Commentary
Prophetic Statements
Joseph Fielding Smith
“EVOLUTIONARY THEORY FALSE. This idea that everything commenced from a small beginning, from the scum upon the surface of the sea, and has gradually developed until all forms of life, the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, the fishes of the sea, and the plants upon the face of the earth, have all sprung from that one source, is a falsehood absolutely. There is no truth in it, for God has given us his word by which we may know, and all who are led by the Spirit of God can understand through that Holy Spirit, the truth of these things. [35]
Now let us reason together on what is here presented:
1. Worlds without number have been created.
2. They have been created as habitations for the children of God.
3. The great work and glory of our Father is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
4. Inhabitants of other worlds are begotten sons and daughters of God.
5. When one earth passes away to its exaltation another comes.
6. The making of earths is a glorious work which has been carried on eternally.
This being true, then does it not appear to you that it is a foolish and ridiculous notion that when God created this earth he had to begin with a speck of protoplasm, and take millions of years, if not billions, to bring conditions to pass by which his sons and daughters might obtain bodies made in his image? Why not the shorter route and transplant them from another earth as we are taught in the scriptures? Surely to any reasonable mind, the Lord would not have to start with an amoeba, pass through the stage of lower fish to higher fish to reptiles to apes and to man! When we stop to consider how perfect are the workings of God; how thorough he is and orderly, surely these theories flatten out and are without substance. [36]
TIME ELEMENT IN THE CREATION. This earth was created on the Lord’s time, which is celestial time. By revelation we know exactly the nature of that time, and just how many days of celestial time were required to create this earth. Moreover, we know how long this earth has endured, approximately, and how long it will endure according to our present rate of reckoning. The Lord revealed to Abraham:
“And the Lord said unto me, by the Urim and Thummim, that Kolob was after the manner of the Lord, according to its times and seasons in the revolutions thereof; that one revolution was a day unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one thousand years according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest. This is the reckoning of the Lord’s time, according to the reckoning of Kolob.
“And thus there shall be the reckoning of the time of one planet above another, until thou come nigh unto Kolob, which Kolob is after the reckoning of the Lord’s time; which Kolob is set nigh unto the throne of God to govern all those planets which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest.”
CELESTIAL TIME USED IN CREATION. Also: “Fig. 1. Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God. First in government, the last pertaining to the measurement of time. The measurement according to celestial time, which celestial time signifies one day to a cubit. One day in Kolob is equal to a thousand years according to the measurement of this earth, which is called by the Egyptians Jah-oh-eh.”
When this earth was created, it was not according to our present time, but it was created according to Kolob’s time, for the Lord has said it was created on celestial time which is Kolob’s time. Then he revealed to Abraham that Adam was subject to Kolob’s time before his transgression. “Now I, Abraham, saw that it was after the Lord’s time, which was after the time of Kolob; for as yet the Gods had not appointed unto Adam his reckoning.”
AGE OF THE EARTH SINCE ADAM. We have evidence beyond dispute that Adam was driven out of the Garden of Eden about 6,000 years ago, or perhaps a short time less. It is possible for us, by using the Bible chronology and that given by the Lord in the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants to figure this almost accurately.
In the Book of Revelation, chapters five to 10, we have the story of the opening of the seven seals by the Lamb, each seal representing 1,000 years of the temporal existence of this earth. In the Doctrine and Covenants 88:92-116 , we have the confirmation of this with other detail in regard to the opening of the seals. In section 77:6-15, we have more information in relation to the opening of these seals, with the following significant detail:
Verse 6: “Q. What are we to understand by the book which John saw, which was sealed on the back with seven seals?
“A. We are to understand that it contains the revealed will, mysteries, and works of God; the hidden things of his economy concerning this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance, or its temporal existence.”
TEMPORARY EXISTENCE OF EARTH. Here is a definite statement by revelation to us that this earth will go through 7,000 years of temporal existence. Temporal, by all interpretations, means passing, temporary or mortal. This, then, has reference to the earth in its fallen state, for the earth was cursed when Adam, who was given dominion over it, transgressed the law. Before that time this earth was not mortal any more than Adam was. This we learn from other scriptures; for instance, see 2 Nephi 2:22 .
