Intelligent Design theory is often criticized for being “religion in disguise”. This is caused by confusion about the implications of science. In other words, Intelligent Design is not religious, it is science, but it has religious implications. The same could and should be said for Darwinism. Darwinism and Neo-Darwinism have anti-religious implications, that no Creator is necessary and that no Creator should be recognized. Intelligent Design, in contrast, seeks for evidence of an intelligent designer. Life is too complex to have originated and diversified through chance.” An unguided process” cannot account for the many forms of life that are found on the earth. Because there is intelligence in the universe as opposed to solely natural causes there is design and purpose in the universe. Which position should Latter-day saints hold to? Hopefully little more explanation is necessary. The scriptures and Prophets of God have however taught clearly that Darwinism and NeoDarwinism should not be used as the explanation to the mystery of life. Darwin himself felt that there was no designer in nature other than pure natural causes driven by natural selection.
The old argument of design in nature which formerly seemed to me so conclusive, fails, now that the law of natural selection has been discovered. We can no longer argue that, for instance, the beautiful hinge of a bivalve shell must have been made by an intelligent being, like the hinge of a door by man. There seems to be no more design in the variability of organic beings and in the action of natural selection, than in the course which the wind blows.” [1]
It was by faith that the worlds were framed. God spake, chaos heard, and worlds came into order by reason of the faith there was in HIM. So with man also; he spake by faith in the name of God, and the sun stood still, the moon obeyed, mountains removed, prisons fell, lion’s mouths were closed, the human heart lost its enmity, fire its violence, armies their power, the sword its terror, and death its dominion; and all this by reason of the faith which was in him. . . . without power there could be no creation nor existence! [2]
. . . for there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon.” [3]
The things that act are intelligent, the things that are acted upon are not. The scriptures and the prophets all teach of these two fundamental ingredients in the universe. Abraham taught that there is one intelligence above another until we come to the Great I Am. He also taught that the stars and planets of the heavens were created to symbolize this order, one above the other. [4]. Modern science has unfortunately refused to accept what cannot be seen and understood by our rudimentary instruments, the agent described in scripture as intelligence. Yet this is not the only important ingredient of the universe that is rejected. The scriptures teach that there are two fundamental types of matter. There is spirit matter which if pure and fine and there is course matter which can be seen with the natural eye.
There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes; We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter. [5]
And now, behold, I say unto you, that these are the generations of the heaven and of the earth, when they were created, in the day that I, the Lord God, made the heaven and the earth, And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. For I, the Lord God, had not caused it to rain upon the face of the earth. And I, the Lord God, had created all the children of men; and not yet a man to till the ground; for in heaven created I them; and there was not yet flesh upon the earth, neither in the water, neither in the air;” [6]
And the Lord spake unto Enoch, and said unto him: Anoint thine eyes with clay, and wash them, and thou shalt see. And he did so. And he beheld the spirits that God had created; and he beheld also things which were not visible to the natural eye; and from thenceforth came the saying abroad in the land: A seer hath the Lord raised up unto his people. [7]
This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made. As also he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made; As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made; And the earth also, and the power thereof, even the earth upon which you stand. Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space— The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things. All kingdoms have a law given; And there are many kingdoms; for there is no space in the which there is no kingdom; and there is no kingdom in which there is no space, either a greater or a lesser kingdom. . . . [God] hath given a law unto all things, by which they move in their times and their seasons; And their courses are fixed, even the courses of the heavens and the earth, which comprehend the earth and all the planets. And they give light to each other in their times and in their seasons, in their minutes, in their hours, in their days, in their weeks, in their months, in their years—all these are one year with God, but not with man.” [8]
And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things . . . .” [9]
I felt to mourn for my own sins and for the sins of the world for I learned in the scriptures that God was the same yesterday to day and forever that he was no respecter to persons for he was God for I looked upon the sun the glorious luminary of the earth and the moon rolling in their majesty through the heavens and also the stars shining in their courses and the earth also upon which I stood and the beast of the field and the fowls of heaven and the fish of the waters and also and also man walking forth upon the face of the earth in Majesty and in the strength of beauty whose power and intelligence in governing the things which are so exceeding great and marvilous even in the likeness of him who created them and when I considered upon these things my heart exclaimed well hath the wise man said it is a fool that saith in his heart there is no God my heart exclaimed all all these bear testimony and bespeak an Omnipotent and omnipresent power a being who maketh Laws and decreeth and bindeth all things in their bounds who filleth Eternity who was and is and will be from all Eternity to Eternity and when I considered all these things and that that being seeketh such to worship him as worship him in spirit and in truth therefore I cried unto the Lord for mercy for there was none else to whom I could go and obtain mercy and the Lord heard my crying the wilderness and while in the attitude of calling upon the Lord in the 16th year of my age a pillar of light above the brightness of the sun at noon day come down from above and rested upon me and I was filled with the spirit of god. [10]
Joseph Smith was led to ask the Lord about religion because he had viewed the works of God in the earth and in the heavens and understood that God is a God of order and not confusion. When he looked at the religions of men upon the earth they were confusion and chaos. He knew that these false religions could not be of God. So in our day, when we look at the theories of men which contradict the scriptures and cause a world of confusion we can also know that these philosophies of men are not of God. Have we not been warned repeatedly in sacred edifices that we should oppose the philosophies of men mingled with scripture. These warnings come during a correct portrayal of the Creation of this earth in the houses of the Lord. The scientific evidence to support the notion of a designer is everywhere to be seen. There is significant evidence that the fossil record includes what is known as the Cambrian Explosion. The fossils are not found in the evolving structure that Darwin and others hoped. Rather, nearly all life forms suddenly appear and then remain very similar through the strata in the rock. Information about these findings can be found in videos like Origin of Species: Was Darwin Right?, Icons of Evolution and Case for a Creator. Additionally, there is evidence that DNA information and life on this earth could not have come about by chance. Evidence for these claims can be found in Unlocking the Mystery of Life, the Priviledged Planet and many other videos and resources. Some in the scientific community have done all they could to keep these things quiet. Two new videos on this subject document the contention and blackmale that exists. Please see Expelled or Icons of Evolution. In summary, there is scientific evidence supporting the notion of intelligence in the universe for all those who desire to know it. Note this statement from the Prophet Joseph Smith in which he explains that those who can look at the heavens and see that is was created by the priesthood power of God through faith can also understand the scriptures.
. . . He that can mark the power of Omnipotence, inscribed upon the heavens, can also see God’s own handwriting in the sacred volume. [11]
