A recent Church youth magazine made the following claim:
“The Church has no official position on the theory of evolution. Organic evolution, or changes to species’ inherited traits over time, is a matter for scientific study. Nothing has been revealed concerning evolution. Though the details of what happened on earth before Adam and Eve, including how their bodies were created, have not been revealed, our teachings regarding man’s origin are clear and come from revelation.” (New Era Magazine, Oct. 2016, What does the Church believe about evolution? (churchofjesuschrist.org))
There are several issues here. First this is not a First Presidency statement, it is not in our canon of scripture, and it therefore is not doctrine. One need not accept this opinion piece to remain in good standing in the church. This is just a youth magazine, and the author of the article isn’t even named. Fortunately, the article does have a further reading section where they point you to this more detailed church teaching against evolution: The Origin of Man (churchofjesuschrist.org) What does “The Origin of Man” say about Adam? It says man is “direct lineal offspring of Diety.” It says, “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.” So here we have an article saying no official position, which links to a 1st Presidency statement, which gives the official position! And that official position doesn’t take all too kindly to evolutionary claims!
Why are more and more topics to being classified by members as ‘no official position?’ Elder Boyd K. Packer heard the claim about there not being an official Church position on evolution and responded: “Twice the First Presidency has declared the position of the Church on organic evolution. The first, a statement published in 1909 entitled The Origin of Man was signed by Presidents Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder, and Anthon H. Lund. The other, entitled Mormon View of Evolution, signed by Presidents Heber J. Grant, Anthony W. Ivins, and Charles W. Nibley, was published in 1925. It follows very closely the first statement, indeed quotes directly from it.” (Boyd K. Packer, The Law and the Light, Book of Mormon Symposium, BYU, 30 October 1988)
Next, let’s get more of the partial quote from Elder Holland which the New Era article quoted:
“In our increasingly secular society, it is as uncommon as it is unfashionable to speak of Adam and Eve or the Garden of Eden or of a “fortunate fall” into mortality. Nevertheless, the simple truth is that we cannot fully comprehend the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ and we will not adequately appreciate the unique purpose of His birth or His death—in other words, there is no way to truly celebrate Christmas or Easter—without understanding that there was an actual Adam and Eve who fell from an actual Eden, with all the consequences that fall carried with it. I do not know the details of what happened on this planet before that, but I do know these two were created under the divine hand of God, that for a time they lived alone in a paradisiacal setting where there was neither human death nor future family, and that through a sequence of choices they transgressed a commandment of God which required that they leave their garden setting but which allowed them to have children before facing physical death.” (Jeffrey R. Holland April 2015 Where Justice Love and Mercy Meet Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet (churchofjesuschrist.org))
In that quote, we learned that Elder Holland is aware of evolutionists who are claiming that there was no Adam, that there was no Eden, that there was no fall, and he rejects these teachings as being in direct contradiction to revealed truths of the gospel. None of the spiritualizing of these scriptures, these were actual real events on this earth! We learn about how there was no death before the fall, which rules out evolution entirely. We get a feeling here that Holland is weary of speaking against evolution, but at the same time is trying to not step on too many toes. Line upon line, today’s membership are fragile as glass when anything is said that contradicts the almighty infallible scientists and their temples the universities.
If none of this does it for you, how about our canonized scriptures, aren’t they official? They have plenty to say on the subject. Do we officially believe The Book of Mormon? Do we officially liken it unto ourselves (1 Ne. 19:23)? Do we use the book as a guide to warn us against modern day false teachings?
