Russell M. Nelson and the Search for a Semi-Closeted Evolutionist Apostle

Russell M. Nelson and Lance B. Wickman were recently interviewed by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life about the LDS Church's role in American society.  Elder Nelson is a senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  Elder Wickman, an attorney, is Church general counsel and a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy.

I appreciate the heads up from Aaron Brown at BCC who posted on Sunday morning about this interview.  Click here to read Aaron's article which quotes the entire evolution section of the interview.  Click here to read the complete interview transcript.

Pew Forum question about the Church's position on evolution

When the Pew Forum asked about the position of the Church on evolution, Elder Nelson said this:

"We believe that God is our creator and that he has created other forms of life....  Man has always been man.  Dogs have always been dogs.  Monkeys have always been monkeys."

Elder Nelson was speaking as a Church representative and he was well prepared to discuss this question—it is one he has discussed in his talks for many years.

The Church's current statement on evolution

Elder Nelson made an indirect reference to the Church's current doctrinal position statement on evolution (the 1909 First Presidency's statement on "The Origin of Man") when he mentioned doing open-heart surgery on lower forms of animal life:

"It's interesting to me, drawing on my 40 years experience as a medical doctor, how similar those species are.  We developed open-heart surgery, for example, experimenting on lower animals simply because the same creator made the human being.  We owe a lot to those lower species.  But to think that man evolved from one species to another is, to me, incomprehensible."

This parallels an excerpt from the 1909 statement:

"It is held by some that Adam was not the first man upon this earth and that the original human being was a development from lower orders of the animal creation.  These, however, are the theories of men."

Another similarity between Elder Nelson's answer and the 1909 statement is his reminder that "there are just some things that we [don't] know."  In like manner, the 1909 statement declares:

"Man, by searching, cannot find out God.  Never, unaided, will he discover the truth about the beginning of human life.  The Lord must reveal Himself or remain unrevealed; and the same is true of the facts relating to the origin of Adam's race—God alone can reveal them.  Some of these facts, however, are already known, and what has been made known it is our duty to receive and retain."  (Ensign, Feb 2002, p. 30.)

Some who criticize Elder Nelson's answer feel science has now discovered "the facts relating to the origin of Adam's race" (a rejection of the notion that "God alone can reveal them").

Elder Nelson's prior anti-evolution testimony

Speaking in March 1987, Elder Nelson bore this anti-evolution testimony:

"Through the ages, some ...  have deduced that, because of certain similarities between different forms of life, there has been a natural selection of the species, or organic evolution from one form to another....

"To me, such theories are unbelievable!...

"We are children of God, created by him and formed in his image.  Recently I studied the scriptures to find how many times they testify of the divine creation of man.  Looking up references that referred to create, form (or their derivatives), with either man, men, male, or female in the same verse, I found that there are at least fifty-five verses of scripture that attest to our divine creation....

"I believe all of those scriptures that pertain to the creation of man.  But the decision to believe is a spiritual one, not made solely by an understanding of things physical, for we read that  ' the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.'  (1 Cor.  2:14.)

"It is incumbent upon each informed and spiritually attuned person to help overcome such foolishness of men who would deny divine creation or think that man simply evolved.  By the Spirit, we perceive the truer and more believable wisdom of God.

"With great conviction, I add my testimony to that of my fellow Apostle Paul, who said, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? ' "  (Russell M.  Nelson, Ensign, Jan 1988, p. 64.)

Yes, according to Elder Nelson, the theory that man "was a development from lower orders of the animal creation" is foolishness and it is incumbent upon informed and spiritually attuned persons to help overcome such foolishness.  His word, not mine.

Evolution requires both death and time

The popular author Carl Sagan said it this way:

"The secrets of evolution are death and time—the deaths of enormous numbers of lifeforms that were imperfectly adapted to the environment; and [aeons of] time." (Cosmos [New York: Random House, 1980], p. 30.)

