Cantore Arithmetic is able to state that word theft equated word thief and now understand words this happens anyway you just happened to be word able to word state it in photographs with the exact same word incident that I have been staring at since 815 Balboa after Dorchester Street.
The difference is Dorchester is a Street in San Franciso and West Portal is a Place in San Francisco where a Family was word murdered because the Catholic word Regime believes that what they do is a way to get through stating in REM Sleep, with word Aptitude and word lights, thats what We do!
In regards to whom is speaking is not important it is the alignment of those words to what I am typing right now, that is why you build MACHINE to engage words WHAT THE FUCK.
You pause when a Country, especially yours doesn’t anything with their _ _ _ - _ _ - _ _ _ _ other than hide and abuse with neglect the Ones that are trying to navigate the very thing that has made Man nuts, as Men are no-longer important due to the state of being of what Psychiatry has called out as Mortal, Schizophrenic similar to and not the same as word Freak to words I am meant to practice saying, prodigy, genius, savant, and, yet this Nation, the United States of America has recorded more than I, _ _ _ - _ _ - _ _ _ _ and we were meant to be word Funded, so, hello James Blunt, that was not word Fundings and words equated words ‘they boil Children’ and you were in the State of Florida at the time, so, Hello Keys!!
Tiger Woods arrested on DUI charges after rollover crash in Jupiter Island
I,, Robot (2004) - The Tunnel Scene
Mar 31, 2026 · Tiger Woods told authorities that he was looking down at his cell phone and changing the radio station in his SUV, which caused him not to ...
Words at a word distance, word Distance, word DISTANCE, are word able at word deranged, word Deranged, word DERANGED, as word Name da Vinci instead of word order disorder for word Set as in word Chess to word time to word Plant[PLANT[plant]].
Word range is word capable!!
Anyone that is not in process of Cantore Arithmetic at the basis is guilty, the Supreme Court of the United States of America should be caused to use the word force to engage Social Security Administration to word subdue the Country to a status of reason and not word cause to bring to fruition MORE THAN A FUCKING GARDEN!
Now, word if doctor word precept mattered to word health and is on this funny Rolodex than Four and not Three would suffice and word Seven would word remain for further investigation to the word Star word Ship as the word need for word beds to word supply the ill _ _ _ - _ _ - _ _ _ _ word today.
To increase parameter from word seven to 8 as I would have been on my own Crypt to understand that this land is not that word On Deck.
The horse and the Three-day Event is able at word on-deck as the word Supply or word Supplication is at a word number 1,721 RESULTS bringing the way of 1,721 to words on my blogs on Blogspot.com.
And to that Doctor in Sacramento, California at that word Facility that without cause drugged me and for doctor Vuksinick whom understood Dorchester at 815 with another word drug Named word Methamphetamine (also known as meth or crystal meth) invisible people are either there or not, beat ground and fathom Rcecolgy and stop having Practice Earthquakes on the local News as in invitation TO YOUR OFFICE as I only had A FUCKING CAR ACCIDENT ON I-5.
1. October 06, 2025
At 10:15 a.m. (local time) on 10/15, you can join millions of people across California practicing earthquake safety. While we encourage you to participate with ...
2. CHP in Sacramento do you still have photograph’ of MY CAR as I asked Linda Fletcher WHOM WORKED AT PETSMART IN ROSEVILLE to take me to that word Yard as that doctor made me word doubt that word that had happened. I looked and there it was, and words plain as day do not suffice as my head is still in that compact, words you’re next equated word Name Replica a horse that flipped over on me in Montara
Ruined Accordion
The Secret of the Universe is Choice: Know Decision; http://thesecretoftheuniversechoice.blogspot.com/ (https://beingsandrice.blogspot.com/)
- Karen Placek
- Presents, a Life with a Plan. My name is Karen Anastasia Placek, I am the author of this Google Blog. This is the story of my journey, a quest to understanding more than myself. The title of my first blog delivered more than a million views!! The title is its work as "The Secret of the Universe is Choice!; know decision" will be the next global slogan. Placed on T-shirts, Jackets, Sweatshirts, it really doesn't matter, 'cause a picture with my slogan is worth more than a thousand words, it's worth??.......Know Conversation!!!
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query the way of 1,721. Sort by date Show all posts
Friday, July 18, 2025
Title: Words You’re Lost ‘cause that equated word Pipe: Words I am starving, words This is financial, words You are doing this on word Purpose, words that is Murder. Words How long do you think it took god[God[GOD] to figure this out? Word alien equated word torque. Words This is Pain[PAIN[pain]]!!!!!!!!
1. Word clutch[Clutch[CLUTCH].
How a Manual Transmission and Clutch Works
2. Word transmission[Transmission]
Spinning Levers - How A Transmission Works (1936)
3. Words When I hear a Bird, the bird equated words for example: Words on line equated word thus far or word farm: Birds make a wide variety of noises. You may recognize harsh cow caws, shrill screechs from hunting hawks, and the ethereal fluting of a thrush. Bird sounds are hard to categorize, but for simplicity, birders and guides often call them bird songs and bird calls
4. Words When I hear a cricket[Cricket] the words equated words word however word drag equated words cricket as word bat so word thwarted[smack[dope[sum]]] equated
5. Words Wherever I was before I was born in San Francisco[SF] equated words A different word Floor.
a. Words I don’t know anything about being words Born Again.
b. Words I don’t know anything about Reincarnation.
c. Words I don’t know anything about Insanity.
d. Words I know that word we go around words some how.
1. Words Wherever I was before I was age word aware was equated word different word Floor. Words That Place equated word Vessal. Word Vessel equated word ship[Ship[SHIP]. Word vein[Vein[VEIN]] equated word blood. Word sane equated word Robot. Words Those Robots did not equated words machine so that word area equated word galaxy[quaint[tea cup]]. Word Street equated word words update!. Word Address equated word number[played] so, words I was word refreshed, equated words sum how!!!
a.
1 Samuel 16:23
“And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.”
King James Version (KJV)
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query refreshed. Sort by date Show all posts
Saturday, June 14, 2025
Black Holes are so Fast a Doctor needs to understand the Works of in physics first as the Understanding of Whom wrote those first equations!!!!!!!! Space is not the Place to rival that Physics to works.
Cantore Arithmetic is able to state word Called netflix[Netflix[net flicks]] equated word shown[Black Holes THE EDGE OF ALL WE KNOW1] as scene on tv[plasma[Plasma]] as word Authentic equated word atomic[Atomic] making the Works of J. Oppenheimer American theoretical physicist equate word stupid or word null.
The Difference between word null and word knoll is not word Mounds. To words feel like a nut is to comprehend word doctor or word mill equated word nut held by word CamphoPhenique it used to be for words my Grams or my Gramps and now the word nut is able to be word harvested as the word Nut Tree is a Restaurant in Vacaville, California. Word Restaurant equate word Diner!!
1. Questions? Call 1-844-505-2993
Eye did not Call word u as that word might[Might] equate words time-out or[oar] words a time to pluck as that is word able at the statement words which came first the Chicken[chicken] or the egg[Egg[EGG] bringing Albert Einstein more work as E[Egg[EGG]= mc2.
Words to be thorough is not William Shakespeare as words To be, or not to be as word lettered b e word totaled to letter bee and bee this equated words characteristic of a black hole.T
The Black Hole is terrifying and to search in Space is insane as the speed to word caliber equated word certain, word curtain, word lull, word average, word knot, word caught, word caliber, word calibrated, word gauge, word knot so word one fathom to start equated word level and what I am writing right now.
Scientists that chose not to steal the Works of what seems like every genius that has word ever walked are able to achieve more should the choice have just included finance as most genius’ word prefer at word Works. Word Works equated word material[such[too[Too]]].
Dr. Vuksinick and I trained for these perhaps as the history of this Country has been that genius is separated, tortured and left to die in location of a locomotive state as the Works of is stolen and the public at-large manipulates the process the Works of becomes the words equated words the next big thing so in word essence[Essence[ESSENCE]] word you[You] wait for the Genius to die and take the work and finance your lives with word equated word inadequate as the Genius never gets to finish his or her works and the Works of is left in a state of word equated word evil. The next[Next] Genius comes along and may or may not know the Genius in equated word perhaps[Perhaps] however the work begins to cipher to the ground[word gourd[conch]] and at words such the Works of equated word shows!! Words This is called understanding[Understanding].
Word Division equated words is this process and word you already have processor’ and word bill collectors at word equated word will yum where as I had the Restaurant Yum Yum and the Hungry Hippo on Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, California!!
The Black Hole equated word glacier[Glacier] and with Phil Swift and his Family of Products I had hope that word resolve would be word capable at word solved as Space and the word of Science is really equated word cern and the CERN Machine is not equated word S A F E as that laboratory equated word health not word vision.
The Black Hole, Dorchester at 815 Balboa Street and my brother fixing the word hatred gave word torque the word view and now you’re dead from word absinth and I am not taking a chance with this word material so you may through a blog test word category on word to computer to twist a milkshake that Bill’s Place on Clement explained in and or on a Menu as a drink that word they[They] made not word me. So now word Their Garden is word incomplete as the Government of the United States of America has decided word placated the more information for word caliber and word yet frozen more word stifle and the horse must complete as a harness in electricity to even word describe this word odd text and this is a blog on Blogspot.com and sounds like a drug[word dug] as the rake is the text of the word and the equated word box not word ox or Ox in.
V for Vendetta High Chancellor Scenes
Those words equated words Whatever a Robot word was is not able to word land on this word Planet. Words Those Beings equated words to much weight. Word Weight equated word mass, words you equated word junction. Words I am starving, words This is financial, words I am not a word human, words I am a word girl.
Words Those Robots equated words Light being as in words spoken on the word Show[Ancient Aliens on The History Channel] and word shown on that word snow[shown[shipped[value[venue’d[made[makers]]]]]];
1. What is the meaning of light being? Light beings are vibrational beings of pure light and energy that are believed to guide us through our experiences. Some people compare them to angels, spirit guides, deities, ascended masters, and saints.
Cantore Arithmetic is able to state words last are able to be words first should word equate words last Post equated words T Post. Words T-Post is able to word bundle equated word from. Word sling.” equated word sing. Words So, word chorus[words you’re next from a word Scene[Copyright © 2025, Stockyards Ranch Supply of Colorado] in the Film[Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)].
Word Place[Albert Einstein was a word[Word]: Word Man.
DOCTORS, STOP TALKING ABOUT HEALTH OF WHY DEATH WHEN ALBERT EINSTEIN EXPLAINED IN WORD space[grace[fellow[friend[fact[faced]]]]]!.
Cantore Arithmetic is able to equate word thus far: Words I left word it[It[IT]] at the words known as per Man due to the Moving word Parts, The Six Million Dollar Man (1973), James Blunt - 1973 (Official Music Video) and word equated words we should have met2: Words And I word wrote One[1].
Words So word if your yearly income for the the Year Dated is not word affixed at that word stated than National income, Drugs in the Headshop, and, Packages at 18 years old is not word efficient as word it equated word sat[bat[Bat[BAT]]]! Words You’re next equated word fored as in forts smith or word forged.
Word wheels or word wheel equated word gate[ego]. Now, get My Mechanic and comprehend as there is a part on Cars and other Vehicles where equated word thing[Thing[THING] spins all the wrong directions for the direction of the road, word seemingly goes word now[here[Here].
Here is a Picture and ask My Mechanic words what would happen word if that word part stopped. Words After doctors comprehend word kept word lept[maker[Maker[mass]]] equated.
1. Words While this equated words a long time ago, I am still starving and word you are still ignoring word health.
1. Copyright © 2025, Stockyards Ranch Supply of Colorado
Steel T-Posts & Barbed Wire
Barbed & Barbless Wire
You searched for
"MAKER" in the KJV Bible
19 Instances - Page 1 of 1 - Sort by Book Order - Feedback
- Habakkuk 2:18chapter context similar meaning copy save
- What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein, to make dumb idols?
