Topical Guide/Science and Religion/Evolution
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- Age of the Earth—
The Bible dictionary says the Earth is 7,000 years old. Doctrine & Covenants say the 7 seals of the Earth represent 1,000 years. Yet scientific dating places the appearance of modern humans well before 4,000 BC. Can you explain the contradiction, if there is one? (Link)- Brigham Young as Young Earth Creationist?—Critics try to portray Brigham Young as a "young earth creationist" (YEC). This is someone who believes the earth was created in the recent past, usually 6-7,000 years ago, based upon a literal and fundamentalist reading of Genesis. They hope that by making Brigham appear uninformed about scientific matters, they can challenge his status as a prophet. (Link)
- Creatio ex nihilo / Creation out of nothing—
Mainstream Christianity teaches that God created the universe from nothing (ex nihilo), while Mormons teach that God organized the universe from pre-existing matter. The LDS God is therefore claimed to be "less powerful" than the God of mainstream Christianity, or "unbiblical." (Link)- Creation in Colossians 1:16—Does Colossians 1:16 teach that Jesus created all things out of nothing and that He was responsible for the existence of all beings? (Link)
- Death before the fall of Adam—
The Church teaches that there was no death prior to the fall of Adam, and that after the Fall that Adam and Eve became mortal and subject to death. Does LDS doctrine hold that there was no death on the entire earth before the Fall of Adam? (Link) - Dinosaurs—
My seminary class has questions regarding the dinosaurs. They seem to be stuck on "where" and "when." How do they fit into the creation story presented by the scriptures? (Link) - Evolution (official statements)—
What is the Church's stance on the theory of organic evolution? (Link) - Noah's flood—
Modern scientific knowledge regarding the diversity of species, language and evidence of continuous human habitation does not support the Biblical story that a global flood wiped out most life as recently as 4,400 years ago. Critics claim that LDS scriptures require Mormons to believe in a global flood, and that if LDS doctrine or leaders are fallible in their statements concerning the flood, then they must be wrong about other Church doctrines as well. If Noah's Flood was not global, how do we account for Joseph Smith's claim that the Garden of Eden was located in Missouri? (Link) - Peleg—
Isn't it true that before the flood all the continents were all one land mass, since the Bible says that the earth was "divided in the days of Peleg." (Link) - Pre-Adamites—
I am preparing to teach a Sunday School lesson on the creation, and surely the students will bring up the evidence of creatures that looked a lot like man, who lived and made tools, painted paintings, etc., all before what could be the existence of Adam. How do we answer who they were? Are they like animals? We clearly have evidence that they have lived here on this planet. (Link) - Procreation before the Fall—
Did procreation exist before the Fall of Adam? (Link) - Unofficial primary sources on evolution—
This page collects the text of various statements about evolution made by a variety of Church leaders and members. These are unofficial statements, but serve to show the variety of opinions that have been expressed on the topic. (Link)
Mormonism and science
Determining truth
- Are Mormonism and science compatible?—
Secular critics charge that Mormonism and science are incompatible, and that any Latter-day Saint who actually believes is "intellectually dishonest." In reality, however, Latter-day Saints in many ways have a more liberal view of science than some of their Christian brethren. We believe that God operates according to certain laws. If there are things that God can do which seem to contradict what we know through current science, we assume that there are scientific laws that are beyond our current understanding. (Link) - Faith versus knowledge—
It is important to keep in mind the difference in purpose between science and the Gospel. The purpose of science is to examine the characteristics of the world around us in order to more fully understand it. A main purpose of the Gospel is to teach us to develop faith. Unfortunately, the acquisition of scientific knowledge is sometimes perceived to destroy faith. The purpose of faith is to help us understand spiritual things, just as science helps us to understand physical things. (Link) - Burning in the bosom—
Critics are known to mockingly refer to the LDS imagery of a "burning in the bosom." While the phrase is used in the LDS community to express the intense feelings of receiving spiritual witnesses, critics claim it is simply the result of an electro-chemical process that occurs in the brain. (Link)
Latter-day Saint approaches to science
- Archaeology and the Book of Mormon—
Critics charge that what is known about ancient American archaeology is not consistent with the Book of Mormon account. Sectarian critics often add the claim that the Bible has been "proven" true by archaeology, unlike the Book of Mormon. (Link) - Evolution—
How does the Church reconcile the theory of evolution with the story of Adam? (Link) - Pre-Adamites—
There is scientific evidence of human habitation for many thousands of years. How do we reconcile this with the idea that Adam lived approximately 6,000 years ago? (Link) - Death before the Fall—
Does LDS doctrine hold that there was no death before the Fall of Adam? (Link) - Procreation before the Fall—
Did procreation exist before the Fall of Adam? (Link) - Global or local Flood—
How do we deal with the fact that there is no scientific evidence of a worldwide flood? How can the scriptures and prophets teach of a worldwide flood, when this contradicts the evidence? The biodiversity of plants and animals on the earth could not have occurred within the span of a few thousand years. Did the continents separate during the flood of Noah? Doctrine and Covenants 133:23–24 seems to imply that they did. How do we reconcile this to scientific fact? Didn't Brigham Young, John Taylor and Orson Pratt teach that the Flood was the baptism of the Earth? (Link) - Age of the Earth—
Do Latter-day Saints believe that the Earth is only 6,000 years old? Why does Doctrine and Covenants section 77 say that the history of the earth covers only seven thousand years? (Link) - Dinosaurs—
How do dinosaurs fit into God's plan? (Link) - Book of Mormon and DNA evidence (Link)
- Free will and science (Link)
- Alleged "discovery" of cold fusion by Utah researchers—
Critics claim that the mistaken "discovery" of cold fusion in Utah reflects on either LDS gullibility, inability to do science, or dishonesty. (Link)
Science and LDS scripture
- Book of Abraham
- Cosmology
- Book of Mormon
- Archaeology and the Book of Mormon (Link)
Latter-day Saint attitude toward science
- Mormonism and education—
Does the Church Educational System (CES) insist that gospel learning takes precedence over secular learning? Does the level of activity in the Church decrease as educational level increases? (Link) - Latter-day Saint apologists' attitudes toward science (Link)
- Statistical claims—
This page indexes attacks and criticism of the Church based upon statistical analysis. (Link)
- General authorities statements regarding science—
If General authorities' statements are treated as scripture, then what does that mean when they make statements regarding science? (Link)
External Articles
- "Evolution", Encyclopedia of Mormonism
- Henry Eyring, Reflections of a Scientist (excerpts)
- Steven Peck, Why the Lamanite-DNA Question is Irrelevant (and why this means you should believe in evolution). (Blog entry)
