Gospel Symbolism in Childbirth: An LDS Perspective

The Body as a Temple

Throughout my time as a Young Woman (which, admittedly, was only 2 years) I was taught that my body is a temple.  This was the reasoning for dressing modestly, remaining chaste and being careful of what put in it-be it food or the programs I watched or the music I listened to.  At the time, my understanding of the symbolism of my body being a temple was that my body housed my spirit and if I was righteous could also house the spirit of the Lord the way the temple is a house of the Lord and He can come and dwell there.  But as I’ve birthed my own children I’ve come to realize that the symbolism is much richer than I had previously imagined.

In Old Testament times, the temple was divided into three areas:  The outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies.

The outer courtyard of the Tabernacle was open to all the Israelites.  Anyone could enter, much like our temples today.  The outer courtyard of our bodies is just the way you are now.  You are dressed and can interact with anyone you so choose.  They may see you and you may shake hands or hug.  You are not restricted in your interactions with other people.

 “It was originally intended that an Israelite could move from the outer court of the tabernacle to its inner and more holy precincts and observe, in so doing, that the handiwork and ornamentation became progressively more intricate, ornate, and secluded until at last the ritual placed them before the holy presence, even the Holy of Holies.  Sacred beyond description, protected from the eyes of the unworthy, these ordinances were designed to be, and could have become, the cement, or bonding agent, between worthy Israel and her God.  This symbolic journey, however, was denied Israel because of her own pride and rebellion (see Exodus 20:18-20; 31:1).   Israel lost these higher blessings and became dependent upon the officiating priests who acted as proxy through a lesser order of the priesthood” (OT study guide, p. 154).

Instead of all of Israel being able to move through the temple from the outer court to the Holy of Holies, the high priest was designated to wear an ephod inlaid with stones representing the twelve tribes and all the host of Israel.  Wearing this symbolic representation of all of God’s covenant people, the high priest alone moved from holy place to holy place within the temple.   Today with the restoration of the fullness of the gospel, we no longer need a proxy priest to observe temple ordinances for us.  We can do that for ourselves.  And within the temple endowment, we pass from holy place to holy place.

As you enter the Holy Place from the outer courtyard, you would pass the altar of sacrifice and the laver.  The altar of sacrifice was where the animals were slain and offered.  This symbolizes the strict obedience and sacrifice that are required as first steps on our progression towards God.  In order to enter latter-day temples we also need to be obedient and offer the sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.  The laver was used for washing and cleansing (Exodus 30:19-20).  It is clearly symbolic of baptism which is another step towards God.  Washing and anointing is also a pre-requisite to the endowment ceremony in modern temples.

After cleansing with the Laver, the priest could enter the tabernacle.   Entering the tabernacle required the priest to wear special clothing.  The high priests wore an ephod which was a “holy garment” made by those who were filled with the “spirit of wisdom” (exodus 28:2-3).  Inside the Holy Place was a table of shewbread, a sacred candlestick and an altar of incense.   The table of shewbread held wine and bread that were changed each Sabbath day and are clearly symbolic of the flesh and blood of Christ much like our sacrament.  The candlestick represents the perfect light of Christ. (D&C 45: 56-57).  The altar of incense was a symbol of prayers ascending up to God. (Revelation 5:8).  In our modern temples, after the washing and anointing, we are given further light and knowledge (candlestick) and taught the true order of prayer.  We are given holy garments.  They are to remind us of our covenants and protect us.  The areas of our bodies that are covered by the holy garment are equivalent to the Holy Place.  These are sacred areas of our bodies that are not for the viewing of the world.  We keep them protected and our temple covenants are tied to these body parts.  We are given plain commandments on how to use them.

Passing through a veil, the priest would enter the Holy of Holies.  Within this room was the Ark of the Covenant which is where the Lord dwelt.  Boyd K. Packer has said  “hidden away in the central part of the temple is the Holy of Holies, where the President of the Church may retire when burdened down with heavy decisions to seek an interview with Him whose Church it is. The prophet holds the keys, the spiritual keys and the very literal key to this one door in that sacred edifice” ( Boyd K. Packer (1980). The Holy Temple (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft) p. 4.)  But for the rest of us, the Celestial room in today’s temples also represents being in the presence of God.

On a woman’s body the Holy of Holies could symbolize her reproductive organs.  This is the most sacred place.  Only after holy covenants have been made can anyone enter there.  This is where new life springs forth and where she and her husband can partake of the God-like attribute of creation. Within the Holy of Holies lies the Ark of the Covenant.  It’s lid is the Mercy Seat where the high priest sprinkles the blood of the Lamb on the Day of Atonement.  I will address this symbol of blood in more detail later.  However, in regards to a woman’s body being a symbol of a temple, this follows suit.  We know that it is from the corresponding Holy of Holies where there is an issue of blood. Just as in old testament times and in the latter days, there is a veil that separates this most holy place from the rest of the temple, so it is with the female body.  There is a thin membrane which must be passed through before access inside can be gained.

That veil is a physical division between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies as well as a symbol of the separation between God and Man.  Therefore, in this sacred sexual act, a man who holds the priesthood of God, who has had made covenants (alter of sacrifice) and been pronounced clean (laver) is allowed, through the priveleges of sealing, to move from holy place to holy place.  He bears within himself the possibility of life, literal children who would be born into God’s covenant (ephod,representing God’s covenant people).  He passes through the veil (hymen) to enter the Holy of Holies.

In summary, the tabernacle and its plan and the ordinances thereof illustrate the grand and glorious symbolism of mankind’s progress from a state of being alienated from God to one of full communion with Him.

So, yes.  Our bodies are temples.  But that has deep spiritual and symbolic significance.  It’s not just a trite phrase.  The temples are designed to remind us of the atonement–our journey from our carnal state to becoming one with God.  And our bodies represent that also.  It’s no wonder that God has placed such strict commandments surrounding how we use our sexual and procreative powers.  When we are obedient and faithful and remain chaste, guarding the sacred sexual act to be used only within the bonds of a sealed marriage, it is another enactment of finding full communion with God and with each other, the literal union of two people which also represents our union with God.  When we view the human sexual drive and the pleasures derived from it in this light, it broadens the scope of our purpose within marriage and in mortality.

