Evolution and the premortal spirit of man, conclusion: The body is the clothing of and looks like the spirit.

Man is a dual being, a spirit clothed in a mortal body. The spirits of all men belong to the family of God. The physical body is only the clothing of the spirit:

Gospel Principles:  "Spirit beings have the same bodily form as mortals except that the spirit body is in perfect form (see Ether 3:16).... All spirits are in adult form. They were adults before their mortal existence, and they are in adult form after death, even if they die as infants or children." (2011, Chapter 41, p.242.)

LDS.org Topic: "Spirit. The Lord [has] revealed that ‘the spirit of man [is] in the likeness of his person, as also the spirit of the beast, and every other creature which God has created’ (D&C 77:2; see also Ether 3:7-16)."

Bible Dictionary:  "Spirit. Every person is literally a son or a daughter of God, having been born as a spirit to Heavenly Parents previous to being born to mortal parents on the earth (cf. Heb. 12:9). Thus each one of us is a dual being: an immortal spirit body, clothed with a body of flesh and bone."

Guide to the Scriptures:  "Spirit. The spirit body looks like the physical body (1 Ne. 11:11; Ether 3:15–16; D&C 77:2; D&C 129)."

1909 First Presidency statement:  "The body, which is only the clothing of the spirit, [is] its complement—the two together constituting the soul. The spirit of man is in the form of man, and the spirits of all creatures are in the likeness of their bodies. This was plainly taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith (see D&C 77:2)....

"He [the Savior] came into the world as He had promised to come (see 3 Ne. 1:13), taking an infant tabernacle and developing it gradually to the fulness of His spirit stature....

"Man, as a spirit, was ... reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming upon the earth." (Ensign, Feb. 2002.)

After the spirits of the entire human family had been reared to maturity, Heavenly Father convened a family council and presented a plan. His children would have the opportunity to become perfected and receive a fulness of joy.

Guide to the Scriptures:  "Council in Heaven. The occasion in premortal life when the Father presented his plan to his spirit children who would come to this earth."

Jeffrey R. Holland: "The need for this Fall and for an atonement to compensate for it was explained in a premortal Council in Heaven at which the spirits of the entire human family attended and over which God the Father presided." (Ensign, Mar. 2008.)

That the spirit body looks like the physical body was illustrated by Kent F. Richards in the April 2011 general conference:

“Thirteen-year-old Sherrie underwent a 14-hour operation for a tumor on her spinal cord. As she regained consciousness in the intensive care unit, she said: ‘Daddy, Aunt Cheryl is here,... and ... Grandpa Norman ... and Grandma Brown ... are here. And Daddy, who is that standing beside you? ... He looks like you, only taller. ... He says he’s your brother, Jimmy.’ Her uncle Jimmy had died at age 13 of cystic fibrosis.

“‘For nearly an hour, Sherrie ... described her visitors, all deceased family members. Exhausted, she then fell asleep.’

“Later she told her father, ‘Daddy, all of the children here in the intensive care unit have angels helping them.’” (Ensign, May 2011.)

In the above account, Sherrie's relatives were all spirit children of Heavenly Parents and had all been reared to maturity long before the foundations of the earth were laid. Sherrie was able to recognize her departed relatives because the spirit body looks like the physical body.

Conclusion

As with all of our Father's children, Sherrie's relatives had been born into mortality and each had become a living soul, a spirit clothed with a body. In this life, the spirit must learn to control the body. It is easy for me to understand how, under the influence of its spirit, the body grows until it reaches the stature of its spirit.

There have been billions of people on this earth and I can't even imagine how evolution could have produced a body for each person that looks just like his or her premortal spirit. Therefore, it is very difficult for me to reconcile the doctrine of man's premortal spirit (as taught by the Church today) with current theories of human evolution.

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Evolution and the premortal spirit of man, part 2: The spirits of all men are literally the sons and daughters of Deity.

There is power in the words of the song, "I Am a Child of God." As Dallin H. Oaks explains: "Here is the answer to one of life’s great questions, ‘Who am I?’ I am a child of God with a spirit lineage to heavenly parents. That parentage defines our eternal potential.” (Ensign, Jan. 2010.) Indeed, it is an official teaching of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that the spirits of all men are literally the sons and daughters of Deity:

Bible Dictionary:  "God. Although God created all things and is the ruler of the universe, being omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent (through his Spirit), mankind has a special relationship to him that differentiates man from all other created things: man is literally God’s offspring, made in his image, whereas all other things are but the work of his hands (cf. Acts 17:28–29)."