In verse 12, section 77 the Prophet by inspiration from the Lord, sets days of a thousand years off against years of our measurement, in these words:
“We are to understand that as God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day he finished his work, and sanctified it, and also formed man out of the dust of the earth, even so, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years will the Lord God sanctify the earth, and complete the salvation of man, and judge all things, and shall redeem all things, except that which he hath not put into his power, when he shall have sealed all things, unto the end of all things; and the sounding of the trumpets of the seven angels are the preparing and finishing of his work, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years-the preparing of the way before the time of his coming.”
CREATION DID NOT TAKE MILLIONS OF YEARS. Here we have the Prophet comparing the days of creation with seven periods of 1,000 years each, corresponding to days, according to the Lord’s time, in harmony with the teaching of Abraham and the other scriptures. The earth’s temporal existence, according to this, is to endure for just one week, or seven days of 1,000 years each. Moreover, since the earth was built according to the celestial time, which is the Lord’s days, which he clearly defined to Abraham, we can hardly be justified in trying to harmonize the days of creation with the extended periods of millions of years according to the reckoning of the so-called scientists.
Both from the Bible and from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, we know that the flood came in the year 1600 from the driving of Adam out of the Garden of Eden. We know that Abraham was living in the days of Shem, son of Noah, if not in the days of Noah himself. Profane history corroborates the history of Israel and Abraham. So a man is willfully blind who would push these days back tens of thousands, much less, hundreds of thousands of years.
MEANING OF THE MERIDIAN OF TIME. Moreover, our Savior came in the meridian of time. That dispensation is called the dispensation of the meridian of time. This means that it was about half way from the beginning of “time” to the end of “time.” Anyone who desires can figure it for himself that our Lord came about 4,000 years from the time of the fall. The millennium is to come some time following the 2,000 years after his coming. Then there is to be the millennium for 1,000 years, and following that a “little season,” the length of which is not revealed, but which may bring “time” to its end about 8,000 years from the beginning.
We have seen that the Lord had not given to this earth its present time until after the fall. Before that time it was subject to Kolob’s time, which is eternal time. After the temporal existence of the earth is finished, it will again go back on celestial time, and there shall be “time no longer.” This does not mean that the inhabitants of the earth, who will be celestial beings, will not reckon by time, but by a different time-Kolob’s time which the Lord says is his time.
If men prefer to believe the strong delusions taught by evolutionists, rather than what the Lord has revealed, we cannot help it, but it certainly shows in them a lack of faith, which is not to their credit. [37]
When this earth on which we dwell was created it was according to the eternal plan of the Father, and likewise in accordance with his reckoning. This he definitely declared to the knowledge and understanding of all those who are, through their faith, willing to accept what he has given by revelation to his prophets. Abraham was among other things an astronomer. He knew more about the heavens, when they were created, and the purpose of their creation, than all the astronomers in the world today put together. The Lord revealed these things to him by Urim and Thummim and also talked to him, “face to face, as one man talketh with another,” and told him “of the works which his hands had made,” and they were multiplied before Abraham’s eyes and he could not see the end thereof.
The Lord made known to him the following facts: That Kolob is the first creation, and is nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God. It is the first in government, the last pertaining to the measurement of time. This measurement is according to celestial time. One day in Kolob is equal to a thousand years according to the measurement of this earth, which by the Egyptians was called Jah oh eh. Oliblish, so called by the Egyptians, stands next to Kolob in the grand governing creation near the celestial, of place where God resides. This great star is also a governing star and is equal to Kolob in its revolutions and in its measuring of time. Other grand governing stars were also revealed to Abraham, and the Lord said to him:
These are the governing ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me, for I am the Lord thy God: I have set this one to govern all those which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest.
