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unfortunately, God has not organized the universe like that. We cannot hope to be omnipresent, useful though it would be, and neither can we ever aspire to be able to bestow mind, physical matter, or the vital life spark on other beings in the same way that she does--though clearly, those of us who are lucky enough to be mothers have some pale experience of this in a human way in the administration of our homes and families.
As far as the relationship between this Daughter and Son is concerned, at the enthronement of Michael as a Master Son, our universe's Creative Daughter Spirit acknowledged her subordination to him, and pledged fidelity and obedience. In return, Michael acknowledged his eternal dependence on her, and declared her to be co-ruler of his universe, and equal with him in personality and divine attributes. (. 369)
This relationship is described as the "high ideal of the family and the human institution of voluntary marriage." (369).
What are the issues here for daughters to reflect on? Publicly declaring one's subordination and vowing loyalty and obedience to one's husband is not a modern attitude, to put it mildly, but then neither is it common, as far as I am aware, for husbands to acknowledge their dependence on their wives, though our society has been grappling with the equality question for some time now, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
So, what about other Daughters in the Universe? On a level far closer to ours, there are the Material Daughters, all the Eves. Though seldom in the Book are any Eves talked about on their own--almost always are they referred to as "the Material Son and Daughter." On p. 828 we read: "The Material Sons and Daughters always serve together. It is the essence of their service at all times and in all places never to be separated. They are designed to work in pairs; seldom do they function alone." Their chief task is "to multiply and uplift the children of time," and they contribute to the improvement of the races by cultural education, particularly in the physical, scientific and economic realms. They lead very much by example.
Take the command "to multiply." Our own Eve had 32 daughters and 32 sons before the default, and 42 children after leaving the Garden. It is not specified but it seems clear that the balance of girls to boys is always even. She had already had 50 sons and 50 daughters before coming to Urantia, so when it came to multiplying, she certainly met her responsibilities--206 children! Given our much shorter life span, I don't think we are expected to perform quite up to those standards!
In studying the way of life of Adam and Eve, the theme of working together in equal partnership which we saw between Michael and the Divine Minister, is strongly reinforced. On p. 831, where the arrival of our Material Son and Daughter is described in much detail, The Urantia Book states: "Take note! women as well as men were in this group (a council selected to assume responsibilities in the new administration of world affairs). It was an astounding innovation to behold Eve, a woman, sharing the honors and responsibilities of world affairs with a man."
On p. 836, "Adam endeavored to teach the races sex equality. The way Eve worked by the side of her husband made a profound impression upon all dwellers in the Garden. Adam definitely taught them that the woman, equally with the man, contributes those life factors which unite to form a new being." This was a new idea for humans in those days, and who knows what sort of society we would all be living in now if it had not been for the default.
The Material Sons and Daughters live permanently, of course, on the system capitals, and there are certainly a lot of them! At last count, there were 161,432,840 Material Sons and Daughters in Nebadon, and they all play a major part in the administration of those spheres and in the further training of mortal ascenders. They run the probationary nurseries on the finaliters' world and take ascenders to live with them in their homes. They model "the ideals of the union of man and woman in the bonds of marriage and for the purpose of procreating and rearing offspring."
So we now have two ideals of marriage, and this study of daughters is becoming also an examination of males and females, and the way they relate to each other. What does the book have to say about male and female? On p.931, "Male and female are... two distinct varieties of the same species....Their viewpoints and entire life reactions are essentially different, they are wholly incapable of full and real comprehension of each other." This statement would strike a chord with most couples on this planet.
Then on p. 938: "Many orders of universe creatures are created in dual phases of personality manifestation. Among mortals, material sons, and midsoniters, this difference is described as male and female; among seraphim, cherubim and morontia companions, it has been denominated positive or aggressive and negative and retiring." The key point here is the use of the word 'personality manifestation.' Jesus described this too: "in the kingdom of heaven there is neither rich nor poor, free nor bond, male nor female, all are equally the sons and daughters of God." (1678) So even once the male and female part has gone, we are still daughters and sons, and, "the differences in viewpoint...persist...throughout the local and superuniverse ascensions. "(938)
The question occurs as to why the Universal Father created us male and female--in what way or ways is this better than being, say, hermaphroditic and simply reproducing ourselves? One possible answer may be that in a small, small way, in the experience of working
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