Age Of The Earth

[Matthew J. Tandy]

This is a summary of a much longer paper I have written for personal use. I am using the summary (which has several gaps in it) to give a diffferent perspective ehre.

The creation of our Earth is always a matter of controversy, and how can it not be? In such a broad swath of philosophy and science we cover topics ranging from â??Where did it all begin?â?, â??When was our Earth created?â?, â??How Long did it take?â?, â??What was the process?â?, â??Was a higher being involved?â?, â??Was God involved?â?, â??What about evolution?â?, and even to some degree â??Who are we?â?. Although I will not endeavor to answer all of these in this short essay, I do seek to bring some degree of reconciliation between Scripture and Science pertaining to the process of the creation of Earth itself all the way up until Adam. To do this, I will introduce a theory I created called the Sanctification model to demonstrate that earth as a static existence before the fall requires the introduction of non-scriptural and non-scientific sources.

There are some who would assert that the earth was created in its perfection. Indeed, even certain prophets and apostles have propagated this theory, Joseph Fielding Smith being the most prominent.(1) The claim further states that there was no death until the Fall, according to scripture, and therefore everything must have been created immaculate, immortal, and unchanging.(2) However, their theories, no matter how strongly and emphatically stated, were never claimed to be received by revelation. Indeed, the Church has repeatedly declined to define doctrine on this matter, with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stating as such on several different occasions.(3) At the end of a lengthy debate over several weeks in front of the Council of the Twelve, between Joseph Fielding Smith and B.H. Roberts, the First Presidency stated â??Our mission is to bear the message of the restored gospel to the people of the world. Leave Geology, Biology, Archaeology and Anthropology, no one of which has to do with the salvation of the souls of mankind, to scientific research, while we magnify our calling in the realm of the Church.â? Further, they stated â??The statement made by Elder Smith that the existence of pre-Adamites is not a doctrine of the Church is true. It is just as true that the statement: "There were not pre-Adamites upon the earth", is not a doctrine of the Church. Neither side of the controversy has been accepted as a doctrine at all.â?(3) As such, despite dogmatic statements either way, the Church has explicitly stated that there is no doctrine on the matter in regards to specifics and allows significant leeway in our personal understanding of earthâ??s pre-Adamic history.

To begin, I will first define the core thesis of my paper: The Earth was created through a gradual process lasting an indeterminate amount of time, though in its solidified form today is likely close to 4.5 Billion years old.(4) During its creation, the Eloheim, presided over by the one we know as God the Father (El),(5) repeatedly and at different points in time directed others to return to the location of Earthâ??s creation, report on its status, and initiate a new phase of our Earthâ??s creation plan.(6) At the end of these periods, roughly divided into six phases (I say roughly, because what happens in each phase or day varies from account to account, further illustrating the futility of making each step fit into a definite start and stop point before the next), normal happenings as we now see them were occurring. Microbes thrived, multiplied, and died. Plants grew, blossomed, multiplied, and decayed in natural cycles. Animals also were born, adapted to their environment, reproduced, and suffered death. After the creation of Man, the very Earth itself was sanctified.

Every place where there is an account of the creation and life, we see that God or the Gods prepared the earth to bring forth plants, ocean life, and land life. Even when the Garden was planted in eastward in Eden, it was literally planted and they grew out of the ground. This would place a major crimp in the thought that everything before the Fall was created immortal, unchanging, undying. Indeed, other scriptures state that Adam and Eve ate from the food in the area and that they cultivated or â??dressedâ? the Garden.(7) Therefore, there is growth and regrowth, not a static environment. If they are eating, then there is cellular regeneration. The Book of Abraham gives LDS members an edge in scriptural support of an old-earth creation with evolutionary process.

The underlying theme that helps to bring the science of Earthâ??s creation and it billions of years of history better in line with the theological creation is that of Sanctification. When reading through all of the creation accounts, the Eloheim never once declare there work perfect. While commentators have often come to this by conjecture, it is simply not supported in revelation. Indeed, the closest that we come is a continual reference to the progress and status of geological formations, life in the oceans, plants, animals, etc. as merely â??goodâ?.( What defined â??goodâ?? Only Abraham reveals this to us. In Abraham 4:21, we read â??â?¦And the Gods saw that they would be obeyed, and that their plan was good.â? We also know from scripture that it would be erroneous to claim that when God says â??goodâ? it implies perfection. To establish this, we turn to the Book of Moses, Chapter 2, verse 31 which reads â??I, God, saw everything that I had made, and, behold, all things which I had made were very good.â? If God, the entire time, used good as synonymous with perfect, then we have an issue where there is â??perfectâ? and â??very perfectâ?, creating a suppressed correlative exempting the possibility that one could be imperfect.

Yet how do we account for a perfect God creating a work that lacked in perfection itself? To answer this, we need to first note that perfection in the scriptures is always referred to as a process. Imperfect lives and creations are brought into perfection through the powers of heaven.(9) The earth, following this principle, has to use what may be considered at times perfect principles (i.e. geological and biological processes) before it reaches the perfect measure of its creation.

