The immaculate conception is about Mary being conceived by her parents without original sin as she was to be the mother of Jesus, the Savior. It’s not about how Jesus was conceived (which was through the power of the Holy Spirit).

I am Catholic (formerly LDS). To be clear, the Church (Catholic) asks us to honor Mary, not worship her. Very different. Worthy of worship are God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

I am Catholic (formerly LDS). To be clear, the Church asks us to honor Mary, not worship her. Very different. Worthy of worship are God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

A female’s egg contains two X chromosomes. The male sperm cell has an X and a Y. Each parent provides one chromosome. If two X’s combine, a girl is produced. If an X and a Y, the child will be male.

Laboratory-induced parthenogenesis causes a female egg to divide and grow, so the result (XX) must be a female.

Such a type of parthenogenesis could not have occurred with Mary, for her firstborn (Jesus) was a male. Since she was a virgin, the Y chromosome must have been supplied miraculously, as the Bible indicates.

Surely the One who created the amazing process of human reproduction could also cause the conception and birth of Jesus from a chaste virgin. If God created the universe and its finely tuned laws, he could also use an egg cell from Mary’s ovary to produce a perfect human Son.

Our Great God, the Grand Creator and Source of Life would be able to supply the Y (Mat 1:20).
God’s spirit ensured that what developed and what came to be known as the Son of the Most High (Ps 83:18; Luk 1:32) was a perfect man to be a ransom for imperfect mankind.

The dogma of Immaculate Conception refers to “the unique privilege by which the Virgin Mary was conceived in her mother’s womb without the stain of original sin through the anticipated merits of Jesus Christ” (Dictionary.com). In other words, that she was sinless like the Savior. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that Mary was a pure, righteous and chosen vessel of the Lord, but not that she was perfect and sinless. Elder James E. Talmage said of Jesus,

“That Child to be born of Mary was begotten of Elohim, the Eternal Father, not in violation of natural law but in accordance with a higher manifestation thereof; … In His nature would be combined the powers of Godhood with the capacity and possibilities of mortality…. The Child Jesus was to inherit the physical, mental, and spiritual traits, tendencies, and powers that characterized His parents—one immortal and glorified—God, the other human—woman” (Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. [1916], 81).

Though she was mortal, she was obedient to the commandments of God. Mormon scholar Robert J. Matthews taught,

“When we consider the strong influence that a mother has on the personality and attitude of a young child in the home, we sense the responsibility that our Heavenly Father gave Mary by entrusting her with the rearing of his chosen and Beloved Son. This would require the adequate training of Mary, both as a premortal spirit and as a young woman in mortality. Notwithstanding her preearth assignment, Mary would not have been worthy to bear the Son of God and give him a body of flesh and blood unless she was clean and pure in mortal life” (Mary and Joseph, Ensign, December 1974).

Thus, Mary was worthy to be the mortal mother of Jesus Christ not because she was perfect and sinless but because she kept herself clean and pure through her righteous choices.