But, death and time are not merely the "secrets" of evolution, they are its essential ingredients.  The theory of evolution, therefore, is completely incompatible with the LDS doctrine of "no death before the fall."

Elder Nelson teaches "no death before the fall"

In his April 2000 general conference talk, Elder Nelson taught the LDS doctrine of "no death before the fall."

"The creation of a paradisiacal planet came from God.  Mortality and death came into the world through the Fall of Adam....  Eventually,  ' the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.'  (A of F 1:10.) At the Second Coming of the Lord, the earth will be changed once again.  It will be returned to its paradisiacal state and be made new."  (Ensign, May 2000, p. 84.)

Let's look closer at this paragraph.

(a.)  "The creation of a paradisiacal planet came from God."  To Latter-day Saints generally and to Elder Nelson specifically, "paradisiacal" means "terrestrial."  Elder Nelson made this clear in the April 1990 General Conference when he said:

"It is true that scriptures foretell the final days of the earth's temporal existence as a telestial sphere.  The earth will then be renewed and receive its paradisiacal, or terrestrial, glory.  (See A of F 1:10.)"  (Ensign, May 1990, p. 16.)

(b.)  "Mortality and death came into the world through the Fall of Adam."  The earth was changed when mortality and death came to the previously paradisiacal planet through the Fall of Adam.  What this clearly does not say is that the earth had been mortal for millions, perhaps billions, of years and that mortality and death came to only Adam and Eve and their posterity through the Fall.

(c.)  "At the Second Coming of the Lord, the earth will be changed once again.  It will be returned to its paradisiacal state and be made new."  The words "changed once again" refer back to earth's first change from a paradisiacal, or terrestrial, deathless state to its present temporal, or telestial, mortal state.  Here he is clearly saying that earth will be changed back to its previous paradisiacal, or terrestrial, deathless state.  "It will be returned to its paradisiacal state and be made new" is another way of saying that, before the Fall of Adam, the earth was paradisiacal and new and it will be "returned" [the act of bringing something back to a previous condition] to that same terrestrial, deathless state that existed before the Fall of Adam.

In 1991, Elder Nelson wrote another article in which he taught that the creation was paradisiacal (not subject to death).

"In the beginning, God created the earth and all that was upon it.  He created man in His own image, male and female created He them.  (See Gen.  1:27; Gen.  5:2; D&C 20:18; Moses 2:27; Moses 6:9.) Adam and Eve were first created with bodies of flesh and spirit, without blood, and were unable to die or beget children.  Thus, we might describe this as a paradisiacal creation, one that initially equipped Adam and Eve to live in the Garden of Eden, which was in a state of everlasting paradise.  (See Moses 4:28–29.)"  (Ensign, Aug.  1991, p. 6.)

Two years later, Elder Nelson used the pulpit in general conference to again teach that the creation was paradisiacal (not subject to death).

"Adam and Eve were the first people to live upon the earth.  They were different from the plant and animal life that had been created previously.  Adam and Eve were children of God.  Their bodies of flesh and bone were made in the express image of God's.  In that state of innocence, they were not yet mortal.  They could have had no children, were not subject to death, and could have lived in Eden's garden forever.  Thus, we might speak of the Creation in terms of a paradisiacal creation."  (Ensign, Nov.  1993, p. 33.)

In the April 2001 general conference, Elder Nelson said:

"I like to recommend ...  short explanatory paragraphs in the Bible Dictionary, listed under ...  'Fall of Adam' (page 670, paragraphs 1–2)."  (Ensign, May 2001, p. 32.)

The following year, Elder Nelson wrote:

"I recommend ...  selected paragraphs under ...  Fall of Adam (page 670, paragraphs 1–2) ...  in the Bible Dictionary."  (Ensign, Mar.  2002, p. 17.)