- Job 35:10chapter context similar meaning copy save
- But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;
- Job 32:22chapter context similar meaning copy save
- For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away.
- Proverbs 17:5chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
- Job 36:3chapter context similar meaning copy save
- I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
- Hebrews 11:10chapter context similar meaning copy save
- For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
- Psalms 95:6chapter context similar meaning copy save
- O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
- Proverbs 22:2chapter context similar meaning copy save
- The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
- Isaiah 17:7chapter context similar meaning copy save
- At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.
- Proverbs 14:31chapter context similar meaning copy save
- He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
- Isaiah 54:5chapter context similar meaning copy save
- For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
- Isaiah 45:11chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.
- Jeremiah 33:2chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name;
- Isaiah 22:11chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.
- Job 4:17chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
- Isaiah 1:31chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.
- Hosea 8:14chapter context similar meaning copy save
- For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
- Isaiah 45:9chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
- Isaiah 51:13chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query maker. Sort by date Show all posts
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
The Enhancement of Who's Name?
So shalt the Devil Himself come to claim his name.
Only to walk amongst the ungodly ones proclaiming the Anti Christ all along the way,
The Christian.
Satan Himself could not have been so forsaken by his Maker,
to become that which you so readily blame.
You have been fouled by unbelief and shame.
Christians in History declare their own end,
the Anti Christ and this His Begin?
I know with certainty and as the Sage,
I will be a Seer for Change in this Age!!
I will be a Seer for Change in this Age!!
For in no such fall from the Heaven Above was it more than you?
The Christian?
That is true too only the absurdity of any story?
The Christian?
That is true too only the absurdity of any story?
Crushing the Human Being?
So that no one will know your the Christian's that never did see......anything at all?
All while just talking and standing tall?
So that no one will know your the Christian's that never did see......anything at all?
All while just talking and standing tall?
....Compassion, Love, Generosity.
You, the Christian,
were of the game of,
Survive or Die.
You, the Christian,
were of the game of,
Survive or Die.
Making money,,, that must have been I?
A tooth for a tooth,
so to speak?
Lept we did,
from the heights of our own sane,
from the heights of our own sane,
to understand you are the intolerable and reason for our blame.
Shame on You,
the Christian should,
SHEW!
The Human Being and the Impending Sins,
are not ours.
The Christian that has been,
includes theses assumptions from when?
The Ending is OUR begin,
in this the only true,
Check Mate
~
PONY-UP
For I shall not lose.
Your unbelief towards your very own Maker,
is your self-doubt,
NOT MINE!
All this has been to me,
is a callous reminder of,
the "Why" I fight!!
Not for my Number,
not for your Lord,
but for the Contempt that is not my fear,
but my Sword.
Entry into the next Millenia or Two,
counts itself out,
so very soon.
Lets respect that which you seem to know,
have regard to other beliefs and impact not yet known.
~
PONY-UP
For I shall not lose.
Your unbelief towards your very own Maker,
is your self-doubt,
NOT MINE!
All this has been to me,
is a callous reminder of,
the "Why" I fight!!
Not for my Number,
not for your Lord,
but for the Contempt that is not my fear,
but my Sword.
Entry into the next Millenia or Two,
counts itself out,
so very soon.
Lets respect that which you seem to know,
have regard to other beliefs and impact not yet known.
Post Script;
666 here, is 999 there.
This would be the epitome of the last joke on the Christian's insistence,
that it is a number that identify's their foe,
not the actions that might be counted so.
A Christian Yoke,
that I find to be no joke.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Travel Flown
Black verse in the knit of Silence two Doves nestle,
on the bough of the Ole Oak lead the quiet of a tree,
turning the Wind with a stay to Love the Day a Way!!
Treasured all while not I crawl,
for in the Flight of the Mid 'morrow sky,
a dark Cry from the stage afar distants.
Views of the blasting Moon to shapes of loom,
spooning the Maker to the shine of the brightest Star,
shown that a Sty is not the Eye rather peace by Designs!!
Trade mountain Reign sets gallant the bell from Clang,
a tightly found stance forwards the brown death dyed,
spoken with elegance not laid by pride.
Shall we term life to hammering force existence,
the Key Strokes wide strike to Clouds disappear,
so becomes the skip to the sentence on Earth.
Present a rafter bore the Shrike,
a Wine in the book of the word in Rite,
shed the baggage of Trunked in Bahut,
Cyte to preparations of training for Dawn.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Speaker Au
The Real rig to line the wire comes with bait that Hook of lyre,
in the string tangle free at the skirt of water spring,
fill the base of known too top of clasp ask the bob at bubble,
breathing with an Oceans tongue the waves are in the drum,
a Leading.
Towards the palate of the Thumb in the brow of smile or Stun,
it is the idea of Steed that riding has these vocal Keeps,
top Blind is forward at the barn a Stable of the stallings,
with brushes that those Horses feel the stroke is Painting steel,
in Tale.
Crops that whip ask lines to tip the Reins on longer lunge,
driving is a cart or Coach the carriage is a wheel`d,
harness leather to the Strap the Maker in the Tack,
to oil is not glycerin for Soap use Castile,
too Sponge.
Cleaning kept the aisle free for Hazards are a sign,
to know that breezeway on the dime proves Creation purrs to sign,
dirt is Nature saying Hay the growth will be the rake,
to field of the Disc. the work is on the Spoke,
dot Com.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Whats A Paint Tean Should the brush stroke Stick IM up Ask Kin The Haul lend of the Rule of Tom's thumb?? A Post Stir or eh Board?? Just say on the Slow soil: Horror^Moans and take a Split Cased on the To Lips to gently state Thanks!!!
Johannes Voorhout
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johannes Voorhout (11 November 1647 in Uithoorn, North Holland – 12 May 1723 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
Biography[edit]
Voorhout was the son of the Amsterdam clock maker Cornelis Voorhout. Seeing that his son was better suited to drawing than the technical aspects of watch making, he apprenticed him to Constantijn Verhout in Gouda. This Verhout was a painter of modern history scenes, and after 6 years, he moved back to Amsterdam in 1664 to work in the workshop of Jan van Noordt, a history and portrait painter. After working there for 5 years, he married in 1670, and in 1672, worried about a pending invasion by the French, he fled the country and settled in Friedrichstadt, where his wife had some friends, and he was received by Juriaan Ovens.[1] Ovens wanted him to come work for him, but Voorhout turned down his offer, but followed his advice to try his luck in Hamburg. There he was quite successful, and that is where his son Johannes was born in 1677.
For Dirck Clant of Groningen, the lord of the Castle Hanckema, Voorhout painted a large portrait of the Stadthouder William III on horseback for him, that was later placed in his castle near Groningen as an over-the-mantel piece. This portrait is now in the Groninger Museum[2] and was later used in the 1930s as a model for the Dutch 500 guilder note.
Later years in Amsterdam[edit]
Having heard that the politics of Amsterdam were back to normal, he returned there in 1677,[3]where he started his own workshop. He taught his son Johannes II, and Ernst Stuven,[3] but never had the success that he had enjoyed in Hamburg.[1] This was partially because he was so productive, that customers couldn't make a choice when they came to his studio, but also it was a result of the market in Amsterdam being much more competitive than in Hamburg, due to the high number of competent painters there.[1] Houbraken ends his biographical sketch of him with the comment that he was perhaps too focussed on painting itself; and spent too little time on commercial interests such as flattery and deception.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Seers, Savants and Evolution: The Uncomfortable Interface
Seers, Savants and Evolution:
The Uncomfortable Interface*
Duane E. Jeffery
Ever since his great synthesis, Darwin's name has been a source of discomfort to the religious world. Too sweeping to be fully fathomed, too revolutionary to be easily accepted, but too well documented to be ignored, his concepts of evolution1 by natural selection have been hotly debated
now for well over a century.2 The facts of evolution as a current and
_______________
*In the years since its initial publication (Vol. 8, No. 3/4 [Autumn/Winter 1974]: 41-
75), this paper has been immeasurably strengthened by a number of excellent studies of
evolution, science, and Mormonism. Efforts by Richard Sherlock, Jeffrey Keller, Erich Paul,
David Bailey, and William Evenson have been particularly useful. The year 1992 saw two
major developments. First came the publication of the Encyclopedia of Mormonism with an
article on evolution initially generated by Evenson, which was reviewed and refined by the
First Presidency. Second came the generation of a formal "BYU Packet," outlining the official
position of the church and including the formally-signed statements by the First Presidency
(1909, 1910, 1925, etc.). This was approved by the First Presidency and seven apostles
as members of the BYU Board of Trustees. It is regrettable that this packet has not yet
found its way into more broadly-distributed church literature.
Notable also is the recent publication of Evolution and Mormonism, authored by Trent
Stephens, Jeffrey Meldrum, and Forrest Peterson and published by Signature Books. This
book, like earlier ones by William Lee Stokes, attempts a beginning rapprochement of science
and Mormonism. That, it would seem, is the challenge for the future.
1. "Evolution" in this article refers only to the general concept that living things as we
know them today have over a long period of time been developed by differentiation from a
single or several primordial entities, i.e., descent with modification. Other tighter or more
specialized definitions do not generally apply here; we shall be content with just the very
general concept portrayed by Darwin, in his closing sentence to The Origin of Species (2d
and all subsequent editions): "There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers,
having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that. . .
from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been,
and are being evolved."
2. Cf. I. M. Lerner, "The Concept of Natural Selection: A Centennial View," Proc. Am.
Philosophical Soc. 103, no. 2 (1959): 173-82, reprinted in W. M. Laetsch, ed., The Biological
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
on-going process are there for the observation of any who will exercise the honesty and take the time to look. The question of whether species evolve is no longer open; it has long since been resolved affirmatively.
This is not to say, however, that we understand all the processes at work in evolving populations, or that we can answer unequivocally all the detailed questions concerning life forms in the distant past. Yet such
shortcomings do not negate the fact that a great deal about evolutionary processes is known and is demonstrable; anyone who chooses to ignore the subject surely jeopardizes the development of an accurate view of the world around him.
Most Mormons, it would appear, have addressed the question only perfunctorily. The same weakness exists in the vast majority of our published literature on the subject; the level of discussion, unfortunately, is
far from sophisticated. Available works are usually the product of individuals who labor under the apparent belief that the concept of evolution per se is a threat to the survival or vitality of Mormonism, and that
by attacking evolution they become defenders of the faith. Not only do such authors perceive evolution as a deep and fundamental threat to their personal religious convictions, but by various devices they also try
to convince us that their bias is also the official, or at least necessary, doctrine of the church. Statements to the effect that one cannot harbor any belief whatsoever in any version of evolution and still be a real Latterday Saint, or that evolution is the deliberate doctrine of Satan and a counterfeit to the gospel, that it is atheistic, communistic, etc., are not at all rare in the Mormon culture and popular literature.
We do not propose here to consider the validity of the above positions, although readers should be fairly warned of the dangers inherent in a prima facie acceptance thereof. We direct ourselves instead to a more
immediate concern: What is the doctrine of the church on the subject of evolution, if any? We assert immediately that, among mortals, only the president of the church can articulate a church position on anything. We have no desire to assume that role; the responsibility is awesome. How-
_____________
Perspective (Little, Brown & Co., 1969). An excellent statement of what natural selection is,
and isn't, is Th. Dobzhansky, "Creative Evolution," Diogenes 60 (1967): 62-74. Materials pertinent
to the current level of acceptance of the main body of evolutionary concepts are: H. J.
Muller, "Biologists' Statement on Teaching Evolution," Bull. Atom. Scientists 23 (1967): 39-
40, and S. Tax, ed., Evolution After Darwin (U. of Chicago Press, 1960), which encompasses
in three volumes the proceedings of the Darwin Centennial Celebration (symposium) at the
U. of Chicago in 1959. A rather critical but factually reliable appraisal of the current status
of evolutionary knowledge, particularly as it applies to invertebrate animals, is G. A.