*  For further reading and description about the symbols of Old Testament temples, read here.

Conception and Covenant

Part of the beauty of conception is that it is a wonderful embodiment of the Abrahamic Covenant and helps us understand the Great Plan of Happiness.  The blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant boil down to 1) salvation, 2) eternal increase, 3) the first two blessings would apply to all of Abraham’s mortal posterity, 4) Christ would come through his lineage, and 5) his posterity would receive certain lands as an inheritance.  Blessings 4 and 5 apply to his mortal descendants.  But we, either being literal descendants or being adopted into his lineage, have claim upon salvation and eternal increase through our obedience to the laws of God. Just as obedience, repentance, and baptism prove us worthy of salvation, we also get a trial with the blessings of eternal increase.  In this life we are allowed to be co-creators with God and to test our mettle as to things concerning eternal importance–family.

Salvation is achieved through baptism and obedience and is awarded to all those who may enter into the celestial kingdom.  But exaltation, the highest degree of the celestial kingdom may only be attained by those who are sealed together in the covenant of eternal marriage.  We know that the same sociality exists in heaven as on earth.  And on earth, in order to procreate, there must be a mother and a father.  A woman alone in the celestial kingdom cannot have increase any more than a woman alone can have earthly increase.  Likewise for a man.  There must be a union.

One of the reasons there must be a union is because the role of man on this earth represents only part of the Savior’s work.  The role of the woman completes the symbol.  I had often heard that men have the priesthood and women have motherhood.  But I had never really understood what exactly that meant.  How were they related?

The priesthood is the power and authority  to act in the name of God.  It is given to men with the responsibility that they must use it to teach and preach the gospel.  It represents the part of the Savior’s work which was his ministry.  But it is the woman whose sacrifices in childbearing represent the atonement.    What good would the Savior’s teachings and ministry be if he had not atoned for our sins?  And of what use would the atonement be if we had no idea how to put it to use?  Both are necessary components.  So it is with men and women.  We have different but complementary roles to fulfill and one is not more important the other.  They must both be present.

Valerie M. Hudson has said:

Both trees represented doorways along the journey of the great plan.  The First Tree, the tree of knowledge of good and evil, symbolized the doorway leading from heaven to earth and the ordinances of entering mortality with a mortal body, with full agency, and having the light of Christ awakened within.  The Second Tree, the tree of eternal life, symbolized the ordinances of salvation and exaltation–the doorway back to our heavenly home.

Through women, souls journey into mortality and gain their agency.  In general, through women nurturing their children with love, the light of Christ is awakened within each soul.  And we should include in that list of souls Jesus the Christ.  Even Christ our Lord was escorted to mortality and veiled in flesh through the gift of a woman, fed at His mother’s breast, and awakened to all that is good and sweet in the world while in her care.  Women escort every soul through the veil to mortal life.  I find it interesting to think that even Adam, who was created before Eve, entered into full mortality and full agency only by accepting the gift of the First Tree from the hand of a woman.  In a sense, then, Adam himself was born of Eve.  Eve was created second not because she was derivative of Adam;  she was created second to highlight that the giving of the gift of the First Tree was the gift to be given by women in the great plan.

What gift will Adam give to further the great plan?  Latter-day Saints believe that Adam and his sons will give the gift of the fruit of the Second Tree to those children of God worthy to receive it, just as Eve and her daughters give the fruit of the First Tree to all who are worthy to partake of it.  The fruits of the Second Tree are the ordinances of salvation and exaltation.  These ordinances are administered through the priesthood by the sons of God.  Just as the doorway through the veil into this life is administered and guarded over by the daughters of God, so the doorway through the veil that brings us home is administered and guarded over by the sons of God.  Those who have accepted the gift of the Second Tree from the hands of the sons of God will pass through that veil back to that celestial place where they can be with their heavenly parents once more.

The first presidency and council of the twelve apostles have stated, “We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed” (proclamation on the family).  Heavenly Father designed for the act of procreation to be powerful and unifying.   Very literally, the man and woman have become one.  Out of this unity, a new soul may be created.

So we have a Heavenly Father whose work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.  That is what he does in his celestial sphere and in his glorified body.  He is a parent.  Through the Abrahamic covenant, God promises us innumerable posterity in the eternities.  Is this not a great blessing?  Does not this show how God wants us to be like him?  What kind of people does it take to claim this blessing?  If we perceive children as a curse or a burden or some other sap on our resources that means we are unable to take vacations or eat extravagant meals or have any myriad of other material possessions, are we the kind of people who are willing to fulfill the Abrahamic covenant?  Are we the type of people who will want to dwell throughout all eternity as a parent?  Quite frankly, no.  On this earth, we begin to cultivate those skills and abilities.  We need to learn to view having children as a blessing so sacred and cherished that we would sacrifice all of our earthly things to have just one.  It would not matter that we were poor or rented instead of owned a home or weren’t finished with school yet.  This blessing exceeds all others and so we seek it with a firm faith.

If it is Heavenly Father’s work and glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, then it is our work and our glory to bring to pass the mortality and earthly life of man.  As parents we can bear children who are born in the covenant, automatically sealed into God’s great family, teach them the principles and ordinances of the gospel, bring them back to God’s presence and find great joy therein (D&C18:15-17)

We know that the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth is still in tact (proclamation on family) today.    When we are sealed, we covenant to do just that.  Spencer W. Kimball has said,

“The Lord does not waste words.  He meant what he said.  You did not come on earth just to “eat, drink, and be merry.”  You came knowing full well your responsibilities.  You came to get for yourself a mortal body that could become perfected, immortalized, and you understood that you were to act in partnership with God in providing bodies for other spirits equally anxious to come to earth for righteous purposes.  And so you will not postpone parenthood” (Marriage, p. 22).

It was the Savior who said, “Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.  And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.”  (Luke 9:48)  He taught that we should “suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 19:14).

It can be more than a little frightening to choose to undergo the physical, emotional, financial and spiritual changes that occur as we become co-creators with God.  Alma’s treatise on faith (Alma 32) has double meaning in this situation.  It takes faith to have a child and the process of conception and pregnancy and birth follow the same pattern as the seed of faith that Alma is talking about.

