“And Wisdom was with thee: which knoweth thy works, and was present when thou madest the world, and knew what was acceptable in thy sight, and right in thy commandments. O send her out of thy holy heavens, and from the throne of thy glory, that being present she may labor with me, that I may know what is pleasing unto thee.” -Wisdom of Solomon 9:9-10

In the Fellowship of Christ, we talk about the idea of a Mother in Heaven or Divine Feminine. In the Old Testament wisdom is a personified heavenly female power. The author of Proverbs says of the Divine Feminine: “Take fast hold of instruction; let Her not go: keep Her; for She is thy life” (4:13). We see in Proverbs 8 that Wisdom is described as more than a good quality. She was with God before the foundation of the world, she is co-eternal with Him. In the Book of Mormon we see Her as the tree that bears the fruit that is Jesus Christ in Lehi’s dream and Nephi’s vision (1 Nephi 3:49 RAV, 11:9 OPV).

With this understanding, we can bring Her reality back. This is after all the restoration of all things. Our Mother in Heaven is someone to identify with, to know.

The Apocrypha

There is more evidence to be found in scriptures canonized by the original Church of Christ though ignored by the majority of Latter Day Saints today, the Apocrypha. This collection of books was a part of the Bible used by the Prophet, Joseph Smith Jr. when the early Saints voted the Bible and Book of Mormon canon. However, a revelation in 1833 has been used to ignore these texts.

The Lord told Joseph Smith Jr. that the Apocrypha was mostly translated correctly, thus he did not need to translate the book included within (Doctrines of the Saints 56:2). He stated in the revelation that there were many things true, and there were misunderstandings or incorrect interpretations that came from these books, which is true of any scripture when not understood by the Holy Spirit (Doctrines of the Saints 56:1). Further the Lord said, “whoso readeth, it let them understand; for the Spirit manifesteth truth, and whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit therefrom, and whoso receiveth not the Spirit cannot be benefited” (Doctrines of the Saints 56:3). Therefore, let us strive to listen to the Holy Spirit as we dive into this topic.

Witnesses in Ancient Writings

In the Wisdom of Solomon we read:

“For Wisdom, which is the worker of all things, taught me: for in Her is an understanding spirit holy, one only, manifold, subtle, lively, clear, undefiled, plain, not subject to hurt, loving the thing that is good quick, which cannot be letted, ready to do good, kind to man, steadfast, sure, free from care, having all power, overseeing all things, and going through all understanding, pure, and most subtil, spirits. For Wisdom is more moving than any motion: She passeth and goeth through all things by reason of Her pureness. For She is the breath of the power of God, and a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty: therefore can no defiled thing fall into Her. For She is the brightness of the everlasting light, the unspotted mirror of the power of God, and the image of His goodness. And being but one, She can do all things: and remaining in Herself, She maketh all things new: and in all ages entering into holy souls, She maketh them friends of God, and prophets. For God loveth none but him that dwelleth with Wisdom; for She is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order of stars: being compared with the light, She is found before it; for after this cometh night: but vice shall not prevail against Wisdom. Wisdom reacheth from one end to another mightily: and sweetly doth She order all things… In that She is conversant with God, She magnifieth Her nobility: yea, the Lord of all things Himself loved Her. -7:22-30, 8:1, 3

Later in Chapter nine, verses 9-10 we read,

“And Wisdom was with thee: which knoweth thy works, and was present when thou madest the world, and knew what was acceptable in thy sight, and right in thy commandments. O, send Her out of thy holy heavens, and from the throne of thy glory, that being present She may labor with me, that I may know what is pleasing unto thee.”

We know that She was with God before the beginning, shares the throne with Him, and is  His equal.

The Catholic Apocrypha

In the Book of Sirach (also known as Ecclesiasticus), from the Catholic, Eastern, and most Oriental Orthodox canons, we read in the first chapter:

“Wisdom hath been created before all things, and the understanding of prudence from everlasting.” -verse 4

Reading this first chapter, Wisdom is She who was created first, before anything, and without a relationship with Her we cannot truly have a relationship with God. She is clearly seen here as co-equal with God, the Father.

In Chapter 24 of the Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition we read:

“Wisdom shall praise Her own self, and shall be honored in God, and shall glory in the midst of Her people, and shall open Her mouth in the Churches of the most High, and shall glorify Herself in the sight of His power, and in the midst of Her own people She shall be exalted, and shall be admired in the holy assembly.” -1-3

Clearly just as we are the Children of God the Father, and as Christians God the Son, we too are children of God the Mother, Wisdom. And as we learn of God and build our relationship with God the Mother. How? In the plates of brass we see this idea with Moses:

“And The Presence of Elohim withdrew from Moses, that His Glory was not upon Moses and Moses was left unto himself; and as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth.” 1 Moses 1:16-17

The Presence, or “the dwelling place of God” is a term used to describe the Shekinah, the Divine Feminine, the Queen of Heaven, Wisdom, Hai, or Heavenly Mother. Through the Divine Feminine God receives from us, our prayers and supplication. With this understanding, we can bring Her reality back to our understanding. Yes, as Christians our God is Jesus, and we worship the Father and Mother through our worship of Him. Yet we can, should, and do build a relationship with the Mother just as we do the Father, even if we do so unaware. Hopefully we can use this information as a guide to better find our Mother in Heaven, the Divine Feminine, as we study the scriptures, moving forward in Jesus Christ.