Heavenly Mother: The Mother of All Women

1. Joseph Smith, Jr., “The King Follett Discourse,” General Conference Meeting (Nauvoo, Ill.: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Apr. 7, 1844).

2. LDS Gospel Topics, s.v. “Godhead,” accessed Jul. 30, 2018, https://www.lds.org/topics/godhead?lang=eng. “They acknowledge the Father as the ultimate object of their worship.”

3. LDS Gospel Topics, s.v. “Mother in Heaven,” accessed Jul. 30, 2018, https://www.lds.org/topics/mother-in-heaven?

4. Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 11:269 “The only men who become Gods, even the sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy.”

5. Genesis 1:26–27; Romans 8:16–17; Psalms 82:6; Elder Erastus Snow, Mar. 3, 1878, Journal of Discourses, 19:269–70: “If I believe anything that God has ever said about himself … I must believe that deity consists of man and woman… . There can be no God except he is composed of the man and woman united, and there is not in all the eternities that exist, or ever will be a God in any other way.46 We may never hope to attain unto the eternal power and the Godhead upon any other principle … this Godhead composing two parts, male and female.”

6. Joseph Smith, Jr., “The King Follett Discourse,” General Conference Meeting (Nauvoo: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Apr. 7, 1844).

7. Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Apostasy and Restoration,” Ensign, May 1995, 84. “Our theology begins with heavenly parents. Our highest aspiration is to be like them.”

8. Gordon B. Hinckley, “Daughters of God,” LDS General Conference (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Oct. 1991).

9. John A. Widtsoe, Priesthood and Church Government (Salt Lake: Deseret Book Company, 1954), 84.

10. Widtsoe, Priesthood and Church Government, 85.

11. Blaire Ostler, “How a Mother Became a Transhumanist,” Queer Mormon Transhumanist, accessed Jul. 31, 2018, https://www.blaireostler.com/journal/2015/6/6/how-a-mother-became-a-transhumanist.

12. Widtsoe, Priesthood and Church Government, 85.

13. Widtsoe, Priesthood and Church Government, 85.

14. Blaire Ostler, “Sexuality and Procreation,” Queer Mormon Transhumanist, accessed Jul. 31, https://www.blaireostler.com/journal/2016/3/22/broadening-our-understanding-of-sexuality-and-procreation.

15. Gestational dad is a term used to describe transgender men or intersex men with functioning ovaries and uterus that allows him to carry, deliver, and even nurse his offspring.

16. I want to acknowledge that surrogacy is fraught with controversy, especially around gay dads who participate in overseas surrogacy. The bodies of women of color are often exploited and misused in the underground network of overseas surrogacy. It is unacceptable for advancements in queer parenting to come at the expense of women of color, their bodies, their health care, and their economic position. They deserve our love, care, and consideration to their volition, consent, and autonomy. Methods of surrogacy need to be radically revised to benefit and respect women of color and other economically disadvantaged women.