Read Alma 32.

1. Awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my word, exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if you can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words (verse 27).
2. Give place to plant the seed.  Do not cast it out.  Let the spirit work upon your heart.  You will begin to feel a swelling within your breasts and realize that the seed is good.  It will enlarge your soul. And enlighten your understanding and begin to be delicious to you (v. 28).
3.  The seed will swell and sprout and begin to grow and your faith will be strengthened (v 30)
4.  If the seed is good, it will grow.  If it is not good, it will be cast out (v.32).
5.  Now your knowledge of the goodness of the seed is perfect and your faith is dormant, your understanding is enlightened and your mind expands (v. 34).
6. Don’t lay aside faith.  You’ve only exercised faith to try the experiment to see if the seed was good (v. 36).
7. As the tree grows, you will nourish it with great care so that it will bring forth fruit unto you.
8. If you neglect the tree and do not nourish it, it will wither away and you pluck it up and cast it out.  But it’s not because the seed wasn’t good.  It’s because your ground is barren and you will not nourish the seed so you cannot have the fruit (v. 37, 38).
9.  Because of your diligence and patience, faith and nourishing the seed it will take root.  You will pluck the fruit which is “most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure” (v. 41,42).

These steps of faith that Alma taught are particularly meaningful when applied to deciding to begin a family.

1.  Exercise a particle of faith.  The prophets have counseled us to begin our families and not to wait.  We may not have this testimony ourselves, nevertheless the scriptures and other prophetic statements assure us that this is Gods will.  Arouse your faculties–study it out, read on it.  Pray to be touched by the Holy Ghost and to let the Spirit work upon our hearts.
2.  Give place to plant the seed.  Do not cast it out.  Give place to plant the seed of life within you.  Every month there is a seed ready for fertilization.  Whenever a married couple engages in sexual intercourse, his seed comes forth to fertilize that egg.  Give place for it.  Do not cast it out.  Allow it to be planted.  You will begin to feel the swelling motions, literally within your breasts and within your belly.  Motherhood is a high and noble calling.  When you have accepted it, it WILL enlarge your soul and enlighten your understanding.  You have made a baby!  There is a miraculous life growing within you.  A new soul!  This will be delicious to you.
3.  The baby will grow and your faith will be strengthened.
4. Sometimes there are problems with conception and the seed is cast out.  The majority of early miscarriages are because of birth defects that are not compatible with life.
5. Now you know that the seed is good.  Your faith is dormant and you have knowledge.  You have experienced that change of heart.  You know what it feels like to have those maternal feelings towards the growing babe inside you.
6.  But don’t think that you are done!  This was just an experiment to try the seed to see if it was good.  And by the feelings you are having now, you know that bringing forth a child is a wonderful thing!
7. As the child grows, you will nourish it with great care, teach it, protect it, love it, feed it.
8.  If you neglect the child and take no thought for it’s welfare it will die–not because having children was not a good idea, but because of  your negligence.  You will not know the joys that come from parenting.
9.  Eventually, the child will leave your body.  It will get root.  Every day the child will be less and less dependent upon you.  You will be and feel something so special and sacred.  You will be a parent and in so doing, have just taken a crucial step towards godhood.

I’ve shared this story before, but I have personal experience with what happens when you plant the seed.  When I had been married for just a few months, I heard the talk by President Benson, “To the Mothers in Zion” during an institute class.  I became very angry about the ideas he expressed for women.  I ranted and railed all day long.  Towards the end of a very long day of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, my husband asked me if he could give me a blessing.  Surprisingly, considering the mood I was in, I agreed.

I don’t remember the blessing.  But the conversation as we went to bed that night was about getting pregnant and having a baby.  I did not think it was advisable at all considering our situation at the time—poor, starving college students.  For me, that was a brand new seed.  I had never actually considered having a baby before and my initial reaction was to cast the idea out.  But through the blessing and the small sliver of fertile ground in my heart, I opened myself up to the possibility.

The very next morning, I came up with a possible plan that involved taking extra classes in order to graduate as soon as possible and then taking a year to work full time and save money so that then we could get pregnant.  It was as if that seed had taken root overnight.  What had been an utter impossibility the night before, with the slightest amount of faith exercised, had changed into something workable.  And then, as a little bit more time passed and we planned to put that original plan (extra classes, graduate early, work full-time, baby) into action, I felt those swelling motions.  It began to be delicious to me.  I nourished the thought of having a baby and thought about it a lot and before I knew it, I was completely baby-hungry!

Suddenly that plan that we had thought up was going to take much too long.  I was eager to begin to our family and become a mother.  What had seemed like insurmountable challenges at first, were now small bumps in the road compared the blessings of having children which I so desperately desired.  The experiment worked.  I didn’t know at the time that I was exercising just a small particle of faith to even desire to believe the words of President Benson.  But I believe that that small act of humility to receive a blessing at the end of a long day of rejection and rebellion was my smallest particle of faith.  I did not know at the time that I was putting Alma’s words to the test and experimenting on his words.    And now that I had exercised that faith and gained in light and knowledge and understanding, it didn’t mean the experiment was over!  Now I had to nourish that seed and act on it.  Which we did and some of the greatest blessings and deepest joys in my life have come from that barely discernible particle of faith where I tried out the word.

Symbols of Childbirth

Sometimes I have thought that it must surely be easier for those of us who have lived after the time of Christ to recognize him as the savior.  The atonement was wrought.  The resurrection did come to pass.  My reasoning was that the people before the time of Christ really had no reassurances that all would go well.  I mean, the Savior hadn’t been tested yet.  Anything could have happened.  But it was only as I have borne my own children that I realized the magnitude of the plan.  My mind couldn’t grasp how the Savior could have been Jehovah before he had achieved the atonement and resurrection, before he had even experienced mortality and been tempted and overcome.

