“God has made certain decrees which are fixed and immovable … for instance, the oak of the forest, the fruit of the tree, the herb of the field—all bear a sign that seed hath been planted there; for it is a decree of the Lord that every tree, plant, and herb bearing seed should bring forth of its kind, and cannot come forth after any other law or principle.” Joseph Smith Jr. The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, Volume 44
We have enough and to spare, at present in these mountains, of schools where young infidels are made because the teachers are so tender-footed that they dare not mention the principles of the gospel to their pupils, but have no hesitancy in introducing into the classroom the theories of Huxley, of Darwin, or of Mill and the false political economy which contends against co-operation and the United Order. This course I am resolutely and uncompromisingly opposed to, and I hope to see the day when the doctrines of the gospel will be taught in all our schools, when the revelations of the Lord will be our texts, and our books will be written and manufactured by ourselves and in our own midst. As a beginning in this direction I have endowed the Brigham Young Academy at Provo.
“The evolution of man has been a topic of debate among Church educators, members, and General Authorities since the early 1900s. The debate continues today.
Where do you stand on this important matter?
In 1954, Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, an Apostle who later became President of the Church, authored the book Man: His Origin and Destiny at the request of other members of the Quorum of the Twelve. This book documents Elder Smith’s position that pre-Adamites and organic (i.e., Darwinian) evolution are “false teachings, so destructive of faith in God.”
Man: His Origin and Destiny has been criticized by certain LDS educators. Elder Ezra Taft Benson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve, offered the following rebuttal to one such criticism at BYU in 1976—
“… Elder Smith’s book, a book I would encourage all to read … It is also apparent to all who have the Spirit of God in them that Joseph Fielding Smith’s writings will stand the test of time.”
Today, 39 years later, Standing the Test of Time ‒ Science Proving Scripture fulfills that prophecy!
Standing the Test of Time – Science Proving Scripture carefully examines the scientific evidence for Darwinian evolution and finds it seriously lacking in actual scientific basis. For example, the book explains how and why the human genome is actually deteriorating over time rather than creating new genes through evolution; why there are no fossils of any real pre-Adam transitional humans to be found anywhere; why radiocarbon and geologic dating estimation methods are consistently unreliable; and when dinosaurs really lived.
In short, Standing the Test of Time provides truthful scientific answers to some of life’s most vexing questions. As Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote, “These are questions to which all of us should find answers. Every person must choose for himself what he will believe.”
Founded on new, groundbreaking science performed by courageous scientists with doctoral degrees, the glorious truths revealed in Standing the Test of Time will increase your faith in God as The Creator. No longer need you be intimidated by the sophisticated but unscientific and untruthful rhetoric of mainstream science that is so pervasive in today’s media!” Source: Available at www.digitalegend.com
Joseph Smith Foundation Commentary
“Can the scientific worldviews of Darwinism or NeoDarwinism be harmonized with the doctrines of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Many seem to feel that Darwinian evolution has been proven to be a scientific fact. These are the base assumptions of NeoDarwinism:
- All life originated and diversified through chance
- All organisms are descended from a single common ancestor in the distant past
- An unguided process of natural selection has the power to produce fundamentally new forms of life through random mutations
- Uniformitarianism or the principle that the present is the key to the past should be used in understanding the earth and all things in the universe
- There is no purpose or design in the universe
This FAQ compilation provides statements from presidents of the Church and the standard works to show that each of these foundational principles of NeoDarwinism is in direct conflict with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Additional tenets of Darwinism that are in conflict with the Gospel are:
- Life originated many millions of years ago
- Death has been a part of this world for millions of years
- The earth is billions of years old
- Spirit matter does not exist
- Intelligence does not exist
- Miracles were not involved in the origin of the universe
- Miracles were not involved in the origin of this earth
- There are no laws beyond the physical laws that science can comprehend
Darwinism and NeoDarwinism are in complete opposition to the doctrines involving God’s intervention through priesthood power in the history of the universe and life on this earth. For a great example of this please see the Humanist Manifesto. Excerpts can be found here. Darwinian concepts lead to philosophies diametrically opposed to the teachings of the Gospel. Many presidents of the Church have testified of this fact. President Joseph Fielding Smith has made this statement regarding compromise between the theories of Darwinism and the Gospel:
