In this episode, Jess reads "Nephi and His Asherah" by Daniel C. Peterson.

Abstract

Asherah was the chief goddess of the Canaanites. She was El’s wife and the mother and wet nurse of the other gods. At least some Israelites worshipped her over a period from the conquest of Canaan in the second millennium before Christ to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC (the time of Lehi’s departure with his family). Asherah was associated with trees—sacred trees. The rabbinic authors of the Jewish Mishna (second–third century ad) explain the asherah as a tree that was worshipped. In 1 Nephi 11, Nephi considers the meaning of the tree of life as he sees it in vision. In answer, he receives a vision of “a virgin, . . . the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.” The answer to his question about the meaning of the tree lies in the virgin mother with her child. The virgin is the tree in some sense and Nephi accepted this as an answer to his question. As an Israelite living at the end of the seventh century and during the early sixth century before Christ, he recognized an answer to his question about a marvelous tree in the otherwise unexplained image of a virginal mother and her divine child—not that what he saw and how he interpreted those things were perfectly obvious. What he “read” from the symbolic vision was culturally colored. Nephi’s vision reflects a meaning of the “sacred tree” that is unique to the ancient Near East. Asherah is also associated with biblical wisdom literature. Wisdom, a female, appears as the wife of God and represents life.

Peterson, Daniel C. (2000) "Nephi and His Asherah," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies: Vol. 9: No. 2, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol9/iss2/4

Emily Carolynn Baker rejoins us on the podcast to share about an upcoming social media "flash mob" and exciting Divine Feminine Summit! To participate in the social media sharing, called a "thunderclap", post a photo of your hand with the words "Divine Feminine Matters" written on it at 11:11 MST on your social media platform of choice. Caption the post, "The Divine Feminine Matters because ______" and fill in the blank!

So many have been on a journey seeking Heavenly Mother/the Feminine Divine for months or years, and this is an opportunity to share why that matters to you. We matter, She matters, and it's time to be brave and share why!

Emily also announces a Divine Feminine Summit happening Jan 31 and Feb 1, 2025 with presenters such as Dr. Julie Hanks and Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife. You won't want to miss it!

We hope you enjoy this episode and watching the flood of social media posts on Friday. You are not alone!

Links:

THUNDERCLAP INFORMATION:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DEyucGwOrZ7/?igsh=Zm9pMndsaW9nMzBh

Anonymous post form submission: https://forms.gle/KSNqywAV168hTCeh7

Thunder clap reminders via text and email: https://calendly.com/thespiritualcollab/divine-feminine-thunderclap-reminders

Tickets for online summit: https://divinefeminine.live/

Instagram account: @thespiritualcollab

Co-Organizers of Event: @that.lds.energy.gal @latterdayawakening and @enochsears

Send requests to collaborate to thespiritualcollab@gmail.com or hello@divinefeminine.live

Julie Dean Richards is a Wife, Mother-of-three, doula, herbalist, astrologer, numerologist, attorney, and the Co-Founder of Feminine Alychemst: School of the Deep Feminine. She is also the co-host of the podcast "Feminine Alchemy". Before completing her doctorate degree in law, Julie worked in research for 7 years. She consulted high-touch clients such as Harvard, Yale, Standford, and Google on creating and completing peer reviewed and other research projects. She has lived in 3 countries and speaks 5 languages. Julie has always been deeply spiritual; a follower of Christ and interested in the divine feminine, the quantum field, spirituality, and esoteric topics. She is an advocate for bodily autonomy including home and free birth. Julie balances logic and wisdom by combining nature's rhythms, modern astrology, science, and law to help her clients realize their greatest potential.

Links:
Connecting to the Divine Feminine Guide:

https://www.femininealchemyst.com/divine-feminine-guide

School: https://www.femininealchemyst.com/

Podcast: https://femininealchemy.buzzsprout.com/1835081

Website: https://astrologicalattorney.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astrologicalattorney?igsh=MTJ4dTZrYmhrN2d5bw==