual needs of LGBT Latter Day Saints. It was founded in 1985 and was dissolved 25 ye ...

,Role of women in the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ
(On menu on right of website, click on "Core Beliefs" and then click on "The Role of Women") and branches of

Mormon fundamentalism Mormon fundamentalism (also called fundamentalist Mormonism) is a belief in the validity of selected fundamental aspects of Mormonism as taught and practiced in the nineteenth century, particularly during the administrations of Joseph Smith, Bri ...

, such as the Apostolic United Brethren. The doctrine of a husband and wife spiritual parents is not generally recognized by other denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement, such as the Community of Christ.

Teachings on Heavenly Parents

In the largest denomination of Mormonism, the LDS Church, the doctrine of "heavenly parents" is not frequently discussed; however, the doctrine can be found in some publications and hymns. In 1845, after the death of Smith, the poet

Eliza Roxcy Snow Eliza Roxcy Snow (January 21, 1804 – December 5, 1887) was one of the most celebrated Latter Day Saint women of the nineteenth century. A renowned poet, she chronicled history, celebrated nature and relationships, and expounded scripture an ...

published a poem now used as the lyrics in the Latter-day Saint hymn "

O My Father "O My Father" (originally "My Father in Heaven",Eliza R. Snow"My Father in Heaven" ''Times and Seasons'', vol. 5, p. 1039 (15 November 1845). also "Invocation, or The Eternal Father and Mother")Eliza R. Snow, ''Poems, Religious, Historical, and Po ...

", which discusses heavenly parents. The poem contained the following language: The doctrine is also attributed to several other early church leaders. According to one sermon by

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second President of the Church (LDS Church), president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his ...

, Smith once said he "would not worship a God who had not a father; and I do not know that he would if he had not a mother; the one would be as absurd as the other." In 1995 top LDS leaders released " The Family: A Proclamation to the World", which outlined key teachings on family and gender, and which affirms, "All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny." Since 2019, the LDS church's theme for its Young Women's program says: "I am a beloved daughter of Heavenly Parents, with a divine nature and eternal destiny." The LDS Church teaches that humanity's Heavenly Parents want Their children to be like Them, and that through the process of exaltation all humans have the potential to live eternally in Their presence, continue as families, become gods, create worlds, and have their own spirit children over which they will govern as divine parents.

Polygamous Heavenly Parents

Polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...

has played an important part in Mormon history and multiple Mormon denominations have teachings on the existence of Heavenly Parents meaning a polygamous Heavenly Father married to multiple Heavenly Mothers. Brigham Young taught that God the Father was polygamous, although teachings on Heavenly Mothers were never as popular. These teachings disappeared from official rhetoric after the end of LDS polygamy in 1904 (though existing

polygynous Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women. Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any ...

marriages lasted into the 1950s).

References

{{Latter-day Saints, hide, show Mormonism Conceptions of God God in Christianity Latter Day Saint doctrines regarding deity Mormonism-related controversies New religious movement deities Feminist spirituality Latter Day Saint terms Mother goddesses Mormonism and women Mormon feminism