Age of the Earth

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This page is based on an answer to a question submitted to the FAIR web site, or a frequently asked question.

Question

• The Bible dictionary says the Earth is 7,000 years old. Doctrine & Covenants say the 7 seals of the Earth represent 1,000 years. Yet humankind, scientifically speaking, is thousands of years old...way before 4,000 BC. Can you explain the contradiction, if there is one?

Answer

The Bible Dictionary does not represent Church doctrine

Regarding the Bible Dictionary, at least, the Church has been explicit that it is not to be taken as a statement of revealed Church doctrine. The heading to the Bible Dictionary includes the following statement:

[The Bible Dictionary] is not intended as an official or revealed endorsement by the Church of the doctrinal, historical, cultural, and other matters set forth.

Robert J. Matthews, who was part of the committee in the late 70's to create the LDS editions of the scriptures, including the study aids, said:

The new Bible dictionary is not intended as a revealed treatment or official version of doctrinal, historical, cultural, chronological,

and other matters found in the Bible.^[1]

And lastly, Elder McConkie had this to say regarding "the Joseph Smith Translation items, the chapter headings, Topical Guide, Bible Dictionary, footnotes, the Gazetteer, and the maps

None of these are perfect; they do not of themselves determine doctrine; there have been and undoubtedly now are mistakes in them. Cross-references, for instance, do not establish and never were intended to prove that parallel passages so much as pertain to the same subject. They are aids and helps only.^[2]

To summarize, the entry in the Bible Dictionary is merely the opinion of whoever wrote it. It is not part of the canon of scripture and is not binding upon anyone.

The scriptures do not specify the age of the Earth

The placement of Adam at 4000 BC has a rather long history. Perhaps the most famous attempt was made by the Irish Anglican Bishop of Ussher, who calculated the date as 4004, and added the month, day and so forth. Such a dating, however, is not in our scriptures, even if a version of it somehow worked its way into our Bible Dictionary.

The Encyclopedia of Mormonism article "Earth," states unequivocally:

The scriptures do not say how old the earth is, and the Church has taken no official stand on this question. Nor does the Church consider it to be a central issue for salvation.^[3]

There are varying opinions on this issue. There are some Latter-day Saints who believe in a "young earth," but they may represent a distinct minority. Many Saints accept an old earth closer to the scientific calculation of 4.6 billion years or so.

It is the opinion of some that the statements of 1,000 years in D&C 77 are not meant literally, but in a more figurative sense of "large spans of time." This follows the Hebrew use of "thousand" (’elef), which sometimes meant a literal 1,000, and other times was more generically used to indicate "a large amount." A hyper-literal reading of the Bible misses much of its allegory and symbolism, things which are incorporated into LDS temple experience but are too often viewed as literal "documentary" history.

Conclusion

The language in our scriptures from which such dating of the "age of the earth" is drawn is clearly not intended to provide the kinds of information that some people insist on having. The best answer to questions about the date of Adam or the age of the earth is simply that we do not know. It is also important to bear in mind that having or not having such information is not crucial for our salvation.

Endnotes

1. [note] Robert J. Matthews, "Using the New Bible Dictionary in the LDS Edition," Ensign, June 1982, p. 48.
2. [note] Bruce R. McConkie, "The Bible–A Sealed Book" in Sermons and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie, p. 290.
3. [note] Morris S. Petersen, "Earth," Encyclopedia of Mormonism

Further reading

FAIR wiki articles

• Death before the Fall

FAIR web site

• Trent D. Stephens, Evolution and Latter-day Saint Theology: The Tree of Life and DNA, FAIR Conference, 2003.