(by Dennis B. Horne)
BYU is
going so far as to hold Conferences
on its campus to which faculty and administration from other Christian schools
are being invited, to teach them how to carefully and cleverly teach
macro-evolution to their Bible-believing students. BYU biologists have
developed presentations and handouts for use in promoting evolution and
weakening faith in the truth that God is our common ancestor and that we are
literally His children. Some of these biologists are activists who think they
are doing good while they damage the faith of their students in God as their
father, in the fall, and in other fundamental doctrines. And it’s not just
other universities and schools they are trying to infiltrate. It is also the
Church at large. Evolutionist-activists from BYU have gone to the media with
their propaganda, seeking to get publicity and attention and thereby persuade
uninformed church members. (See the Introduction blog for links to these news
items, or below.) The teachings found below should help faithful and believing
Latter-day Saints avoid the doctrines of men and devils taught by some BYU
professors (see D&C 46:7).
While we are to emulate our Savior’s kindness and compassion, while we are to value the rights and feelings of all of God’s children, we cannot change His doctrine. It is not ours to change. His doctrine is ours to study, understand, and uphold.
President Russell
M. Nelson
They were
created in the image of God, with bodies of flesh and bone. Created in the
image of God and not yet mortal, they could not grow old and die. “And they
would have had no children” nor experienced the trials of life. . . . The
creation of Adam and Eve was a paradisiacal creation, one that required a
significant change before they could fulfill the commandment to have children6
and thus provide earthly bodies for premortal spirit sons and daughters of God.”
“That brings us to the Fall. Scripture teaches that “Adam
fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.” The Fall of
Adam (and Eve) constituted the mortal creation and brought about the required
changes in their bodies, including the circulation of blood and other
modifications as well.8 They were now able to have children. They and their
posterity also became subject to injury, disease, and death.
President Russell
M. Nelson
That goal is shared by worthy
servants of the Master, who would not speak ill of the Lord’s anointed nor
provoke contention over teachings declared by ancient or living prophets.
Certainly no faithful follower of
God would promote any cause even remotely related to religion if rooted in
controversy, because contention is not of the Lord.
Surely a stalwart would not lend
his or her good name to periodicals, programs, or forums that feature offenders
who do sow “discord among brethren.” (Prov. 6:19; see also Prov. 6:14.)
Such agitators unfortunately
fulfill long-foretold prophecy: they “take counsel together, against the Lord,
and against his anointed.” (Ps. 2:2.) . . .
Of course the authorities are
human. But to them God has entrusted the keys to His divine work. And He holds
us accountable for our responses to the teachings of His servants.
Elder Richard G. Scott:
The
scientific method is useful, but it does not guarantee obtaining pure knowledge
and could possibly lead us down blind alleys.
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/richard-g-scott/truth-2/
President Joseph
Fielding Smith:
My
contention with our scientific brethren and men of the world, lies in another field.
I speak frankly and to some, my words may appear harsh, and even filled with
‘ill humor’ by those who hold to the theories which I have attacked.
Nevertheless I feel that I am justified in referring thus to those who hold
these evolutionary theories and who feel themselves to be superior in
intelligence and wisdom and entitled to treat the rest of us as school boys who
need disciplining and have no right to call them in question. It remains a
definite fact that the majority of scientists have considered themselves to be
superior in intelligence and wisdom. . . .
No one
realizes more than I, that I am ‘a fallible man,’ and I accord to every other
man, including the scientists, the same compliment.
There is
one place, however, where I feel that men are infallible. That is when they, as
prophets, reveal to us the word of the Lord. We have four published works which
have been accepted by the members of the Church as standard in doctrine,
revelation and government. These are: The Bible, the Book of Mormon, The
Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. We accept of course, the
Bible, as far as correctly translated. It is a well-established fact that the
copies coming to us based on translations, more of less semi-modern, contain
many errors but when the Bible is in full accord with the other records, we
accept what is written, whether the things written harmonize with the teachings
of science or not.
President
Joseph F. Smith has stated the case clearly:
The
Church holds to the definite authority of divine revelation which must be the
standard, and that, so-called ‘science’ has changed from age to age in its
deductions, and as divine revelation is truth, and must abide forever, views as
to the lesser should conform to the positive statements of the greater; and
further, that in institutions of education, its instructors must be in harmony
in their teachings with the principles of doctrine.
