People always wonder how a book like this comes to be . . .
McArthur: I have spoken of Heavenly Mother to thousands of women. Every single time, I see the Spirit move women with such power. Women get lit on fire! I was thinking about what Mother in Heaven means to every single person, and I wanted to hear their voices.
Ashli: I had a project on my heart. I felt inspired to create a book of poetry about Heavenly Mother that included the stunning artwork of Latter-day Saints who are inspired by this doctrine, a sort of "Grown-Up Girl's Guide to Heavenly Mother." For months, the Spirit prompted me to reach out to McArthur and I finally sent her a message. We spoke on the phone and gave ourselves twenty-four hours to pray about it. I fasted and went to the temple. As I entered the Celestial room and sat down to pray, the revelation came. "yes, Ashli! This joyful doctrine is true. This is our work. Write the book. Just make sure you are still pointing people to Christ." I called McArthur from the car and shared this revelation. She went quiet for a few moments, then replied, "Wow. I got the same revelation. Let's get to work!"
Trina: I saw a social media post from McArthur and Ashli asking for contributions for a new Heavenly Mother book, and immediately wanted to be part of the project. I'm a writer and editor so that's a typical reaction to seeing book proposals. But this time felt different. It was a prompting I've had before: the Spirit points and says, "There. Go. Right now." And I am restless until I follow through. I'm not a poet or an artist, but I can organize the heck out of manuscripts. Within minutes, I sent McArthur a message. In a few more minutes, my phone rang and that was that.
Joined together, we asked: What does Heavenly Mother mean to each of us? What does Heavenly Mother mean to others? This is not a book of doctrine. This is not a book of speculation. This is not a book intended to answer all, or any, spiritual questions. This is a book of musings of the soul. Everyone was welcome to contribute. Every person is a beloved child of Heavenly Mother and Father, and that means something different to each of us! The mediums of poetry and art are just two of many ways for us to communicate spiritually. If our Heavenly Parents are infinite beings, then there are infinite touch points to honor Them.
We organized the contributions around the Gospel Topics Essay "Mother in Heaven," to support study of that vital document. We