Mormonism and Evolution: The Authoritative LDS Statements Rating :
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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful.
EXACTLY WHAT IT SAYS IT IS
By Mayor McCheese
This concise little book is exactly what it says it is.
The first 38 pages are a reproduction of the 4 public statements on evolution that have ever been made under the signature of the complete First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As such, the authors make it clear that they are the only documents on evolution from the Church that can be said to be "authoritative" or expressions of actual Church doctrine. They include: (1) 1909 "Origin of Man" statement; (2) 1910 Excerpt from First Presidency Christmas Message; (3) 1925 "Mormon View of Evolution" statement, released to the press in the midst of the Scopes trial (essentially made up of selected quotation from "Origin of Man"; (4) 1992 excerpt from the "Evolution" entry in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism that quotes the 1931 First Presidency Memo on the evolution controversy that was released to all General Authorities. These 4 documents make up the BYU "Evolution Packet" that the First Presidency authorized be released to all BYU staff and students in 1992 as stating the Church's official position on evolution.
You may be surprised by what the "authoritative statements" do and do not say, and how the later statements differ from the earlier statements. As one reviewer says on the back, the LDS position on evolution "is more consistent, more nuanced and more open toward science than many students of the issue might believe."
The rest of the books (pp. 38-113) is composed of statements on evolution that have been made by Church Presidents WHEN THEY WERE CHURCH PRESIDENT, and other statements on evolution that the Church has published under the name of the Church or the Church logo (i.e. an "official" publication of the Church). Some are also First Presidency statements, and you need to read the book to understand why they may not be considered "authoritative" statements like the 4 mentioned above. These are: (1) 1910 First Presidency message to Priesthood quorums on the use of the 1909 "Origins on Man" statement; (2) 1911 Joseph F. Smith magazine editorial; (3) the complete 1931 Memo from the First Presidency to all General Authorities, which contains extensive quotes from various letters written by General Authorities--mostly centering on the internal evolution dispute between Elders Joseph Fielding Smith and B.H. Roberts (the part of this Memo that states official Church doctrine is quoted in "authoritative" statement (4), above) (4) 1931 Elder James E. Talmage speech "The Earth and Man" (published in pamphlet form as an official Church publication); (5) 1931 James E. Talmage Journal Extract, indicating that the First Presidency agreed to publish his "Earth and Man" speech as a Church pamphlet; (6) 1931 Heber J. Grant Journal Extract, confirming that he as President of the Church and his counselors authorized publication of the Talmage "Earth and Man" speech in the Church newspaper and as an official Church pamphlet; (7) 1952 Excerpt from David O. McKay speech that mentions evolution; (8) 1956 Excerpt from David O. McKay speech that mentions evolution; (9) 1976 Excerpt from Spencer W. Kimball speech that mentions evolution; (10) 1997 Excerpt from Gordon B. Hinckley speech/Q&A session that mentions evolution; (11) 2002 Excerpt from Gordon B. Hinckley interview where he responds to a question about evolution; (12) 2003-2004 Response from the First Presidency that was sent when their office received an inquiry as to the Church's position on evolution.
Each document is introduced with a brief but extremely helpful "Statement of Context" by the authors, so you know exactly what was going on when the document was produced and why it was produced. The authors close with a 3-page Afterward that summarizes the volume and points the reader to other statements which were "borderline" cases of inclusion in the book, which were not included, and the reasons for their non-inclusion.
Perhaps the most interesting statement in the book is included in the 1910 First Presidency instructions on how to use the 1909 "Origins of Man" statement. The Presidency gives Church members 3 apparently acceptable origins of the human body: (1) man evolved in natural processes to present perfection through the direction and power of God; (2) Adam and Eve were transplanted from another sphere in immortal bodies which became corrupted through sin and the partaking of natural foods; or (3) Adam and Eve were born here on earth as every other mortal has been. Note that the literal interpretation of scripture is NOT one of the options, nor has any Church president ever taught that while holding the position of Church President.
The book also confirms that the Church takes NO POSITION (and never has) on whether there was death before the Fall and on whether there were pre-Adamites.