Here is part of what the Bible Dictionary says about the Fall of Adam:

"Before the fall, Adam and Eve had physical bodies but no blood.  There was no sin, no death, and no children among any of the earthly creations.  With the eating of the  ' forbidden fruit,'  Adam and Eve became mortal, sin entered, blood formed in their bodies, and death became a part of life.  Adam became the  ' first flesh '  upon the earth (Moses 3: 7), meaning that he and Eve were the first to become mortal.  After Adam fell, the whole creation fell and became mortal."  (Bible Dictionary, "Fall of Adam," paragraph 1.)

There are no semi-closeted evolutionist apostles

BCC's Aaron Brown feels LDS evolutionts probably "have a  ' testimony '  of evolution that is born entirely of scientific study, rather than of a favorite General Authority quote."  Yet he wonders what the Brethren as a group really think about evolution and asks whether anyone can imagine "a group of semi-closeted evolutionists" leading the Church.

I've tried to imagine a "semi-closeted evolutionist" apostle, in a position to influence nearly 13 million Mormons.  I've tried to imagine how he would feel about a fellow apostle speaking out against evolution as Elder Nelson has so often done.  I am confident that such an evolutionist apostle would be worried—worried about millions of people being misled by his fellow apostle.

Yet, according to the interview, Elder Wickman is confident that no one in the First Presidency or the Twelve is worried about evolution.  In other words, no one in the First Presidency or the Twelve is a "semi-closeted evolutionist."  Not one of them gets heartburn over Elder Nelson's constant output of anti-evolutionary teachings.

Furthermore, they don't even worry about people who believe in evolution.  Why?  Earlier in the interview, Elder Wickman explained:

"The prophet Joseph Smith was once asked how it was that he was able to  ' govern his people,'  as the reporter put it.  Joseph responded that he taught correct principles and let them govern themselves."

I thought of the Dover Board of Education and Kansas State Board of Education when I read what Elder Nelson added:

"Our business is to teach a better way of life, to teach the principles and the doctrines of the Lord Jesus Christ.  That is our mission....  We do want correct principles.

We would say to ...  the board of education people,  ' You do your business and we won't try to tell you how to do your business.  And when it comes to matters of faith and religion, we'll do the teaching and hope you'll give us a listening ear.' "

For me, that pretty much sums it up.  When it comes to matters of faith and religion, the apostles and prophets do the teaching and we give a listening ear.

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To: Bruce Young, Re: Human Evolution

Bruce,

This post is in response to your comments on Friday here and here. 

1.  Authoritative Interpretations

You say you don't think "the Church officially opposes human evolution [and you] don't read the official statements as making that absolutely clear."

I think my reading and your reading of the official statements is of little importance.  I think God gave us apostles and prophets to interpret doctrine so that "we henceforth be no more .. carried about with every wind of doctrine."  (Eph. 4:14.)  Twice the Lord tells the elders of the Church to say "none other things" than that which the apostles and prophets teach (D&C 52:9 and 52:36).  I think the reading of official statements that counts comes from those who hold the apostolic keys.

President Boyd K. Packer holds the apostolic keys.  He is authorized to interpret scripture and official Church statements, including the 1909 First Presidency statement, which he says opposes human evolution (click here).

A second witness is found in the 1980-81 Priesthood manual where human evolution is refuted by teaching that Adam was physically "the son of God."  Based on the introductory portrait of and message from the First Presidency (click here), I believe this manual was approved for publication by the First Presidency.  The paragraph about Adam's origin was written by Bruce R. McConkie who was himself in 1980 one of the Apostles.  The paragraph interprets a portion of the 1909 First Presidency statement this way:

"Luke 3:38. What does this verse reveal about the origin of Adam's physical body?   ' As to the manner in which Adam was placed on the earth, the First Presidency of the Church ... has given us this plain statement [from Improvement Era, Nov. 1909, p. 80]: "He took upon him an appropriate body, the body of a man, and so became a  ' living soul.' ... All who have inhabited the earth since Adam have taken bodies and become souls in like manner." '  (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 17.)"  (1980-81 Priesthood manual , p. 36; bracketed comment and italics in the original; see also Mormon Doctrine, "Evolution," pp.  247-256.)

