Just late night thoughts...

I can see the waxing gibbous moon hanging in the southwest through an auric veil of fog and the branches of a beloved redwood, and painfully my heart cries for Her... "Mother!"
***
If we're invested in doing the work of God and making sure indeed that the Priesthood authority is never taken from the Earth, wouldn't it make an awful lot of sense for it to be held by the ones who, as a group, are statistically the MOST likely to be devout, the most likely to use it to better humanity?  Haven't we proved ourselves MORE than capable of blessing and laboring even without it?
***
I've held onto the thought for years that men have the Priesthood in order to make them more like women: more devout, more serving, more compassionate and merciful.  I love that idea, but I need to reexamine it.  May the men just failed. Maybe the idea is wrong.  I don't know.

That's all for right now.  Good night.

I got so angry today (Updated)

I've finally been reading The Dance of the Dissident Daughter (If you buy, please buy via The Amethyst Network's Amazon widget), having received a distinct spiritual kick in the butt that I was haring off into the awakening adventure of mine with entirely too little preparation.  So far, I enjoy the book and it has a lot of beautiful information, it is not the end-all-be-all of this path.  However, it has begun to turn the lock.

I was driving to take care of some business in the next city over, contemplating what I'd read and my own thoughts, and I began to pray, puzzling over Why.  I usually try not to ask Why, but What Can I Learn--well before a Conference talk last year to that effect, pretty much since going through a bad relationship several years ago--but I just can't seem to escape it.  Why.  Why do we know so little about God the Mother?  We're Her children, Her daughters.  We're allowed to know a decent amount about other sacred subjects, namely everything that goes on in the temples.  The foundations are laid there for women and men to become like our Parents.  It's sacred stuff.  Is Mother, is Goddess more sacred than that?  Why?  How?  The old saw about her being too sacred to be talked about (which, incidentally, is NOT an endorsed, official position; we seem to have taken it on ourselves as a people) just doesn't stand up.

And the truth burst forth, burning from my lips like a phoenix from a cage.  "Because that's the greatest desecration of all!  It has already happened!"  She has been erased, written out, suppressed, oppressed, and the very idea of her existence ignorantly reviled for millenia, forced to submit beneath the iron fist of unrighteous patriarchy.  Throughout the centuries, mortal men undertook to squelch virtually all mention of Her, practically every hint under the umbrella of Judeo-Christian tradition, denying women equally standing and prestige in every particular of their religious, social, and cultural lives, even to the point of murder.  Can there be a more perfect example of desecration than intentional defamation and systematic annihilation?  She has already been disrespected and abused by her children.  Many who should revere Her sneer at the concept that She exists.  They fight it.  Silence can be no protection from the abuse that silence begets.

So I prayed and I pled, "Make Her known!  Bring Her forth and unveil her face!"  I quickly realized, however, that such revelation would do very little good as yet.  We, as a people, are mired in bitterness and apostasy--literally standing apart from the principle--where She is concerned, and our men are deeply affected.  The apparent imbalance in practical representation of Deity only reinforces the ideologies they've been given.  So I pled for them.  "God Almighty, open the hearts of the men.  Soften their hearts toward their Mother.  Help them to accept Her when she is revealed."  But I couldn't deny that, whether the men ever get it or not, the women have been wronged.  Deeply, horribly wronged.  We have had inferiority projected and enforced upon us.  For thousands of years, billions of men, billions of women; the lack of the Feminine Divine has wounded everyone it touches.  So I pled for justice, for some sort of restitution to be made on behalf of the hated daughters of Eve, for our abuse to end, for us to be finally seen as equals.

I rarely rail in my prayers, but today I did, shouting and weeping with indignation at the sheer injustice of what we've had thrust upon us simply because we lack a penis, because we have a womb.  It is deeply unfair, but so help me, it is not "just the way it is."  This was done intentionally, centuries ago, by men who then passed it on to not only their sons, but their daughters as well.

"TRADITIOOOOOON!"

Many of the traditions we carry are good, beneficial, and beautiful, but the erasure of Goddess and the oppression of women are not.  It's time for this to stop.  It's time for us to "arise from the dust, my sisters, and be women, and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that we may not remain in captivity." Indeed, "Awake, my sisters; put on our armor of righteousness.  Shake off the chains with which we are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust."  (Likened from 2 Nephi 1:21, 23)  It's interesting that the above words in their original form were spoken to Laman and Lemuel as their father's dying plea for them to spiritually awaken, to be strong, to reverse direction on the dark path down which they have travelled.  Laman and Lemuel chose to be proud, to reject their traditions to the point that God lost favor with them and they lost favor with God; Women had no choice in having their rights and power stripped away by men.