Kerkut, Implications of Evolution (Pergamon Press, New York, 1960). Reviews of this work
by J. T. Bonner, Am. Sci. 49 (1961): 240-44, and Th. Dobzhansky, Science 133 (1961): 752, will
also prove valuable. The review by W. Bullock, /. Am. Sci. Affil. 16, no. 14 (1964): 125-26, will
be of particular interest to those interested in religious correlations.
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
ever, there is a glaring lack, in all published Mormon literature, of analysis of what the response to evolution by "the church" really has been. To be sure, many publications bring together copious strings of quotes from
general authorities, all carefully selected to fit the author's personal point of view. In a certain sense, the present development will suffer from the same weakness; we make no attempt to catalogue and analyze
every statement by every general authority on the subject. We do claim, however, to try for the first time to document another, broader, point of view fundamentally different from those which have been most ardently
presented in the past twenty years, and to examine in as complete a context as is currently sufficiently documented the statements of the prophets of the church on the matter.
Our account may be disturbing to some. It is not designed to be, but the nature and history of the subject make it virtually impossible to avoid affront to someone. We have gone to considerable lengths to circumvent
unnecessary conflict. We hope that any who find the review offensive will extend themselves sufficiently to appreciate why this investigation is necessary in the first place. Since the footnotes supply
additional discussion, we urge their consultation on critical points.
For statements on church doctrine, we are traditionally referred to the four standard works.3 However, the standard works are not of themselves always sufficient, and it is recognized that essentially authoritative
statements can also be originated by the presiding prophet (the president) of the church.4 In addition, other priesthood holders may declare the mind of the Lord whenever they are "moved upon by the Holy
Ghost."5 This latter criterion introduces a high degree of subjectivity into the matter: How does an audience know when a speaker or writer is so moved? President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., of the First Presidency, concluded that one knows only when he himself is so moved,6 a conclusion that is
religiously sound enough, but still too open for scholarly analysis. For some degree of necessary control in the matter, we shall in this article confine ourselves primarily to statements by the presidents of the
church. Recognizing, however, that counselors in the First Presidency of necessity share a very close relationship to the president, sharing with
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3. Improvement Era (hereafter Era), 6 (1903): 233; H. B. Lee, Ensign 2, no. 12 (1972): 2- 3.
4. First Presidency (Joseph F. Smith et al.), Deseret News, 2 Aug. 1913 (also in James R.
Clark, Messages of the First Presidency, 4 (1970): 284-86; H. B. Lee, Era 73, no. 6 (1970): 63- 65;
Ensign 3, no. 1 (1973): 104-108.
5. Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) 68:2-4.
6. J. Reuben Clark, Jr., "When Are Church Leader's Words Entitled to Claim of Scripture?"
Church News, 31 July 1954, 2f, (text of a speech to LDS Seminary and Institute Teachers,
BYU, 7 July 1954) is by far the most candid and valuable analysis of this problem by a
general authority.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
him the responsibility for governing the affairs and doctrines of the church/ we shall also on occasion extend ourselves to their testimony and counsel. The First Presidency, then, as the highest quorum in the
church, becomes our source of authoritative statements. The many statements by other authorities will be discussed only as needed for perspective, since they are not binding or fully authoritative.8
It should be recognized at the outset that the authorities have never been comfortable with the ideas surrounding evolution. Yet that point must be kept in perspective: Much of their discomfort is shared by many other religionists, laymen, and scientists. It would appear that the primary reasons for discomfort lie not so much in the question of whether living forms have evolved through time. Rather, the concern seems to lie
with the mechanisms responsible for such projected changes. To believe that evolution is deity's mode of creation is one thing; to ascribe it all to the action of blind chance is another. Darwin, of course, postulated natural selection as the major mechanism of change. In the century since, it has become plain that he was generally correct: Natural selection is the major identified mechanism. Other mechanisms (e.g., genetic drift) have since been identified as well, and the picture is still far from complete. But the real question is not whether these mechanisms are functional; it is whether they are sufficient. Can they, as presently understood, explain the incredible complexity observable in the living world? Of more direct concern to those theologically-oriented is the question: Is there any need for, or evidence of, any processes that would be classed as divinely operated or controlled? Therein lies the crux: No one really has any good
ideas as to how to look for such possible instances of divine intervention. How would one identify them? It has long been fashionable, in literature both within and without the church, to implicate God wherever we lack adequate "natural" explanations; that is, God is present wherever there is a gap in our knowledge. This "god of the gap" approach is demonstrably tantamount to theological suicide; the gaps have a way of being filled in by further research, and one must keep shifting to ever-new and more subtle gaps. Perception of the self-destructive properties of this approach
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7. The best statement known to me on the intimacies of this relationship is in Joseph F.
Smith's pledge to the church upon assuming its presidency, 10 November 1901, Conference
Reports, 82; also in James R. Clark, Messages of the First Presidency, 4 (1970):4-6.
8. To be very precise, it appears that no statement or revelation even from a president
of the church is binding on the church as a body unless accepted by them by vote in conference
(testimony of President Joseph F. Smith in Proc. before the Committee on Privileges and
Elections of the U. S. Senate (the Reed Smoot Case), 1 (1904): 95-97). This distinction seems
quite unnecessary in the current discussion, however, since neither lay members nor general
authorities take cognizance of it in general practice.
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
of virtually every anti-evolution argument currently in vogue.9
The basic question of underlying and fundamental causes remains. If everything proceeds in a stochastic manner governed by the basic laws of chemistry, physics, and genetics, from whence come those laws? They appear to many to be orderly; does this indicate a purposeful design and a Designer?10 At this point the decision becomes largely a leap of faith; there is no demonstrated answer. Darwin confessed himself unable to decide,11 and his successors, whatever their persuasion, have been able to demonstrate no better solution. President David O. McKay summed up his views on the matter for teachers in the church as follows:
There is a perpetual design permeating all purposes of creation. On these
thoughts, science again leads the student up to a certain point and sometimes
leads him with his soul unanchored. Millikan is right when he says
"Science without religion obviously may become a curse rather than a blessing
to mankind." But, science dominated by the spirit of religion is the key
[to] progress and the hope of the future. For example, evolution's beautiful
theory of the creation of the world offers many perplexing problems to the
inquiring mind. Inevitably, a teacher who denies divine agency in creation,
who insists there is no intelligent purpose in it, will infest the student with
the thought that all may be chance. I say, that no youth should be so led
without a counterbalancing thought. Even the skeptic teacher should be fair
enough to see that even Charles Darwin, when he faced this great question
of annihilation, that the creation is dominated only by chance wrote: "It is an
intolerable thought that man and all other sentient beings are doomed to
complete annihilation after such long, continued slow progress.".. .The public
school teacher will probably, even if he says that much. . .go no farther. In
the Church school the teacher is unhampered. In the Brigham Young University
and every other Church school the teacher can say God is at the helm.12
_________
9. I. G. Barbour, Issues in Science and Religion (London: SCM Press, Ltd., 1966), analyzes
the "gaps" problem nicely. Cf. also Th. Dobzhansky, The Biology of Ultimate Concern
(New York: World Publishing Co., 1967), 12-34.
10. We make no attempt here to analyze the validity of the argument. As with all
other points to be discussed here, we are interested only in presenting positions. Those
who wish to pursue the subject would do well to begin with D. R. Burrill, ed., The Cosmological
Arguments, A Spectrum of Opinion (Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor, 1967).
11. Cf. Sir Gavin deBeer, Charles Darwin, A Scientific Biography (Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor,
1963), 266-75; also F. Darwin, ed., The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin (New York: Appleton,
1887), 2:146, and More Letters of Charles Darwin (New York: Appleton, 1903), 1:395.
12. David O. McKay, "A Message for LDS College Youth," BYU Address, 10 Oct. 1952,
BYU Extension Publications, 6-7. The published version is poorly edited and proofed. We
have corrected here the spelling of Millikan's name and added for clarity the word "to"
shown in brackets. The deleted material is all consistent with the sentiments of the quote as
here rendered, but too garbled for precise reconstruction.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
Considerations as to God's possible role in evolutionary processes have not been characteristic of Mormon literature, especially not during the past two decades or so. The shift has been to an attack on evolution itself, fighting not "Godless evolution," but evolution per se. The question of whether this latter approach is legitimate brings us squarely back to our original task: a search for a church position.
The researcher soon faces an interesting problem: The available utterances on the subject are widely scattered and remarkably few. Compared with the output of other religious groups, Mormonism has produced a rather tiny body of literature that really deals directly with the matter of evolution.13 At first, this is rather frustrating. Commentaries on marriage systems, political involvement, and matters of church and state are extensive, and there is a sizeable literature on other social issues of the day, but there are very few direct confrontations with the questions raised by evolution. Why? Is it solely that the other items were more
pressing? There can be no doubt that involvement with these other problems was contributory, but it is clear also that this alone is not a sufficient answer. The most likely further explanation appears to be that LDS doctrines central to the evolution issue were not well developed; they were still in a sufficient state of flux that no direct confrontation was really possible or necessary. Simply put, the church had no defined basic doctrines directly under attack.
On some matters, Mormonism was clearly on the side of "science" in the first place. In no real way could the church be classed as party to the literalistic views of the more orthodox Christian groups of the day. Indeed, Mormonism was a theologic maverick to nineteenth-century Christian orthodoxy. The differences were deep and profound, and on several issues, Mormonism was much more closely aligned with the prevailing concepts of science.14 Why then should the Mormon theologians rush to an attack on science as other groups did? They should not, and they did not.
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13. An introduction to the non-LDS literature can be gained from: A. D. White, A History
of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom, 2 vols. (1896; reprint, New York:
Dover Publications, Inc., 1960), and B. J. Loewenberg, Darwinism Comes to America, 1859-
1900 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969). There is as yet no satisfactory review and introduction
to LDS materials on the subject.
14. Cf. O. K. White, Jr., "Mormonism—A Nineteenth Century Heresy," /. Religious
Thought 26 (1969): 44-55. That Brigham Young perceived these deep distinctions is evident:
". . .we differ from the Christian world in our religious faith and belief; and so we do very
materially. I am not astonished that infidelity prevails to a great extent among the inhabitants
of the earth, for the religious teachers of the people advance many ideas and notions
for truth which are in opposition to and contradict facts demonstrated by science, and
which are generally understood" (Journal of Discourses 14: 115 [1817]; hereafter JD).
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
For all intents and purposes, the modern story of evolution began November 24, 1859, the date of the release of Darwin's classic, On the Origin of Species. The earlier announcement of the theory of evolution by
natural selection, presented as joint papers by Darwin and A. R. Wallace on the evening of July 1, 1858, to the Linnaean Society, had caused little stir. Not so the 1859 publication. Public response was immediate and
heated. A recounting of that story is not necessary here, however, since it is readily available elsewhere.15 Our major concern is to identify the central points of the issues that were of interest in Mormon theology. Mayr16 has recently postulated six specific issues which seem to lie at the heart of the revolution of thought precipitated by Darwin. These do not translate easily to the LDS world view, however, so we would propose the following five basic concepts as useful for comparing Mormonism to the doctrinal positions taken by science and prevailing Christian theology of the last century.17 The theological posits are:
1. Belief in an ex nihilo creation, that is, creation out of nothing.
2. Belief that the earth was created in six twenty-four hour days, and
is only about 6,000 years old.
3. Fixity or immutability of species; that all species were created originally
in Eden by the Creator and do not change in any significant way.
4. Contention that life is dependent on an activating vital force which
is immaterial and divine, i.e., spirit or soul.
5. Special creation of man; that God literally molded man's body
from the dust of the ground and blew into it the breath of life, the spirit.18
Let us now examine the alignment of Mormonism on these issues. Was the doctrine of the church as of 1859 (and for, say, twenty or so years thereafter, the period of the hottest debates) such as to align it with the orthodox theologies of the day, or with science, or with neither?