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. [1]
Additionally, President Smith taught that the author of Darwiniam evolution was the adversary of man:
“Organic evolution is Satan’s chief weapon in this dispensation in his attempt to destroy the divine mission of Jesus Christ. It is a contemptible plot against faith in God and to destroy the effective belief in the divine atonement of our Redeemer through which men may be saved from their sins and find place in the Kingdom of God. There is not and cannot be any compromise between the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the theories of evolution. Were evolution true, there could be no remission of sin.” [2]
President Smith also taught that one must choose between the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the philosophies of Darwinism:
If life began on the earth, as advocated by Darwin, Huxley, Haeckel (who has been caught openhanded perpetrating a fraud), and others of this school, whether by chance or by some designing hand, then the doctrines of the Church are false. Then there was no Garden of Eden, no Adam and Eve, and no fall. If there was no fall; if death did not come into the world as the scriptures declared that it did—and to be consistent, if you are an evolutionist, this view you must assume—then there was no need for a redemption, and Jesus Christ is not the Son of God, and he did not die for the transgression of Adam, nor for the sins of the world. Then there has been no resurrection from the dead! Consistently, logically, there is no other view, no alternative that can be taken. Now, my brethren and sisters, are you prepared to take this view?” [3]
Clearly President Smith felt that compromise was impossible and very dangerous. Some feel that this was just one man’s opinion. Perhaps, they say, President Smith took the scriptures a little too seriously. They feel that Darwinism is a proven fact and that therefore there must be some way to reconcile the Gospel with Darwinism. If indeed President Smith was the only witness then this discussion could be open to debate. But note that nearly every President of the Church has taught that Darwinism is destructive and/or has taught doctrines that completely contradict those found in the evolutionary worldview. In support of Joseph Fielding Smith’s words in denunciation of evolution, Ezra Taft Benson stated:
It is . . . apparent to all who have the Spirit of God in them that Joseph Fielding Smith’s writings will stand the test of time.” [4]
President Benson felt that those who live worthy of the Spirit of the Lord will know that the witness of Joseph Fielding Smith regarding Darwinian evolution is inspired of the Lord. President Benson advised members of the Church who became confused by evolutionary teachings while attending Church schools or otherwise to read President Joseph Fielding Smith’s book, Man, His Origin and Destiny. President Benson added further that the Church was under condemnation for treating lightly the words of the Lord as contained in the Book of Mormon.
Surely the Book of Mormon is a sacred thing, and yet many trifle with it, or in other words, take it lightly, treat it as though it is of little importance. . . .If the early Saints were rebuked for treating the Book of Mormon lightly, are we under any less condemnation if we do the same? The Lord Himself bears testimony that it is of eternal significance. Can a small number of us bring the whole Church under condemnation because we trifle with sacred things? What will we say at the Judgment when we stand before Him and meet His probing gaze if we are among those described as forgetting the new covenant? [5]
President Benson then added that one way the Church was not using the Book of Mormon correctly dealt with Darwin and evolution. He felt that the Book of Mormon should be used to expose the false doctrines promoted by Darwin and his followers:
We have not been using the Book of Mormon as we should. Our homes are not as strong unless we are using it to bring our children to Christ. Our families may be corrupted by worldly trends and teachings unless we know how to use the book to expose and combat the falsehoods in socialism, organic evolution, rationalism, humanism, and so forth.” [6]
As a watchman on the tower, I feel to warn you that one of the chief means of misleading our youth and destroying the family unit is our educational institutions . . . if [parents] become alerted and informed, these parents can help expose some of the deceptions of men like . . . Charles Darwin and others.” [7]
Clearly President Benson is a second witness that Darwinian evolution cannot be harmonized with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In addition to President Benson, President Harold B. Lee taught that there can be no compromise with Darwinism. President Lee was always very supportive of President Joseph Fielding Smith and used the book, Man, His Origin and Destiny while teaching. President Lee additionally taught throughout his life that there was no death before the Fall of Adam and Eve. Additionally, in a First Presidency message, while President of the Church, President Lee taught that a belief in pre-Adamites could be equated with weak faith.