The Fast begins in a few days.  I find myself approaching this even with a growing sense of the daunting task it represents.  I know this is important, this work to ask for greater light and knowledge, for the Restoration of our Goddess into the official record, not as a point of doctrine used to provide leverage in proving a moral point, or lumped in as one half of our Parents, presented only in relation to Heavenly Father, but a Divine Being in Her own right.  This work is more important than the gross majority of us realize and it cannot be accomplished without great effort.  Perhaps many of the women who read this (if they read this far) will not realize how deep that need is, and would call me subversive, blasphemous, or foolish.  I cannot blame them; I cannot hold their conditioning against them.  I've been conditioned the same way and I struggle under the same burden.

I still believe.  Deeply.  I am still strong in my faith, with a strong conviction that this Church is where I belong, that it is where the most important eternal truths and proper authority can be found.  That, however, does not negate or excuse the problems that exist because of our mortal imperfections and weaknesses.  Indeed, if we were a perfect people, we would have been taken up.  Until that happens, we still have improvements to make, things we can all learn and do better, and traditions to overcome.

*Updated to add references, clarify a few statements and make minor grammatical changes

Mid Year Resolutions

What?  Because January 1st is some mystical day for change?

• Be more insane with courage
• Save for ATS Cruise 2012, pay by October 15
• Trust that the right people will come into my life and be prepared to act on that
• Learn how to manifest miracles by faith
• Inform myself, give substance to the wise woman seed I've been given so it will grow and bloom
• Balance my check book at least once a month

 I meant to post this a week ago, but... whatever!  It's getting put up and that's the important part.  There's a lot of other goals I have, but these came most immediately to my mind.  Wish me luck!

I hate nights like tonight

Nights like tonight, I hurt in my heart.  I don't know what causes it--maybe it's the funked-up-ness of my hormones, maybe it's fat, maybe it's blood sugar, maybe it's bad karma--but some days something comes along and flips my usual contented nature on its head and turns me into a pile of impotent, bottled up rage.

I fasted today for authenticity, to know myself, to know my own heart and mind, to stand up and speak up for them.  I was fine until most of the way through dinner when I suddenly freaked out about something that was really pretty minor.  It dredged up years of pain, years of resentment I've held and harbored and hid away from my family.  I was "causing drama" as my sister called it, because I was letting it out.  I hate drama.  I don't want to be a drama queen.  I take pains not to be, I take pains to be the peacemaker and the way smoother.  The family talked, I chilled out, and things went pretty much back to normal.  Then I made a joke to some friends and... their joking back just struck me in the wrong way.  It hurt.  I felt labeled, pushed and set apart from people I wanted to be closer to, people I admire and want to be more like, people whose adventurous spirits... I envy.  I felt like all the personal journeying I've been struggling with was slapped with a giant 'INVALID' stamp.

I know... I know intellectually that that is the last thing that was intended.  I know none of the injuries I've felt today was intentional.  I'm not actually being rejected.

But it feels like it.  No intellectual knowledge of good-will can stop it when I get this way.  It's short-lived, I'll be better by tomorrow, and I'll be horribly embarrassed I even posted this, but... as illogical as it is, it's my reality.  Right or wrong, I'm hurt right now.  I'm hurt, I'm sad, I'm angry, I want to fight, I want to scream, I want desperately to be understood and held and taken care of, and I have no outlet for it.  The best I have in me right now goes into not crying in a way that my family will notice, even if I can't entirely stop it.

I feel so guilty for feeling this way.  Objectively, I have no logical reason for these emotions.  I live in privilege, I have people who love me, and more blessings than I can count.  My life is good and I have so much to be grateful for... but this is--as a friend once so wisely put it--not such a great day in the life of me, and I can't decide if I need to just suck it up and shut up because I am wrong/spoiled/being melodramatic, or if I have just as much right to the way I feel, even if it's not PC.

I just want to be authentically MAD for once!  Maybe this is part of learning everything I fasted for and I'm currently failing.  I don't know, but I just want to be mad.

The Blessings and Responsibilities of Independence, as Americans and members of the Church

This is the full text of a talk I was asked to give today in my singles ward.  Due to running out of time in the meeting, I was only able to deliver about half of the below at the very end.  I hope you enjoy, and I hope it's something at least a little different.


Hi guys.