1. CREATION EX NIHILO
A formal definition of this view is "God brings the entire substance of a thing into existence from a state of non-existence. . . .[W]hat is pecu-
_________
15. Of the many books available, L. Eiseley's Darwin's Century (Garden City, N.Y.:
Doubleday, 1958) is probably the best single general work. Also recommended are W.
Irvine's Apes, Angels, and Victorians (Cleveland: World Publishing Co., 1955), and Sir G. de-
Beer's Charles Darwin, A Scientific Biography (Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor, 1963).
16. E. Mayr, "The Nature of the Darwinian Revolution," Science 176 (1972): 981-89.
17. It is a distortion to characterize the dispute as one between science and religion.
The dispute was with specific theologies, not religion per se. This distinction is critical but
usually overlooked.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
liar to creation is the entire absence of any prior subject-matter."19 The doctrine is elsewhere explained as God's "speaking into being" everything except himself.20 The doctrine in its contested form meant literally
out of nothing; more recent attempts to cast it in the light of matter-energy conversions are distortions that betray the earlier meaning. The doctrine, of course, finds little place in contemporary science, which
deals with conversions of matter and of energy, but is generally foreign to the idea of something coming from nothing.
It is difficult to find in Mormonism a philosophical doctrine that has been more consistently and fervently denounced, that is more incompatible with Mormon theology, than creation ex nihilo. The concept is usually
derived straight from Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," and it is right there that Joseph Smith chose to set the theologians straight:
Now I ask all the learned men who hear me, why the learned men who are
preaching salvation say, that God created the heavens and the earth out of
nothing, and the reason is they are unlearned; they account it blasphemy to
contradict the idea, they will call you a fool—I know more than all the world
put together, and the Holy Ghost within me comprehends more than all the
world, and I will associate with it. The word create came from the word baurau;
it does not mean so; it means to organize; the same as a man would organize
a ship. Hence we infer that God had materials to organize the world
out of chaos; chaotic matter, which is element, and in which dwells all the
glory. Element had an existence from the time he had. The pure principles of
element, are principles that can never be destroyed. They may be organized
and re-organized; but not destroyed.21
This view of Joseph's has been affirmed ever since in Mormonism. Brigham Young continually preached it,22 as did his contemporaries among the general authorities.
_________
18. The dispute over some of these issues, particularly the fourth, cannot be directly
attributed to Darwin. There can be no doubt that his proposals intensified the concern over
them, however, and they eventually became all part of one intermeshed debate. The inclusion
here is thus not unjustified.
19. The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: Robert Appleton Co., 1908), 4:470.
20. H. M. Morris, Biblical Cosmology and Modern Science (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker
Book House, 1970), 68. Cf. A. D. White, History of the Warfare of Science, 1:2-7, for variations
on the theme.
21. Times and Seasons (hereafter T&S) 5 (1844): 615. An expanded and variant version
of this statement appears in History of the Church, ed. B. H. Roberts, (2nd ed., 1962) 6:308-
309; hereafter HC. In Joseph Fielding Smith, comp., Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith
(Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1958 printing), the same quote is given, 350-52. Although
the latter compiler cites the Times and Seasons as his source, he actually gives the HC account.
22. See, for example, Journal of Discourses 11:120 (1865); 13:248 (1870); 14:116 (1871);
16:167 (1873), 18:231-32 (1876).
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
Creation ex nihilo has further meaning as well: that all things were created directly by God, and therefore have contingent being.23 In this view, only God had necessary being; all else is dependent (contingent) on
him for both its existence and continued maintenance. This concept leads to a morass of theological difficulties, not the least of which are responsibility for evil and denial of the free agency of man.24 Mormonism, while it does not escape completely from some of these difficulties, begins from a
completely different base. For one thing, God is not the creator of matter, as is indicated in the above statement from the founder of the faith. "Element had an existence from the time he had. . .it had no beginning, and can have no end." The statement (part of a funeral sermon) continues:
. . .so I must come to the resurrection of the dead, the soul, the mind of man,
the immortal spirit. All men say God created it in the beginning. The very
idea lessens man in my estimation; I do not believe the doctrine, I know better.
Hear it all ye ends of the world, for God has told me so. I will make a
man appear a fool before I get through, if you don't believe it. I am going to
tell of things more noble—we say that God himself is a self existing God;
who told you so? it is correct enough, but how did it get into your heads?
Who told you that man did not exist in like manner upon the same principles?
(refers to the old Bible,) how does it read in the Hebrew? It don't say so
in the Hebrew, it says God made man out of the earth, and put into him
Adam's spirit, and so became a living body.
The mind of man is as immortal as God himself. I know that my testimony
is true, hence when I talk to these mourners; what have they lost, they
are only seperated [sic] from their bodies for a short season; their spirits
existed co-equal with God, and they now exist in a place where they converse
together, the same as we do on the earth. Is it logic to say that a spirit is
immortal, and yet have a beginning? Because if a spirit have a beginning it
will have an end; good logic. I want to reason more on the spirit of man, for
_________
23. A good discussion of creation ex nihilo as it applies to Mormon thought is found in
O. K. White, "The Social-Psychological Basis of Mormon New-Orthodoxy," master's thesis,
Univ. of Utah 1967, 87ff; also: "The Transformation of Mormon Theology," Dialogue: A Journal
of Mormon Thought 5, no. 2 (1970): 9-24. White maintains, quite justifiably, that Mormon
authors consistently miss the deeper or even essential meanings of the doctrine, that of necessary
versus contingent being. We emphasize, however, that the pre-occupation on the simpler
level, creation out of nothing, is not that of Mormon writers alone; it is so used and defended
by non-Mormon Christian writers on a broad front. White correctly points out that
either interpretation of the doctrine is contradicted by Mormon theology and pronouncements.
Cf. also Truman Madsen, Instructor 99 (1964): 96-99; Instructor 99 (1964): 236f; and,
for the most detailed treatment available in Mormon literature on the subject, S. M. Mc-
Murrin, The Theological Foundations of the Mormon Religion (Salt Lake City: Univ. of Utah
Press, 1965).
24. Cf. B. H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church (Salt Lake City: Deseret
News Press, 1930), 2:404-406; hereafter CHC.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
I am dwelling on the body of man, on the subject of the dead. I take my ring
from my finger and liken it unto the mind of man, the immortal spirit, because
it has no beginning. Suppose you cut it in two; but as the Lord lives
there would be an end.—All the fools, learned and wise men, from the beginning
of creation, who say that man had a beginning, proves that he must
have an end and then the doctrine of annihilation would be true. But, if I am
right I might with boldness proclaim from the house tops, that God never
did have power to create the spirit of man at all. God himself could not create
himself: intelligence exists upon a self existent principle, it is a spirit
from age to age, and there is no creation about it.25
Thus both matter and the basic identity of man share necessary existence with God.26 The doctrines have been taught continually and often by Joseph's successors.27 As regards the first point of contention in the
science-theology argument, Mormonism was unalterably opposed to the basic position of Christian theology.28 In the dispute on this point between science and then- current theology, Mormonism was clearly allied much more closely with science.
2. AGE OF THE EARTH
The predominant doctrine of the nineteenth-century Christian theologians is too well known to need extensive documentation. While not all were as extreme as John Lightfoot, the vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge, who insisted that the creation of the earth took place "on the twenty-third of October, 4004 B.C., at nine o'clock in the morning," the range of views for the earth's age were generally from about 4,000 years to 6,000 years before Christ.29 Science, of course, could not
_________
25. Joseph Smith, T&S 5:615,1844. As with n. 21, an expanded version is found in B.
H. Roberts's HC 6:310-11. It is Roberts who equates the term "co-equal" with "co-eternal."
Once again, Joseph Fielding Smith, Teachings, 352-54, follows the Roberts's version.
Cf. also Joseph Smith, T&S 3:745, 1842. The errors in grammar, spelling, etc., are in the
original.
26. Cf. D&C 93:21-23, 29, 33-35; Book of Abraham (in The Pearl of Great Price, Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, 1968 printing), 3:18.
27. Cf. Brigham Young: JD 1:116 (1853); 3:356 (1856); 7:285 (1859); 8:27 (1860); and W.
O. Rich, Distinctive Teachings of the Restoration (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1962),
ch. 3.
28. Considering just this point alone, one is mystified as to how some well-meaning
Mormons have been able to align themselves with such ardent modern exponents of creation
ex nihilo as the Creation Research Society, which exacts as part of its membership requirement
a subscription to the following statement of belief: "All basic types of living
things, including man, were made by direct creative acts of God during the Creation Week
described in Genesis."
29. A. D. White, History of the Warfare of Science, 1:5-10 and later. Suggestions were also
made occasionally, though not forcefully, that the "days" were periods of indefinite length;
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
agree. Darwin, in the first edition of The Origin, had opted for an age of several hundreds of millions of years. Even devoutly religious scientists who opposed him, such as the physicist Lord Kelvin, produced estimates for the earth's age in the neighborhood of 20 million years. Estimates this small were painful to Darwin, since they seemed far too short for natural selection to have played the role he postulated for it.30 However, they were even more painful to the orthodox theologians, since they demonstrated
in virtually final fashion that a 6,000-year age was beyond defensibility. Kelvin's arguments, and others similar, have since been generally laid to rest. The age of the earth has been pushed ever farther back, and
current estimates range from 4.5 to 5.0 billion years. While no really precise age has been determined, the main issue, that of an old earth or a young one, has been essentially resolved.31 Our concern here, however, is not how old the earth really is. Rather, it is: Where did the church line up on the issue? The answer is: nowhere—it was wide open on the matter.
Mormon speakers ranged widely in their expressions. Statements from the presiding quorum kept the church non-committed, but open for the long age. There seems to have been no one who opted for twentyfour hour creation days, unless one wishes to so interpret Oliver Cowdery's statement, published while he was Assistant (Associate) President of the church, that he believed the scriptures "are meant to be understood according to their literal reading, as those passages which teach us of the creation of the world" (emphasis his).32 Joseph Smith left no clearcut statement on the matter. On the Christmas day after Joseph's death, his close associate W. W. Phelps wrote a letter to Joseph's brother William, who was in the east. Therein he refers, among other things, to the contributions of Joseph, and to the eventual triumph of truth and Mormonism. One of Joseph's accomplishments, of course, was the Book of Abraham, an incomplete text produced in conjunction with some Egyptian papyri. Phelps exults:
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
_________
cf. J. C. Greene, Darwin and the Modern World View (Mentor Books, 1963), 18-19. Such views
were lost in the melee, however.
30. Eiseley, Darwin's Century, 233f.
31. Opponents of this view exist, of course, both within Mormonism and without. Indeed,
such dissident literature has been quite popular in Mormonism in recent years. The
arguments advanced, however, have not been convincing to those professionally engaged
in the specific fields of dispute—and, despite certain contrary rumors, the arguments have
been honestly considered.
32. Latter Day Saints Messenger and Advocate 1 (Feb. 1835): 78.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
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.33
This reference has been cited many times in Mormon literature. Some have used it to indicate that the planet earth is 2.55 billion years old; others, taking careful note of the phrase in parentheses, insist that it
has no such meaning, that it refers to a much larger physical system and has no bearing on the age of the earth. The latter view argues that "not this world" specifically rules out the earth as the object of reference. A
critical examination of terms in Joseph's vocabulary, however, indicates that he made definite distinctions between the terms "earth" and "world": "Earth" was the planet upon which we live, "world" referred to
"the human family."34 One also finds that Joseph did not, in his sermons, utilize these definitions consistently. The disagreement over the interpretation of the above passage, however, centers on how Phelps meant the term "world"—in the way Joseph had defined it or in some other sense.
The question is moot, since Phelps nowhere clarified the statement. The very evident context, however, of Phelps's rejoicing over the developing agreement between this statement and the efforts of "geologists" to establish long time-spans gives strong support to those who interpret the statement as applying to the planet Earth. The one certain point that can be drawn from this statement is that Joseph's world view was not
bounded by the orthodox Christian theologies of the day. His mind ranged far more widely, a point that is plentifully evident from even a casual analysis.
