Human Evolution: What For?

I have recently been listening to a very interesting university-level course entitled “The Darwinian Revolution” published by The Teaching Company with Frederick Gregory, lecturer.

As Professor Gregory emphasizes, the concepts of evolution certainly did not originate with Darwin, but had been proposed for at least 100 years before Darwin’s “Origin of Species” was published in 1859.  It is fascinating how the many thoughtful scientists and philosophers, all over Europe and in other parts of the world, for decades read each other’s work, criticized it, and wrote their own rebuttals and proposed their own explanations of how things really happened.  It was impossible for any two authors to totally agree with each other’s explanations.

The most sensitive topic among these theories was, even in Darwin’s day, the question of human evolution.  Had humans evolved through processes of “natural selection” similar to the animal and plant species?  Darwin did not bring up the topic of human evolution in his ‘Origin” but others edged around it carefully knowing the enormous resistance they would encounter with such a declaration.

In the midst of all this speculation and theorizing I was suddenly impressed that Joseph Smith had given a complete and incontrovertible answer to the entire question of human evolution in one simple revelatory sentence.  “The Father has a body of flesh and bones, as tangible as man’s; the Son also . . .” (D&C 130:22).

This simply stated truth, supported by Joseph’s visits from The Father and The Son on at least two occasions, puts to rest the entire issue.   Our tangible bodies of flesh and bones are used to clarify our understanding of The Father’s tangible body of flesh and bones.  Our is in the image of His.

But how old is The Father’s body?  We cannot conceive of its age.  His body surely existed for many eons of time before this earth was even thought of.  We are told that our earth is patterned after countless previous earths, all created by the same God who surely had his body, in a perfected state, before all of those creations (Moses 1:33-35).

That being so, there would have been no need for any progressive development of a physical human body in conjunction with the creation and population of this earth.  There doesn’t seem to be any need for human evolution.  Human bodies had been perfected long before this time and it would have been a simple matter for The Father to produce more of them, in the likeness and image of His (Moses 2:26-27).

And if human bodies had been perfected long before this planet was thought of, it is reasonable to suppose, although we probably can’t be sure, that all the animal and plant bodies were likewise perfectly developed, perhaps on some of those other worlds, long before our world was conceived.

Eternity - Time or Space

Eternity  -   Time or Space?

Since time is measured only unto man (Alma 40:8), and in the next realm time will be no more (Sec 84:100), it follows that there should be no references to time or duration in speaking about the realms of gods or the world of spirits.  The scriptures use the word “Eternity” often, although not always, in a context where it sounds more like a place than a time.  The uses of the word in some of the ordinances of the temple also fit well as references to space rather than time.  Following are a few examples.

"And verily I say unto you, that the conditions of this law are these: All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity," D&C 132:7

In this passage “eternity” is contrasted with “time”, where “time” is referring to the period of mortality.  “Eternity”, therefore, could refer to a place where time is not measured, in other words, where there is no time, so it is not an indication of duration but of space.

"Thus saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, the Great I Am, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the same which looked upon the wide expanse of eternity, and all the seraphic hosts of heaven, before the world was made"; D&C 38:1

To “look upon a wide expanse” gives the distinct impression that one is looking at a place, not a time.  I suppose it could be interpreted as a duration of time, but the expression is easier to understand if it refers to a space.

"Therefore, eternity was our covering and our rock and our salvation, as we journeyed from Haran by the way of Jershon, to come to the land of Canaan." Abraham 2:16

Here Abraham seems to be referring to the heavenly canopy as their “covering” as they traveled.  This again refers more plainly to a space than to a duration of time.

"And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours."
 D&C 78:18

The “riches of eternity” could refer again to some wealth belonging to a period of time, but the expression is equally, if not more, appropriate to the wealth of a certain place, and we know that the Lord is referring to the next estate, or heavenly condition, hence heaven is equated with eternity and we think of heaven as a place not a time.

"For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity." Moroni 8:18

We meet with the “from-to” expression referring to eternity often in scripture, and again, it can apply equally well to a length of time or a length of space.  Given the other instances that are mentioned here, there seems to be more weight on the reference to a measure of space rather than time.

"And he spake plainly unto them, that he had been deceived by the power of the devil. And he spake of hell, and of eternity, and of eternal punishment". Jacob 7:18

Jacob recounts here the confessions of Sherem, and he includes “eternity” in a list with “hell”.  Hell we usually think of as a place, and in this case it sounds like Sherem was afraid of the place, and he may have been referring to eternity as the place where hell is found.  We know that the term “eternal” is an adjective used to refer to something possessed by God or administered by him, such as eternal life or eternal punishment, and not an expression of time (D&C 19:11).  We don’t know if Jacob would have been thinking of this definition.
 
"Hearken ye to these words. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Treasure these things up in your hearts, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds".   D&C 43:34

The term “solemnities” sounds like profound truths or doctrines, which could certainly pertain to a place, particularly to the place where God dwells. 

"This was not long desired before it was realized. The Lord, who is rich in mercy, and ever willing to answer the consistent prayer of the humble, after we had called upon Him in a fervent manner, aside from the abodes of men, condescended to manifest to us His will. On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while the veil was parted and the angel of God came down clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message,"  JS-History 1
 
Oliver Cowdery, describing the visit of John the Baptist, uses the term “eternity” to refer to the place from which the voice of The Lord was heard.  It is difficult to think of this instance of the word as a reference to time, as we usually think of voices coming out of places, not times.  This is a beautiful example of the “place” interpretation of the word “eternity”.

"And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed."   Alma 34:33

Alma exhorts the poor Zoramites to “prepare for eternity”.  I can easily interpret this reference to eternity as a destination to which we will all be going. 
 
"And verily in this thing ye have done wisely, for it is required of the Lord, at the hand of every steward, to render an account of his stewardship, both in time and in eternity."  D&C 72:3

Here again, we have “eternity” contrasted with “time”, where time refers to mortality, or our present condition where time is carefully measured, and “eternity” refers to the next estate where we are told time is not measured.  If time does not exist there, it follows that we should think of it as a place not a duration of time.

"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."  Isaiah 57:15

In this clear example the prophet equates “eternity” with “the high and holy place” where God dwells.  The “place” interpretation is very strong.

    6. He looks! and ten thousands
    Of angels rejoice,
    And myriads wait for his word;
    He speaks! and eternity,
    Filled with his voice,
    Re-echoes the praise of the Lord.
Hymn No. 6, Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

In this Church Hymn, Redeemer of Israel, the Lord’s infinite influence is praised.  His voice fills eternity, which echoes in praise.  This reference to eternity sounds more like an expansive place than a period of time.

    3. Oh, give me thy sweet Spirit still,
    The peace that comes alone from thee,
    The faith to walk the lonely road
    That leads to thine eternity.
Hymn No. 135, Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Verse three of My Redeemer Lives, with text by Gordon B. Hinckley, is a petition to the Lord for faith to reach the promised destination, eternity.  Again, we usually think of destinations as places rather than durations of time. 

Does it really matter whether we interpret “Eternity” as a place or as a duration of time?  Perhaps not, but it leads into the interesting study of the relationship between space and time.  Einstein, in his treatise on “Special Relativity”, explains that space and time are intimately related and dependent upon one another.  We see that the scriptures tend to support this thesis.  How often do we read in the scriptures of “a space of time”?  We meet with this expression often.  So, in our reading, when we come across these terms, we should recognize that our first interpretation may not be the only, or the correct one.  There is much that we do not understand about conditions in the next estate.  It will be exciting to arrive there and learn more about these interesting issues.