One of the amazing things about childbirth is that it is the culmination of a marvelous work and a wonder.  You have been patiently growing a baby inside of you for 9 months and the time has finally come to usher him into mortality.   This was what finally made sense to me.  The baby’s gender and physical appearance are all decided at the moment of conception.  Eventually a baby will be born, but the plan was put into motion 9 months ago, long before you could even tell that you were pregnant!  Once you are pregnant, you can’t get out of the eventuality that someday at sometime, you WILL have this baby!   In the pre-existence, with the introduction of the Great Plan of Happiness it ensured that at some point way down the line, the Savior WOULD complete the atonement and resurrection.  There was no avoiding it.

During the last trimester of pregnancy one of the most empowering and glorious things to remember is that you are about to participate in a living symbol of the atonement.  As we mentioned earlier, this is the time when women become a living symbol of the atonement wrought for mankind.  We are a type and shadow of the Savior of the world.  Let us consecrate this work of childbearing for our good.  Let us recognize the incredible work we are partaking in that it may counted unto us for righteousness.  Let us draw strength from these awesome symbols and in so doing, draw closer to that God who created the universe and allows us so vividly to take part in his work.

“And then above all, the thing of prime importance was the knowledge of a gospel plan of salvation that gives meaning and purpose, direction and worth, to life—a gospel plan that raises the process from a purely physical thing to a partnership with our Father in heaven in keeping his first commandment, and in bringing his spiritual children to tabernacle in temporal bodies.”  (Elder Albert Theodore Tuttle, CR 1959, First day, morning meeting)

 

Saved in Childbearing

In 1 Timothy, Paul tells us that men and women shall be saved in childbearing (1 Timothy 2:15).  How does this work?  What is the mechanism by which we are saved through bearing children?  I think it has to do with Heavenly Father’s work and fulfilling our purpose here on earth.  In Moses 5:39, it says “For behold, this is my work and my glory–to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”  So we know that in the Celestial Realms above, our Heavenly Father is concerned about us, not merely as creations, but as children.  He wants us to be like him and be immortal and have eternal life.  By becoming parents ourselves, we are emulating our Heavenly Father.  We are doing the work on earth that He is doing from heaven.  We are taking part in His work and becoming like Him.  Spencer W. Kimball has said:

“You came [to earth] knowing full well your responsibilities.  You came to get for yourself a mortal body that could become perfected, immortalized, and you understood that you were to act in partnership with God in providing bodies for other spirits equally anxious to come to earth for righteous purposes” (Marriage, p. 22).

It is through becoming a mortal parent that we learn the lessons of being a heavenly parent.    And for women, especially, participating in the glorious miracle that is childbirth, understanding the symbols of the atonement and offering ourselves as a living sacrifice is glorious and sanctifying.

The Savior has said, “I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved” (John 10:9) and “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).  The Savior is the door to eternal salvation.  We must enter in through Him.  There is no other way for a soul to enter into the kingdom of heaven.    When we have that mighty change of heart and exercise faith on him we become His sons and daughters.  This is because the righteous have been spiritually begotten of Christ.  (Mosiah 5:7).This is just as powerfully true for those spirits waiting for their opportunity to experience mortality.  They are physically begotten and Mother is the door.  It is only through her, literally, that someone can come to earth.  There is no other way.  She is acting very much the symbol of Christ and allowing her body to be used as a portal between a pre-existent spiritual state and mortality.

The Savior has also described the pathway to eternal life in these words, “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt 7:14).  There must be strict obedience on this tight path to eternal life.  One must mold himself as he follows the path because there is no room for straying.  The equivalent of the strait and narrow path in childbirth is the birth canal.  It is strait and narrow and one must follow this path to enter into mortality.   I often marvel, after the birth of a child, how on earth it could have fit inside my belly and made its way out!  The baby knows how to tuck his chin in at one point, flex it at another and turn its body to make such a tight fit, navigating through the pelvis (read more about these Cardinal Movements).  His head is made of movable plates of bone that can contract like the leaves in a colander so that it will fit in such a tight space.  This is how we should be ordering our lives, turning, flexing, molding and yielding ourselves so that we will fit on the strait and narrow path to eternal life.

Pregnancy and veils

Pregnancy is a glorious time.  You have growing within you a new life.  This tiny baby is completely surrounded by mother.  He hears the thumping of her heart, the swishing of her blood, the gurgling of her stomach, and of course the soothing sound of her voice.  When mom moves, the baby is gently rocked.  The baby is bathed in many of her hormones and in some ways feels what she is feeling.  She is the entire universe to her child.  And he is continually dwelling in her presence.  Mom and baby are separated only by the thin veil of the amniotic sac.   In this way, pregnancy is a symbol of the pre-existence where we dwelt in the presence of God.  Women have a great understanding of what it’s like to be aware of someone on the other side of the veil because we know what it is like to be aware of our own babies who are within and a part of us, and yet separated from us.

The time will soon come for the child to leave the comforting presence of her body and learn to do things on his own.  He will be able to make mistakes, learn, grow, experience joy and sorrow.  But for now he is innocent, protected by her and the decisions that she make for his care.

Labor and Sacrifice

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”  Romans 12:1

While Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, they were unable to procreate.  After they partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the Lord says to Eve: “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children” (Gen 3:16).  At first glance it sounds like Eve is receiving a punishment for her transgression.  In reality, it is a great and marvelous blessing!  In Second Nephi 2:23 we read, “And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.”  The principle behind increasing the discomfort and suffering during labor is to increase the joy afterwards.  When you know the depths of suffering and despair then you may also know new heights of joy. (Alma 36:30)

This happens on the hormonal level.  As our bodies undergo the stress and pain associated with the contracting uterus, we produce endorphins–the “feel good” hormone which give runners that high and which are much more powerful than morphine.  We already have oxytocin which is the hormone that is causing the uterus to contract.  As we labor, that hormones increases until it reaches it’s peak at the time of birth.  Oxytocin promotes feelings of love and intimacy.  So a result of the physical stress, discomfort, and pain of labor, our bodies secrete these hormones to help us cope.  And then at the moment of birth, when the stress, discomfort and pain are now gone, we are left with incredibly high levels of those hormones that enhance feelings of love, joy, and extreme well-being.  Very literally, it was the sorrow and pain that allowed for such great feelings of joy.  Without the travail of the labor, those enhancing hormones are not present and our joy is diminished.  (See Chemical Symphony of Birth by Patricia Blomme for a brief synopsis of hormones in birth.)