When Brother W------ asked me two weeks ago to speak this Sunday, he gave me the choice to choose my own topic or to be assigned.  I asked that one be assigned and told him to challenge me, and I got what I asked for.  In recognition of Independence Day, I've been asked to speak about the blessings of independence, and the responsibilities it brings us, as Americans and as members of the Church, backed up by scripture.  I've wrestled with this topic a lot since then, trying to find a way to present it in a way that's interesting and feels relevant to us as young adults of voting age, as well as young adults in the Gospel, so I hope you come away from this feeling like you've learned something, or been newly reminded of something you already knew.

We live in a time not only of unrest, upheaval and change, but a time when our generation, the Millennials, are the ones effected a lot of that change around the world.  Recent revolutions in the Middle East and Africa have often been fueled and coordinated by social media and other technologies that previous generations could only wish they had.  People across the globe can hear about, research, and support or reject movements almost concurrent with their occurrence via Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Digg, YouTube, Wikipedia, and others.  We blog and micro-blog from our computers, phones, and tablets, throwing our voice into the chorus at the drop of a hat.  Age-old standards of communication like newspapers, magazines, and books are struggling to keep up, to stay relevant, and our ideas our evolving almost too fast for we ourselves to keep up with.  These times are revolutionary, and we as young adults are largely the driving force behind it.

We enjoy an unprecedented access to information and the ability to share that information, and we are free to do so.  I think most of us today are savvy enough to be very familiar with most of the basic rights and freedoms the impact us the most often--freedom of speech, freedom of the press, of religion, and assembly, the right to vote for all citizens over the age of eighteen.  We have several other rights, ones that don't get talked about as often for the most part, unless you're in a tangle with the law.

We are so familiar with these other right I've named, however, I think we take them for granted.  It's hard to relate to the idea that in many places in the world, you can and will be imprisoned or executed for speaking your mind.  It's hard to relate that in some countries, we would not be allowed a generously sized building, dedicated to the sole purpose of worshiping God.  Look at how spaced out we are, how far apart we sit.  We don't come close to filling this room.  We have dozens of electric lights, and a motorized podium that goes up and down.  We're located in plain view of a fairly major thoroughfare and we get a minimum amount of harassment.  We have the luxury to get upset if someone graffitis the wall.  We are deeply, deeply blessed as a people.  We can be open about who we are, what we believe, and where we stand.  Are there pressures?  Yes.  But is there bodily danger?  Very rarely, and we have the right to petition for restitution in the even of wrong-doing.  We are blessed.

I would like to take a moment to trace back very quickly into our history as a people; not as Americans, but as children of Abraham and Sarah.  Having made covenants with the Lord through baptism, we have spiritually entered into the House of Israel.  This makes us heirs to a long, rich tradition of freedom seekers and revolutionaries.  We find dozens of examples in the scriptures: Abraham's departure from the land of Ur; Moses leading the exodus, and Joshua's leadership into the promised land; Esther's bravery and faith--bolstered by the collective fasting of the Jews--before King Ahaseurus of Persia that saved her people from extermination; Daniel's unwavering dedication to serving God in the face of mortal persecution; The separations of the Jaredites and the family of Lehi in order to preserve righteous peoples in times of impending disaster, and many more.  Hundreds of men and women have set their stamps on history to give us examples of the importance of freedom, of maintaining a knowledge of our God in even the darkest and most dangerous times.

The Book of Mormon narrative begins with one of these instances.  We learn in the first chapter of 1st Nephi that Lehi has been prophesying of destruction in Jerusalem and of the coming of the Messiah after numerous dreams and visions to that effect.  The Lord commands Lehi to leave and he takes his family and departs into the wilderness.  It takes them approximately ten or eleven years and seventeen chapters of Nephi's record for them to arrive in the Americas, a land that has been prepared for them apart from outside influence, harassment, or meddling.  Here they were at liberty to begin new societies and new cultures.

We know from the Book of Alma that they had freedom of religion, and at their most prosperous times they had open trade between Nephites and Lamanites.  We see numerous times that the Nephites were an educated and literate people, capable not only of constructing large cities and trade routes, but also spreading ideas and beliefs.  I think it's reasonable to infer that they also maintained some kind of freedom of speech and of the press, though perhaps not in the way that we know it, considering how often it's noted that "lawyers" jumped into various sermons or discussions in order to get someone to cross their words and thus possibly give grounds for someone to be judged by the law.

