‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.’ Genesis 1:1
Our question today is more rhetorical than not. The LDS Church has wavered on this topic since its inception with Joseph Smith.
For years they denounced the theory of evolution, however, Smith’s own writings put that into question when he claimed the earth is eternal but contradicted it with D&C 77 where it says the earth is about 7,000 yrs. old.
As late as 2016 they also announced they have no opinion on the theory of evolution.
The three LDS references below are enough evidence to show how they’ve had a track record of confusing people.
The 3rd reference is very telling when they told members it’s a commandment to learn all you can but not to establish any theories on what the Church believes. Hmmm…
Please, pray for those who are confused and for Jesus to intervene!
Doctrines of Salvation 1:141-142 “I say most emphatically, you cannot believe in this theory of the origin of man, and at the same time accept the plan of salvation as set forth by the Lord our God. You must choose the one and reject the other, for they are in direct conflict and there is a gulf separating them which is so great that it cannot be bridged, no matter how much one may try to do so.” — Joseph Fielding Smith
New Era, ‘What Does the Church Believe About Evolution?’, October 2016 “The Church has no official position on the theory of evolution. Organic evolution, or changes to species’ inherited traits over time, is a matter for scientific study. Nothing has been revealed concerning evolution. Though the details of what happened on earth before Adam and Eve, including how their bodies were created, have not been revealed, our teachings regarding man’s origin are clear and come from revelation.”
Old Testament Student Manual: Genesis-2 Samuel, CES Religion 301, 2003, Genesis 1 – 2, The Creation “While it is interesting to note these various theories [on evolution], officially the Church has not taken a stand on the age of the Earth. Therefore, while Latter Day Saints are commanded to learn truth from many different fields of study an attempt to establish any theory as the official position of the Church is not justifiable.”
With Love in Christ –
Michelle
[…] Evolution: What Do Mormons Believe? […]
Mormons believe that Jesus created the earth from matter that already existed. In other words, Jesus grabbed a bunch of rocks and other stuff floating around in space and created the earth and all that is within in the earth.According to Mormon belief, neither God or Jesus had anything to do with the creation of already existing elements. This belief can be found in Abraham 3:24. According to the Bible, God created all things, to include all matter, even space rocks, atoms, portons, neutrons, stars, oceans etc (Read: Colossians 1:16; Revelation 4:11; Revelation 10:6, Genesis 1).Somehow, even today, after the Book of Abraham has been proven to be nothing more than the common words spoken at a typical Egyptian funeral, Mormons continue to believe Abraham 3:24 description about the creation of the earth. To me, to continue following the words and teachings from a document that has proven to false and without truth, would be paramount to using a map of Los Angeles to navigate my way around New York City.