A great reference book. The authors (editors, really) are respectively a former physics professor at BYU and a current biology professor at BYU.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.Essential to every LDS library
By J. A. Daniels
This book allows us a quick and easy reference to all of the authoritative statements made on evolution by LDS church leaders. It is well written and the sources are wisely selected. Some of the popular sources used to falsely claim that the church has an anti-evolution stance are not in here. This is not because the authors are afraid of them but because these sources were not published in conjunction with the church nor were they published to be set forth as their views as church leaders, but as individuals.
This allows you to understand the history and context in very short time. It is also fair, this is not set out to convince you of anything. The book is merely to present what has been said that can contribute to the church's stance. The conclusion is that as far as the church is concerned you can see it as you would like, but evolution does not necessarily conflict with any church doctrine.
20 of 27 people found the following review helpful.
There are some puzzling omissions.
By Kendal B. Hunter
OK--everyone has already formed their opinion about evolution. Therefore a book like this is not a transforming agent, but a reinforcing strut.
This books greatest strength is that it includes (and therefore broadly disseminates) the BYU Evolution Packet. The key documents are the 1909 and 1925 statements, plus the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, and First Presidency minutes. It also includes the explanatory article from the Daily Universe, which provides the "behind the scenes" aspect to the packet. Inasmuch as the BYU Board of Trustees is the General Authorities, this would de fact represent the position of the church on the question.
Additionally, this book contains Elder James E. Talmadge article "Earth and Man." This article is a middle-of-the-road approach to the question, and significantly the only statement by someone who was both an apostle and a Ph. D in geology. This is the article I was handed when I took my geology elective class at BYU, and I am still puzzling over what exactly his thesis statement is, and why he relies exclusively on one source, Dana's "Manual of Geology."
There are some puzzling omissions. First of all, there are not quotes and statements from President Joseph Fielding Smith, B. H. Roberts's foil in the 1930's evolution debate. His books "Doctrines of Salvation" and "Answer to Gospel Questions" make it quite clear where he stands.
Furthermore, his 563-page book "Man: His Origin and Destiny" remained in print until his death in 1973. Admittedly it was written before he became president of the church, but he never altered his book while he was president of the church. And while he was president of the Church, and in General Conference, he put a prophetic seal on all of his previous work by saying "What I have taught and written in the past I would teach and write again under the same circumstances." (CR October 1970, p. 5)
Considering how they treat the material relating to Presidents Joseph F. Smith, McKay, Kimball and Hinckley, their treatment of President Joseph Fielding Smith is inconsistent.
There is also another omission. In the June 1982 Ensign, Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote an article entitled "Christ and the Creation." He states "There is no evolving from one species to another in any of this." Being printed in the Ensign, it of course passed church correlation. Additionally, there are his famous "Seven Deadly Heresies", "Three Pillars of Eternity" and his lengthy article in "Mormon Doctrine."
Of course Evenson and Jeffery are limited by space and permission, but they could circumvent this by including a bibliography of available sources. This would include the above omissions, plus "A Voice of Warning" chapter 5, and "The Truth, The Way, The Life," chapter 31.
The only other suggestion is to rethink the "Historical Context" sections in the BYU Packet articles. They include this section at the end of every statement. This makes for a handy reference, but it does break up the flow of the BYU packet, so we are not sure what is and is not BYU-approved. They could put the historical section in italics, or include them as endnotes. In the other articles, they are superb, exactly the way they are.
Product Description
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) has generally been viewed by the public as anti-evolutionary in its doctrine and teachings. But official statements on the subject by the Church’s highest governing quorum and/or President have been considerably more open and diverse than is popularly believed.
This book compiles in full all known authoritative statements (either authored or formally approved for publication) by the Church’s highest leaders on the topics of evolution and the origin of human beings. The authors provide historical context for these statements that allows the reader to see what stimulated the issuing of each particular document and how these stand in relation to one another.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1510069 in Books
- Published on: 2006-01-11
- Original language:English
- Dimensions: 7.87" h x5.43" w x.0" l,.34 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 122 pages
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