And the Lord said unto me, by the Urim and Thummim, that Kolob was after the manner of the Lord, according to its times and seasons in the revolutions thereof; that one revolution was a day unto the Lord, after his manner of reckoning, it being one thousand years according to the time appointed unto that whereon thou standest. This is the reckoning of the Lord’s time, according to the reckoning of Kolob… (Abr. 3:3,4)
From this revelation given to Abraham in relation to the heavenly bodies, we have discovered that the governing star of the universe is Kolob, “the first creation,” and the Lord’s time is the time of Kolob, “which is celestial time.”
We also learn that Peter understood this fact when he said: “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8) Here is the information which throws light upon the days of creation, and again the Lord revealed to Abraham that the creation was according to God’s time, and he wrote regarding the commandment given to Adam:
But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the time that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Now I, Abraham, saw that it was after the Lord’s time, which was after the time of Kolob; for as yet the Gods had not appointed unto Adam his reckoning. (Abr. 5:13)
Here again we have the information that the creation of this earth was according to Kolob’s time, which is celestial time…
Early in March 1832, while the Prophet Joseph Smith was revising the scriptures by revelation, the Lord gave him answers concerning certain things in the Revelation of John. Among these questions and answers are the following:
6. Q. What are we to understand by the book which John saw, which was sealed on the back with seven seals?
A. We are to understand that it contains the revealed will, mysteries, and works of God; the hidden things of his economy concerning this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance, or its temporal existence.
Question Twelve and answer are as follows:
Q. What are we to understand by the sounding of the trumpets, mentioned in the 8th chapter of Revelation?
A. We are to understand that as God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day he finished his work, and sanctified it, and also formed man out of the dust of the earth, even so, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years will the Lord God sanctify the earth, and complete the salvation of man, and judge all things, and shall redeem all things, except that which he hath not put into his power, when he shall have sealed all things, unto the end of all things; and the sounding of the trumpets of the seven angels are the preparing and finishing of his work, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years the preparing of the way before the time of his coming. (D&C 77:6,12)
This revelation confirms the fact that the days of creation were celestial days, and this earth is passing through one week of temporal (mortal) existence, after which it will die and receive resurrection. 1
In respect to President Joseph Fielding Smith’s words on this subject President Ezra Taft Benson added his testimony (Please see the reference for context):“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.[38]
Lorenzo Snow
The religion we have received is not a chimera. It is not something that has been devised by the cunning of man, but it is something that has been revealed by the Almighty. It is a fact. It is something that truly exists. It is something that is tangible. It is some thing that can be laid hold of by the minds of the Latter-day Saints. It is something that can be directly understood, and be fully comprehended, so that there can be no doubt in the mind of any Latter-day Saint in regard to the nature and character of the ultimate outcome of the course that he proposes to pursue in complying with the demands of the Gospel he has received. But those demands are of a nature that perhaps would be almost appalling to the minds of individuals that were darkened, that had no light or understanding in regard to the outcome that is expected to be experienced by the Latter-day Saints, inasmuch as they continue faithful in adhering to the principles which they have espoused.
These demands are not of a nature that have no parallel in the history of the people of God. They were required in every age and period when God called a people to serve him, and to receive his laws. They were required in the days of Israel, in the beginning of that people. They were required of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They were required of Moses, and of the people that he led from Egyptian bondage. They were required by all the prophets that existed from the days of Adam to the present period of time. They were required by the apostles that received their commission by the laying on of the hands of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, and by the adherents of the religion that the apostles proclaimed and taught to the people, in their day and no man or set of men or class of people from the day of Adam to the present time, could comply with these requirements, except the people of God, as they were endowed with power from on high, which could proceed only from the Lord our God. And it would be simply foolish indeed to expect the Latter-day Saints in these days to comply with the celestial law, with the law that proceeds from God, and with his designs to elevate the people into his presence, except they were sustained by a supernatural power. [1]
Harold B. Lee
President Harold B. Lee was a strong supporter of Joseph Fielding Smith’s book Man, His Origin and Destiny. President Lee also taught the following in a First Presidency Message as the President of the Church:
“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….’ ” (Moses 3:7.) 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.” [2]
Ezra Taft Benson
“I know one noble father who reviews with his children regularly what they have been taught, and if they have been taught any falsehoods; then the children and the father together research out the truth…If your children are taught untruths on 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.” [3]
“But it is the living prophet who really upsets the world. “Even in the Church,” said President Spencer W. Kimball, “many are prone to garnish the sepulchres of yesterday’s prophets and mentally stone the living ones” [4]. Why? Because the living prophet gets at what we need to know now, and the world prefers that prophets either be dead or mind their own business. Some so-called experts of political science want the prophet to keep still on politics. Some would-be authorities on evolution want the prophet to keep still on evolution. And so the list goes on and on.Prophet, Livinga-Benson, Ezra TaftTP How we respond to the words of a living prophet when he tells us what we need to know, but would rather not hear, is a test of our faithfulness.” [5]
Darwinist and Neo-Darwinist
Scripture
D&C 101:32-34
Yea, verily I say unto you, in that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal all things—
Things which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth, by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof—
Things most precious, things that are above, and things that are beneath, things that are in the earth, and upon the earth, and in heaven.