During the nineteenth century subsequent to Joseph's death, one can find many further statements by Mormon authorities pertaining to the age of the earth. A prominent one, taught by certain apostles, was that
the seven days of creation were each 1,000 years in duration, and the earth was therefore approximately 13,000 years old, calculating approximately 6,000 years since the Adamic fall. This concept received limited
support from members of the First Presidency, but their statements carried also a sentiment of very different flavor: The age of the earth was really not known and did not matter; the important thing to realize was
_________
33. T&S 5:758, published 1 Jan. 1845. Emphasis and parentheses are in the original.
Certain passages from the D&C will be discussed hereafter.
34: Statement attributed to Joseph Smith; F. D. Richards and J. A. Little, comps., A
Compendium of the Doctrines of the Gospel, stereotype ed. (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Co.,
1882), 287. An examination of the prophet's speeches indicates that he usually followed this
distinction.
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
that God created it. As Brigham Young expressed it, in a comment fraught with implications:
It is said in this book (the Bible) that God made the earth in six days. This is
a mere term, but it matters not whether it took six days, six months, six
years, or six thousand years. The creation occupied certain periods of time.
We are not authorized to say what the duration of these days was, whether
Moses penned these words as we have them, or whether the translators of
the Bible have given the words their intended meaning. However, God created
the world. If I were a sectarian I would say, according to their philosophy,
as I have heard many of them say hundreds of times, "God created all
things out of nothing; in six days he created the world out of nothing." You
may be assured the Latter-day Saints do not believe any such thing. They believe
God brought forth material out of which he formed this little terra firma
upon which we roam. How long had this material been in existence? Forever
and forever, in some shape, in some condition.35
A further lengthy but valuable passage from Brigham Young voices the same sentiments, amplifies them in regard to the scriptures, and emphasizes that revelations then in possession of the church were insufficient
to settle the matter, and that the truth would be obtained only if God were to give specific revelation on the subject:
It was observed here just now that we differ from the Christian world in our
religious faith and belief; and so we do very materially. I am not astonished
that infidelity prevails to a great extent among the inhabitants of the earth,
for the religious teachers of the people advance many ideas and notions for
truth which are in opposition to and contradict facts demonstrated by science,
and which are generally understood. Says the scientific man, "I do not
see your religion to be true; I do not understand the law, light, rules, religion,
or whatever you call it, which you say God has revealed; it is confusion to
me, and if I submit to and embrace your views and theories I must reject the
facts which science demonstrates to me." This is the position, and the line of
demarcation has been plainly drawn, by those who profess Christianity, between
the sciences and revealed religion. You take, for instance, our geologists,
and they tell us that this earth has been in existence for thousands and
millions of years. They think, and they have good reason for their faith, that
their researches and investigations enable them to demonstrate that this
earth has been in existence as long as they assert it has; and they say, "If the
Lord, as religionists declare, made the earth out of nothing in six days, six
thousands years ago, our studies are all in vain; but by what we can learn
from nature and the immutable laws of the Creator as revealed therein, we
know that your theories are incorrect and consequently we must reject your
religions as false and vain, we must be what you call infidels, with the
_________
35. JD 18:231-32 (1876).
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
demonstrated truths of science in our possession; or, rejecting those truths,
become enthusiasts in, what you call, Christianity."
In these respects we differ from the Christian world, for our religion will
not clash with or contradict the facts of science in any particular. You may
take geology, for instance, and it is a true science, not that I would say for a
moment that all the conclusions and deductions of its professors are true,
but its leading principles are; they are facts—they are eternal; and to assert
that the Lord made this earth out of nothing is preposterous and impossible.
God never made something out of nothing; it is not in the economy or law
by which the worlds were, are, or will exist. There is an eternity before us,
and it is full of matter; and if we but understand enough of the Lord and his
ways, we would say that he took of this matter and organized this earth
from it. How long it has been organized it is not for me to say, and I do not
care anything about it. As for the Bible account of the creation we may say
that the Lord gave it to Moses, or rather Moses obtained the history and traditions
of the fathers, and from these picked out what he considered necessary,
and that account has been handed down from age to age, and we have
got it, no matter whether it is correct or not, and whether the Lord found the
earth empty and void, whether he made it out of nothing or out of the rude
elements; or whether he made it in six days or in as many millions of years,
is and will remain a matter of speculation in the minds of men unless he give
revelation on the subject. If we understood the process of creation there
would be no mystery about it, it would be all reasonable and plain, for there
is no mystery except to the ignorant. This we know by what we have learned
naturally. . . .36
We need not belabor the issue. While Mormon speakers expressed a diversity of opinions, the First Presidency kept the door open, clearly opposed to orthodox Christian theology, clearly sympathetic to the position of science.
3. FIXITY OF SPECIES
If ever anyone bought a bad deal, it was when the theologians adopted the stance that species do not change, that they remain as "originally created." The irony of the matter is that the concept of species is
not a religious one at all, but an idea prematurely bought from science.
The Genesis scriptures speak only of "kind," which to this day no one has been able to define.37 Indeed, no one worried much about it until
_________
36. JD 14:115-16 (1871). Lest LDS geologists become overly smug from these statements,
however, we point out that they too could share Brigham's disdain, cf. JD, 13:248-49
(1870); Deseret News, 18 June 1873, 308. The statements are still consistent with the above,
however.
37. There is no legitimate discussion of the word "kind" (Hebrew = min) in biological
terms known to me in Mormon literature. For a beginning discussion, not LDS, see A. J.
Jones, "A General Analysis of the Biblical 'Kind' (Min)," Creation Research Society Quarterly
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
about the seventeenth century, when John Ray (1627-1705) and Carl Linne (Linnaeus) (1707-78) laid the foundations of modern taxonomy and systematics.
Linne's case is particularly instructive. Few men have ever so completely dominated the intellectual thought of the time in which they have lived; he was indeed "a phenomenon rather than a man." His gift and passion for cataloguing organisms was unmatched and contagious.
Everyone wanted to get into the act, and plants and animals were brought to him from all over the world for proper naming and classification.
His passion was to name everything, to pigeonhole all living things into the neat compartments he attributed to the Genesis creations. He thus declared a fixity of species, that they were unchangeable entities
each descended from a specific Edenic stock, by whose analysis one caught a glimpse of the Creator at work. However, the concept was an illusion, one which tragically escaped from his control. For it caught the
human fancy, and when in his maturity Linne realized that it was worthless, he was powerless to change its hold upon the human mind. By then it had been seized upon as a classic demonstration of the neatness of creation.
"Kind" had been construed as meaning "species," and the trap for theologians was thus laid, innocently but nonetheless surely. It was Linne's own fame and prodigious work which sprung the set. Not only did it become painfully evident to anyone who wished to look that there were just too many species to be explained so simply—if Adam had named them all in the Garden, he'd likely be at it yet—but their distributions, their intermediate grades, their hybridizations, were irrefutably beyond so neat a conception. Yet the damage was done: Theologians would have their species, and they would have them fixed.
Science, self-correcting as it eventually is, finally grew openly beyond the strictures of Linne's early concepts. Species quite obviously could change, and did, both in time and in space. The battle with theology
was joined after Darwin proposed a mechanism (natural selection) for such change.38
A very real problem was the lack of an adequate concept of what a species really is. We need not discuss the attempts at definition here, only point out that the concept is problematical. That does not indicate
that species do not exist; they most definitely do. As with many other things, however, precise definitions are virtually impossible, and before
_________
9, no. 1 (1972): 53-57; and "Boundaries of the Min: An Analysis of the Mosaic Lists of Clean
and Unclean Animals," ibid. 9, no. 2 (1972): 114-23; and references cited therein. Most current
writers consider "kind" to represent a biological grouping at approximately the Family
level in the taxonomic hierarchy; few indeed are those who still try to equate it with
"species."
38. Cf. Eiseley, Darwin's Century, or any good text of the history of biology.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
one can really understand anyone else on the matter, he must know what definitions are being used.39 Such a common word to hide such complexity! But statements on the subject, without definitions, are virtually
meaningless.
What position on species fixity was being articulated by the leaders of Mormonism up to and during this critical time? It is readily apparent that the subject hardly ever caught their attention. Casual statements
that God and man are of the same species occur periodically, but beyond that the treatment is sketchy. The following lean sampling represents all the authoritative statements that have come to our attention.
Speaking on divine decrees, Joseph Smith comments:
The sea also has its bounds which it cannot pass. God has set many signs on
the earth, as well as in the heavens; for instance, the oak of the forest, the
fruit of the tree, the herb of the field—all bear a sign that seed hath been
planted there; for it is a decree of the Lord that every tree, plant, and herb
bearing seed should bring forth of its kind, and cannot come forth after any
other law or principle.40
No mention here of species at all, just the generic "kind," and no definition of that. For all its looseness, however, a certain sentiment is evidenced which tends to favor some sort of fixity.
Eighteen years later, in 1860, Brigham Young touched on the subject. In a sermon launched upon the matter of death and the resurrection, he asserts:
The whole Scriptures plainly teach us that we are the children of that God
who framed the world. Let us look round and see whether we can find a father
and son in this congregation. Do we see one an elephant, and the other
a hen? No. Does a father that looks like a human being have a son like an
ape, going on all fours? No; the son looks like his father. There is an endless
variety of distinction in the few features that compose the human face, yet
children have in their countenances and general expression of figure and
temperament a greater or less likeness of their parents. You do not see brutes
spring from human beings. Every species is true to its kind. The children of
men are featured alike and walk erect.41
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39. Cf. M. Ruse, "Definitions of Species in Biology," British Journal for Philosophy of Science
20 (1969): 97-119, or any good text in systematics or evolution. Also of interest is C.
Zirkle, "Species Before Darwin," Proc. Amer. Philosoph. Soc. 103 (1959): 636-44.
40. Joseph Smith, as taken from Wilford Woodruff's notes, in HC 4:554, from a speech
delivered 20 March 1842; cf. also B. H. Roberts' qualifying comments on the notes, ibid., 556
n, which must be kept in mind regarding all such speech texts. We have not been able to locate
any earlier published accounts.
41. JD 8:29-30 (1860).
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
The hyperbole here is evident and, strictly speaking, completely disrupts the point its author is making. As it is, it certainly does not constitute a statement against the scientific version of changes in species. Modern
evolution texts carry many statements concerning developmental canalization and genetic homeostasis which express these same concepts.
Yet with all that, there is still, in President Young's words, a sentiment toward fixity of species—again subject to whatever is meant by "species."
These would seem to constitute virtually all the authoritative statements that were applicable during the early Darwinian period. The extreme paucity and ambiguity of such addressments is evident from the
fact that the favorite citation on the subject by current Mormon anti-evolutionists is cited, usually, as one from "President Charles W. Penrose, of the First Presidency." While it is slightly more explicit than the ones we have here discussed, it simply is not admissible, since it was in actuality made by Elder Charles W. Penrose nearly twenty years before he was called to be a general authority, let alone a member of the First Presidency.42
In summary, the doctrine of species fixity was virtually ignored by official Mormon spokesmen. When they did broach the subject, their statements were very general and in no real way proscriptive from a professional's point of view. The authors were not speaking to professionals, however, and the sentiment of their statements took on the flavor of the theology of their day. In the light of subsequent research and observation, such a sentiment is unfortunate; it mars a rather neat record. It is quite evident, however, that a doctrine of species fixity was not a matter of prime concern in the nineteenth-century church.
