W. W. Phelps on Evolution

W. W. Phelps

Well, now, Brother William, when the house of Israel begin to come into the glorious mysteries of the kingdom, and find that Jesus Christ, whose goings forth, as the prophets said, have been from of old, from eternity; and that eternity, agreeably to the records found in the catacombs of Egypt, has been going on in this system, (not this world) almost two thousand five hundred and fifty five millions of years: and to know at the same time, that deists, geologists and others are trying to prove that matter must have existed hundreds of thousands of years;⁠—it almost tempts the flesh to fly to God, or muster faith like Enoch to be translated and see and know as we are seen and known!

Times and Seasons, vol 5, page 758, Nauvoo, IL: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1844.12.15

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Joseph Fielding Smith

Even the most devout and sincere believers in the Bible realize that it is, like most any other book, filled with metaphor, simile, allegory, and parable, which no intelligent person could be compelled to accept in a literal sense … The Lord has not taken from those who believe in his word the power of reason.

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The thing you need to remember about evolution is that the Lord has never revealed anything about the matter. People have their opinions but the Lord has not revealed the details of how He created the Earth.

David O. McKay

I would like to know just what it is that a man must be required to believe to be a member of this Church. Or, what it is that he is not permitted to believe, and remain a member of this Church. I would like to know just what that is. Is it evolution? I hope not, because I believe in evolution.

More from W. W. Phelps

Do you think that you could ever, Through all eternity, Find out the generation Where Gods began to be?

True science is a discovery of the secret, immutable and eternal laws, by which the universe is governed; and when practically applied, sets in motion the mighty wheels of useful engines, with all the various machinery which genius has invented, or art contrived. It ameliorates the condition of man, by extending the means of intellectual, moral, social, and domestic happiness.