r/LatterDayTheology

God's Love for us is highly misunderstood.

We think it is because Jesus came to die for us but it isn't.

Jesus was a proof of works by his love. His love for us as a mother's love is simply because he made us in His own image and likeness so when He sees us He sees what He created.

Just as a mother would want her children to grow right the God would want us to grow well as we are made of Him but we sometimes choose our corruption.

God has set up structures that his children whom he loves will grow right but if otherwise judgement should prevail.

The original design of Parenthood and childhood is all around the parents being selfless, caring, accepting, nurturing, providing, discipline and being responsible while the child follows what has been laid before him/her confused at first but to follow and if what has been laid before him/her is good they grow well.

We are children of God meaning he is our spiritual parent.

To nurture us and groom us well the only thing we need to do is follow it might not be smooth but that is the bond between parents and children no matter what happens you know God is your sure parent not just to save but to guide that you come out better in our next chapter as we learnt from the last one.

Just in case you don't have earthly parenthood is not present God is still there for you. As the children let's submit ourselves for nurturing through prayers by the spirit, reading his word, listening to sound preachers and communicating with our parent (God).

He is the type of parent that nurtures us to death.

God loves you.

Some people are born into horrific circumstances outside of the gospel and are forced to experience all manner of difficulties in life.

Others are born into immense wealth, with parents that live them, raised in a faithful and gospel filled environment, surrounded by opportunities to grow spiritually.

These circumstances are thrust upon us with no input on our end. And this is based entirely on luck. We did nothing of our own to find it selves in the situation we are in.

But I don’t like the word luck.

I’m trying to find another word or phrase for this.

I’ll shoot down the word “blessed” because there is a connotation on it being tied to some amount of faith. And it doesn’t really address why some people are born in awful circumstances. It also demeans the difficulties they face. And the reality is that if you are seeing this question, you are certainly living one of the most comfortable lives known to human history.

I’m feeling the word “allotment”. What we have been given and our stewardship over our situation

In Alma's extended sermon to Corianton, Alma says this:

>10 Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness.

>11 And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or I would say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness.

Verse 10 is widely known and quoted, Verse 11 less so. It's verse 11 I want to focus on in this OP.

I have argued in these pages in the past that God the Father is not subject to any moral law or rule outside of himself, something like the following:

• The Father has a "taste" for certain responses within Himself--we call these responses "joy";
• He possesses this taste essentially--i.e., if He lacked it, He would not be Himself, He would be someone else;
• The Father has discovered that certain behaviors produce joy within Himself--we call these behaviors "righteousness" and so when He acts He acts to produce a fulness of joy;
• Because we are ontologically similar to God, the same righteous behaviors produce the same responses within us;
• God has instituted rules designed to help us learn to choose righteousness and, thereby, obtain a fulness of joy;
• Indeed, doing so is a righteous behavior that furthers His own experience of joy.

In this view, there is no moral law floating about the universe to which the Father must comply, else His status as God is revoked.

He is righteousness, because He possesses righteousness essentially. This is not arbitrary--it is the most objective form or morality one can imagine, because it is embedded in the objective character of the most objective being in existence.

This notion of God's righteousness is highly consistent with verse cited above. It is also far more consistent with Alma 42 than the pop-theology notion of God being subject to "objective external moral law" that floats about the universe.

Across ancient cultures, sacred architectural and geometrical symbols have been used to map the cosmic relationship between humanity and the heavens. Among the most enduring of these forms is the circumpunct (⊙
⊙
)—a single dot wrapped inside a perfect, unbroken circle. In sacred geometry and archetypal traditions, the outer circle represents the infinite, protective matrix of the sanctuary, while the central dot represents the Axis Mundi at the center of the sanctuary. This center is marked by the cardinal directions. In many cultures this is the central location where heaven and earth meet. The portal through which one passes from one to the other.
When we trace this geometric blueprint through antiquity, a profound theological architecture emerges: one that links ancient cultures like Mesopotamian myths, Egyptian temple rituals, the Orient, and the narrative of the Book of Mormon to reveal a deeply profound pairing of the Divine Feminine and the Holy Ghost.