So what exactly are the blessings of independence?  I would list first and foremost personal autonomy: the right to freely think, speak, and act for oneself, to choose as much as possible what will or will not happen to you.  Other blessings include access to education, information, and communication, the exchange of ideas, values, art, and technology.  Opportunity: the possibility of effecting change (and hopefully prosperity) not only yourself but the world around you, whether by learning, labor, creative endeavor, or a combination of the three.  Personal and communal growth and improvement.  Open discourse.  Art, religion, science, literature, music... in short, the ability to be human, to experience mortality and to fulfill our purpose in life, is a blessing of independence.

I will acknowledge that I say this from the highly privileged standpoint of a white, upper middle class, American woman living in a very affluent part of California, because that's the circumstance that has informed my life.  I know very well through various friends and family that there are many among and around us who do not have the same level of privilege, the same opportunities.  Many of us--myself included--have difficulty continuing our college education, or completing it because of finances or scheduling.  Some of us don't even have the chance to begin it at this stage in life, and we have to find a different path.  It can be deathly frustrating.  I'm self-employed, and I'm faced daily with the reality that all our independence does not guarantee that I will have the number of clients on my table every month in order to make ends meet without borrowing.  Some months are better than others, and neither the Declaration nor the Constitution says "Because of these principles, everything will be great."  Nevertheless, we are blessed with the foundation and the framework, and hopefully we can make it work anyway and fulfill our purpose in life, and find that purpose fulfilling in return.

As I wrap up here, I'd like to touch on our responsibilities.  We know that "where much is given, much will be required," so what is required of us because of our privileges and rights?  As a people, it is our responsibility to maintain those rights by exercising them.  The right to vote, the "right to be secure in [our] persons, houses, papers, and effects from unreasonable searches and seizures", the right to keep and bear arms, the right to speak, to worship, to assemble, and to share our ideas... we must maintain them by wise usage.  It is also our responsibility to know what our rights and privileges are, and what they mean.  I bought a copy of the text of the Declaration and the Constitution for five dollars at Copperfield's.  It's small and thin enough for a pocket.  The words can be found for free online.  I would suggest we make ourselves reasonably familiar with these foundational documents so that we're informed and knowledgeable about what they really say when those around us make various claims on them.  We are a free people, and it behooves us to think and behave as one.

To conclude on a spiritual note, I would add to this list of responsibilities our need to be righteous.  Read the words the Lord has set forth for us through scripture, prophets, and wise people; familiarize yourself with your Patriarchal Blessing if you have it, and prepare yourself to receive it if you have not.  Familiarize yourself with the way that the Spirit speaks to you through prayer, quiet contemplation, and service.  Learn to give in to the instinct to act in a God-like manner.  Be kind, show love, serve your fellow beings, be truthful, behave with integrity, express gratitude.  Stay in communication with God, through prayer and meditation.  Find the way that scripture study works for you and the way that the words become meaningful for you.  We are flooded with information and that which seems irrelevant is often left behind.  We lose some four out of five young adults in the Church between the ages of 18 and 30, many of whom never return.  Statistically, that will include some of us in this room.  Thank you for being here so far.  I challenge you to find the way that the Gospel feels relevant to you, the way that helps you understand how to and want to obey the Lord's commands, to exercise your freedom and agency in favor of forwarding the work of the Lord.  This I say in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Mother's Day every month: A fast for testimony

In the midst of this upwelling I've personally observed, this increased interest in God the Mother that seems to be gaining more momentum of late and the increasing pursuit of the Divine Feminine in Christianity over all, I've started thinking that we're possibly--even probably--being prepared to receive new revelation regarding Goddess our Mother. It has been a long time coming, as great steps forward usually are.

The Children of Israel wandered 40 years in the wilderness to begin their process from a slave mentality to that of a free people able and willing to stand on their own feet, spiritually and physically.

The lightbulb took nearly 80 years from Sir Humphry Davy's first platinum filament to Thomas Edison's long lasting filament and the revolutionary system that would make electric lighting accessible and viable for a larger scale.

The United States was approximately 300 years in the making from discovery of a new continent (attribute it to whom you will) to the Declaration of Independence. The Restoration of the fullness of the Gospel took almost the same amount of time and in almost the same time frame (using Martin Luther's 95 Theses as a landmark for the beginning of the process, though the Gutenberg Bible would be a worthy starting point as well) and required a massive shift in Western thought (the Enlightenment) to come about in the way that we know it.