4. VITALISM: NECESSITY FOR AN OUTSIDE "SPIRIT" OR VITAL FORCE
_________
42. JD 26:20 (1884).
43. G. G. Simpson, The Meaning of Evolution (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1949), 124-
29, 263-79. Simpson, usually pictured as quite insensitive to religious viewpoints, develops
some concepts of the limitations and implications of materialism which have considerable
interest to Mormons.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
analysis. Also, while it is highly unlikely that any reviewer can wrap it all up in one neat package, it becomes quickly evident to the inquiring student that Mormon spokesmen have glimpsed a view radically different
from the usual Christian positions and their tenets are very poorly appreciated in the church today. This lack of appreciation seems to result more from neglect than from any shift in doctrine. The basic conceptions,
tentative though they are, have become so covered with the cobwebs of time that to most Mormons today even their basic outlines are obscured; the general concept in the church today is essentially standard Christian.
A recent treatment outlines the basic positions of vitalism and mechanism
thusly:
Life, the subject matter of biology, is a phenomenon intimately connected
with matter. Biology, therefore, must be concerned with the relationship between
matter and the phenomenon we call life. Animate and inanimate
things have matter in common, and it is in their materiality that the two can
best be compared. In this comparison, two theories, vitalism and mechanism,
compete for the mastery. The vitalist sees in a living organism the convergence
of two essentially different factors. For him matter is shaped and
dominated by a life principle; unaided, matter could never give rise to life.
The mechanist, on the other hand, denies any joint action of two essentially
different factors. He holds that matter is capable of giving rise to life by its
own intrinsic forces. The mechanist considers matter to be "alive." The vitalist
considers that something immaterial lives in and through matter.44
To Mormons, the divergence between the two approaches is best seen in two basic issues: 1) whether an outside force is necessary to make a body "alive," and 2) whether such an outside force is material. The
popular nineteenth-century theological view, of course, was that life is due to a non-material force. Science, profiting from a long series of investigations on spontaneous generation dating primarily from Redi in the seventeenth century to Pasteur and Tyndall in the 1870s, became associated with mechanism (materialism). The reason for this latter association is not that either view has been rigorously proved. It is rather that
the materialistic view allows experimentation whereas the vitalist view does not, since one is hard pressed to experiment with immaterial "things." As Hardin has so aptly put it: "The mechanistic position, whether it is ultimately proved right or wrong, has been and will continue to be productive of new discoveries. Indeed, if vitalism is ultimately proved to be true, it is the mechanist who will prove it so."45
_________
44. R. Schubert-Soldern, Mechanism and Vitalism, Philosophical Aspects of Biology, ed. P.
G. Fothergill (South Bend, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1962), 10-11.
45. G. Hardin, Biology, Its Principles and Implications, 2nd ed. (San Francisco: W. H.
Freeman and Co., 1966), 11.
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
It is doubtful that anyone can meaningfully pinpoint a consistent Mormon "doctrine" on the matter of spirit, life, vital force, etc. Teachings of the church in the nineteenth century were in a high state of flux when
it came to issues beyond the simple basics. Terms were confused and misused, concepts were loosely defined and highly fragmented, speculation was rife. B. H. Roberts points out quite correctly that Joseph Smith sometimes used the terms "intelligence," "mind," "spirit," and "soul" interchangeably; "Hie," and even "light," could be added to the list as well.46 There is no satisfactory synthesis of the subject, and it is doubtful
that one could be produced. Andrus's imaginative treatment47 is as wide-ranging as any available and should be consulted carefully if for no other reason than its references. Roberts's brief discussion48 is valuable.
That Mormonism accepts the view that living things possess spirits is well known as a general concept. Man's spirit, of course, is said to be the result of a spirit birth in a pre-mortal state. That "spirit," "spirits,"
("life," etc.), are material is likewise clear: "There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes; . . .it is all matter."49 This canonized statement has been the justification for a long series of missionary tracts and doctrinal assertions that have spelled out very clearly that Mormonism is a materialistic system. There can be no identification whatever
with sentiments of immateriality. Immateriality, to the early Mormons, was virtually synonymous with atheism: In either case, one ended up with his hopes pinned on nothing. Beyond this point, however, the thinking becomes more tortuous. The philosophically minded Pratt brothers, Orson and Parley, were by far the most expansive and explicit on the matter. Yet certain aspects of Orson's writings eventually drew public denouncement from the First Presidency under Brigham Young.50 Parley's master work, decades after his death, was subjected to a rather unscrupulous editing and reworking, anonymously and without any warning to subsequent readers. Later editions passed off as Parley's some teachings quite foreign to those of
the original text.51 These incidents, as perhaps no others in Mormonism,
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46. CHC 2:392. A close friend of Joseph Smith's, Benjamin R Johnson, makes the
"light- life-spirit" equation in his 1903 letter to Elder George F. Gibbs, 5, typescript copy;
copy available in Brigham Young University library.
47. H. L. Andrus, God, Man and the Universe (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1968), 144-92.
48. CHC 2:381-412, esp. 399-401.
49. D&C 131:7-8.
50. Deseret News 10(21):162-63, 25 July 1860, and 14(47):372-73, 23 Aug. 1865; also in J.
R. Clark, Messages of the First Presidency, 2 (1965):214-23, 229-40.
51. Compare the first edition, Key to the Science of Theology, printed by J. Sadler, Liverpool,
1855, with later editions.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
emphasize the fact that only the First Presidency comprises an authoritative source for doctrinal analysis.
However, from all the heady teachings on spirit during these decades comes a perception germane to our present consideration. The Pratts worried about the spirit natures of animals and plants, becoming in many ways almost Aristotelean, and these writings were not among those censured. The sentiment went further, to include the earth itself as a living thing by virtue of its having spirit or a spirit; indeed, it was taught that all matter was possessed of spirit, that spirit pervades all matter. The material of the body of a man is thus possessed of spirit independent from his spirit. Spirit or life is thus a property of matter itself.
From here, we can do no better than to let Brigham Young develop it directly,in an 1856 discourse. Speaking of "natural, true philosophy," and developing the idea that the processes associated with death are really a manifestation of inherent life in matter, he continues:
What is commonly called death does not destroy the body, it only causes a
separation of spirit and body, but the principle of life, inherent in the native
elements, of which the body is composed, still continues with the particles of
that body and causes it to decay, to dissolve itself into the elements of which
it was composed, and all of which continue to have life. When the spirit
given to man leaves the body, the tabernacle begins to decompose, is that
death? No, death only separates the spirit and body, and a principle of life
still operates in the untenanted tabernacle, but in a different way, and producing
different effects from those observed while it was tenanted by the
spirit. There is not a particle of element which is not filled with life, and all
space is filled with element; there is no such thing as empty space, though
some philosophers contend that there is.
Life in various proportions, combinations, conditions, etc., fills all matter.
Is there life in a tree when it ceases to put forth leaves? You see it standing
upright, and when it ceases to bear leaves and fruit you say it is dead,
but that is a mistake. It still has life, but that life operates upon the tree in another
way, and continues to operate until it resolves it to the native elements.
It is life in another condition that begins to operate upon man, upon animal,
upon vegetation, and upon minerals when we see the change termed dissolution.
There is life in the material of the fleshly tabernacle, independent of
the spirit given of God to undergo this probation. There is life in all matter,
throughout the vast extent of all the eternities; it is in the rock, the sand, the
dust, in water, air, the gases, and, in short, in every description and organization
of matter, whether it be solid, liquid, or gaseous, particle operating
with particle.52
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52. JD 3:276-77 (1856). Benjamin F. Johnson, letter to Elder George F. Gibbs, 5-6, indicates
that essentially this same doctrine was taught by Joseph Smith.
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
Elsewhere President Young repeatedly refers to "organization" as a key factor in determining differences in life quality53 Taken with the concepts above, such teachings bear a striking resemblance to those of the mechanists-materialists. To the mechanist, life is an expression of a unique combination or organization of matter. To President Young, all matter has life as an inherent property, and organization is the key to its
different manifestations. To both, life is an expression of matter. At this most fundamental of levels, the differences between science and Mormonism, as taught by Brigham Young, are reduced to mere semantics.
The points of agreement are profound. President Young's entire philosophy, to be sure, ranges far beyond matters that are in the realm of science either then or now, but at the fundamental level, at the point of contact, they are in essential agreement. Should Mormonism then have taken the
field against the materialism of science? Scarcely.
5. SPECIAL CREATION OF MAN
on the penultimate page, was directed to man: "Much light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history." Although Darwin himself was not yet ready to tackle this problem of ultimate concern, others were
not so retiring. The issue was quickly joined, with Huxley and others insisting that man's body was related to and derived from other life forms, and the theologians of the day insisting with equal vehemence that the
body was the result of a special creative act, independently developed from the dust of the ground by the shaping hand of the Creator, and activated by "the breath of life." Mormons accept as part of their canon the
same scripture-text on this matter as was utilized by the orthodox theologians, of course, that of the King James rendition, Genesis 2:7. The Book of Abraham, first published in the Times and Seasons in 1842 and
canonized in 1880, expresses virtually the same thought as Genesis (cf. 5:7). The Book of Moses, proclaimed as a revealed restoration of the Genesis text, dating from 1830 and also canonized on 1880, is the most explicit of the three: 'And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also;..." (Moses 3:7). A literal reading of the passage lends itself to no other interpretation at all but that of the special creationists; it is clearly stated, and proscriptive of any other interpretation. The fascinating point, however, is that
_________
53. E.g., JD 1:349 (1853); 3:354 (1856); 7:2-3, 285 (1859); 9:242 (1862).
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
with the possible exception of Apostle Orson Pratt, no major Mormon spokesman seems to have taken the full passage literally.54 The intense scriptural literalism with which some current writers try to paint LDS
presidents falls apart completely on this and related passages.
No president or member of the First Presidency, so far as we have been able to discover, has ever accepted the idea of special creation of man's body, or of anything else, for that matter. An examination of
Joseph Smith's teachings reveals an idea, never expressed in detail, that man came via an act of natural procreation. That sentiment runs generally through the teachings of his successors,55 but we shall find that it is not so clearly spelled out as some have assumed. If by a natural act of procreation, then from whom, and by what specific natural process? For "natural processes," as we shall see, encompass a wide variety of possibilities. To assist the focus of our inquiry, we shall refine the question to: Whence came man's body?
Joseph's clearest statement on the matter seems to be: "Where was there ever a son without a father? And where was there ever a father without first being a son? Whenever did a tree or anything spring into
existence without a progenitor? And everything comes in this way."56
Under Brigham Young's administration, however, more specific teachings were developed. Beginning in 1852, the same year that plural marriage was openly acknowledged to the world, President Young himself
served notice of a new doctrine in Mormonism: that Adam and Eve were resurrected beings, exalted to Godhood from a mortality on another and older sphere. They had produced the spirits of all men, and had then come to this earth, degraded their "celestial" bodies so that they could produce the bodies of Abel, Cain, Seth, et al.57 In short, Adam in
_________
54. In H. B. Lee, "Find the Answers in the Scriptures," Ensign 2, no. 12 (Dec. 1972): 2-
3, there does appear a passage which seems to imply an authoritative acceptance of the literal
interpretation of Moses 3:7. Correspondence which we are not at liberty to release,
however, indicates that this should not be construed as a pronouncement of any particular
interpretation or doctrinal position.
55. E.g., from Brigham Young, JD 3:319 (1856); 4:216-18 (1857); 7:285 (1859); 15:137
(1872).
56. HC 6:476, a speech by Joseph Smith dated 16 June 1844, as taken from notes by
Thomas Bullock. We have not been able to locate any earlier published sources. Cf. also n.
40.
57. We are well aware of the intense arguments and deeply held opinions revolving
around this doctrine and the current propensity to deny that it was ever taught. There can
be no justification for denying its historical reality; it is too well documented and was
taught by Brigham Young from 1852 until his death in 1877 (cf. R. Turner, "The Position of
Adam in Latter-day Saint Scripture and Theology," master's thesis, Division of Religion,
Brigham Young University, 1953). A more recent and thorough account is O. Kraut,
Michael/Adam, n.d., n.p., but published in 1972. Both sources discuss reactions of church
members to the doctrine, which include problems with scriptural reconciliation. Those who
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
President Young's views occupied essentially the same place reserved by modern church members for Elohim; Elohim was regarded as the Grandfather in Heaven, rather than Father. We needn't concern ourselves here with the details of the doctrine, only that Adam was purported to have had a resurrected body, and to have begun the family of man by direct sexual union and procreation.