Finally we need to turn to the earth and Sanctification. According to modern revelation, â??â?¦on the seventh day he (God) finished his work, and sanctified it.â? Thus we see that the Earth was created and as each phase drew to a close, God, or the Gods looked upon their work and declared them "good".(10) Then they created man, and it was "very good". Finally, on the seventh day that it was Sanctified, ending the Creation account.(11)

What does this all mean? It means that the scriptures, in conjunction with scientific understanding, give a clear picture of the creation from both the temporal and spiritual perspective. Science says that life began 3.5 million years ago. It says that there were cycles of alternating oxygen rich and poor conditions that caused banded iron formations. It claims evolution of life from prokaryotic to eukaryotic cells on to plants and animals. And fortunately the Lord, through the scriptures, give us the impression that this is okay, that God, who himself is bound by the laws of nature (though he understand them a fair bit better), uses processes that he knows will bring the results he is looking for. We donâ??t need to claim that the Rocky Mountains formed during the upheaval of the earth at Christâ??s death. We have only ourselves to blame if a paleontologist scorns us because someone claims that dinosaurs never roamed the earth and their fossils are remnants from other planets. Indeed, while simple theological explanations helped form our worldview in days gone by, let us recall the words of Paul to the Corinthians, â??For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.â?(12)

The Lord gave us knowledge â??in partâ? because at times past we could not understand it in full, nor did we have the means to discover the science behind the earth ourselves. Let us then leave behind the constant feuding of science and religion, and live by the words of Brigham Young when he stated, â??Every good and perfect gift cometh from God. Every discovery in science and art, that is really true and useful to mankind has been given by direct revelation from God, though but few acknowledge it. It has been given with a view to prepare the way for the ultimate triumph of truth, and the redemption of the earth from the power of sin and Satan. We should take advantage of all these great discoveries, the accumulated wisdom of ages, and give to our children the benefit of every branch of useful knowledge, to prepare them to step forward and efficiently do their part in the great work.â?(13)

Footnotes

1. Smith, Joseph Fielding. Doctrines of Salvation. Volume I. p. 108: There was no death in the earth before the fall of Adam. I do not care what the scientists say in regard to dinosaurs and other creatures upon the earth millions of years ago, that lived and died and fought and struggled for existence. When the earth was created and was declared good, peace was upon its face among all its creatures. Strife and wickedness were not found here, neither was there any corruptionâ?¦.

All life in the sea, the air, on the earth, was without death. Animals were not dying. Things were not changing as we find them changing in this mortal existence, for mortality had not come. Today we are living in a world of change because we are living under very different conditions from those which prevailed in the beginning and before the fall of man.

2. The Book of Mormon. 2 Nephi 2:22 - And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.

3. Statement of the First Presidency. April 5, 1931. This letter was sent only to the Council of the Twelve, First Council of the Seventy, and the Presiding Bishopric. It was not a published statement to the general membership.

4. Marshak, Stephen. Essentials of Geology. 2ND Edition. W.W. Norton & Company. p. 307

5. The Old Testament. Psalms 82:1-6. See the Hebrew for a better understanding of the nature of God and the Divine Council.

6. The Pearl of Great Price. Abraham 4. Note the recurring theme of the Gods waiting to see if they would be obeyed at each step. References can also be found in many Gnostic and early Jewish writings.

7. The Pearl of Great Price. Abraham 5:9; Old Testament â?? Genesis 2:15-16

8. Genesis 1: 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25. Moses 2: 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31, 3:2.

9. Deuteronomy 18:13 - Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.

10. Doctrine and Covenants 77:12

11. An interesting note to this is that just as they used the Sabbath day for the sanctification of their creation which was already present, so did they sanctify the day itself and commanded us to use it for the same purpose (i.e. the sanctification of Godâ??s creations).

12. 1st Corinthians 13:9-12

13. Young, Brigham. Journal of Discourses. Volume 9, p. 369

[Nofear]

Does the atonement confine itself to just the race of Adam and Eve? I believe that the atonement includes all God's creations. Would life forms outside the garden be resurrected?

Animal salvation/resurrection is a view held by many (Animal Resurrection quotes). Of course, if we resurrected all the worms/bugs/bacteria any given immortal world would be a real crowded place real fast. Care must be taken with this view.

The biggest problem I have with the second model is in point 2:"Life starts to populate the planet. Biological bodies procreate and perish."

I was careful to use the word "perish" as opposed to "dies". Dr. Jones (formally of BYU physics department - he was ousted for advocated a conspiracy theory around the Twin Towers attacks). But he basically theorizes that prior to Adam and the garden organisms had no souls and so when they ceased to function they didn't "die" in a theological sense. (Death Before Adam by Dr. Jones). I'm not a great fan of the theory personally but you might find comfort in it.

I reject the Darwinian theory because it seems to be hostile to the doctrines of the fall and the atonement.

As presented by the world it very much is. I tend to be a panspermist myself. More could be said of this if need. Might even hold part of the answer to my original thread question. Haven't probed it much yet.

As far as temporal observations I believe they are just that observations made on a telestial world about a process (the creation) that was done in a terrestrial world and so I believe that is where the "false readings" come from.

While we know that there are different "laws" roughly categorized as "terrestrial" and "celestial" we have no idea at all what they involve . We know the differences are social in nature but we don't know if they are different "laws of physics". The latter concept is quite speculative (one hint is that some ways of looking at immortality are quite incompatible with 2nd laws of thermodynamics). While I don't discount variant rules of physics for a terrestrial world, living under telestial laws the best we can do is model events from that perspective. When and if there are glaring, irreconcilable differences then we can begin to posit about different physics. As of yet, I haven't seen such glare.

Perhaps in the Millennium when all things are to be revealed we may receive the correct answers if revelation on the subject does not come forth before that time.

Meh, I'm impatient. Fortunately, some things will be revealed before then (D&C 121:31). Some things won't.