Criticism of Mormonism/Websites/FutureMissionary.com/Mormon Beliefs & Science

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A FAIR Analysis of: FutureMissionary.com A work by author: Anonymous

A FAIR Analysis of FutureMissionary page "Mormon Beliefs & Science"

FAIRMORMON'S VIEW OF THE CRITICS' CONCLUSIONS

The positions that the FutureMissionary article "Mormon Beliefs & Science" appears to take are the following:

• That Latter-day saints must hold to fundamentalist beliefs that conflict with science. This is not true.

FAIRMORMON'S RESPONSE AND SUPPORTING DATA

FutureMissionary says...
The website quotes Joseph Fielding Smith as saying, “I say most emphatically, you cannot believe in this theory [of evolution] of the origin of man, and at the same time accept the plan of salvation as set forth by the Lord our God.”

FAIR commentary

• Note that this Joseph Fielding Smith quote was originally presented by the site as part of a "First Presidency statement." This was incorrect.
• Church members are not required to reject evolution. Many believe the God used evolution as part of His divine plan of creation.

Quotes to consider

• In 2002, Gordon B. Hinckley gave us a perspective on evolution that is somewhat more recent than the 1909 quote favored by FutureMissionary:

What the church requires is only belief 'that Adam was the first man of what we would call the human race.' Scientists can speculate on the rest.

Gordon B. Hinckley in 2002; cited in Elaine Jarvik, "Beliefs on Darwin's evolution vary from religion to religion," Deseret Morning News (19 January 2006).

Additional information

• Evolution (official statements)—What is the Church's stance on the theory of organic evolution? (Link)

FutureMissionary says...
The question is posed by the website, "Does the sun get its light from Kolob?"

FAIR commentary

• We all know that the sun generates its light through thermonuclear fusion, and this is a question which no investigator would ever be likely to ask.
• The Book of Abraham states that “the sun [is said] to borrow its light from Kolob through the medium of Kae-e-vanrash, which is the grand Key, or, in other words, the governing power (Abraham Fac 2,Fig 5).
• There are many scriptures or statements by the prophets that seem to have scientific implications. Unfortunately, they are never couched in modern scientific terms and their meanings are often very obscure. So it is hard to decide who is more foolish — the faithful saint, who interprets them in a way that forces them into agreement with some current view of science, or the faithless critic, who purposely interprets them in a way that is most at odds with current scientific thought. These verses from Abraham admit a variety of interpretations. The suggestion that Abraham must have taught that the photons leaving the surface of the sun originally came from Kolob is completely unjustified.

Additional information

• Relationship between Kolob and the Sun—The Book of Abraham states that “the sun [is said] to borrow its light from Kolob through the medium of Kae-e-vanrash, which is the grand Key, or, in other words, the governing power (Abraham Fac 2,Fig 5),” while astrophysics has shown that “The Sun shines ... because of thermonuclear fusion. It does not get its light from any other star.” (Link)

FutureMissionary says...
The website claims that "According to the Book of Abraham, God lives on a planet called Kolob which gives the sun its light."

FAIR commentary

• This is incorrect. The Book of Abraham does NOT say that God "lives on a planet called Kolob." It says that Kolob is "near unto" God. Kolob appears to be the name of a star.

Quotes to consider

• Abraham 3:3

And the Lord said unto me: 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.

FutureMissionary says...
The website asks, "What about the dinosaurs?" It goes on to state that "There was no death before the fall of Adam, not even the death of animals."

FAIR commentary

• Some LDS leaders have interpreted LDS scripture to teach that there was no death prior to the Fall of Adam for all plants and animals. Others have seen pre-Fall death of plants and/or animals as compatible with LDS doctrine, with the doctrine of "no death" applying only to Adam and Eve within the garden, and not the wider physical creation.

There is no official doctrine on the matter, and members in good standing have held both positions.

Additional information

• Death before the Fall—Does LDS doctrine require a belief that there was no death before the Fall of Adam? (Link)

FutureMissionary says...
The website speculates, "Though there is no official doctrine, this narrows it down to only a handful of possibilities." They then quote two possibilities: 1) That humans and dinosaurs coexisted and only went extinct a few thousand years ago and 2) That they never existed alive on this earth at all.

FAIR commentary

• The website omits the third (and most popular) option listed on the FAIR Wiki page from which this material was taken: That the earth is very old, that there was death before the Fall, and that the dinosaurs lived and died in a era long before the story of Adam and Eve begins.
• The Church does not take an official position on this issue.

Additional information

• Dinosaurs—How do dinosaurs fit into God's plan? (Link)

FutureMissionary says...
The website poses the rather offensive question, "Where did black people come from?" They then answer that "According to the Book of Mormon and LDS interpretations of the Bible, dark skin is brought on by wickedness."

FAIR commentary

• The "Curse of Cain" was a Protestant invention that was used as a religious justification for slavery in the 1800's.

Additional information

• The "curse of Cain" and "curse of Ham"—We often hear that Latter-day Saints believe and teach that blacks are descendents of Cain, and that they are cursed. In fact, on some occasions prior to 1978, blacks were denied access to temple open houses because they carried the “mark of Cain.” What critics never point out, however, is that the "curse of Cain" is a Protestant invention that was created in order to justify slavery in the 1800's. One would get the impression listening to critics that the Latter-day Saints originated the idea of the curse, and they point to the priesthood ban as evidence of such, while ignoring that fact of segregated congregations in Protestant churches of that era. (Link)

FutureMissionary says...
The website poses the question, "How old is the Earth?"

FAIR commentary

• Opinions on the age of the Earth vary within the Church. There is no single, correct answer. The Church does not take a position on this issue.

Quotes to consider

• Brigham Young said:

In these respects we differ from the Christian world, for our religion will not clash with or contradict the facts of science in any particular...whether the Lord found the earth empty and void, whether he made it out of nothing or out of the rude elements; or whether he made it in six days or in as many millions of years, is and will remain a matter of speculation in the minds of men unless he give revelation on the subject. If we understood the process of creation there would be no mystery about it, it would be all reasonable and plain, for there is no mystery except to the ignorant.

Brigham Young, (May 14, 1871) Journal of Discourses 14:116.

Additional information

• Age of the Earth—Do Latter-day Saints believe that the Earth is only 6,000 years old? Why does Doctrine and Covenants section 77 say that the history of the earth covers only seven thousand years? (Link)