There must be opposition in all things.  To truly understand the extreme joy of parenthood, the beauty of creating a mortal tabernacle for one of Heavenly Father’s precious spirit children, we must be willing to sacrifice all that we have.  The harder we work for something, the more we sacrifice for it, the more precious it is to us.  John A. Widtsoe has said:

 “Sacrifice is the evidence of true love.  Without sacrifice love is not manifest.  Without sacrifice there is no real love or kindness…We love no one unless we sacrifice for him.  We can measure the degree of love that we possess for any man or cause, by the sacrifice we make for him or it…Sacrifice lifts us toward the likeness of God, the likeness of our Elder Brother Jesus Christ” (Conference Report April 1943 p. 38).

Seen in this light, the ability to sorrow and sacrifice in childbirth is not a punishment inflicted by an angry God but a beautiful gift that He gave to women to allow us to love with greater depth.

I once attended the birth of a woman who was bearing her fourth child, but it was her first unmedicated birth.  As the baby’s head was crowning, the mother started to panic and screamed, “I am going to die!”  I was reminded of the Savior saying, “Greater love hath no man this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).  I reassured her that she wasn’t going to die, that she was going to have a baby.  Nevertheless, that was what it felt like to her.  Within just a few moments, her baby was born and she was elated to hold her new baby and coo over her, having completely forgotten the very real feeling of only moments before that this birth would take her life.  She gushed, “It was so worth it!”

Labor is hard work.  I am always in awe of a laboring mother.  Though on the outside she may look like she is just sitting doing nothing, the uncontrollable shaking of her muscles and the sweat on her hot skin testify of the inner work that her body is doing.  The beginning of labor is usually something that most women can handle fairly well.  But as time goes on, fatigue can be overwhelming.  Additionally, going through transition is emotionally as well as physically exhausting.  Contractions are coming hard and fast with hardly a break in between.  It is during this phase of labor that a woman is most likely to express the feeling that she can’t do this.  She doesn’t want to do this anymore.  In fact, she’d just like to go home and do this again on another day after she gets some sleep.

It is at these times when I realize how close she has come to the Savior.  How, in this earthly existence, she may be at the point in her life when she most closely understands what occurred in the Garden of Gethsemane.  In Mark’s account, Jesus began to be “sore amazed, and to be very heavy” and then He says, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death” (Mark 14:33-34).  In the footnotes to these verses, the Greek translation is that Jesus was awestruck with the intensity and immensity of what he was doing.  He began to be depressed and dejected.  He was in anguish.  We begin to have a glimmer of the suffering he was undergoing when he prayed that the hour would pass and that he might not drink the bitter cup.  And yet submitting his will to the Father, he wrought the atonement for all humankind.

Later, while he hung on the cross, the soldiers gave him wine mingled with myrrh to drink (Mark 15:23).  The New Testament Institute Manual offers this commentary:

The Old Testament alludes to a Jewish custom of using wine as an anesthetic to ease the suffering of a person who was dying (see Proverbs 31:6–7). Mark recorded that just before the Savior was nailed to the cross, He was offered “wine mingled with myrrh” (Mark 15:23). Jesus refused it, deliberately choosing not to dull His senses or decrease the pain of the Crucifixion; He was determined to remain conscious and experience all that would be involved in the remainder of His atoning sufferings (see Mark 14:25; Alma 7:11–13).

Is there anything more amazing than that we as women have the opportunity to feel, even just a little, as the Savior must have felt?  It is an awesome responsibility and a sacred trust to be allowed in our small way to sacrifice as the Savior of the world himself suffered for us.  What an incredible opportunity to draw closer to God through this experience.   Out of love for us, He willingly suffered the price of our sins so that we could have a chance at a spiritual life that we could not otherwise have.  And out of love for her child, a mother will also suffer and sacrifice through childbirth, giving of her own blood so that that child can have a chance at a mortal life that he could not otherwise have.

Bruce and Marie Hafen wrote:

And just as a mother’s body may be permanently marked with the signs of birth , [the Savior] said, “I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.” (1 Nephi 21:15-16.) For both a mother and the Savior, those marks memorialize a wrenching sacrifice, the sacrifice of begetting life—for her, physical birth; for him, spiritual rebirth.
Bruce C. Hafen and Marie K. Hafen, The Belonging:  The Atonement and Relationships with God and Family, Heart, p. 93 [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1994]

At some point during the birth, the amniotic sac will rupture.  The veil is rent and the child must pass through the veil.  Whether that is the actual veil of forgetfulness or just a symbol of that veil, we know that according to the plan of salvation, everyone must pass through it in order to begin life on earth.   The baby will travel through the strait and narrow way, molding himself as he goes, and enter through the gate to enter into mortality.  The baby is born!  An ancient spirit has entered a new body and become a living soul!

Sometime ago I was privileged to hear something about the influence that had come from one of these homes in a letter that was written by a lovely daughter who had just given birth to her first baby In the early hours of the morning the baby had come, and late in the afternoon she was in a reflective mood; in this reflective mood she had written home to her family. In her letter she told first about her impressions and feelings at the miracle of motherhood, how she had been privileged to be a participant in this wonderful creation.  Then she wrote this:

I wonder that we women are not required to undergo even more than labor pains to bring these little ones from another world into this one. It seems so right that we through pain are forced to slip for a few minutes, at least, half-way into another sphere, to sort of bring our baby by the hand into this new world.

Elder Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1948, Afternoon Meeting 53

The symbolism of childbirth is so rich and there is so much to be learned about ourselves and our God through the natural process as it has been laid out.

Water, Blood, Spirit—an Introduction

John has said:

 “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.  And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and these three agree in one” (1 Jn. 5: 7,8).

And in Moses we read,

That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory; For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified; And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me. (Moses 6:59-60, 64.)

What do these three symbols bear witness of in childbirth?

By the Water Ye Keep the Commandment

When Jesus was on the cross, a Roman soldier took a spear and pierced his side.   Blood and water came out.  What a powerful symbol of how the Savior spiritually begat each of us—through blood and water, just as we are begotten mortally through blood and water.  John 7:38 reads, “He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”  Is there any greater embodiment of the fulfilling of that scripture?  At what other time do we have actual rivers of water flowing from our bellies if not during childbirth?