The
truth persists, but the theories of philosophy change and are overthrown. What
men use today as the scaffolding for scientific purposes from which to reach
out into the unknown for truth, may be torn down tomorrow, having served its
purpose, but faith is an eternal principle through which the humble believer
may secure everlasting solace. It is the only way to find God” (Man: His
Origin and Destiny, 8).
The
following I stated at the conference in October 1932:
“So far as
the philosophy and wisdom of the world are concerned, they mean nothing unless
they conform to the revealed word of God. Any doctrine, whether it comes in the
name of religion, science, philosophy, or whatever it may be, if it is in
conflict with the revealed word of the Lord, will fail. It may appear
plausible. It may be put before you in language that appeals and which you may
not be able to answer. It may appear to be established by evidence that you
cannot controvert, but all you need to do is bide your time. Time will level
all things. You will find that every doctrine, every principle, no matter how
universally believed, if not in accord with the divine word of the Lord to his
servants, will perish. Nor is it necessary for us to try to stretch the word of
the Lord, in a vain attempt to make it conform to these theories and teachings.
The word of the Lord shall not pass away unfulfilled, but these false doctrines
and theories will all fail. Truth and only truth, will remain when all else has
perished.
I, as a
fallible man, do not claim to be able to give the answers to all the questions
propounded by science; but I am convinced that if there arises any theory which
is in conflict with the revelations given by the Lord, they will perish. It is
a great regret to me that our scientific brethren at times take a contrary view
which is, if the theories of science appear to be definite and possibly true
and are in conflict with the revelations in these Standard Works, then science
is right and the revelations are wrong. This attitude certainly gets some of
our brethren in trouble. This is placing the judgment of man superior to God!
Joseph Fielding Smith to Dr. Henry Eyring, April 15, 1955,
1-2)
President
Joseph Fielding Smith:
Search the
scriptures that you may not be deceived by false theories and practices and
doctrines so prevalent in the world today. If you will do this, if you will
have in your hearts the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord which every member
of the Church has a right to have, the companionship of the Holy Ghost, you
will not be led astray by the theories of men because the Spirit of the Lord
will tell you they are false, and you will have the spirit of discernment that
you may understand.
Help those
with questions to realize that the Lord does not require His Saints to have
advanced degrees in history and doctrine.
[Editorial
note: This applies to other fields and types of advanced education as well,
such as biology and anthropology and geology. These are not the sources we are
sent to for truth and understanding about God and the creation, fall, and
atonement.]
President Harold B.
Lee:
How do we measure whether or not
one’s teachings are true or false? If anyone teaches beyond what the scriptures
teach, we may put it down as speculation except one man who has the right to
bring forth any new doctrine—that is the one man who holds the keys—the
prophet, seer, and revelator who presides in that high place. And no one else. If anyone presumes to bring forth what he
claims to be new doctrine you may know that it is purely his own opinion and
you label it as such regardless of his position in the church. If it contradicts something that is in the
scriptures, you may label it immediately that it is false. That is why we call the scriptures, our four
Standard Church Works. They are the
standards by which we measure all doctrine and if anything is taught which is
contrary to that which is in the scriptures, it is false. It is just that simple. (“Viewpoint of a
Giant,” Summer School Devotional Address, Department of Seminaries and
Institutes of Religion,
President Boyd K.
Packer:
These reasons leave questions yet
unanswered. How old is the earth? I do not know! But I do know that matter is eternal. How long a time has man been upon the
earth? I do not know! But I do know that man did not evolve from
animals….
Here we are, spirit children of God,
clothed in flesh, sojourning in mortality for a season. Know that your body is the instrument of your
mind, and the foundation of your character.
Do not mortgage your soul for unproved theories; ask, simply ask! I have asked, but not how man was created; I
have asked if the scriptures are true.
And I have a witness and a testimony. (Boyd K. Packer, “The Law and the
Light,” in Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr., The Book of Mormon: Jacob Through Words of Mormon, To Learn with Joy [Provo,
Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center and Bookcraft, 1990], 21-22, 24, 26.)
President Harold B.
Lee:
Now, when the Lord says to us in
Doctrine and Covenants 21 that we should accept the words and commandments of the
prophets as if from his own mouth in patience and faith, suppose he speaks on
the matter of politics and he blasts something in which you have a strong
feeling. Perhaps you are ardent in the Republican party, and he speaks
scathingly about it and it ruffles your feathers. Perhaps you’re running for Congress. Perhaps you are running for the state
legislature or for county attorney on the Democratic ticket, and he slices out
against the Democratic party. Perhaps he
talks boldly about a subject of science, and you say, “what does he know about
science?” or, “what does he know about philosophy?”
