139. Re-Diving Into the Gospel Topics Essay with Jessica Woodbury

This episode captures a deep, heartfelt conversation between Jessica Woodbury, the host of In Her Image, and guest Christy Spencer. They discuss Christy’s spiritual journey, particularly her connection with Heavenly Mother, her humanitarian work, and personal experiences that shaped her view of divinity. The conversation explores themes of healing, faith, and redefining one's relationship with God through a feminine divine perspective. Key highlights include: Christy's Background and Work: Christy shares her decade-long humanitarian career with LDS humanitarian services, where she led impactful initiatives, especially around menstrual health in countries all around the world. Her work was deeply fulfilling, often directed by what she felt was divine guidance, and shaped her understanding of service as a sacred duty. Heavenly Mother: Christy recounts her complex relationship with the concept of "mother" due to personal loss and challenges in her upbringing. She felt a yearning to understand and connect with the feminine aspect of divinity, which deepened as she became a mother herself. She describes instances where she felt Heavenly Mother's presence in her life, adding depth to her faith. Personal Experiences and Faith: Christy describes her journey of healing and empowerment through moments of profound personal revelation, such as a dream about a pad design during her humanitarian work. She believes that God’s guidance often came in feminine tones and through nature, which she considers Heavenly Mother's house. Doctrine of Heavenly Parents: They discuss how understanding God as both a Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother has reshaped Christy’s perspective. She emphasizes the importance of unity and balance between masculine and feminine divine attributes and advocates for language inclusivity in church settings, believing that recognizing Heavenly Mother expands believers’ perceptions of divinity. Analogies and Spiritual Insights: Christy uses the metaphor of God as a prism to describe her view of God, representing a spectrum of light and color that goes beyond human comprehension. This metaphor reflects her belief that God encompasses vast diversity and complexity, much like a prism reveals the colors within white light. This discussion touches on themes of community, unity, and the personal journey of faith, particularly for women within the Latter-day Saint tradition. Christy’s stories and insights offer a vision of spirituality enriched by a more inclusive view of the divine. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/inherimage/support

In this enlightening episode of In Her Image, host Jessica Woodbury dives into a profound conversation with Bethany Brady Spalding and McArthur Krishna about the role of Heavenly Mother in Latter-day Saint theology and the deep, often overlooked, impact of acknowledging Her in doctrine and personal worship. They discuss the disconnect between church teachings and member practices, and how integrating a more holistic view of Heavenly Parents can transform personal spirituality and church culture. With inspiring personal stories, Bethany and MacArthur share their experiences of bringing Heavenly Mother into daily life and teaching. They explore how recognizing Her role affirms the divine potential of women, fosters equal partnership in marriage, and supports a nurturing model of spiritual sovereignty. This episode invites listeners to rediscover and cherish the expansive nature of the Divine Feminine and consider the ways it can bring balance, healing, and joy to their faith journeys. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/inherimage/support

Today we are republishing an episode from 2022 on the gospel topics essay titled "Mother in Heaven". In it, Kate Gregory and Jessica Woodbury highlight the beautiful gems found in the essay, which confirms the church's doctrine of a Heavenly Mother. This essay was published on October 23, 2015. As we near the 9 year anniversary of its publication, we chose to re-share this episode as the foundation next Sunday's episode, which will explore what would change and how it might look if we fully embraced the doctrines and principles found in this landmark essay. We think you'll love it! Jessica was invited to write an article pulling out truths from the "Mother in Heaven" essay for Meridian Magazine. Her article can be found at https://latterdaysaintmag.com/what-the-mother-in-heaven-gospel-topics-essay-teaches-us-about-our-eternal-mother/ Feel free to share it, and this episode, far and wide! Jessica can be found on Instagram as @with.eve.i.partake Kate and her new work as a hormone practitioner can be found at queenbeehormonehealth.com and @queenbeehormonehealth on Instagram --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/inherimage/support

Josie Grover, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, shares her journey of discovering Heavenly Mother and her evolving spirituality. Initially struggling with the doctrine of polygamy, Josie found solace in the hymn "Oh, My Father," which led her to a deeper connection with Heavenly Mother. Her experiences, including a challenging bishopric and the Women's Relief Alliance, highlighted the need for women's empowerment and representation. Josie emphasizes the importance of women finding their divine potential and advocates for greater female presence in church leadership. She finds joy in her spiritual growth and the support of her community. Venmo for one-time donations: @Jess.Burdette --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/inherimage/support

Marianne Paventy shares how the In Her Image podcast helped inspire her recently published book of poems titled Walk in Wisdom’s Paths. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/inherimage/support