If indeed, as Latter Day Saints we do "believe that [God] will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom" it is far from unreasonable to believe that greater light and deeper knowledge are on the way. It is also reasonable, given historical precedent, that it is important for us to ask for it. Very little major revelation comes forth spontaneously. God often waits for us to show readiness, worthiness, and willingness to listen and to receive.

So. Let's ask.

What if we, as a group of Her children who yearn for knowledge of our Mother, set aside an extra "fast Sunday" every month to fast and pray for that knowledge to come? Let us pray that definitive information about Her nature and duties will be revealed; that our leaders will be inspired to ask as well, and then be given the words to speak of Her forthrightly and openly; that the veil will be lifted to reveal the face of our Goddess; that Her daughters will be given solid information about their potential in the eternities, not only as mothers, but as divine beings of power and glory. I would suggest we do this as a unit on the third Sunday of each month, to give ample time between regular Fast Sundays for "rest" and reflection, though anyone is welcome to do so as it is convenient for them. I believe the intent of joining together and proving to the Lord that we hold this matter sacred enough to sacrifice as a people and raise our voices to Him is more important than perfect synchronicity.

I know this will feel very controversial--even dangerous or blasphemous--to many of my fellow faithful members of the Church, and I very much appreciate that. I know there has been a feeling among us that we ought not to touch this subject at all, and indeed I have felt that weight very recently, myself. I would encourage us all to remember the cherished fifth verse of James chapter one (which I alter only to include us all explicitly):

If any of you lack wisdom, let him or her ask of God, who giveth to all men and women liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given them.

By application of this verse, we received knowledge of the Father and the Son, and if indeed Mother is as eternal a truth as her husband and son, we have nothing to fear from a sincere prayer for revelation. The worst we can get in response from the Lord is "Have patience, be faithful; It is not yet time for you to know." However, perhaps it is time, and He awaits our request. Study and ponder the matter in your own heart, and if you feel so inclined, I invite you to join your faith with mine and others as we seek knowledge from our God. If it is the Lord's will, He will make it know. If it is not, I do not believe He will fault us for asking.

My hope is that we will fast and pray monthly as a group for at least one year, or until our prayers are answered at an official Church-wide level such as a Conference talk by the Prophet this October or next April, or an official Proclamation or Declaration. As we take this journey together, I welcome your stories and comments.

EDIT: As this post becomes maybe less apparent as time goes on, don't forget that you can link people to the stationary Page about the Fast.

Perceptions of Deity

I'll be the first person to confess that what I'm about to say is probably not at all original in that I know there are many books out there about how we perceive Deity.  I also have to confess that I have read all of... possibly none of those books.  I keep meaning to pick up Mother Wove the Morning and The Dance of the Dissident Daughter at the recommendations of people whose opinions I respect (if only I could get them on my Kindle app...) but I just haven't, and I can't recall ever having picked up anything really but scripture and maybe Church manuals, so I'm coming here from a place of intellectually knowing I'm not alone, but never having formally seen "Oh hey, we're thinking the same thing."  I don't know why I feel the need to qualify what I'm posting with all that, but moving onward.

Growing up, I knew God was my Father and Christ was my Brother, and I knew there was a Mother in there somewhere but I didn't know anything about her except that She existed, but we're not supposed to pray to Her or really talk about her--at least those are the messages I got.  I was nine in 1991 when a particular talk was given by then-First Counselor President Hinckley regarding Heavenly Mother, so I wasn't really at an age where I was thinking too deeply about things, and certainly not up for exploring or challenging anything; it simply wasn't a manifested part of my personality at that time.  I really longed for Her, but I didn't really feel that I had any way of exploring or pushing that, and I accepted for years that I'd just have to wait to learn more, always having the belief and the faith that I would learn more as time went on.  I knew She was there, even without any idea of what to do with that knowledge.  I knew God had a physical body.  I knew God loved me.  I knew God was there for me, had expectations of me, wanted me to be obedient, but had also provided a way to make it right when I wasn't.

In spite of the intellectual knowledge, in my mind, God was somewhere up in the sky, invisible, vaporous, without any facial expression besides benevolent approval and kindliness or disappointment and disapproval.  My imagination really failed me there, coupled with a... well, a somewhat frightened unwillingness to actively entertain anything that wasn't (to me) straight down the middle of the strait and narrow.  Insert a comment about faith vs. fear here.