The Archetype of the Circle and the Line
To generate a sanctuary—a holy, bounded space separated from the chaos of the profane world—ancient traditions utilized tools that demarcated the space. A central rod identifying the central punct that joins earth and heaven and rope to circumscribe the holy space. These tools often portray one who holds the authority to delineate this space. Across time, these concepts manifested in many distinct cultural variations of the same underlying representations. We will talk about five of these:
• The Mesopotamian Rod and Ring: In Sumerian and Babylonian art, supreme deities like Inanna (who is called the Queen of Heaven) were depicted holding a coiled measuring rope (the ring) and a yardstick (the rod). The tool that lays out the sanctuary where creation occurs and life emerges.
• The Egyptian Shen Ring: A stylized loop of rope tied into an unbroken circle with a flat tangent line at its base, the Shen ring means "to encircle" or "encompass." Avian protector goddesses like Isis, Mut, and Nekhbet are frequently shown holding it over the Pharaoh, using the feminine power of containment to eternally shield life from chaos. It is the exact tool used to identify a sanctuary.
• The Yin and Yang: A universal symbol of dualistic balance enclosed within a perfect circle. Within this matrix, Yin represents the explicitly feminine energy—the dark, receptive space, the womb, and cyclical intuition. Without the grounding presence of Yin, the active, linear impulse of Yang has no canvas upon which to manifest creation. It is the feminine half that balances its masculine opposite. It’s seen as another sanctuary space where life emerges through the two opposite attributes.
• The Architect’s Compass Tool: The physical instrument used to plunge a sharp, unmoving pivot leg into the center of a void (the punct) and sweep the outer arm around to circumscribe a perfect perimeter. It establishes the center and defines the boundaries of space, mirroring creation myths where a goddess measures out the "cosmic egg" or a sanctuary.
• The Navigational Compass: A device aligning a circular dial with the magnetic fields of Mother Earth. Its geometric structure is identical and it symbolically points from the center towards true North. It acts as a cross-cultural anchor, translating the unseen energies of the terrestrial realm into a straight, directive path forward.

On a superficial level these may be seen as only tools used to build and draw, but used as the function a symbol it’s not defined by one superficial interpretation. Their interpretations vary depending on many factors, but they hold a far deeper symbolic and religious meaning throughout.
As these items delineate a sanctuary, the next question we can ask is: “What exactly is a Sanctuary?” Again, one strict interpretation does not define its whole. A major part of that whole points back to the beginning of creation and the birth of life as well as pointing forward to resurrection and new eternal life. The sanctuary or cosmic egg is where divinity in one mythological fashion or another molds life and nurtures it. This space is a womb of the divine where the spark of life and breath bring forth life. We do not know what divine procreation looks like, and we don’t need to to understand what it signifies. And in many of these cultures it’s appropriately the divine feminine who is often depicted holding these tools. This sacred portal that bridges the Holy Space where God resides and earth where mankind emerges is literally traversed via the feminine womb. Deemed the most sacred sanctuary on Earth. Her body being a Temple where flesh is woven around an infant spirit. It can be seen as a transferal space from a divine Mother in Heaven to a mortal Mother on Earth.

The Sanctuary of Eden and the Mother Tree:
When this geometric blueprint is applied to the biblical narrative of the Garden of Eden, the theological map locks perfectly into place. Eden functions as the circumscribed sanctuary, and at its absolute center sits the Tree of Life—acting as the central rod, the world axis, and the unmoving punct where the cardinal directions meet to bridge Heaven and Earth.
In the ancient Near East, ancient Egypt, Greek, Celtic, Canaanite, Slavic, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, Chinese, Mesoamerica, and North American cultures to name a few, all held this symbolic Tree as part of their sacred traditions. The Tree itself is always far more than a literal tree. Without going into its every detail many tie this tree to the creative powers of a feminine deity. The Mother tree that sits in the absolute center takes on many forms. It is stylized as a wooden pole, a figurine, a world tree, a totem, and is signified by life and bearing fruit. Interestingly enough many today vehemently oppose this interpretation even when it stands independent of opinion. Entire religions deviate on this very aspect and elicit passionate responses and opposition. (This is not my topic of conversation)
When Moses builds a Tabernacle and later, the Temple of Solomon was erected to recreate the Edenic sanctuary, this tree imagery was brought inside the Holy Place as the Golden Menorah. Some argue it was at one time in the Holy of Holies and later removed. On top of that the living Rod of Aaron was inside the Ark itself. Stop and ponder this for a moment in light of all the symbolism we already covered. A rod in the exact center of a defined sanctuary, the holiest place, budding life and fruit. The Ark itself made of a special wood covered in gold representing the Body of a God, named an Ark with ties to Noah’s Ark filled with life and the cosmic egg from which life emerges found in many cultures. The sacrificial alter that is defined by the cardinal directions which symbolically represents the central meeting place and portal between heaven and earth. This Ark pointing forward to the cardinal Tree upon which Christ is sacrificed to bring life by redeeming the dead as the first fruits of the resurrection to all creation.
Only in idolatry do people worship objects. These temples are filled with symbolic objects. So the question isn’t what these items are and what the Tree is, but who is the Tree? Who is in the Temple sanctuary?
Thus, Eden was not merely a garden enclosure, but a cosmic house where Divine Parents resided at the axis of creation, drawing a safe geometric perimeter around their children within a sanctuary. Even though many disagree and have lost or deviated away from this ultimate representation. There has always been Three who’s that make up the Godhead in the house of God as a family structure.