In talking about this subject in an
address to a similar audience of seminary teachers, President Clark made this
comment:
“I call your attention to the fact that
there is no limitation to the matters to be covered by the scriptures on which
the Lord speaks. Having read just what I
have read you from the 21st Section and having in mind that this
Church is a practical Church and deals with temporal as well as spiritual
affairs, I submit that whatever comes from the voices of those who hold that
authority and is scripture, no matter of what they speak, that conclusion to me
is inevitable. Anything, and everything
that affects the well-being of us Latter-day Saints or that has to do with our
religion may become a part of that scripture, and when the servants of God
speak to us about such things, speaking under the inspiration of the Lord, then
their words become scripture.”
“How shall we know then,” you may
ask, “when they speak by the inspiration of the Lord?”
Now, get this; this is the crux of
it.
“I cannot tell you how to know, but
I can tell you that every man holding the priesthood who is obeying the
commandments of the Lord and living righteously, will know without doubt when
God’s servants speak under inspiration.
The spirit will bear witness.” (“The Place of the Church,” Address to
Seminary and Institute Faculty,
Elder Bruce R.
McConkie:
We ought to judge everything by
gospel standards, not the reverse. Do not take a scientific principle,
so-called, and try to make the gospel conform to it. Take the gospel for what
it is, and, insofar as you can, make other things conform to it, and if they do
not conform to it, forget them. Forget them; do not worry. They will vanish
away eventually. In the true sense of the word, the gospel embraces all truth.
And everything that is true is going to conform to the principles that God has
revealed. (Mark L. McConkie, ed., Doctrines
of the Restoration: Sermons & Writings of Bruce R. McConkie [Salt Lake
City: Bookcraft, 1989], 336-37.)
President Joseph F.
Smith:
Our
young people are diligent students. They reach out after truth and knowledge
with commendable zeal, and in so doing they must necessarily adopt for
temporary use, many theories of men. As long, however, as they recognize them
as scaffolding useful for research purposes, there can be no special harm in
them. It is when these theories are settled upon as basic truth that trouble
appears, and the searcher then stands in grave danger of being led hopelessly
from the right way….
The
Church holds to the definite authority of divine revelation which must be the
standard; and that, as so-called "Science" has changed from age to
age in its deductions, and as divine revelation is truth, and must abide
forever, views as to the lesser should conform to the positive statements of
the greater, and, further, that in institutions founded by the Church for the
teaching of theology, as well as other branches of education, its instructors
must be in harmony in their teachings with its principles and doctrines….
There
are so many demonstrated, practical, material truths, so many spiritual
certainties, with which the youth of Zion should become familiar, that it
appears a waste of time and means, and detrimental to faith and religion to
enter too extensively into the undemonstrated theories of men on philosophies
relating to the origin of life, or the methods adopted by an All-wise Creator
in peopling the earth with the bodies of men, birds and beasts. Let us rather
turn our abilities to the practical analysis of the soil, the study of the
elements, the productions of the earth, the invention of useful machinery, the
social welfare of the race, and its material amelioration; and for the rest
cultivate an abiding faith in the revealed word of God and the saving
principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which give joy in this world and in
the world to come eternal life and salvation.
Philosophic
theories of life have their place and use, but it is not in the classes of the
Church schools, and particularly are they out of place here or anywhere else,
when they seek to supplant the revelations of God. The ordinary student cannot
delve into these subjects deep enough to make them of any practical use to him,
and a smattering of knowledge in this line only tends to upset his simple faith
in the gospel, which is of more value to him in life than all the learning of
the world without it.
The
religion of the Latter-day Saints is not hostile to any truth, nor to
scientific search for truth. "That which is demonstrated, we accept with
joy," said the First Presidency in their Christmas greeting to the Saints,
"but vain philosophy, human theory and mere speculations of men we do not
accept, nor do we adopt anything contrary to divine revelation or to good
common sense, but everything that tends to right conduct, that harmonizes with
sound morality and increases faith in Deity, finds favor with us, no matter
where it may be found."
A
good motto for young people to adopt, who are determined to delve into
philosophic theories, is to search all things, but be careful to hold on only
to that which is true. The truth persists, but the theories of philosophers
change and are overthrown. What men use today as a scaffolding for scientific
purposes from which to reach out into the unknown for truth, may be torn down
tomorrow, having served its purpose; but faith is an eternal principle through
which the humble believer may secure everlasting solace. It is the only way to
find God..—Improvement Era, Vol. 14, p. 548.