Before birth, the tiny infant is completely surrounded by water.  The baby breathes in and out, swallows and urinates this amniotic fluid.  It is a fountain of living water for the baby.  Over the course of the pregnancy, the mother’s body produces this water.  And even after the amniotic sac is ruptured, her body will continue to produce amniotic fluid to replace what is being lost.   The Savior said, “But whosoever drinketh of the water which I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (JST John 4:16).  During pregnancy, women have a well of water springing up within them that brings forth mortal life!

This is the state we are recreating during baptism. (D&C 20:74) Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  Nicodemus answered, “How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?”  Jesus replied, “Except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:3-6)  It is so common for us to think of baptism as a spiritual “rebirth” that sometimes we skip over the fact that the Savior is linking our earthly birth to our spiritual rebirth.    So then how are they similar?  What can we learn about being born of God spiritually by looking at mortal birth?

Baptism is seen as cleansing.  Those who emerge from the water are new beings.  The old sinful man is buried and a new God-like being is born.  It is also how we see babies.  They are completely innocent, fresh from Heaven. Through baptism, we covenant that we are willing to obey all of His commandments, bear each other’s burdens, mourn with those who mourn, comfort those who need comfort and stand as a witness of God that we may be numbered in the first resurrection (Mosiah 18:8-9) and have His spirit to be with us (Moroni 4:3).  This is one way that “by the water, you keep the commandment” is fulfilled.  In order to enter the kingdom of God we must commit to live by His laws.  Upon entering this earthly realm, our spirits become subject to inescapable physical laws.  The purpose of our mortality is a probationary period where we are tested to see if we will be valiant and faithful and stand as a witness of God.  It is only be being born of water the first time that we have the opportunity to partake in the blessing of resurrection.  For us women, childbirth is such a powerful way to remember “the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them” (Moroni 4: 3).

 

By the Spirit Ye are Justified

Justification is to be “pardoned from punishment for sin and declared guiltless.”  And in Moses we learn that this justification comes through the Spirit.  Spiritually speaking, at baptism, we are cleansed from sin and we promise to keep God’s commandments. God, in his infinite wisdom and mercy, knows that we will fail to keep that covenant  So He immediately gives us  the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  We can have a member of the Godhead to be with us always, to testify of truth, to warn us, to comfort us.   Baptism by immersion and the gift of the Spirit are inseparably linked together.  Elder Packer said:

Again, there are two parts to baptism—baptism by water and baptism by fire or the Holy Ghost. If you separate the two, as the Prophet Joseph Smith said, it is but half a baptism.

Essentially, at the time of baptism, a person emerges from the water and is given a Spirit.  At birth, the child emerges from water and is given a spirit.  Just as we can be quickened at the time of our spiritual rebirth by the Spirit, we are quickened at the time time of our earthly birth by our own spirits.  The influence of the Holy Ghost can be felt from time to time, but the gift of the Holy Ghost is meant to be a constant companion to the person who received it, only to be separated when the receiver sins, which is spiritual death.   While it’s not known exactly when the spirit enters the body, I imagine that there are moments when the spirit is influencing that body, visiting from time to time.  But certainly, at the time of birth, that spirit is meant to enter that body for the duration of mortality, only separated by physical  death.

By the Blood Ye are Sanctified 

In the Old Testament, each offering had a very specific set of rules with regard to the blood.  The Lord required that the Israelites smear blood on their door posts as a sign for the destroying angel to pass by that home (Ex. 12:7).  As a covenant that Israel has accepted the word of the Lord, Moses sprinkled blood on the altar and on the people (Ex. 24:7).  Blood is sprinkled on the altar for peace offerings (Lev. 3:2) and the Lord forbad Israel from eating blood (Lev 3: 17).

“From all this it is apparent that those in Israel who were spiritually enlightened knew and understood that their sacrificial ordinances were in similitude of the coming death of Him whose name they used to worship the Father, and that it was not the blood on their altars that brought remission of sins, but the blood that would be shed in Gethsemane and on Calvary” (McConkie, The Promised Messiah, p. 258 in OT study guide, p. 164).

The sacrificial offerings and rituals surrounding blood were supposed to point Israel towards the Savior who would come and be the Final blood sacrifice for remission of sins.  The blood involved in a woman’s sacrifice to bring forth a child is also symbolic of Christ’s sacrifice.  Adam was commanded to offer the firstlings of his flock.  Adam was obedient.  Several days later he was visited by an angel who asked Adam why he was doing it.  Adam said, “I know not, save the Lord commanded me.”  The angel replied, “This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.  Wherefore, thou shat do all that thou doest in the name of the Son and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore” (Moses 5: 6-8).  Because childbirth is such a normal part of mortal existence, it’s easy to overlook the spiritual meaning and the ways in which it is designed to point us toward Christ.  But understanding the symbols and the part we are playing in the event, can give us a richer spiritual experience in childbirth and the opportunity to consecrate this enormous act of service and love for our good through the name of Jesus Christ.

The Savior shed his blood in great drops while he was “in an agony” in the garden of Gethsemane.  He bled when he was crowned with thorns and scourged.  And we know that he bled on the cross at Calvary.  It is through the blood of Jesus Christ that we may receive a remission of our sins.  It is through the blood of the Lamb that our garments are made white and we are clean.  It is through the blood of the Savior that we were spiritually begotten.  We are sanctified–or made holy–through His blood.

In begetting our mortal children, the blood comes from the stretching cervix and from the placenta separating from the uterus.  How is this shedding of blood a similitude of the Savior’s sacrifice? In our earthly life, we must have faith in Jesus Christ, repent and be baptized in order to enter into the kingdom of God.  We cannot enter into the kingdom except through Jesus Christ.  We must be spiritually begotten of him and gain a remission of our sins through his blood in order to be clean and pure.  We also know that in the pre-existence we were able to make choices.  At the very least, we here on earth chose to follow Heavenly Father’s plan and one third of the host of heaven chose to follow Satan.  Some of us were more valiant in our righteousness than were others.  Yet we are taught that all babies are born innocent.  What happens to a spirit between the time of the pre-existence where they are able to make choices –for right or wrong– and their first breath in mortality?  They were born!  The mother made a blood sacrifice and begat a new soul.  This is the great symbol of the infinite atonement of the Lord.  Through the blood of another, one’s sins are washed away and they are pronounced clean.

