Reg Christensen lives in the Midwest with his wife, Carol. They have seven children and seventeen grandchildren. Reg has fulfilled a variety of callings in the Church and he and Carol have been blessed with many service opportunities as Pathway missionaries and service volunteers at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, to mention a few. While living in Jerusalem, they served in the Bethlehem branch, Carol as the Relief Society president and Reg as the branch president. His happy times come from being with family and friends, reading, writing, woodworking, leathercrafting, exploring nature, and blessing lives with his handyman skills. He has published several books, including Unlocking Isaiah: Lessons and Insights that Draw Us to the Savior.
Enter Reg…
One of the most powerful and profound desires of the human soul is connection with our parents—both earthly and heavenly. We need assurance of their love, presence, and protection.
We Are Not Abandoned
When our third son was born, I checked his mother into the hospital and then drove his two older brothers to a rendezvous point with my parents, who were to care for them for a few days. As we transferred the boys from my car to theirs, our two-year-old son began to wail, “I want my Dad!” As later reported, he continued his lament for the entire journey and into the evening until he finally settled down. All felt empathy for him, but life is just like that—we must separate from our parents at times during our journey of growth and progress.
Now fast forward a half-dozen or so years when our third son was in elementary school. One afternoon he had traveled with me to procure a load of carpet cushion for our business. On the way home, we stopped at his grandmother’s house and, in a playful act, he climbed to the top of the load, jumped off, and injured his foot. Since the pain persisted, we took him to the hospital to discover that he had broken four metatarsals. He was fitted with a cast and given a pair of crutches.
At home, as we began to review the instruction process of how he was to navigate school, he firmly announced that he “would not be going to school until his foot healed.” Sparing the full details of this boy’s personality, I just say that he is of exceptionally strong will, so we knew he meant business. As we had some unchangeable plans for the next day, we temporarily acquiesced but announced that he would be going to school the following day. He replied that he would not. He crawled around the house, refusing to even practice walking on his crutches.
The next day, I drove him to school early, not wanting to embarrass him before the entire student body. As anticipated, he refused to enter the school. I lifted him in one arm and carried the crutches in the other, walking briskly to the door of his classroom. Amidst his somewhat subdued (because of fear of embarrassment) protests of “No, Dad, don’t leave me!” I unclasped his arms from his firm grip around my neck, stood him and his crutches against the wall, and with an ache in my heart, turned and quickly walked away.
Around the corner of the hall, I paused and peeked back to observe him standing with a bewildered look on his face for a moment, and then realizing that he was out of options, he picked up his crutches for the first time and entered his classroom.
What a dark feeling of terrible abandonment he must have had. However, what he did not know was that my wife had called his teacher the day before, informed her of our planned action, and made all needed arrangements. His teacher was in the classroom when he arrived and implemented the accommodation plan. When we picked him up at the end of the day, he was happy and smiling. The other students had written their names and well-wishes on his cast. A friendly girl had helped him with his lunch tray. He recounted the story of his heroic injury to his class. He happily went to school each day thereafter.
Sometimes, as we pass through times of trouble and challenge in our lives, we may be tempted to feel that our heavenly parents have deserted us, but They never do. They allow us to make our choices, “according to [our] desire, whether it be unto death or unto life,” (Alma 29:4) but we are never left without access to the great pre-arranged plan of happiness, the divine love of heavenly parents, and the healing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Love and Assistance
Jesus’s feeling of darkness at the apex of His suffering provides us with the most tender plea imaginable for the love and assistance of Father. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland testified,
“In that most burdensome moment of all human history, with blood appearing at every pore and an anguished cry upon His lips, Christ sought Him whom He had always sought—His Father. “Abba,” He cried, “Papa,” or from the lips of a younger child, “Daddy” (Mark 14:36). This is such a personal moment it almost seems a sacrilege to cite it. A Son in unrelieved pain, a Father, His only true source of strength, both of them staying the course, making it through the night—together.”
Correct Understanding
All people everywhere are the literal sons and daughters of our heavenly parents, our Mother and Father in Heaven. They love us with perfect love and desire our peace and happiness here during our mortality and throughout all of eternity.
In Their divine wisdom and perfection, They have full capacity and power to help us achieve our worthy goals and desires. Our greatest life task is to seek out and prepare for eternal life by gaining a correct understanding of our heavenly parents and of Their plan of happiness for us, and then living our lives according to the truth we have gained.
As Jesus taught,
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)
It is uncertain why we do not hear as much taught and spoken about our Mother in Heaven as we do about our Father. We will learn and understand more in due time, but the important thing is that we recognize and venerate our Heavenly Mother. Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught,
Our theology begins with heavenly parents. Our highest aspiration is to be like them. Under the merciful plan of the Father, all of this is possible through the atonement of the Only Begotten of the Father, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As earthly parents we participate in the gospel plan by providing mortal bodies for the spirit children of God. The fulness of eternal salvation is a family matter.
With a proper understanding that we have “a mother there,” we are better able to understand the nature of references to Deity in scripture. For example, references to God throughout the Old Testament generally refer to Jehovah, or Jesus Christ, the Creator. However, “God” referred to in the account of the creation of Adam and Even refers to the Father. Because our Mother in Heaven is an equal partner and a co-creator with Him, we may better understand the scriptural declaration,
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness . . . So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (Genesis 1:26-27)
The Universal Father and Mother
We understand that Mother and Father in Heaven created male and female— Adam and Eve, man and woman—in Their own image, with Eve in the image of Mother and Adam in the image of Father.