Science
and philosophy through all the ages have undergone change after change.
Scarcely a century has passed but they have introduced new theories of science
and philosophy, that supersede the old traditions and the old faith and the old
doctrines entertained by philosophers and scientists. These things may undergo
continuous changes, but the word of God is always true, is always right. The
principles of the gospel are always true, the principles of faith in God,
repentance from sin, baptism for the remission of sins by authority of God, and
the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost—these principles are
always true, and are always absolutely necessary for the salvation of the
children of men, no matter who they are and where they are. No other name under
heaven is given but that of Jesus Christ, by which you can be saved or exalted
in the
Mark E. Petersen:
I
am always sorry when I hear about teachers in our public schools who try to
destroy the faith of our young people. It always grieves me to hear of
instances like this. I know that the great majority of the schoolteachers,
themselves, are wonderful people; they are believers in God. Many of them are
devoted students of the scriptures. But unfortunately, occasionally we find a
teacher, whether in the field of philosophy or science, who seems to take it
upon himself to destroy the faith of our young people.
I appeal to our young
folk to realize that true science is not anti-religion, and that there is no
unity among the scientists with respect to many things now being taught by some
instructors who interpret them to mean that there is no God. Science has never
come to a unity of understanding on that point, young people, so do not be
disturbed by the godless teachings you may get in the classroom.
I would like you to know that some
of the great scientists, many of them, in fact, are devoted believers in God,
and some of them have declared that atheism has no place among the true
scientists. (Conference Report, April 1952, 105.)
Elder Mark E.
Petersen:
We must teach the solid truth and
nothing but the truth. And that truth
must be the revealed truth as it has been given to us in these days by the
Prophet Joseph Smith. Our authorities
are the scriptures, the four standard works.
Joseph Smith and the other Presidents and leaders are likewise our
authorities. They are our file
leaders. We must teach as they do. We must avoid the doctrines which they avoid,
we must avoid the practices which they avoid….
Therefore we must constantly remind
ourselves of the importance and the necessity of hewing to the line and staying
with revealed truth and remember that the authorities on doctrine in the Church
are the scriptures and the General Authorities of the Church, and not the
clerics of the world. (“Avoiding
Sectarianism,” address to religious educators,
President Boyd K. Packer:
No lesson
is more manifest in nature than that all living things do as the Lord commanded
in the Creation. They reproduce “after their own kind.” (See Moses 2:12, 24.)
They follow the pattern of their parentage. Everyone knows that; every
four-year-old knows that! A bird will not become an animal nor a fish. A mammal
will not beget reptiles, nor “do men gather … figs of thistles.” (Matt. 7:16.)
In the
countless billions of opportunities in the reproduction of living things, one
kind does not beget another. If a species ever does cross, the offspring cannot
reproduce. The pattern for all life is the pattern of the parentage.
This is
demonstrated in so many obvious ways, even an ordinary mind should understand
it. Surely no one with reverence for God could believe that His children evolved
from slime or from reptiles. (Although one can easily imagine that those who
accept the theory of evolution don’t show much enthusiasm for genealogical
research!) The theory of evolution, and it is a theory, will have an entirely
different dimension when the workings of God in creation are fully revealed.
Since every
living thing follows the pattern of its parentage, are we to suppose that God
had some other strange pattern in mind for His offspring? Surely we, His
children, are not, in the language of science, a different species than He is?
President Ezra
Taft Benson:
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, etc.
They were
highly intelligent people, not at all like either the hominids or the cavemen
some claim the first humans to have been.”. . .
No one else
could teach them, because they were the first human beings. That task was left
to the Lord and his angels.”. . .
I bear you
my solemn testimony that this—The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints—is indeed the church and
kingdom of God. Jesus is the Christ. Spencer W. Kimball is his prophet. We are
the legal and divinely chosen custodians of the restored truth.
“We believe Adam and Eve were this planet’s first humans and
first Christians.”
“Through Adam and Eve’s partaking of the forbidden fruit,
knowledge of good and evil was introduced into the world. Their choice made it
possible for each of us to come to this earth to be tried and tested.”