"Adam ... was the son of God" (Luke 3:38; also Moses 6:22).  He was NOT the offspring of "lower orders" of animal life.  I have searched in vain for apostolic statements that support human evolution.  I have concluded that there are none.

The 1909 First Presidency statement is official.  Two contemporary Apostles say it opposes human evolution.  No Apostle has said otherwise and until that happens, it can safely be said that the Church officially opposes human evolution.

2.  Packet Makes Church Position "Clear"

The BYU Evolution Packet cover letter states that the Packet contains all known statements issued by the First Presidency on science, evolution, and the origin of man.  The letter then names all of them.  There are three:

"The Origin of Man" was issued in November 1909.  At 2,700 words, this is the predominant item in the Packet.

"Words in Season" is a small 99 word excerpt from a First Presidency Christmas Message printed in the Deseret Evening News.  It says the Church is not hostile to "real science."  Sometimes overlooked is the fact that it also says we do not accept "human theory and mere speculations of men."

"Mormon View of Evolution" was issued in September 1925. This is a 560 word condensed version of the 1909 "Origin of Man" statement.

As evidence that the Church doesn't oppose human evolution, you quote the Packet's cover letter as follows:

"BYU's Board of Trustees stated in 1992,  ' there has never been a formal declaration from the First Presidency addressing the general matter of organic evolution as a process for development of biological species.' "

But you've quoted only part of the sentence and in the context of your comment, it is a gross misrepresentation of what the sentence actually means.  The complete sentence is:

"Although there has never been a formal declaration from the First Presidency addressing the general matter of organic evolution as a process for development of biological species, these documents [the three documents listed above] make clear the official position of the Church regarding the origin of man."

In this sentence, the words "biological species" do not include man.  Therefore, the sentence excerpt you've quoted does NOT mean (as you've implied) that there has never been a formal declaration from the First Presidency about human evolution.  In fact, the sentence explicitly says the opposite, namely that "the official position of the Church regarding the origin of man" is made "clear" in the Packet.

3.  Letter Misquoted

If you had read the BYU Evolution Packet cover letter yourself before writing your comment, you wouldn't have misquoted the BYU NewsNet article (thanks for the link).  The cover letter does NOT say:

"The scriptures tell why man was created, but they do not tell how."

The NewsNet article doesn't say that statement came from the cover letter, though the wording of the article might imply that.  The quoted statement is from an unofficial encyclopedia article that was appended to the Packet because it quotes what the 1931 First Presidency said about attempts to harmonize science with revealed truth (click here).  The words "the document" in the NewsNet article apparently refer to the complete Packet, including the encyclopedia article, not just the Packet's cover letter.

4.  "Selected Quotes"

You linked to a document titled "Selected LDS quotes on evolution" which identifies an April 1910 Improvement Era article as "the only other document on the subject identifiable to the first presidency."  There was no 1910 First Presidency statement on evolution.  The quoted comment did not originate with the First Presidency (click here).

There is also a short excerpt from an April 1911 Juvenile Instructor article by Joseph F. Smith.  As it stands, this item gives a false impression because it is incomplete.  President Joseph F. Smith also published a companion editorial in the April 1911 Improvement Era.  These two 1911 editorials should be considered together (not one without the other).

5.  We Don't Know Everything

I agree that we don't know everything about the origin of man.  In fact, President Packer made that very point in the process of showing that the Church officially opposes human evolution.  He said:

"It is my conviction that a full knowledge of the origin of man must await further discovery, further revelation." (Boyd K. Packer, "The Law and the Light," The Book of Mormon: Jacob through Words of Mormon, to Learn with Joy, Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, BYU, 1990, p. 6.)

