Unofficial and unauthoritative opinion on doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints concerning the Nature of God, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the Plan of Salvation, the Apostasy and Restoration, and Priesthood Authority.
The LDS Church officially does not have an official doctrinal stance for or against evolution. The reason for officially not having a stance is: 1. God hasn’t yet revealed exacly how He did it 2. It wasn’t necessary to exclude well-meaning scientists who believed in evolution and also believed in God. Steven Peck and Terryl Givens are wonderful LDS scholars that fit this description.
My opinion is that there may be a creative solution that rectifies creationism and evolution. I don’t know what this is, but I appreciate the views expresssd here that discuss randomness, creativity, and eternity. I was talking with a work colleague about their concept of heaven and they remotely responded that they’d be singing in a heavenly choir for eternity. After a moment. they admitted that they hoped heaven was more than just that one single activity.
My point is that I think Dr. Peck makes some insightful points about creativity and eternity, even if his views are biased by his belief in evolution. However, I don’t think you have to believe in evolution to arrive at the same conclusions. I suppose I am making an argument based on convergent evolution of truth.
I like several points in the discussion about Job complaining about his lot in life and God showing him whales, with the point that the same nature that rained tragedy on Job produced the wondrous beauty of the whale. Nature is balanced. We shouldn’t be so self-absorbed, entitled and narcissistic. We should deal patiently with our lot in life and understand its purpose and the same natural factors that produce boils, make whales.
I was discussing this interview with a friend and that creationism and evolution were not necessarily at odds with each other. My friend commented that they had to be because creation happened in 7 literal days. I commented about days representing epochs of time and the sun not appearing until day 4. I then said, why should creation happen in a blink from nothing? This is superimposing man’s values and time on creation where we want everything right now and for free. 6 billion years is still a blink for God who is timeless. But God enjoys the journey. There is beauty in each step of creation which is lost if things are conjured out of nothingness. There is beauty snd wonder in the craftsmanship. God experiences joy in the journey.
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