But let us
not teach or use as official doctrine what does not meet the standards of
official doctrine. To do so does not further the work of the Lord and may even
discourage individuals from seeking their own comfort or edification through
the personal revelation the Lord’s plan provides for each of us. Excessive
reliance on personal teachings or speculations may even draw us aside from
concentrating on learning and efforts that will further our understanding and
help us go forward on the covenant path.
As to all
of these, the wise cautions of Elders D. Todd Christofferson and Neil L.
Andersen in earlier general conference messages are important to remember.
Elder Christofferson taught: ‘It should be remembered that not every statement
made by a Church leader, past or present, necessarily constitutes doctrine. It
is commonly understood in the Church that a statement made by one leader on a
single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion,
not meant to be official or binding for the whole Church.’
In the
following conference, Elder Andersen taught this principle: “The doctrine is
taught by all 15 members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. It
is not hidden in an obscure paragraph of one talk.” The family proclamation,
signed by all 15 prophets, seers, and revelators, is a wonderful illustration
of that principle.
Beyond
something as formal as the family proclamation, the prophetic teachings of the
Presidents of the Church, affirmed by other prophets and apostles, are also an
example of this.
In some faith traditions,
theologians claim equal teaching authority with the ecclesiastical hierarchy,
and doctrinal matters may become a contest of opinions between them. Some rely
on the ecumenical councils of the Middle Ages and their creeds. Others place
primary emphasis on the reasoning of post-apostolic theologians or on biblical
hermeneutics and exegesis. We value scholarship that enhances understanding,
but in the Church today, just as anciently, establishing the doctrine of Christ
or correcting doctrinal deviations is a matter of divine revelation to those
the Lord endows with apostolic authority.
The
differing perspectives of scientific evidence and religious doctrine can be
likened to the difference between studying about an automobile by observing its
operation and disassembling and analyzing its various parts or by reading the
operator’s manual written by the manufacturer. Much can be learned by
observation and analysis, but that method will yield only partial knowledge of
the function and potential of a machine. The best and most complete knowledge
about the operation and potential of a machine will be revealed by studying the
manual written by its manufacturer. The operator’s manual for our bodies and
souls is the scriptures, written by the God who created us and interpreted by
his prophets. These are the best sources of knowledge about the purpose of life
and the behavior and thoughts we should cultivate in order to live in happiness
and to achieve our divine destiny.
A great
many Christians today, influenced by the modern teaching of the evolutionary
origin of man from lower species, have long since abandoned the doctrine that
man was created in the image of God. Since before the time of Augustine, the
living God of revelation and the scriptures has been replaced by the god of
Greek philosophy—a being without body,
parts, or passions, beyond the bounds of time and space. These Christians, as
well as persons who believe in no religion whatever, expect that the chance
processes of evolution on other worlds would most likely bring about
intelligent beings quite different from man. All of us have been made more or
less familiar with this kind of thinking on a less refined scale through the
green, bug-eyed monster types of popular science fiction.
Such things
make interesting reading for the unknowledgeable, but no Latter-day Saint need
be left in doubt. There is nothing more fundamental in God’s revelations than
the basic premise that we are of the race of Gods. We are of his species. God
looks like us. We look like him. He has two arms, two legs, a head—indeed, Jesus said, “If ye have seen me, ye have seen the Father.” Obviously, God’s sons and daughters
would be of his species, would resemble him. This was one of the basic truths
Joseph Smith knew after his vision in 1820. Consequently, people on other
worlds would be like us, because we are all his children.
The world
may think of green, bug-eyed monsters, and science fiction movies may fascinate
and enthrall, but they are pure fiction! People “out there” are like people
here, because we are all of the race of Gods.
Ensign
article, “The Fulness of the Gospel: The Fall of Adam and Eve”
No Death, No Posterity, No Progress:
“If Adam had not transgressed,” Lehi taught his son Jacob,
“he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. …
“And they
would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of
innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew
no sin.
“But
behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.
“Adam fell
that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Ne. 2:22–25).
After Adam
and Eve partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, their
eyes were opened, and Eve expressed gladness at the opportunity their
transgression made possible: “Were it not for our transgression we never should
have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our
redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient” (Moses
5:11).
Partaking
of the fruit brought mortality, with its many opportunities to choose between
good and evil, and enabled Adam and Eve to have children. Thus the Fall opened
the door for Heavenly Father’s children to come into the world, obtain physical
bodies, and participate in “the great plan of happiness” (Alma 42:8).