No scientist has ever made a trip back in time to actually observe the earth as it was millions or billions of years ago.  You can't even observe the earth as it was yesterday without some kind of recording (a photograph for example) and the very next day that recording is only evidence (granted, sometimes strong evidence) for what really happened the day before.  In the same way, all evidence for evolution is just that—evidence.  I like Hugh Nibley's description of this problem:

"My own children, long before they could read, write, or count, could tell you exactly how things were upon the earth millions and millions of years ago.  But did the little scholars really know?   ' What is our knowledge of the past and how do we obtain it? '  asks the eminent archaeologist Stuart Piggott, and answers:  ' The past no longer exists for us, even the past of yesterday.... This means that we can never have direct knowledge of the past.  We have only information or evidence from which we can construct a picture.'  The fossil or potsherd or photograph that I hold in my hand may be called a fact—it is direct evidence, an immediate experience; but my interpretation of it is not a fact, it is entirely a picture of my own construction.  I cannot experience ten thousand or forty million years—I can only imagine, and the fact that my picture is based on facts does not make it a fact, even when I think the evidence is so clear and unequivocal as to allow no other interpretation."  (The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, vol. 1, ch. 2, 25-27.)"

In the official 1909 First Presidency declaration of Church doctrine regarding man's effort to discover human origins, there is an important and often overlooked warning:

"Man, by searching, cannot find out God. Never, unaided, will he discover the truth about the beginning of human life. The Lord must reveal Himself or remain unrevealed; and the same is true of the facts relating to the origin of Adam's race—God alone can reveal them." (Ensign, Feb. 2002, p. 30.)

I think of this every time I hear it said that science has now discovered "the facts relating to the origin of Adam's race," thus denying that "God alone can reveal them."

There are things we don't know about the origin of man.  But because in 1909 God told us, we DO know He didn't use organic evolution to create man's physical body.

6.  The Church's Current Offical Position

The Church's official position on evolution was announced in the November 1909 Improvement Era and has been reprinted twice in recent years.  The Church's 2000-2001 and 2002 reprints of the 1909 statement update its relevance and give it focus directly to the 21st century.

Regarding the notion that Adam descended "from lower orders of the animal creation," this official First Presidency pronouncement states:

"These, however, are the theories of men.  The word of the Lord declares that Adam was  ' the first man of all men '  (Moses 1:34)."

This has been authoritatively interpretated to mean Adam was not the offspring of "lower orders" of animal life.  The Church's doctrinal position is that evolution does not explain the origin of man's body.

Conclusion

The Church's official position on human evolution is only one reason why the theory is incompatible with LDS doctrine.  Human evolution is impossible without millions of years of death before Adam, yet the concept of "no death before the fall of Adam" permeates LDS literature.  Church magazines and approved curriculum material for the past 37 years repeatedly and consistently teach "no death before the fall."  Current LDS doctrine holds that it was only after Adam fell that the earth and all upon it fell and became mortal.

But that is a discussion for another day.

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"Creation" teachings at LDS.org

The "Gospel Topics" section at LDS.org is "a great resource for answers to questions about Mormon beliefs,... doctrine, policies, practices, and history."  I recommend these articles for the well balanced, authoritative views they provide on a wide variety of subjects.

In this post I will review the article on "Creation," with special focus on its teachings related to the theory of evolution and the doctrine of "no death before the fall."

The article begins with three paragraphs from True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference.  "Adam," it says, "was  ' the first man of all men '  (Moses 1:34)."

Church magazine articles

Links to several Church magazine articles are provided.  These include the following:

1.

"Gospel Classics: The Origin of Man" (Ensign, Feb. 2002, pp. 26–30) is summarized in these words:

"In 1909, amid controversy and questions about the Creation and the theory of evolution, the First Presidency issued this article, which expresses the Church's doctrinal position."  (Emphasis added.)

Regarding the notion that Adam descended "from lower orders of the animal creation," this official First Presidency pronouncement states:

"These, however, are the theories of men.  The word of the Lord declares that Adam was  ' the first man of all men '  (Moses 1:34)."

