(by Dennis B. Horne)
Below are a
sampling of quotations from President Benson warning members not to believe the
theory of evolution:
President Ezra
Taft Benson:
This
University was built by the consecrated funds of the Church for the purpose
that our youth could be taught the truth, both secular and spiritual. That
commission places a great responsibility on both teacher and student. Of that
unique commission, President Marion G. Romney has said:
The unique commission of the Brigham Young University has always been and now is threefold. First, to help you recognize that there are two sources of learning—one divine, the other human; second, to urge and inspire you students to drink deeply from both sources; and third, to teach and train you to correctly distinguish between the learning of the world and revealed truth, that you may not be deceived in your search.
This
unique commission puts peculiar responsibility upon both teachers and students
not imposed by any other university on the globe. The teacher at Brigham Young
University has an obligation to keep these distinctions clear in his own
thinking and in his own heart and to make sure that they are indelibly stamped
upon the minds and hearts of his students. The student has the obligation to
realize that an acquaintance with the learning of men, as well as a knowledge
of the revealed word of God, is essential to the proper discharge of our
teaching obligation to the world.
Don’t
let anyone persuade you there is anything narrow-minded or provincial or
bigoted about this view.
Both the
teacher and the student who have been born again, who have been on the mountain
top and beheld in vision the mighty mission of this university in saving the
souls of men, enjoy here a freedom available in no other university—the freedom
to seek learning, both human and divine, “by study and also by faith,” and the
freedom to teach without restriction the finite wisdom of men by the glowing
light of the infinite wisdom of God, so far as He has revealed it. The
spiritually reborn do not have their academic freedom restricted but greatly
extended at Brigham Young University.
Equipped
with the fruit of an education on this campus, you should continue your quest
for truth with the certain knowledge that “the spirit of truth is of God,” with
a fixed determination to unceasingly pursue the goal inspired in the promise,
“He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is
glorified in truth and knoweth all things.” (D&C 93:28.) (“Your
Quest for Truth,” Baccalaureate Services, 30 May 1957)
***
The world
worships the learning of man. They trust in the arm of flesh. To them, men's
reasoning is greater than God's revelations. The precepts of man have gone so
far in subverting our educational system that in many cases a higher degree
today, in the so-called social sciences, can be tantamount to a major
investment in error. Very few men build firmly enough on the rock of revelation
to go through this kind of an indoctrination and come out untainted.
Unfortunately, of those who succumb, some use their higher degree to get
teaching positions even in our Church educational system, where they spread the
falsehoods they have been taught. (Conference Report, April 1969, 15.)
***
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. President Joseph F. Smith referred to false educational ideas as
one of the three threatening dangers among our Church members. There is more
than one reason why the Church is advising our youth to attend colleges close
to their homes where institutes of religion are available. It gives the parents
the opportunity to stay close to their children; and if they have become alert
and informed as President McKay admonished us last year, these parents can help
expose some of the deceptions of men like Sigmund Freud, Charles Darwin, John
Dewey, Karl Marx, John Keynes, and others. . . . If your children are taught
untruths of evolution in the public schools or even in our Church schools,
provide them with a copy of President Joseph Fielding Smith's excellent
rebuttal in his book Man, His Origin and Destiny. (Conference Report,
October 1970, 25)
President Ezra
Taft Benson:
More
recently, one of our Church educators published what he purports to be a
history of the Church’s stand on the question of organic evolution. His thesis
challenges the integrity of a prophet of God. He suggests that Joseph Fielding
Smith published his work, Man: His Origin and Destiny, against
the counsel of the First Presidency and his own Brethren. This writer’s
interpretation is not only inaccurate, but it also runs counter to the
testimony of Elder Mark E. Petersen, who wrote this foreword to Elder Smith’s
book, a book I would encourage all to read. Elder Petersen said:
Some
of us [members of the Council of the Twelve] urged [Elder
Joseph Fielding Smith] to write a book on the creation of the world and
the origin of man. . . . The present volume is the result. It is a most
remarkable presentation of material from both sources [science and
religion] under discussion. It will fill a great need in the Church and
will be particularly invaluable to students who have become confused by the
misapplication of information derived from scientific experimentation.
When
one understands that the author to whom I alluded is an exponent of the theory
of organic evolution, his motive in disparaging President Joseph Fielding Smith
becomes apparent. To hold to a private opinion on such matters is one thing,
but when one undertakes to publish his views to discredit the work of a
prophet, it is a very serious matter.
It
is also apparent to all who have the Spirit of God in them that Joseph Fielding
Smith’s [doctrinal] writings will stand the test of time.
(See blog
#19 for more information on Pres. Smith’s book.)
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