Bible Dictionary:  "Spirit. Every person is literally a son or a daughter of God, having been born as a spirit to Heavenly Parents previous to being born to mortal parents on the earth (cf. Heb. 12:9). Thus each one of us is a dual being: an immortal spirit body, clothed with a body of flesh and bone."

Guide to the Scriptures:  "Man, Men. Refers to all mankind, both male and female. All men and women are the literal, spiritual offspring of a Heavenly Father. When they are born into mortality, they receive physical, mortal bodies."

Guide to the Scriptures:  "Spirit. Every person is literally a son or a daughter of God, having been born as a spirit to Heavenly Parents before being born to mortal parents on the earth (Heb. 12:9). Each person on earth has an immortal spirit body in addition to a body of flesh and bone."

1909 First Presidency statement:  "All men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity.... Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming upon the earth in a temporal body to undergo an experience in mortality." (Ensign, Feb. 2002.)

According to recent and current apostles and prophets, the spirits of all men are literally the sons and daughters of Deity:

1995 First Presidency and Twelve:  “All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents.” (Ensign, Nov. 1995.)

Thomas S. Monson: "The Apostle Paul told the Athenians on Mars’ Hill that ‘we are the offspring of God.’ (Acts 17:29.) Since we know that our physical bodies are the offspring of our mortal parents, we must probe for the meaning of Paul’s statement. The Lord has declared that ‘the spirit and the body are the soul of man.’ (D&C 88:15.) Thus it is the spirit which is the offspring of God. The writer of Hebrews refers to Him as ‘the Father of spirits.’ (Hebrews 12:9.) The spirits of all men are literally His ‘begotten sons and daughters.’ (D&C 76:24.)" (Ensign, May 2012.)

Dieter F. Uchtdorf: “You are no ordinary beings, my beloved young friends all around the world. You are glorious and eternal.... It is my prayer and blessing that when you look at your reflection, you will be able to see beyond imperfections and self-doubts and recognize who you truly are: glorious sons and daughters of the Almighty God.” (New Era, April 2011.)

It is an official teaching of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that the spirits of all men are literally the sons and daughters of Deity.

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Evolution and the premortal spirit of man, part 1: All men existed in the spirit before any man existed in the flesh.

Science probably can't say whether all men existed in the spirit before any man existed in the flesh. Even some Church members may not agree that all men existed in the spirit before any man existed in the flesh. But no matter what science says or what certain individuals believe, it is an official teaching of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that all men existed in the spirit before any man existed in the flesh:

Bible Dictionary:  "Spirit. The word spirit is used in several ways in the scriptures. Probably the basic use has to do with the conscious intelligent individual entity that had an existence previous to mortality. That is, all forms of living things—man, beast, and vegetation—existed as individual spirits, before any form of life existed upon the earth."

Guide to the Scriptures:  "Spirit. That part of a living being which exists before mortal birth, which dwells in the physical body during mortality, and which exists after death as a separate being until the resurrection. All living things—mankind, animals, and plants—were spirits before any form of life existed upon the earth."

1909 First Presidency statement:  "Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming upon the earth in a temporal body to undergo an experience in mortality.... All men existed in the spirit before any man existed in the flesh." (Ensign, Feb. 2002.)

The Church's Seminary and Institute manuals teach that all men existed in the spirit before any man existed in the flesh:

Pearl of Great Price Student Manual, Religion 327:  “We were all created untold ages before we were placed on this earth. We discover from Abraham 3:22–28, that it was before the earth was formed that the plan of salvation was presented to the spirits, or ‘intelligences.’ This being true, then man, animals and plants were not created in the spirit at the time of the creation of the earth, but long before.” (© 2000, p.9.)

Seminary D&C Student Study Guide: "Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming upon the earth in a temporal body to undergo an experience in mortality.... All men existed in the spirit before any man existed in the flesh." (Quoting the 1909 First Presidency statement.)"

It is an official teaching of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that all men existed in the spirit before any man existed in the flesh.

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