In this episode, Jessica Woodbury interviews poet Marianne Paventy about her profound spiritual journey toward a deeper understanding of Heavenly Mother. Marianne shares how her relationship with the Divine Feminine has evolved over time, describing pivotal moments that led her to seek a closer connection with Heavenly Mother. She discusses the inspiration behind her newly published poetry collection, offering listeners an intimate look at the creative process and the spiritual insights she gained along the way. Together, they dive into some of Marianne’s most cherished poems, such as “The Ascent” and “The Throne of God is a Loveseat,” reflecting on the personal experiences and scriptural influences that shaped her work. Join us for this heartfelt conversation on the power of poetry, faith, and the Divine Feminine.Marianne's book "Walk in Wisdom's Paths" can be purchased here: https://olympiapublishers.com/books/walk-in-wisdoms-pathsTickets to the Oct 19 event in Eagle, ID: https://walking-with-wisdom.eventcube.io/Mandy Green’s online classes: https://projectillumination.thinkific.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/inherimage/support

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Susan Madsen to discuss the role of women in leadership within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how recognizing Heavenly Mother could transform the Church's culture and leadership structures. Susan shares her insights on gender equality in religious and community contexts, offering practical suggestions for how integrating the divine feminine into worship and doctrine could empower both women and men. Join us for a thought-provoking conversation about the future of leadership in the LDS Church.Susan R. Madsens main website:https://susanrmadsen.com/indexUnleashing Sister Saints Podcast:https://open.spotify.com/show/1EDz9mIXhDotTyhEZzp0as?si=AVEyuFUgSTKc0Moi-UjxFwUtah Women and Leadership Podcasthttps://open.spotify.com/show/6S9DnvzcpGLHgPxvqQrqZ7?si=Sc3x3OhJQaWMuvshE3__bwA Bolder Way Forward website:https://www.usu.edu/uwlp/a-bolder-way-forward/overviewThe primary aim of A Bolder Way Forward is to help more Utah women and girls thrive. Utah women and girls thrive when all aspects of their safety, security, health, and wellbeing are met, allowing them to explore and pursue educational, professional, civic, leadership, and other opportunities according to their interests, and to feel abundant levels of support and a sense of belonging as they do so.A Future Only God Can See for You: a Guide for Teen and Young Adult Women on Preparing to Leadhttps://a.co/d/4qlwtU5Instagram accounts:Her main Instagram page@susanrmadsenUnleashing Sister Saints@unleashingsistersaintsA Bolder Way Forward @bwfutahUtah Women and Leadership Project@utwomenleaders --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/inherimage/support

Join Meg Rittmanic in this expansive interview with Meghan Farner about the Divinely Feminine role in covenants and ordinances. Sign up for notifications for Meghan’s book “Consider Yourself As Eve: A Guide to Spiritual Development for Women (and the Men Who Love Them)” to be published November 2024: https://share.hsforms.com/1XDjgKqfITm2OpCLDKvrLpQe860f Meg’s favorite episodes of Latter-day Disciples podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-93-mothers-feminism-and-priestesshood-with/id1598827209?i=1000632454519 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-127-the-law-of-the-gospel-a-new-view/id1598827209?i=1000660937877 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-83-ancient-egypt-and-seeking-truth-with-jared-rubalcaba/id1598827209?i=1000624538616 Shadow work podcast links: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-her-image-finding-heavenly-mother-in-scripture-scholarship/id1566494543?i=1000659941361 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-her-image-finding-heavenly-mother-in-scripture-scholarship/id1566494543?i=1000642368934 --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/inherimage/support

Meg Rittmanic shares her plans for her contribution to the podcast for this season. At minute 13 Meg shares a talk she gave in her ward about Heavenly Mother on mothers day. This talk is a great place to start to connect the dots around Heavenly Mothers story in scripture. Join Meg in a journey to come to understand Her attributes, Her healing love, Her mission, and how exciting it is to help in restoring truths about Her! Join us --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/inherimage/support

We are so grateful to Aspen Moore, Rebecca Young, and Carol Robins for providing an inclusive version of the Book of Mormon. Here are some resources they shared during the interview and their Instagram information: Heavenly Parents: An Inclusive Book of Mormon ReadingThe easiest way to read it is on your phone through the Medium app or on your computer @ Medium.comThose interested can download the Medium app on their phones which has a black background with a white capital M and 1/2 of a lowercase e.They can also create a free account (scroll down to the bottom of the registration page to find the free option) and follow Heavenly Parents Project which houses Heavenly Parents: An Inclusive Book of Mormon ReadingAdditionally, here are a couple links to resources that have more information about Heavenly Mother from the LDS Church that we used during our discussion.A Mother There - BYU Studies ArticleA Mother in Heaven - Gospel Topics EssayThe Heavenly Parents Book of Mormon instagram page is @heavenly.parents.bomRebecca's instagram page is @our.heavenly.parentsAspen's instagram page is @seeking.her.wisdom --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/inherimage/support