Childbirth and the Atonement

This is the third and final post about childbirth. We began this study before Abraham's birth and continued and finished it before Benjamin's. If you have thoughts on the matter, we'd love to hear them.

Childbirth and the Atonement
By Andrew and Ariel Marshall

Childbirth serves as a powerful type of the Lord and His Atonement (2 Nephi 11:4). Both the suffering and the joy inherent in giving birth bring to mind His sacrifice. This paper seeks to identify some parallels, symbolism, and connections between childbirth and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Sanctifying Blood
In order to be free from the stain of the “blood of this generation,” priesthood holders have the obligation to teach and preach the gospel (D&C 88:85; see also Jacob 1:19, 2 Nephi 9:44, Acts 18:6, D&C 88:138). Through this service they are sanctified and prepared to return “spotless” to the presence of God (Jacob 1:19). Women, however, are pronounced clean from the blood of this generation, seemingly without further obligation. We believe that this sanctifying process begins with pregnancy, continues with childbirth, and culminates in motherhood.
A mother sustains her unborn child’s life while in utero. The two are one through the nourishing blood, water, and spirit of the mother. Similarly, we are born again through the blood of the Savior (3 Nephi 27:14). The blood and sweat and spirit that He gave in Gethsemane and on the cross seal us to Him and give us new life (Moses 6:59-60). Through His Atonement we are purified and we glorify Him (3 Nephi 19:28-29). Similarly, an infant is purified through the blood of the mother and in turn glorifies her, giving her the blessing of filling the measure of her creation.

The Nephite missionary Aaron explains that “there could be no redemption for mankind save it were through the death and sufferings of Christ, and the atonement of His blood.” (Alma 21:9). The blood of Christ gives life. He spilt it freely that we might gain eternal life. A mother likewise spills her blood freely that her child might have life.

Suffering
In Gethsemane, the Son suffered “pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be His anguish” (Mosiah 3:7).

A mother in labor experiences pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue. Some women feel they will die while in transition. Many women have died in childbirth, giving up their lives while giving life. While nothing compares to the physical suffering of Christ, the sacrifice of a mother for her child may be proportionally similar to the sacrifice of the Savior for humanity.

Both the Savior and the mother endure necessary suffering, a purifying, cleansing suffering. A purposeful pain that brings life. The suffering experienced in childbirth is the only physical suffering that results in something good. It is productive suffering. The Atonement, too, is physical suffering resulting in all things good (Moroni 7:24).

Sanctifying Love
Christ’s love serves as the motive for the giving of His blood (1 Nephi 19:9; D&C 133:53). The essence of the Plan of Salvation is His love. We, who can barely comprehend how to love in this “carnal, sensual, and devilish” world can still be “filled with His love unto the consuming of (our) flesh” (Mosiah 16:3; 2 Nephi 4:21). His love carries us through this world and we are ultimately born again through His love. The only love that could compare to the love of the Savior is that of a mother for her child. The Lord made the comparison himself: “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” (Isaiah 49:15). The love of a mother for her child is the strongest love we can understand, yet the Lord’s love is even greater. Nowhere is a mother’s love illustrated more vividly than through her sacrifice in bringing life to her child. The love that grows while carrying the child and later expressed through giving birth is almost tangible. There is an immediate bond between a mother and child as they are sealed in love through blood. The child cannot comprehend the love the mother has for him or her, but can still be swallowed up in it, and can even reciprocate in his or her own small way.

The love of the Son brings us through darkness and into His light (3 Nephi 19:25). The love of the mother brings a child through the darkness and into the light.

Our Helpless State
Paul taught the Ephesians that “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). His sacrifice is grace for us. Were it not for his “infinite atonement” we would become “angels to a devil” (2 Ne. 9:7-9). Just as we can do nothing without His suffering, neither can a baby enter the world without the suffering of a mother. The Atonement and childbirth save those that cannot save themselves, those who are otherwise helpless.

One Way
Just as “there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent,” there is no other way whereby mortality can come unto the children of men, only through the womb of a mother (Mosiah 3:17).

The Will of the Father
Through the pain and agony of Gethsemane, “the will of the Son (was) swallowed up in the will of the Father” (Mosiah 15:7). It is the Father’s will that we receive mortality and then immortality. Immortality is an eternal gift, and therefore the suffering was so sore, exquisite, and hard to bear, we cannot begin to comprehend it (D&C 19:15). Mortality is also a great gift, but not so eternal and all-encompassing. However, in both the suffering for God’s children to enter into mortality and the suffering for God’s children to enter immortality and eternal life, the will of a mother and the will of the Son are swallowed up in the will of the Father.

Lonely Suffering
No one can take the pain from the Savior or a mother, but they certainly can receive support. The Savior received support of an angel, and asked His apostles to watch with him (Luke 22:43; Matthew 26:38). Mothers have the support of midwives, doulas, parents, and especially spouses. All of that said, no one can carry the burden from the Savior or the mother. The Father could not relieve the Son of His mission (Matthew 27:46), and fathers cannot relieve mothers of their mission. They must finish their mission on their own.

Crowning
Just as Christ wore a “crown of thorns” (Matthew 27:29), when a baby’s head is emerging from the mother, it is called “crowning.”

Joy and Rejoicing
Paul, when writing to the Romans, makes an interesting comparison between God’s children and Christ. He states that we are “children of God” (Rom. 8:16) and in the following verse he calls us “joint-heirs with Christ” on the condition that “we suffer with him, that we might be glorified together” (Rom. 8:17). Just as Christ worked out our immortality through his suffering, death and resurrection, a mother does something similar when bearing her child. The glory Christ offered to the Father and to His children outweighed the suffering he passed through (see v. 18). The glory revealed through the life of a newborn makes the suffering to bring that life into the world nothing by comparison.

The process of labor is described in scripture as “travail” (see Genesis 38:27, Psalms 48:6, Isaiah 54:1). This same word is used to describe the Savior’s suffering (Isaiah 53:11). The Lord Himself makes a direct correlation between childbirth and His Atonement and Resurrection. When His disciples are anxious and afraid because of His foreboding words regarding his imminent departure, He comforts them with a unique comparison:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you” (John 16:20-22).

Just as a woman’s joy overcomes the memory of pain and suffering, so do the power and joy that accompany the Resurrection overcome the pain and suffering of the Savior. Life is given through the suffering, and all rejoice.

Immortal and Mortal Initiatory
In the initial step of our temple endowment (otherwise known as the initiatory), and on the path to a spiritual birth through His Atonement we are washed, anointed, clothed, and given a new name (See Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Volume 2, Endowment; see also Exodus 40:12-13). Likewise, a newborn child is washed, anointed, clothed, and given a new name upon entering the world. The mother then takes care of the new child as Christ cares for His flock.

Nursing
A mother responds to her baby’s every need—including the need for nourishment. Anytime the baby is hungry, without asking anything in return, a mother again yields up her body for a moment while the baby enjoys sweet milk. Likewise, Christ invites us to come unto Him and “buy milk and honey, without money and without price” (2 Nephi 26:25).

Conclusion
Christ’s atoning blood saves. A mother’s blood saves. Christ’s love carries us to Him. A mother’s love carries a child to her. The Savior helps those who cannot help themselves. A mother helps one who cannot help him or herself. There is only one way to immortality and only one way to mortality. The Savior did the will of the Father, even in the face of suffering. A mothers does the same. Childbirth is a beautiful, real symbol of the infinite sacrifice of the Son.