“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” (Heb 9: 22, 23).

 

A Washing and Anointing

Before the baby enters our realm of mortality, she receives a washing and anointing of sorts.  The washing, of course, is represented by the amniotic fluid which we have already discussed.  Babies are also covered in vernix caseosa when they are born.  The vernix is a white or yellowish substance that is waterproof.  As such, it protects the baby’s skin in utero.  It also serves several purposes after birth as well, including moisturizing the skin and protecting against heat loss.  Vernix has cleansing and anti-infective properties as well.  As far as we know, vernix production is unique to humans.  Vernix is also a lipid-rich substance, an oil or ointment, if you will, that all babies are anointed with before entering mortality.

Within the church, anointing can be done for a number of reasons, including blessings of health.  But I want to highlight two types of anointing–as a sign of hospitality and as a mark of succession to royalty.

Elder James E. Talmage of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught about the hospitality that hosts would commonly show their guests during Jesus’s time: “It was the custom of the times to treat a distinguished guest with marked attention; to receive him with a kiss of welcome, to provide water for washing the dust from his feet, and oil for anointing the hair of the head and the beard” (Jesus the Christ, 261).

This particular symbol of the anointing calls to mind the picture of  loving Heavenly Father sending a beloved child on a journey.  He cannot accompany the babe, but can send him off with water, oil and a kiss.

Prophets also used oil to anoint men who were to become kings (1 Samuel 10:1, 1 Samuel 16:13) or who were to become priests (Exodus 40:15).  But as children of our Heavenly King, we are all heirs to the divine birthright of His power and priesthood.  The anointment with which we are all born reminds us of this.

In the book of Revelation (1:5,6), John tells us this is true:

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone describes it this way:

Many years ago I heard the story of the son of King Louis XVI of France. King Louis had been taken from his throne and imprisoned. His young son, the prince, was taken by those who dethroned the king. They thought that inasmuch as the king’s son was heir to the throne, if they could destroy him morally, he would never realize the great and grand destiny that life had bestowed upon him.

They took him to a community far away, and there they exposed the lad to every filthy and vile thing that life could offer. They exposed him to foods the richness of which would quickly make him a slave to appetite. They used vile language around him constantly. They exposed him to lewd and lusting women. They exposed him to dishonor and distrust. He was surrounded 24 hours a day by everything that could drag the soul of a man as low as one could slip. For over six months he had this treatment—but not once did the young lad buckle under pressure. Finally, after intensive temptation, they questioned him. Why had he not submitted himself to these things—why had he not partaken? These things would provide pleasure, satisfy his lusts, and were desirable; they were all his. The boy said, “I cannot do what you ask for I was born to be a king.”

We are all born to be kings in the kingdom of God. Our Father is a king, and just as the king’s son was exposed to every vile and perverted thing in this life, so you will be exposed to much of the filth and degradation of our generation. But you Aaronic Priesthood bearers and Young Women are also born to be kings and queens, priests and priestesses.

In association with washing and anointing, priests are also given a holy garment to wear (see Ex 35:21 and Lev 16:32 among others).  This priesthood garment represents the coat of skins the Lord made and gave to Adam and Eve after they partook of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but before they were cast out of that paradisaical sphere.  It was given to them to cover their nakedness.     And indeed, they were physically naked.  But they were also spiritually naked as well–having no power or protection against Satan.  They could cover their physical nakedness themselves with whatever tools the earth provided.  But only a gift from God could cover their spiritual nakedness.  In other words, as Adam and Eve left the presence of God and entered into a state of mortality, the Lord provided them with a coat of skins.  As God’s spirit children leave his presence to enter a state of mortality, they are washed, anointed to be kings and queens, priests and priestesses,and very literally given a coat of skin, clothed in flesh.  Symbolically, children born on earth are clothed in the priesthood.

We know that priesthood garments (the clothing) are a reminder of covenants and a protection against evil.  Our bodies serve the same purpose.  The fact that we have a mortal body in this telestial sphere is a proof and reminder that in the pre-mortal realms, we supported Jesus Christ when Heavenly Father’s children were divided between Him and Lucifer.  We have already chosen Jesus Christ.  They are a protection to us because beings with a body are more powerful than merely spiritual beings.

Elder Bednar has said:

The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment.. All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not.

 

A Mighty Change of Heart

And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?   Alma 5:14

Jesus Christ and God the Father look alike.  According to Paul in his letter to the Hebrews, Jesus is the “express image” of God.    And John quotes Jesus as saying, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”  Through submission to the Father, Jesus and his father have become one.  They are one in will and purpose, but also as the only begotten of the Father, Jesus looks like Him.

This is what every biological parent experiences as they see their baby for the first time.  Maybe they have dad’s eyes and mom’s mouth.  Maybe similarities that aren’t apparent at birth, become more and more visible as the child grows and matures.  We look like the people who bare us.  We have their images on our countenances.  Our faces resemble theirs because we are of them.  We can’t help but look like them to a certain extent.

When we are spiritually born of God, we should be living our lives to such an extent and allowing his grace to change us so that our spirit begins to resemble Jesus Christ who has spiritually begotten us.  And that semblance of spirit is something that can be seen spiritually as well as physically in our face.  As our countenances change to reflect Jesus Christ, we are also reflecting God, the Father, as well.

The mighty change that Alma is talking about in this verse is the conversion of his father.  Alma, the elder had been a priest to wicked King Noah.  But after hearing Abinadi preach, he believed and changed.  His heart was changed.  The hearts of the people he taught were changed.  And Alma the younger is asking if we have experienced this mighty change of heart.  The mighty change of heart is associated with being born spiritually.

In the physical realm there is also a mighty change of heart when we are being born into mortality.  While the mother is pregnant, her circulatory system provides for oxygen transfer and carbon dioxide disposal for the baby.  The baby’s heart is pumping, but the blood is being oxygenated by the gas transfer happening at the placenta, rather than through the lungs which are filled with amniotic fluid, and delivered through the umbilical cord.  At the time of birth, when the umbilical cord is cut, there are physical changes in the baby’s heart that redirect the blood to the lungs for oxygenation.