“All men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother.”
President Joseph Fielding Smith affirmed,
“Female spirits were created in the image of a Mother in heaven.”
“Deity consists of man and woman. … I sometimes illustrate this matter by taking up a pair of shearers … they are composed of two halves … and to perform their work for each other, as designed, they belong together, and neither one of them is fitted for the accomplishment of their works alone. … I have another description: There never was a God, and there never will be in all eternities, except they are made of these two component parts; a man and a woman; the male and the female.”
Speaking of Elder Snow’s quote, two gospel scholars, Fiona and Teryl Givens, remind us that as we speak and write of God, we often reference both Mother and Father. They go on to say,
“If this is true, then when we employ the term God, it will often be the case that two divine Beings are behind the expression. The writer of Genesis employed the name Adam to refer to a fully collaborative couple; Adam is effectively their surname (Gen. 5:2; Moses 6:9). Just as Adam can refer to both Adam and Eve, there will be instances when God is rightly followed by the pronoun, They.”
In this article, I will reference “heavenly parents” where appropriate to the context. There will be times when I use the plural pronoun “They” when referencing “God” to remind us of Father and Mother. “God” will also often have a singular reference to Heavenly Father. Sometimes “God” will have a singular reference to Christ. In all our gospel study and pondering, we do well to always remember that we have a Savior and heavenly parents—Mother and Father—who serve and guide us in perfect unity and divine love. Our Mother and Father in Heaven serve as equal partners with different primary roles. They live as equals in perfection, knowledge, power, compassion, glory, and love. They love each other with perfect love, respect, and honor. They set the example for us as Their children here in mortality.
Our heavenly parents are our ultimate role models. Jesus taught, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48.)
A True and Worthy Quest
Even though such a lofty goal is not possible during our mortal lifetime, it is nonetheless a true and worthy quest, for Jesus would not direct us to do the impossible.
Since we are created in God’s image and are Their literal offspring, we have potential to learn and grow and gain the type of life They have. As we do so, we come to know, understand, and more fully love Them.
The Perfect Blend
Our heavenly parents act in perfect blend of justice and mercy. They are gracious, merciful, kind, patient, forgiving, and nurturing. They take each of Their children wherever they are in life, shower them with Their divine love, and guide them forward. They are perfect in holiness and guide and help us master our imperfections and overcome our unholiness, while always remaining just in Their judgment and the blessings They grant.
They walk, talk, hear, smell, taste, speak—not in some mysterious metaphorical sense as many misguided philosophers and theologians suppose—but literally and physically with Their perfected and immortal bodies of flesh and bone.
They are compassionate—perfectly aware of our joys and sorrows and constantly prompting and leading us from darkness to the light. Elder Holland taught,
“Of course, the centuries-long drift away from belief in such a perfect and caring Father hasn’t been helped any by the man-made creeds of erring generations which describe God variously as unknown and unknowable— formless, passionless, elusive, ethereal, simultaneously everywhere and nowhere at all. Certainly, that does not describe the Being we behold through the eyes of these prophets. Nor does it match the living, breathing, embodied Jesus of Nazareth who was and is in “the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his [Father” (Hebrews 1:3).”
All Things Teach Us
As we become mindful of the true nature of our heavenly parents and of our divine nature and potential, and as we strive to live as They would have us live, all things about our lives teach us about Them. As we walk, speak, and listen, we may come to know that our heavenly parents have power to speak and listen to anyone at any level of understanding and knowledge. They can converse comfortably with the greatest scientists because the subjects of their scientific studies are Their creations.
If They speak to the humble and unlearned, They communicate simply and plainly with perfect love and empathy, never belittling or condemning; instead, they are always encouraging and lifting.
As we smell the flowers and hear the cooing doves, we are made aware that our heavenly parents also enjoy such sweet fragrance and peaceful harmony. With perfected senses they have pure delight in the creation of all things for the blessing and enjoyment of Their children.
“And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food.” (Genesis 2:9)
The Omniscient of God and Christ
God and Christ are omnipotent (all powerful). They have all power to create, to govern, and to order all things in the universe. They could stop all cars from crashing and all cancers from forming—but They do not. They allow death, drought, illness, and heartache as natural aspects of our earthly mortality for our growth and development. They allow man to have his agency and to grow by the exercise thereof. They give us ample opportunity to learn to love and serve each other.
God and Christ are omniscient (all knowing). Not only are They more intelligent than the most intelligent of earthly mortals—They are more intelligent than the combined intellect of all beings. There is no problem or challenge that we could experience for which They do not know the proper solution.
In Their love for us, They impart Their divine knowledge and wisdom to the degree that we seek Them and prepare our hearts and minds to receive Their counsel. God and Christ are omnipresent (everywhere present). As personal beings of flesh and bone, They can physically only be in one place at a time, but through the power and influence of Their Spirit, They are everywhere present and aware of all creation—the happenings of the universe and the heartaches and joys of all Their children.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Matthew 10:29-30)
We Are Assured
Our heavenly parents are perfectly honest and honorable in all Their doings. We can always fully trust Them. They will never fail, betray, or abandon us. Although we, through our rebellious thoughts and actions, may at times distance ourselves from Them, They will always be close at hand. “His hand is stretched out still” (Isaiah 5:25) to rescue us, to guide us, to love us, and to comfort us.
I know that our heavenly parents live and love us with divine and perfect love. They will never abandon us. As we seek Them, we are assured of Their plan and love for us.
This is such a powerful reminder of the fullness of our doctrine of Heavenly Parents!