The response of church members to the doctrine, however, is of importance to us. With most, the concept does not seem to have been well received. Indeed, President Young's public sermons on the matter
quickly began to skirt the issue, referring to it continually but obliquely. In private, he and his colleagues taught it affirmatively.58 With rare
_________
attempt to prove that Brigham Young taught only doctrine which is currently orthodox are
driven to an inexcusable exercise of freedom in interpreting, and even a doctoring of, his
sermons; e.g., J. A. Widtsoe, comp., Discourses of Brigham Young, 159,1925 edition. These errors
are resolutely compounded and further promulgated by Joseph Fielding Smith, e.g.,
Answers to Gospel Questions (1966), 5:121-28, excerpted in the 1972-73 Melchizedek priesthood
manual, 20-22. Compare, for example, the quote from JD 9:148 in its original form and
as printed by Widtsoe, by Smith (124), and in the priesthood manual (22).
We do not contend that President Young's concepts concerning Adam are an accurate
representation of the concepts of other LDS presidents or that they are to be accepted as
basic church doctrine. That to President Young, Adam was a resurrected being is clear:
The mystery in this, as with miracles, or anything else, is only to those who are ignorant. Father
Adam came here, and then they brought his wife. "Well," says one, "Why was Adam called
Adam"? He was the first man on the earth, and its framer and maker. He, with the help of his
brethren, brought it into existence. Then he said, "I want my children who are in the spirit world
to come and live here. I once dwelt upon an earth something like this, in a mortal state, I was faithful,
I received my crown and exaltation. I have the privilege of extending my work, and to its increase
there will be no end. I want my children that were born to me in the spirit world to come
here and take tabernacles of flesh, that their spirits may have a house, a tabernacle or a dwelling
place as mine has, and where is the mystery?" (Deseret News, 22:308, 18 June 1873, reporting a
speech of 8 June 1873).
However, later presidents did not share this view. Nels Nelson, What Truth Is (Salt Lake
City: Stevens and Wallis, Inc., 1947), 60-61, reports that his request to President John Taylor
for information on the subject elicited a reply which "told me without qualification that
Adam and Eve while in the Garden of Eden were translated human beings.'" A similar request
for more information on the subject from Bishop Joseph H. Eldredge of Myton, Utah,
to President Heber J. Grant was answered, stating: "If what is meant is that Adam has
passed on to celestial glory through a resurrection before he came here, and that afterwards
he was appointed to this earth to die again, the second time becoming mortal, then it is not
scriptural or according to the truth. . . .Adam had not passed through the resurrection."
The letter, signed by President Grant and dated 26 February 1931, is published in James R.
Clark, Messages of the First Presidency, 5 (1971):289-90. Typescript copies, usually dated erroneously
1936, and carrying the signatures of both President Grant and David O. McKay
(his counselor) have been widely circulated in church circles for many years. Such differences
in viewpoint should not be upsetting to those who have studied their church history,
but should serve as a caution to all who are tempted to teach any given doctrine about
Adam as "the church view." Consider also the message of J. Reuben Clark, Jr., n. 6.
58. Cf. Turner, "The Position of Adam," and/or Kraut, Michael/Adam (n. 57), for appropriate
references.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
exceptions, the writings and sermons of Mormons in general just avoided the entire issue, or couched it in the vague terms characteristic of the scriptures, and offered no commentary. The matter of Adam and Adam's body was left essentially undeveloped.
There was one notable exception: Orson Pratt, the apostle. On this matter, at least, Orson seems to have accepted the scriptures quite literally, and could not reconcile them with the doctrine from President
Young. Beginning in 1853, he published a periodical entitled The Seer, and in its pages promulgated a doctrine that sounded far too much like special creation. Articles from The Seer were republished in England in the pages of the Millennial Star, a situation not pleasing to the church presidency. As early as January 1855, Brigham Young requested the editor of the Star to refrain from any further publication of material from
The Seer, citing "erroneous doctrine" as the reason.59
Five years later, Orson Pratt himself brought the matter into the open, in a dramatic sermon during the regular Sunday morning worship service in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, January 29, 1860. Confessing the
error of his ways, Orson sued for reconciliation to the church and to his brethren of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency.
A few months later a "carefully revised" version of his speech was published in the Deseret News, followed by a formal statement from the First Presidency, listing several explicit errors in Orson's writings.60 The first item cited was the matter of Orson's teachings concerning Adam's having been formed "out of the ground." While the teachings were summarily dismissed with the statement that they were not true, President Young refrained from imposing his own doctrine on the church. The refutation simply states that, with regard to Adam,
it is deemed wisest to let that subject remain without further explanation at
present, for it is written that we are to receive "line upon line," according to
our faith and capacities, and the circumstances attending our progress.
The careful handling of this matter by President Young is significant. What was the church to believe? Orson's teachings had been refuted, but nothing had been specified in their place, and no further pronouncements of any official character to clarify the matter were forthcoming
throughout the remainder of the century.
Where, then, in the early days of the debates between science and theology, did Mormonism find its closest affinities? On our first doctrine,
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59. Millennial Star 17:297-98 (1855).
60. Deseret News 10921):162-63, 25 July 1860. The First Presidency's statement was
reprinted as part of the 1865 refutation also, cf. n. 50. The "revised" version of Pratt's sermon
may also be found in JD 7:371-76.
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
ex nihilo creation, Mormonism was clearly allied with science. The matter of the earth's age was an open one, that of fixity of species virtually ignored, that of materialism and vital forces in a state of flux but with certain definite fundamental agreement with science. Only on the subject of special creation could Mormonism be tied in any significant way to orthodox Christianity, and even that was tenuous. Darwin's book, as we have noted, was published November 24, 1859. Just sixty-six days later, on January 29, 1860, Orson Pratt began the severing of that one tie. The closeness of the dates is almost certainly coincidental, since (among other reasons) news traveled slowly to Utah in those days; Orson's action is not to be viewed as a response to Darwinism. Yet, in retrospect, his action (and the First Presidency's response) was significant nonetheless.
The incident may well have put a damper on further doctrinal development. It is certain that, considering the duration and intensity of the debate in non-Mormon theological circles, nineteenth-century Mormonism
produced relatively little in the way of relevant commentary. Let us shift now, in our inquiry, from the study of basic Mormon teachings applicable at the time of Darwin's book, to a documentation of subsequent
pertinent commentary and response.
In 1882 President John Taylor published his Mediation and Atonement, in which he makes probably the strongest statement by any president favoring the fixity of species,61 thus inching the church toward the theologians' position. However, during the following year, his first counselor, George Q. Cannon, twice reaffirmed the sentiment of Brigham Young that the creation periods were "periods of time," and that Joseph Smith had anticipated science on the matter of the earth's age. Rejoicing that science was bolstering the prophet, Cannon summarizes: "Geologists have declared it, and religious people are adopting it; and so the world is progressing."62 But Cannon was eclectic in his beliefs; acceptance of an old earth was not to be taken as an acceptance of Darwinism, at least so far as it applied to man. In an editorial in 1883, he made it clear that he regarded belief in "Darwin's theories concerning the origin of man" as evidence of spiritual apostasy.63 This sentiment is not surprising, since Cannon had often expressed himself in similar vein before being called
_________
61. J. Taylor, Mediation and Atonement (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Co., 1882, 163-
165; repr. Salt Lake City: Stevens and Wallis, Inc., 1950), 159-60.
62. JD 24:61, cf. also 24:257 (1883).
63. Juvenile Instructor 18:191, 15 June 1883. President Cannon appears to have addressed
essentially the same theme in his Founder's Day speech at the Brigham Young
Academy (University) in 1896. The best account I have been able to locate of this speech
quotes Cannon only "in substance," however, so it is impossible to determine his exact
statements. The basic stance, however, is anti-evolutionary, at least with respect to human
origins; cf. Daily Enquirer [Provo, Utah] 14 (116):1,16 Oct. 1896.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
to the First Presidency,64 and was a firm believer in the Adamic doctrines taught by President Young.65
The general feeling of the church in the latter 1800s, however, was that science would continue to demonstrate the validity of the Mormon positions. Indeed, a rather heady flirtation with science affixed itself on the church. The church hierarchy seems to have rejoiced at the goodwill generated by James E. Talmage's reception in scientific circles, his participation and membership in esteemed societies, and his trips to England
and Russia. In 1896 Talmage became the holder of Mormonism's first real doctorate degree. In 1899 he was joined in this doctorate distinction by John A. Widtsoe and Joseph F. Merrill. All three of these physical scientists later became prominent apostles and articulate spokesmen in the church.
So closed the 1800s, and Mormonism, past the major hurdles in her long political feud over plural marriage, and newly sequestered under the government of statehood, plunged with high anticipations into the
twentieth century.
Davis Bitton66 has rightly pinpointed these years, the turn of the century, as a period critical in Mormonism, during which the prevailing optimism toward science and reason began to erode. Yet this cooling of ardor must not be over-rated; the antagonism which has seemed to pervade
recent times is seen more correctly for science, at least, as a product of only the last couple of decades.
The Improvement Era, in the early years of the century, regularly ran articles by Talmage, Widtsoe, Frederick Pack, and others extolling areas of agreement between science and Mormon theology. These articles show a degree of caution and sensitivity toward evolution that is quite commendable. The distinction between evolution per se and Darwinism was periodically noted, a point which many later writers seem to have missed. The then recent re-discovery of Mendel's paper and the principles of genetics, and the question of their compatibility with Darwinism, were sensed, and watched with interest, but the concept that science and Mormonism were a basic unity is evident throughout; it forms the dominant
theme.
The year 1909 marks a particularly significant occasion, the centennial of Darwin's birth as well as the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species. The scientific literature had been building
_________
64. See, for example, Millennial Star 23:651-54,12 Oct. 1861.
65. Cf. Turner, "The Position of Adam," and/or Kraut, Michael/Adam (n. 57), and
"Journal of Abraham H. Cannon," entries of 10 March 1888 and 23 June 1889; originals in
BYU Library.
66. D. Bitton, 'Anti-Intellectualism in Mormon History," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon
Thought 1, no. 3 (1966): 111-34.
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
toward the event for several years. Debates on the "current status of Darwinism," its validity in areas of concern other than biology, its relation to religion, philosophy, etc., abounded in the lay literature as
well. Centennial celebrations were held in both Europe and America; thePontifical Biblical Commission, appointed in 1902 by Pope Leo XIII, finally issued its long-awaited report on the interpretation of Genesis. In Mormonism the atmosphere was quieter, but the discussion was not ignored. The YMMIA manual for the year (Joseph Smith as Scientist, by Widtsoe)67 reaffirmed the ideas concerning the age of the earth that were taught earlier by Brigham Young and others, that the earth was very old, and that the creative days were indefinite periods. The manual evoked a series of questions on the matter to church headquarters, which were discussed in a special column of the Improvement Era. The managing editor, Edward H. Anderson, defended the manual, contending that the verses of D&C 77:12, cited by questioners in support of a young-Earth theory, did not apply to the subject in any meaningful way at all, and
turned the column over to Widtsoe for further discussion. Widtsoe proceeded to dismiss the twenty-four-hour-day view, the 1,000-year-day concept, the D&C 77:6, 7, 12, argument, as well as the theory attributed to Joseph Smith that the earth had been formed of fragments of other worlds.68 The following month's issue published as its lead article an essay by Apostle Charles W. Penrose entitled, "The Age and Destiny of the Earth," which also argued for an old earth of indefinite age.69 Then in November 1909, the first formal statement on evolution from the First Presidency was published, signed by Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder, and Anthon H. Lund.70 Entitled "The Origin of Man," it is widely cited by some individuals in the church as "the official pronouncement against evolution." A more honest appraisal of the text, its background, and its meaning to later presidents, indicates that such a judgment is inaccurate.