In light of all these it is my belief and summary that the Liahona is yet another anchor pin that carries the same meaning and symbolic representation. It is a universal symbol manifested in the Book of Mormon by God where this vast lineage of sacred geometry and ancient temple theology physically converges into a single, miraculous artifact.
When Lehi discovers the brass sphere outside his tent door, he is given a portable, miniaturized device exhibiting the same structure and functions that leads the family to a land of promise or a sacred sanctuary. The artifact embodies all the features of the circumpunct, the rope and rod, the compass, and the shen ring, which are the tools of the Goddess. Even though it’s not explicitly stated there’s more here than it’s superficial depiction for those with “eyes to see”.

1. The Brass Sphere (The Circle): The outer, round ball is a delineated circular space. As noted this has a deeper representation of a protective womb and sanctuary of the Divine Feminine offering protection and leading to nourishment.
2. The Center Pivot (The Punct): The central mounting point inside the orb serves as the unmoving axis and rod of revelation to guide and direct.
3. The Internal Spindles (The Pointers and secondary Rope and Compass): The two straight needles act in one sense as the arms of the architect's compass, providing linear alignment, measure, and direction through the wilderness. Its ultimate purpose is used to point the way to the promised land, a type of Eden.
4. Linguistically, the connection deepens these ties. Language scholars note that the Hebraic root elements of Liahona (L-Yah-Ona) as well as the Hebrew word for compass carry a grammatically feminine noun ending, rendering it a feminine director—much like how instruments of circularity and navigation carry historically feminine roots in classical antiquity. Coming from Hebrew speakers the “ah” sound at its end was most likely the Hebrew letter “heh”, a feminizing letter.

The Words on the Spindles and the Holy Ghost:
The Liahona did not operate mechanically; it was an oracle animated by the Holy Ghost, dependent entirely on the faith, diligence, and heed of the travelers. It’s been directly paired as an outward physical instrument representing the Holy Spirit. Crucially, Nephi records that writing appeared and changed from time to time directly upon the spindles.
In ancient Semitic languages, the word for Spirit (Ruach) is fundamentally feminine. Ruach did not anciently mean disembodiment which we modernly understand spirit to be. The Holy Ghost operates with the archetypal attributes of the Mother—comforting, nurturing, witnessing of truth, and guiding her children through the wilderness. Furthermore, a "spindle" (pelekh in Hebrew) was an exclusively feminine tool used for spinning thread. In world mythology, spinning thread is the signature act of the Goddesses, who weave the literal fabric of life and time.
It’s not that one thing alone definitely defines this object, it’s the overarching whole that repeatedly asserts itself. Traditionally in modern LDS theology the Holy Spirit is not understood to be feminine, but that’s not aligned with ancient traditions and is a subject for an entirely different study we don’t have time for here.

Journeying Back to the Center:
This physical tool perfectly mirrors the grand cosmic vision given to Nephi. The tool and the journey and the Vision that accompanied it are parallels. In Lehi’s dream he is guided through a spiritual wilderness shrouded in a mist of darkness, he is told to hold fast to an Iron Rod—the linear, unyielding Word of God that extends from the central Tree; which represents the word that directs and guides.
Holding fast to that straight rod leads one directly to the center of the landscape: the Tree of Life. And it’s this extension of the tree or Mother that guides them, just as the Liahona guides Lehi’s family. It’s an ascension dream that maps morality’s path back to the sanctuary of Heaven. When Nephi asks the angel to show him the meaning of the Tree, the vision shifts to a beautiful Mother holding the Christ child. The angel explains that the Tree represents the love of God, as depicted in a Mother child relationship. Which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men. Its fuller meaning is a familial mother like love of parents for their Children and the Father and husband’s love for his wife. This love being the love of family which the Tree of Life represents. Even a Family Tree in its circumscribed household sanctuary.

THE BLUEPRINT OF ASCENSION

[ CIRCUMSCRIBED SANCTUARY ]
· The Brass Sphere of the Liahona
· The Straight and Narrow Path of the Dream Leading to The Tree
│
▼
[ LINEAR WORD / ROD ]
· The Inscribed Spindles
· The Iron Rod of the Vision
│
▼
[ THE CENTRAL PUNCT ]
· The Promised Land / Temple
· The Tree of Life (Divine Mother)

Whether Lehi’s family is looking down at the changing text on the spindles to navigate the dessert wilderness, or Lehi is pressing forward through the mists of darkness by holding the rod of iron, they are participating in the exact same cosmic return. The symbols and tools of the Divine Feminine are at the heart of it all. They are being lead by God through the instruments symbolizing the divine feminine, the Ruach or spirit to navigate through the wilderness and across the waters in a straight course, until they arrive in the land of promise. A new home representative of a Heavenly Home with a Mother and Father within the sanctuary of Heaven.