It was high council Sunday today in our ward. One of the high councilors, a former bishop, stated that Joseph and Mary taught Jesus of his divinity while he was growing up. Other than the story of Jesus in the temple at age 12, and the stories of his birth, there is nothing told in the Bible of the upbringing of Jesus. I was under the impression that Jesus was taught by God the Father, or his angels. I doubt that the correlation department would have approved the high councilor’s message.
[poll id=566]
Wheat & Tares 
The scripture is silent on this matter. However, Mary and Joseph knew something of Jesus’s divinity — remember the angelic visitations to Mary and to Joseph, and Elisabeth, and the miraculous virgin birth, and the wise men and shepherds, and Simeon and Anna in the temple? Surely it is possible that Joseph and Mary shared some of these things with Jesus during moments of quiet family intimacy.
Huh? Like what? “Son, you’re destined for great things”? “Don’t be mean to your friends; they aren’t God like you”?
No, I think that when John wrote that he received grace upon grace until he had received a fulness, he meant just that. No need to embellish with some high councilor’s idiosyncrasies.
JST Matthew 3:24-26:
24 And it came to pass that Jesus grew up with his brethren, and waxed strong, and waited upon the Lord for the time of his ministry to come.
25 And he served under his father, and he spake not as other men, neither could he be taught; for he needed not that any man should teach him.
26 And after many years, the hour of his ministry drew nigh.
I think the JST is probably where we get the idea that he was taught by heavenly messengers (or otherwise gained awareness via the Holy Ghost).
I’ve seen other members refer to the obedience and righteousness of Joseph and Mary as proof that God intended his son to grow up in a type of gospel-centered home. Based on the Family Proc and ancient Jewish custom, that would involve parents teaching their kids about the church. Whether that includes the truth of Christ’s parentage, we have no clue.
(Incidentally, it was a gospel doctrine lesson concerning our lack of info about Jesus’ childhood that caused an exasperated female classmember to declare that if a woman wrote the scriptures we’d have more details. To which a male classmember responded it was a good thing guys wrote the scriptures, so we’d focus on the gospel and stuff that actually matters. Good times.)
I just wonder if Jesus’s siblings got tired of hearing “why can’t you be more like your big brother?”
In which case that sibling would protest in reference to Joseph, “Well clearly I take after dad.”
“I’ve seen other members refer to the obedience and righteousness of Joseph and Mary as proof that God intended his son to grow up in a type of gospel-centered home. Based on the Family Proc and ancient Jewish custom, that would involve parents teaching their kids about the church.”
Yes, but I’m not aware of a marriage ceremony between Mary and God. Perhaps there was one, but in the eyes of Joseph, this sure looks like a sexual affair, (and is why he wanted to “divorce” her due to her unfaithfulness.) This relationship would hardly qualify as the ideal family of the Family Proclamation. Pregnancy from another person and marrying Joseph sure doesn’t seem to exemplify what Pres Hinckley had in mind for the world when he gave this proclamation in General Conference.
Furthermore, if Mary married God and Joseph, that looks a lot like polyandry….hardly Family Proc stuff.
Gospel-centered family under Mary and Joseph.
As far as marriage between Mary and God, I’ve heard some interesting theories, all of which disturb me greatly. I’m sticking with divine in-vitro fertilization.
“I’m sticking with divine in-vitro fertilization.”
Me too!
The first time I ever heard the theory that Mary had sex with God was on my mission by some random guy yelling at me as I walked down the street. Then after my mission I met a number of members who leaned toward that theory. I find it highly disturbing as the first time Mary knows of it is when she turns up pregnant. It’s pretty similar to a Dr Phil episode I saw once. Creepy…
As for the poll, I picked yes mostly because if I try to put myself in Mary’s shoes I think I would try to teach Jesus about it. Not claiming I would be successful though.
We can only surmise that Joseph and Mary taught him about his divinity and mission, as much as they understood it to be. At some point I would assume the kids might wonder where the gold, frankincense, and myrrh (expensive gifts for a poor family) came from. I lean toward the Marcan or Messianic secret theory (in which no one really understood exactly what the whole messiah thing was about or that he would die so young and powerless instead of rising into a princely position. The resurrection surprised Mary and the women, and the apostles. You would think that if they KNEW everything about his mission, it wouldn’t have caught them so off-guard.
Mary and the woman who anointed his feet (whomever she was) probably knew more than anyone else. Still, it wasn’t a perfect knowledge. I think these women would have shared what they knew of him with him. I also think Joseph would have shared his vision with Jesus. That’s what I think.
However, Camille Fronk Olsen’s new book “Women of the New Testament” insinuated that Mary kept everything in her heart- it was too sacred to share. Additionally, she cited scripture like John 7:5 to show that his “brethren” (literally taken to be his siblings)didn’t believe him. She concludes that Mary and Joseph and the children therefore lived in a part-member family with Mary believing and the others not believing. Readers were urged to reflect on how a righteous woman navigated her part-member family problems to later see her children write scripture (e.g. James) and see the resurrected savior (others). Here’s a hint: the answer was she relied on her divine femininity and kept her mouth shut. She didn’t push the subject as her modus operandi was to “keep these things in her heart”. Consequently, her children were converted by other men, the Savior or God himself, or by themselves. Women, the message here is to keep your mouths shut and ponder things in your heart.
As you can see, I don’t agree with Fron-Olsen’s interpretation of John 7:5, of the assumptions drawn, or of the disturbing message implicated by the author for women.
I lean toward the Marcan secret- they shared what they knew, but no one really got it until he was resurrected . . . and even then it had to sink in. They still had to be taught. We still have to be taught.
Both theories seem equally speculative.
Yes, both are technically speculation, but the second one seems to take a deep dive off a high cliff.