No death before the fall

[_Stormy Waters]

Here is a quote from Chapter 9 of Doctrines of Salvation
"Adam did not evolve from lower from of life. Do you think that Adam, this great and important prince, this archangel before the presence of God was a half-breed monkey? In other words, that he had just developed gradually from the animal kingdom, from some animal form, so that the Lord could put a spirit in him and call him a man? Do you think that? There some people who believe that. That is why I ask you that question.
Of Course I think those people who hold to the view that man has come up through all these ages from the scum of the sea through billions of years do not believe in Adam. Honestly I do not know how they can, and I am going to show you that they do not. There are some who attempt to do it but they are inconsistent, absolutely inconsistent, because that doctrine is so incompatible, so utterly out of harmony, with the revelations of the Lord that a man just cannot believe in both."

[_Nightlion]

My favorite was the BYU religion professor who told us that everyone knows that lizards don't stop growing until they die. Thus, since there was no death for so long, the lizards got really big, and we call those big lizards dinosaurs.

I am not making this up.

Oh dang. You stole my monk's thunder. I should have read the thread first. dang.

[_Stormy Waters]

Also from Chapter Nine
"If Evolution is true, the church is false."
"Theory of Evolution denies Christ"
"Evolution a doctrine of the devil."

[_Nightlion]

I'd love the find out the genesis of this myth.

Heck, it could have been me back in the day. 35 years ago, sure, I tossed that one out a time or two in Sunday School classes. God took of these materials and made an earth whereon these may dwell....what materials? Other worlds...bones and all.
Did you grow up in the East Millcreek area in SL? No matter lots my neighbors were church education instructors.

Abraham 3: 24
24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;

[_bcspace]

My favorite was the BYU religion professor who told us that everyone knows that lizards don't stop growing until they die. Thus, since there was no death for so long, the lizards got really big, and we call those big lizards dinosaurs.

I am not making this up.

My opinion is that Adam and Eve weren't in the garden very long. A few ten's of years max if not one or two. Could depend on how old they were when introduced to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO_W7cMWBMg

[_Nightlion]

See?

What?

[_bcspace]

Also from Chapter Nine

Non doctrinal work.

[_Stormy Waters]

I really recommend chapter nine ("Evolution") of Doctrines of Salvation if you have a copy. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

[_Stormy Waters]

Non doctrinal work.

Do you think you know better then Joseph Fielding Smith?

[Guest]

Non doctrinal work.

Do you think you know better then Joseph Fielding Smith?

In some cases, such as outside LDS doctrine, I'm sure I do. But you don't have to look to me for that. The Church itself tried to dissuade both BRM and JFS to not publish their works or at least refused to publish such works under Church auspices. In any case, by the Church's own definition of official doctrine, DoS is not doctrine and it never has been. You might find quotes from it in a doctrinal work and those would be doctrine. But I doubt you'll find these particular ones in such a context.

For something more pertinent: consider ETB's 1970's doctrinal statement about the Book of Mormon being used to combat, among other things, evolution. Notice that when he makes the same doctrinal statement in the 1980's, evolution is removed from the list.

Consider also BRM's softening his stance on evolution is his Seven Deadly Heresies speech (non doctrinal). Notice that while he himself still doesn't accept evolution, he essentially says if you can find a way for it to work in the context of doctrine, more power to you. This is exactly what I have done and I'm sure others have been able to as well.