In 1845 Eliza R. Snow wrote a poem called “Invocation, or the Eternal Father and Mother”. This poem articulates how the traditional Divine Masculine (Heavenly Father) has a counterpart in the Divine Feminine (Heavenly Mother). This poem became well-known and is well-loved for speaking about Heavenly Mother. It was so important to our people, that it was sung at the 1893 dedication of the Salt Lake Temple.
In 1890, John Hafen were sent on a mission by the LDS church to study art in Paris, so they would be able to paint murals in the Salt Lake Temple. He learned from the masters of the time how to use color, light, and brushstrokes using impressionism. His art came to reflect a love and reverence for nature.
After his murals were painted in the Temple, he moved to Indiana to become a respected artist and instructor. It was here in 1908 that he was approached by Mission Presidents Ben E. Rich and German E. Ellsworth. They had been impressed with his art, and asked if he would illustrate “Invocation, or the Eternal Father and Mother” so that the illustrations and poem may be made into a missionary tool. Hafen said, “I am impressed with the means that pictorial art might be of spreading the grand truths which are in that poem.” and agreed to depict the poem, and this tract may be found here.
For the stanza, “In the heavens are parents single? No; the thought makes reason stare! Truth is reason, truth eternal tells me I’ve a mother there,” Hafen chose to depict Heavenly Mother embracing one of Her children, calling the painting “A Mother There”. The artist wanted to depict the love that he Mother has for Her children, and looked in his own family for inspiration. He used his wife Thora and daughter Delia as models for these heavenly figures.
While this piece was likely originally in an orange hue, I find this to be a bit too warm of a color for what is being depicted. I had considered changing the hue to a green, referencing how she is “Mother Earth”, or even just making it black-and-white. However, I felt that a nice and soft blue depicted the calmness and peace that I feel Hafen was striving to illustrate and how I feel about Heavenly Mother.
I wanted this beautiful artwork – which I believe is the first depiction of Heavenly Mother – to be in my Temple room, and so I ordered a print of it. This hangs on my wall near my desk, and every day I will be able to see the love She has for Her children.