I was somewhat sorrowed recently to hear someone, a sister who comes from a church family, ask, What about the pre-Adamic people?” Here was someone who I thought was fully grounded in the faith. I asked, What about the pre-Adamic people?” She replied, Well, aren’t there evidences that people preceded the Adamic period of the earth?” I said, Have you forgotten the scripture that says, ‘And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also….’” [8] I asked, Do you believe that?” She wondered about the creation because she had read the theories of the scientists, and the question that she was really asking was: How do you reconcile science with religion? The answer must be, If science is not true, you cannot reconcile truth with error .” [9]
President Lee made it very clear that we can not and should not reconcile false scientific ideas such as pre-Adamites with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Clearly President Harold B. Lee is a third witness that the Gospel cannot be harmonized with Darwinian evolution. In our day President Boyd K. Packer has added his witness of the dangers of compromise with Darwinism.
No greater ideal has been revealed than the supernal truth that we are the children of God, and that by virtue of our creation we differ from all other living things [10]. All flesh,” the scriptures teach, is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts” [11]… …The knowledge that we are the children of God is a refining, even an exalting truth. On the other hand, no idea has been more destructive of happiness, no philosophy has produced more sorrow, more heartbreak, more suffering and mischief, no idea has contributed more to the erosion of the family than the idea that we are not the offspring of God, but only advanced animals. There flows from that idea the not too subtle perception that we are compelled to yield to every carnal urge, are subject to physical but not to moral law. The man-from-animal theory…is widely taught and generally accepted as the solution to the mystery of life. I know there are two views on the subject. But it is one thing to measure this theory solely against intellectual or academic standards, quite another to measure it against moral or spiritual or doctrinal standards.” [12]
The witnesses against Darwinism are clear and numerous. The Prophets of God have warned that there can be no compromise with this false philosophy of origins. Still many say, But evolution has been proven to be a scientific fact.” In answer to these assertions, President Spencer W. Kimball had this to say to those who stack false science against the word of God:
The Gods organized the earth of materials at hand, over which they had control and power. This truth is absolute. A million educated folk might speculate and determine in their minds that the earth came into being by chance. The truth remains. The earth was made by the Gods…opinions do not change that. The Gods organized and gave life to man and placed him on the earth. This is absolute. It cannot be disproved. A million brilliant minds might conjecture otherwise, but it is still true.” [13]
Despite the rhetoric, science has not proven Darwinian evolution to be true. There are many scientists who can provide evidence against Darwinian assumptions. For scientific witnesses that show evidence that the Prophets of God are indeed correct please visit our online store. For additional statements of the position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints please visit this FAQ.”
- Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:141.
- ↑ Joseph Fielding Smith, Man, His Origin and Destiny, 184-185
- ↑ Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:143.
- ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, This Nation Shall Endure [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1977], 27.
- ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, The Book of Mormon—Keystone of Our Religion,” Ensign, Nov 1986, 4
- ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, 60-61.
- ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], p. 307
- ↑ Moses 3:7
- ↑ Harold B. Lee, First Presidency Message: Find the Answers in the Scriptures,” Ensign, Dec. 1972, 2
- ↑ Moses 6:8-10, 22, 59
- ↑ 1 Corinthians 15:39
- ↑ Boyd K. Packer, Things of the Soul, pp. 109-111
- ↑ Spencer W. Kimball, Absolute Truth”, Ensign, September 1978, p. 3
