“mormons” or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints beliefs about evolution
1. Adam and Eve Were Real, Not Allegorical
From the beginning, God’s word is clear:
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground… and man became a living soul.” -Genesis 2:7
“Adam, who was the son of God.” -Luke 3:38
“Eve was the mother of all living.” -Genesis 3:20
We are not descended from lower life forms, but created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27, Moses 2:27).
That is the doctrine repeated in Genesis, Moses, Abraham, and our temple worship.
In the 1909 First Presidency statement-reaffirmed in February 2002’s Ensign-we are told:
“It is held by some that Adam was not the first man upon this earth… These, however, are the theories of
A Loving Appeal for Doctrinal Clarity on Creation
men.”
Joseph Smith taught:
“Every tree, plant, and herb bearing seed should bring forth of its kind, and cannot come forth after any other
law or principle.” -Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 197-198
2. Death Came After the Fall
Scripture and prophets agree: death did not exist before the Fall.
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” -1 Corinthians 15:22
“All things… must have remained in the same state… having no death.” -2 Nephi 2:22
“Mortal death came into the world at the Fall.” -President Boyd K. Packer, Funerals-A Time for Reverence,
Oct. 1988
3. The Atonement Requires a Literal Adam and Eve
“In our increasingly secular society, it is as uncommon as it is unfashionable to speak of Adam and Eve or the
Garden of Eden or of a ?fortunate fall’ into mortality. Nevertheless, the simple truth is that we cannot fully
comprehend the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ… without understanding that there was an actual
Adam and Eve who fell from an actual Eden.” -Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, April 2015
“The theory that man evolved from lower forms of life may contradict the divine purpose for which man was
created.” -Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Oct. 1993
4. Reproducing After Their Kind
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A Loving Appeal for Doctrinal Clarity on Creation
God’s law that each creature reproduces after its kind contradicts evolutionary transitions.
“A donkey and a horse produce a mule-but the mule is sterile.”
Joseph Smith taught:
“Every tree, plant, and herb bearing seed should bring forth of its kind, and cannot come forth after any other
law or principle.”
5. Faith Should Not Bow to Earthly Credentials
“Sometimes there are those who feel their earthly knowledge on a certain subject is superior to the heavenly
knowledge which God gives to his prophet… How much earthly schooling did Joseph Smith have? Yet he
gave revelations on all kinds of subjects.” -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.” -Ezra Taft
Benson
“Surely no one with reverence for God could believe that His children evolved from slime or from reptiles.”
-President Boyd K. Packer
“When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God.” -2 Nephi
9:28
6. Evidence Supports a Young Earth and Divine Creation
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A Loving Appeal for Doctrinal Clarity on Creation
Delk print fossil: human and dinosaur tracks together. (see image and video link attached)
Soft tissue has been found in dinosaur bones. (see image attached)
Carbon dating of dinosaur remains: under 30,000 years.
Book of Mormon references to dragons and fiery serpents.
Faith-based resources like the Universal Model and Contested Bones challenge evolutionary timelines.
President Russell M. Nelson said:
“Yet some people erroneously think that these marvelous physical attributes happened by chance or resulted
from a big bang somewhere. Ask yourself, could an explosion in a printing shop produce a dictionary? The
likelihood is most remote. But if so, it could never heal its own torn pages or reproduce its own newer
editions!” -Thanks Be to God, April 2012
“Organic evolution is Satan’s chief weapon in this dispensation… It is a contemptible plot against faith in God
and to destroy the effective belief in the divine atonement of our Redeemer.” -Joseph Fielding Smith, Man:
His Origin and Destiny, p. 184