“Therefore this life became a probationary state,” a time to learn and grow, to
repent and overcome weakness, “a time to prepare to meet God” (Alma 12:24).
Another
common aspect of higher learning that has caused some to stumble is the theory
of evolution. Some have felt they could not reconcile geological or biological
evidence with the little we know about the Creation from the scriptures and the
teachings of our modern prophets. I recall having had some of these questions
in my early 20s. However, I distinctly recall an experience in a biochemistry
class during my first year of graduate school. During a weekday lecture about
the enzymatic steps involved in glycolysis (the breakdown of glucose to lactic
acid), an overwhelming sense of peace came upon me with an impression from the
Spirit that someday I would understand how our world came to be. The beauty and
perfection of how living things operate left me little doubt of the divine
origin of life. Everything I learned that semester strengthened my testimony of
how beautiful (and complex) life is and how divine the Creation had to be. I
have been satisfied since then that the dozens of questions I continue to have
will someday be answered when I pass from this life and no longer “see through
a glass, darkly” (1 Cor. 13:12). Until then, I am content to walk by faith so
that the plethora of interesting and fascinating data does not cause me to
doubt my faith or think I am “learned” and “wise” and need not “hearken unto
the counsels of God.”
In a recent magazine was printed a
brief digest of an article from a German astronomer who says that radio
astronomers today discuss as a distinct possibility interplanetary conversation
between earth-bound man and creatures on other planets; he "demonstrates
with intricate mathematical logic that planets suitable for life may be fairly
common among the stars, and that there are perhaps only ten civilized
communities within 1,000 light years of the earth," and "there may
well be creatures intelligent enough on some of those planets to transmit radio
messages across the enormous distances of interstellar space."
He seems convinced that earth's
astronomers could eventually detect and interpret incoming messages which
highly cultured creatures from those intelligent communities might send, but
since the galactic history of such planets "might take billions of years
to evolve their flowering might well last only a few thousand years, so their
brief moments of glory would seldom coincide." He reasons that "some
extraterrestrial civilizations may have destroyed themselves completely, while
others may have killed off only the higher types of life, permitting new and
later civilizations to evolve from the humble creatures that managed to
survive."
Since no mention is made of a
controlling power, we fear that there is the assumption that planets build
themselves and that inhabitants create themselves. We honor and congratulate
the scientists for their intensive research and some of their conclusions. When
we add to their assumptions and findings the knowledge acquired through the
scriptures, and then place an Omnipotent God in the center of all things, the
picture becomes clearer and purpose gives it meaning and color.
President Boyd K. Packer:
There was
too much at issue to introduce man into mortality by force. That would contravene
the very law essential to the plan. The plan provided that each spirit child of
God would receive a mortal body and each would be tested. Adam saw that it must
be so and made his choice. “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they
might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25).
Adam and
Eve ventured forth to multiply and replenish the earth as they had been
commanded to do. The creation of their bodies in the image of God, as a
separate creaton, was curicial to the plan. Their subsequent Fall was essential
if the condition of mortality was to exist and the plan to proceed. “Who is
Jesus Christ?” Ensign, March 2008, 16-17.)
Elder Quentin L. Cook:
In his
introduction, Elder Harold B. Lee said that from his review of the writings of
the Brethren, he had found five objectives that he felt teachers and
administrators should emphasize at that time. Listen carefully to these and
think about our own day. The first objective was “to teach truth … so
effectively that students [would] be free from error, free from darkness, free
from tradition, vain philosophies, and the untried, unproven theories of
science.”
The second
objective was “to educate youth not only for time but also for all eternity.”
The third
objective was “to so teach the gospel that students [would] not be misled by
the purveyors of false doctrine, vain speculations, and faulty
interpretations.” (“Choices and Challenges,” Address to CES Religious
Educators, February 27, 2009, 1.)
Professor Joseph
Fielding McConkie:
Most doctrinal errors are rooted in
a desire to accommodate either the standards of the world or its philosophies
and theories. (Answers: Straightforward
Answers to Tough Gospel Questions [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1998],
227, 229.)
Links to media articles where BYU professors seek to promote
false doctrine:
“BYU
professor: Man evolved from apes”
“Mormons
need not shy away from evolution, says BYU biologist”
“Why
Mormons Should Embrace Evolution: BYU Biology Professor Steven Peck”
“The
Church and BYU: An Evolution – of Evolution”
“Steven Peck and
Terryl Givens: ‘The God Who Marvels’”
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