Both of these changes of heart are necessary for the new state–whether spiritual or physical–that we find ourselves in.  Physically, you cannot go back and undo the change made to an infant’s heart at birth.  The mighty change of heart we experience spiritually should be just as permanent.

 

A New Name

A name is an important part of identity.   Some parents pick a few names for their baby and decide to wait until birth to see which one fits.  Other parents have decided on baby’s name during the pregnancy, but when the baby is born they decide he doesn’t really look like a “Benjamin.”  Still other parents pick out a name and you can’t imagine any better name for that child or that the child could ever be called a different name.  So what’s in a name?

Naming something shows belonging.  A new name is given typically during a major life-changing event, usually the making of a covenant, and is often associated with a blessing.

When Adam was in the Garden of Eden, the very first thing he did according to Genesis, was to give names to all of the animals.  Abram and Sarai were given new names and then the Lord told Abraham of the blessings that were his.  Jacob was named Israel and then given a blessing, a reiteration of the Abrahamic covenant.  Jesus gave Simon the name of Peter.  These names were given to mark a change in state.  Each of these examples were being named by God at the time of recognition or elevation in status.

When we receive our patriarchal blessing we are given the name of a tribe of Israel.  It is through that lineage that we are connected to our spiritual heritage and will receive the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant.

In our culture, when women are married, they traditionally take the name of their husband as their own.  It signifies that she no longer belongs to the family she grew up in but that she is now cleaving to her husband.  They are one.

When we are baptized, we take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ.  We are spiritually begotten of him and so become a part of His family, the Kingdom of God.  His is the name we bear as Christians.

When we enter the Celestial Kingdom, we are given a new name that no one else knows but that is a key word for us.  (D&C 130:11)

In our church, we do more than just fill out a line on a government form.  Each member who has a child is commanded to

“bring them unto the elders before the church, who are to lay their hands upon them in the name of Jesus Christ, and bless them in His name.”  (D&C 20:70)

This is part of the same pattern.  Naming shows belonging and marks the passing from pre-mortal to mortal life.

Susan Easton Black, associate professor of church history and doctrine at BYU,  sums it up this way.:

In each of these cases, the one giving the name assumes responsibility for protecting, loving, and nurturing the one receiving the new name. And the recipient of the name, in turn, is to honor the name-giver and follow his counsel.

In this context, it is appropriate that when one of our Heavenly Father’s spirit children enters mortality, he or she is given a new name by one bearing priesthood authority—ideally, the one who helped create the body for the child and the one to whom God has entrusted His child in mortality. At its best, this new relationship between father (and mother) and child should extend into eternity as part of a covenant relationship called the patriarchal order.  President Joseph F. Smith described that relationship in these words:

“The patriarchal order is of divine origin and will continue throughout time and eternity. There is, then, a particular reason why men, women, and children should understand this order and authority in the households of the people of God and seek to make it what God intended it to be, a qualification and preparation for the highest exaltation of his children. In the home, the presiding authority is always vested in the father, and in all home affairs and family matters there is no other authority paramount. …

“This authority carries with it a responsibility, and a grave one, as well as its rights and privileges, and men cannot be too exemplary in their lives, nor fit themselves too carefully to live in harmony with this important and God-ordained rule of conduct in the family organization.” (Gospel Doctrine, Salt Lake City: Corporation of the President, 1971, pp. 22–23.)

 

Take, Eat, This is My Body

The Lord, on the night before Gethsemane and Calvary, instituted the sacrament to remind the apostles of the Great and Last sacrifice that he was about to give in order to accomplish the spiritual birth of all mankind.  The sacrament is a feeding and nourishing as well as a reminder of the sacrifice.

 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.  (Matt 26:26-28)

Up until the past 100 or so years, breastfeeding was a necessary component of mothering.  There weren’t really any other options.  A baby’s survival was dependent upon breastfeeding.  After birth, the mother continues to offer her body as a source of nourishment to the child.  The baby must return frequently to partake of this fountain of life in order to survive in the physical world.  We must return frequently to remember the sacrifice, repent and partake of the atonement if we are to survive spiritually.  The sacrifice and the sacrament are inextricably connected.

From the mother’s point of view, birth and breastfeeding are also intertwined.  The process of birth triggers the beginning of milk production.  If you deliver a baby, your breasts automatically begin producing milk to sustain the new life just delivered.

In Isaiah, the Savior says:

Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

Indeed, it would be very difficult for a new mother to forget her sucking child.  Speaking just of what happens physically, and not even addressing anything emotional, a breastfeeding mother is designed to produce milk and to feed her infant frequently.  If she were to forget to feed the baby, her breasts would become engorged, swollen and extremely painful.  After a while she would be desperate to feed her baby, if for no other reason than just to provide relief for herself.  Oxytocin and Prolactin are two hormones involved in the process of breastfeeding,.  Oxytocin is chemical that produces feelings of love and intimacy.  Prolactin produces the feeling of needing to protect.

In addition to breastfeeding, women’s bodies change in ways that do not ever revert to a pre-pregnant state. Probably the most obvious change is stretch marks.  This scaring comes as the skin stretches beyond it’s normal elasticity and is more or less permanent, though they do fade a bit over time.  Still, abdominal stretchmarks–as well as possible stretchmarks around the breast, hips and even the legs–are a hallmark of a mother.  They are a sign that a woman has made that great sacrifice.

And the Savior is saying that it is more likely that a mother could ignore the demands of her body–the physical imperative to breastfeed, the hormonal response at birth–and to ignore the child that she just sacrificed so much for than that He could ever forget us.  The pattern of mortal birth is but a symbol of spiritual re-birth and the Atonement.  The actual events that these symbols are there to remind us of are so much more powerful and matter so much more.  If there are scars on a mother’s body that remind her of the birth of her children, the scars on the Savior’s body are so much more of a reminder of His love.  In his perfected and resurrected state, when all blemish is removed and we are restored, those physical scars remain as a beautiful reminder of the permanence of the Atonement and so that we will be able to recognize Him.