The meaning of Moses 1:34 becomes clear:  Adam was not the offspring of "lower orders" of animal life.  The Church's doctrinal position is that evolution does not explain the origin of man's body.

In an earlier post (click here) I reviewed an authoritative evaluation of the phrase "these ... are the theories of men."

2.

Elder Russell M. Nelson's April 2000 General Conference talk on "Creation"  (Ensign, May 2000, pp. 84–86) teaches "no death before the fall:"

""The creation of a paradisiacal planet came from God.  Mortality and death came into the world through the Fall of Adam....  Eventually,  ' the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.'  At the Second Coming of the Lord, the earth will be changed once again.  It will be returned to its paradisiacal state and be made new."

In an earlier post (click here) I examined this paragraph in more detail.

3.

"Christ and the Creation by Elder Bruce R. McConkie (Ensign, Jun. 1982, pp. 9-15.) declares that mortality, procreation and death on this earth began with the Fall of Adam:

"The Fall was made possible because an infinite Creator, in the primeval day, made the earth and man and all forms of life in such a state that they could fall.... This first temporal creation of all things, as we shall see, was paradisiacal in nature.  In the primeval and Edenic day all forms of life lived in a higher and different state than now prevails.  The coming fall would take them downward and forward and onward.  Death and procreation had yet to enter the world....

"When the earth was first created it was in a paradisiacal state, an Edenic state, a state in which there was no death....

"The initial creation was paradisiacal; death and mortality had not yet entered the world.  There was no mortal flesh upon the earth for any form of life.  The Creation was past, but mortality as we know it lay ahead.  All things had been created in a state of paradisiacal immortality....

"Then comes the Fall; Adam falls; mortality and procreation and death commence.  Fallen man is mortal; he has mortal flesh; he is “the first flesh upon the earth.”  And the effects of his fall pass upon all created things.  They fall in that they too become mortal.  Death enters the world; mortality reigns; procreation commences; and the Lord's great and eternal purposes roll onward....

"There is no evolving from one species to another in any of this."

4.

" ' In the Beginning ' : A Latter-day Perspective" by Robert J. Woodford (Ensign, Jan. 1998, pp. 12-19) explains that "Adam and Eve ... were placed on earth as immortal beings" and that "mortality came to all living things" through Adam's fall.

5.

"Four Accounts of the Creation" by Keith Meservy (Ensign, Jan. 1986, pp. 50-53) proclaims that "all authentic accounts of the earth's origins have a single source—the Creator of all things, whose explanations come to us through prophets."

This echoes the Church's doctrinal position on origins which is that

"Man, by searching, cannot find out God.  Never, unaided, will he discover the truth about the beginning of human life.  The Lord must reveal Himself or remain unrevealed; and the same is true of the facts relating to the origin of Adam's race—God alone can reveal them."  ("The Origin of Man," Ensign, Feb. 2002, p. 30; see also #1 above.)

Additional materials

Links to additional online materials about the Creation are also provided.

Chapter 37 in Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, "Sons and Daughters of the Eternal Father," contains excerpts from the Church's doctrinal position statement on these issues (see #1 above).

A short BYU Studies article titled "How Do Latter-day Saints Understand the Creation?"  (abstracted from "Creation, Creation Accounts," in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1:340–43) points out that the LDS understanding of the Creation "differs from both scientific and traditional Christian accounts."

Conclusion

Elder Bruce R. McConkie said:  "Unless and until we gain a true view of the creation of all things we cannot hope to gain that fulness of eternal reward which otherwise would be ours"  (see #3 above).  To help us gain "a true view of the creation," the Church has provided a web page with answers to questions about "Creation."

The "Creation" page presents the Church's doctrinal position that evolution does not explain the origin of man's body.  It teaches of a paradisiacal creation with no death for any form of life on earth until after the fall of Adam.

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