Since starting this blog and joining in discussions with friends about Heavenly Mother, exposure to the work of Shiloh Sophia McCloud and several other things that have come along in the past few months, I've started thinking more about our eternal and divine natures as children of deity.  Given how prominent assurances are in our teachings that we have potential to become like God ourselves, does it not seem strange that very rarely--possibly never--do I hear anyone in a Sunday School of Relief Society lesson extend that idea into "What will we be like as gods and goddesses?" and then turn it back to "Now, what do you think God is like?"  (And I know I've never heard Goddess included in a sentence like that in a lesson.)  But why not? Indeed, if a man cannot be exalted outside the everlasting covenant of marriage, would not the whole thing collapse without her? That's kind of important, don't you think?

I know some would come back with the gem "It's not critical to your salvation."  Yeah, well neither is emergency preparedness or homemaking and we spend plenty of time on expounding upon the virtues of those.  Neither is serving a full-time mission when you really break it down.  There are a lot of things that aren't "critical" to our salvation; in fact everything outside of making baptismal covenants and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost by proper authority, repentance, and enduring to the end is outside of that "critical" realm of salvation from sin (see here, fourth paragraph.)  I would say even temple covenants aren't critical to salvation.  However, they are critical to eternal exaltation (as mentioned in the final paragraph of the previous link, and which I am separating as a concept; though they're often used interchangeably, they are not the same) and exaltation is a much broader topic than salvation, and isn't it really what we have in mind when we talk about everything else of an eternal nature in the Gospel?  So yes, I would say that knowledge of who my Mother is, what she is, and what she's like is critical to my exaltation, because She is who I am going to be.  She is my example  I deeply and sincerely love my elder Brother, Jesus, and I am grateful every day for the Atonement, and he is an excellent example in living life and serving others and getting back Home, but I am unaware of any instance of Him turning to the women, and directly saying, "Thus saith the Lady, your Mother, what kind of women ought ye to be?  Verily, even as She is."  I will follow the principles I've been given of love/charity, faith, honor, virtue, honesty, integrity, and all the rest to the ends of the Earth, but I'm aiming higher than leading a good enough life not to go to Hell, and I'd like a little more information on what I'm going to become. Yes, there will be ample time to learn in the eternities, but "if a [woman] gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through [her] diligence and obedience than another, [she] will have so much the advantage in the world to come." (D&C 130:19)

I'm getting side-tracked: back on topic.  Perceptions of Deity.  So we don't get a lot of direction or even discussion about this topic of "What are Father and Mother actually like?" and I was left with this flowing glare of white in place of bodied deities.  Problematic, to say the least.  How does one relate to that as being one's Parent?  As I've pondered the matter over the past few days, the following came to my mind.

The Gods are not blanks of "justice and/or mercy", only dealing out blessings and curses as They see fit.  Nor are they featureless or without expression, a monotone and monochromatic field of dogma-made-flesh.  They are Father and Mother, with individualities, personalities, each with their own, separate eternities of life experience, and a unified purpose to glorify and exalt their children.  Each is mighty, omnipotent, and full of love for their children and all creations Their hands have formed.  They are living, loving, intelligent beings of perfect wisdom and understanding.
I believe when they left their own mortal spheres, they yet had many things to learn, with much growth to achieve before they were prepared to be who they are now.  I infer this from the certainty that there is no one, however well-educated, who died knowing everything.  Even a Millenium of righteousness may not be sufficient to teach me how to solve Calculus, as well as to juggle (and it is my understanding that we will be otherwise engaged in proxy work, anyway) or any number of other things that I feel certain the Gods know and understand.  Improvement and progression are a process of change, a process our Parents have experienced and one through which they will guide us.
Our God, our Father has a name and a face.  Our Goddess, our Mother, has a name and a face.  Their eyes have colors, their lips have shape, their bodies have height and weight.  They have voices and favorite turns of phrase.  They each have a laugh, as glorious as the sound of sunrise.  There was a time, when they were mortal, when they had specific gifts and talents that they strove to improve and perfect.  They were us, and we can be them.
When I become Mother, when I am Lady Wisdom, when I am co-creator with my love, I will still have a name and a face.  I will still have a voice and a laugh, and ambitions and dreams.  I will still have vision of my own.  I will still be me, exalted, perfected, the achievement of my immortal potential.  I will be Goddess, too.

This knowledge helps bring Her home for me.  I can imagine her face, I can imagine her smile, I can hope I'll look like her someday.  It also brings Him home.  He loves me.  He speaks to and instructs me.  They relate to me.  They are related to me.  Their very human reality informs my testimony and my destiny, and gives me some perspective on this matter.

How deeply I wish this post wasn't so unusual.  How I wish we talked about this more.