D&C 59:21
“And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.”
2 Nephi 2:5
And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil. And the law is given unto men. And by the law no flesh is justified; or, by the law men are cut off. Yea, by the temporal law they were cut off; and also, by the spiritual law they perish from that which is good, and become miserable forever.
D&C 77:12
“. . . as God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day he finished his work, and sanctified it, and also formed man out of the dust of the earth, even so, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years will the Lord God sanctify the earth, and complete the salvation of man . . . “
D&C 77:6
“. . . the revealed will, mysteries, and the works of God; the hidden things of his economy concerning this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance, or it temporal existence.”
Supporting Statements
- ↑ Lorenzo Snow, Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. [London: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 1854-1886], 20: 363 – 364
- ↑ Harold B. Lee, “First Presidency Message: Find the Answers in the Scriptures,” Ensign, Dec. 1972, 2
- ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, God, Family, Country: Our Three Great Loyalties, p. 227
- ↑ Instructor, 95:257
- ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 140
One argument made by proponents of the theories of Darwinism who desire to harmonize evolution with the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that we have not received much instruction on evolution. They seem to pretend a desire to have the word of God on this subject when it is revealed during the Millenium. This position is difficult to understand. Why would one accept the additional word of the Lord as revealed during the Millenium when they contend against the revealed word now?
The Creation is one of the most frequently discussed topics in scripture. Detailed accounts spanning numerous chapters can be found in Genesis, Moses and Abraham. Nearly every place in the scriptures in which the Atonement is discussed the Fall and Creation are also taught. An excellent place to start research on this subject is the Bible Dictionary in the current standard works of the Church. References to numerous scriptures revealing the correct doctrine on this subject can be found at these links:
The Fall of Adam
Adam
Eve
Genesis
Flesh
Noah
Death
The Creation is also a major focus of worship in the temple. After the correct doctrine of the Creation and Fall are portrayed warnings are given not to mingle the philosophies of men with scripture. Will those waiting for instruction listen to the revealed account more earnestly during the Millenium than they do now?
In addition to all of these scriptural witnesses, and the witness of the temple endowment, the Creation of man and the earth has been a frequent topic of latter-day prophets from the day of the Prophet Joseph Smith, until today. This FAQ compilation contains hundreds of statements made by those who reached the office of President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their words are clear and uncompromising. It must also be noted that not one of these men has spoken in clear support of Darwinism or taught doctrines that support evolution. Why would those that are waiting for the Millenium for instruction receive it then any more than they would now. Will prophets during the millennium speak with a different authority than they do now?
One argument made by those waiting for instruction is that all of the revealed word now is not literal but figurative. The accounts in scripture of the Creation and Fall, Adam and Eve, the Flood and so forth should not be taken literally, but were only accounts to teach some principle. If this is the case the Lord has deceived all of the prophets that have led this Church from the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Please see commentary for this in the temporal vs spiritual FAQ. Dismissing the scriptures and writings of the prophets as not applying to the real world is a very dangerous position. Many took that position just prior to the Flood. But I suppose these individuals are banking on the Flood being a myth.