The document is carefully and sensitively worded. Its message is an affirmation that man is the spirit child of divine parentage, is in the image of God both in body and spirit, and that all men are descendants of a
common ancestor, Adam. Lengthy scriptural passages are cited in affir-
_________
67. J. A. Widtsoe, Joseph Smith As Scientist, A Contribution to Mormon Philosophy (Salt
Lake City: The General Board [of the] Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations,
1908).
68. "Editor's Table," Era 12:489-94, Apr. 1909.
69. Era 12:505-509, May 1909, a reprint from the 11 Feb. 1909 Millennial Star.
70. Era 13:75-81, Nov. 1909; also in J. R. Clark, Messages of the First Presidency, 4
(1970):199-206. Actually, this statement is the work of a special committee appointed for its
production. James E. Talmage, not yet one of the general authorities, was a member, and
records meeting with the committee on the dates of 27 and 30 Sept. 1909 to consider the
document (cf. "Personal Journal of James Edward Talmage," 12:91-92, under the above
dates, originals in BYU library).
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
mation of man's divine spiritual pedigree. And the origin of man's physical body? Three paragraphs are relevant, and form the crux of the matter; we shall denote them paragraphs 12 to 14:71
Adam, our great progenitor, "the first man," was, like Christ, a pre-existent
spirit, and like Christ he took upon him an appropriate body, the body
of a man, and so became a "living soul." The doctrine of the pre-existence—
revealed so plainly, particularly in latter days, pours a wonderful flood of
light upon the otherwise mysterious problem of man's origin. It shows that
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. It teaches
that all men existed in the spirit before any man existed in the flesh, and that
all who have inhabited the earth since Adam have taken bodies and become
souls in like manner.
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. The word of the
Lord declares that Adam was "the first man of all men" (Moses 1:34), and we
are therefore in duty bound to regard him as the primal parent of our race. It
was shown to the brother of Jared that all men were created in the beginning
after the image of God; and whether we take this to mean the spirit or the
body, or both, it commits us to the same conclusion: Man began life as a
human being, in the likeness of our heavenly Father.
True it is that the body of man enters upon its career as a tiny germ or
embryo, which becomes an infant, quickened at a certain stage by the spirit
whose tabernacle it is, and the child after being born, develops into a man.
There is nothing in this, however, to indicate that the original man, the first
of our race, began life as anything less than a man, or less than the human
germ or embryo that becomes a man.72
The anti-evolutionary sentiment is evident, though guarded. Did the article really constitute an authoritative pronouncement against evolution as a possibility for the origin of man's body? The likelihood that it
did was strengthened by a statement in the 1910 manual for the priests of the Aaronic priesthood, which indicated that man's "descent has not been from a lower form of life, but from the Highest Form of Life; in
_________
71. This numbering counts only the paragraphs of the actual text; scriptural quotations
are not counted. J. R. Clark, who does count them separately, would refer to these
paragraphs as 30- 32 (cf. Messages of the First Presidency, 5 (1971):243).
72. When this statement was reprinted in Joseph Fielding Smith, Man His Origin and
Destiny (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1954), the phrase "primal parent of our race" was
changed to read "primal parent of the race," cf. 354; and it continues to be quoted thus incorrectly
in other Mormon works. To some students, this represents an alteration in meaning.
Whether it would have been so interpreted by the 1909 First Presidency, however, is
moot.
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
other words, man is, in the most literal sense, a child of God. This is not only true of the spirit of man, but of his body also. There never was a time, probably, in all the eternities of the past, when there was not men
or children of God. This world is only one of many worlds which have been created by the Father through His Only Begotten."73
However, the statement continues in a markedly less definitive vein: 'Adam, then, was probably not the first mortal man in the universe, but he was likely the first for this earth." Two pages later, the tone of indefiniteness is further continued as a matter of reasoning:
One of the important points about this topic is to learn, if possible, how
Adam obtained his body of flesh and bones. There would seem to be but one
natural and reasonable explanation, and that is, that Adam obtained his
body in the same way Christ obtained his—and just as all men obtain
theirs—namely, by being born of woman.
"The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son
also." (Doc. & Cov. 130:22). Then what is more natural than to conclude that
the offspring of such Beings would have bodies of flesh and bones? Like
begets like.74
Such sentiments were certain to evoke questions from church members, and it was equally certain that they had to be handled at the highest level of the church, the president's office. Once again, the Improvement
Era was the platform of response, in an editorial that has, so far as we can find, not been further commented on to this day. Joseph F. Smith, as president of the church, and Edward H. Anderson, were the editors. We
quote it in toto, from the columns relegated to instructions to the priesthood:
Origin of Man—"In just what manner did the mortal bodies of Adam
and Eve come into existence on this earth?" This question comes from several
High Priests' quorums.
Of course all are familiar with the statements in Genesis 1:26,27; 2:7; also
in the Book of Moses, Pearl of Great Price, 2 :27; and in the Book of Abraham
5:7. The latter statement reads: 'And the Gods formed man from the dust of
_________
73. Divine Mission of the Savior, Course of Study for the. . .Priests (2nd year), prepared and
issued under the direction of the general authorities of the church (1910), 35. The statement
to this point was reprinted in the Church News, 19 Sept. 1936, p. 8, and is often quoted as
though complete in itself.
74. Ibid., 17. The manual at this point cites three statements, one each from Brigham
Young (JD 1:50); Parley P. Pratt (Key to Theology); and Orson Pratt (JD 21:201). No attempt is
made in the manual to capture the complete thought of these statements; particularly the
sermons of President Young and Orson Pratt reveal some fundamental differences in total
content and concept. In fairness, it must also be admitted that major sentiments in both
these sermons were severely compromised by statements of subsequent presidencies.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
the ground, and took his spirit (that is, the man's spirit) and put it into him; and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul."
These are the authentic statements of the scriptures, ancient and modern,
and it is best to rest with these, until the Lord shall see fit to give more
light on the subject. Whether the mortal bodies of man evolved in natural
processes to present perfection, through the direction and power of God;
whether the first parents of our generations, Adam and Eve, were transplanted
from another sphere, with immortal tabernacles, which became corrupted
through sin and the partaking of natural foods, in the process of time;
whether they were born here in mortality, as other mortals have been, are
questions not fully answered in the revealed word of God. For helpful discussion
of the subject, see Improvement Era, Vol. XI, August 1908, No. 10,
page 778, article, "Creation and Growth of Adam"; also article by the First
Presidency, "Origin of Man," Vol. XIII, No. 1, page 75,1909.75
For clarification, the August 1908 article referred to was a response to a question raised about an even earlier article. The author of the two pieces, William Halls, had contended that Adam could not have been
created full-grown, but must have gone through a natural childhood and adolescence. When pushed for documentation by Era readers who felt that such a view was incompatible with scriptural literalism, he answered, in the article cited by the editorial, that he could not document it, but that "When a passage of scripture taken literally contradicts a fundamental, natural law, I take it as allegorical; and in the absence of divine authority, put a construction on it that seems to harmonize with my experience
and reason."
So ended the matter, apparently, so far as Joseph R Smith was concerned: The editorial listed three options, and it is evident that not one of them agrees with a literal interpretation of Moses 3:7 or other such creation passages.
The Improvement Era continued to publish articles on science and the gospel (mostly articles by Frederick Pack, a University of Utah geology professor) until April 1911. A few months before, the very touchy matter of academic freedom in the church school system had reared its head, regarding the propriety of teaching ". . .the theories of evolution as at present set forth in the text books, and also theories relating to the Bible known as 'higher criticism'. . ." President Smith, in a special editorial,76 reported to the church on the matter. He indicated that "it is well known
_________
75. Era 13:570, Apr. 1910.
76. Era 14:548-51, Apr. 1911. Further details of the case are found in R. V. Chamberlin,
Life and Philosophy of W. H. Chamberlin (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1925), 140f. In
this rather trying incident, three BYU faculty members, Henry Peterson, Joseph Peterson,
and Ralph V. Chamberlin, resigned under pressure.
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
that evolution and the 'higher criticism'—though perhaps containing many truths—are in conflict on some matters with the scriptures, including some modern revelation/' and finally concluded:
. . .[I]t appears a waste of time and means, and detrimental to faith and religion
to enter too extensively into the undemonstrated theories of men on
philosophies relating to the origin of life, or the methods adopted by an Alwise
Creator in peopling the earth with the bodies of men, birds and beasts.
Let us rather turn our abilities to the practical analysis of the soil. . . .
A companion editorial from President Smith was aimed more directly at the youth of the church and appeared in The Juvenile Instructor. Although more general in its approach, it makes a finer distinction between the president's personal feelings and the church position. His private views seem to be embodied in the following passage:
They [students] are not old enough or learned enough to discriminate, or
put proper limitations upon a theory which we believe is more or less a fallacy.
In reaching the conclusion that evolution would be best left out of discussions
in our Church schools we are deciding a question of propriety and
are not undertaking to say how much of evolution is true, or how much is
false. We think that while it is a hypothesis, on both sides of which the most
eminent scientific men of the world are arrayed, that it is folly to take up its
discussion in our institutions of learning, and we cannot see wherein such
discussions are likely to promote the faith of our young people.
However, he clearly spelled out the church position on the matter:
The Church itself has no philosophy about the modus operandi employed by
the Lord in His creation of the world, and much of the talk therefore about
the philosophy of Mormonism is altogether misleading.77
With these deliverances, President Smith let the matter rest. No further clarification of his sentiments regarding the mechanism of creation was given, though certainly this was a golden opportunity if ever one
existed.
Two years later, in a conference address in Arizona, President Smith delivered himself of one further comment:
Man was born of woman; Christ, the Savior, was born of woman and God,
the Father, was born of woman. Adam, our earthly parent, was also born of
woman into this world, the same as Jesus and you and I.78
_______
77. Juvenile Instructor 46 (4):208-209, Apr. 1911.
78. Deseret News, 27 Dec. 1913, sec. Ill, p. 7; reprinted in the Church News, 19 Sept.
1936, 2, 8.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
When? How? And of whom? The statement is consistent with all three of the 1910 options, and these and further questions about Joseph F. Smith's beliefs on the matter can be answered only by extensive and tenuous proof-texting, a well-known and notoriously unreliable method.
Certain it is that he, one of the most scripturally committed of all LDS presidents, remained consistent with his predecessors and officially left the matter open and unresolved. Articles in the Improvement Era ranged widely over the issue, from condemnations of the whole idea of evolution to accounts of dinosaur digging, but no further authoritative statements were made until 1925, during the administration of President
Heber J. Grant.
That was the year of the famous Scopes trial in Dayton, Tennessee. Young John Scopes, a high school science teacher, was charged with the teaching of evolution, forbidden by state law. At least, Scopes was the
formal defendant; the trial really developed into a classic confrontation between fundamentalist theology and contemporary science. The event was a news highlight of the year, with correspondents from around the
world converging on the tiny town for the great showdown. Religious spokesmen of many persuasions felt disposed to deliver themselves of commentary on the matter.79 During the post-trial period came the document: " 'Mormon' View of Evolution," published over the signatures of Heber J. Grant, Anthony W. Ivins, and Charles W. Nibley, the LDS First Presidency.80 In essence, it consists of paragraphs 3, 6, 7,12,16, and 17 of the 1909 statement by Joseph F. Smith et al., with only a very few changes in text: deletion of a word or two, addition of several words for clarification, etc. Paragraphs 13 and 14, the "anti-evolution" ones (quoted above), are conspicuously absent. The entire message of the statement is to affirm
the spiritual pedigree of man and the common descent of all men from an ancestor named Adam, who had taken upon himself "an appropriate body."
As in its 1909 predecessor, the word "evolution" or its derivatives occurs only once, to the effect that man, formed in the image of God, "is
_________
79. The best single account is L. S. deCamp, The Great Monkey Trial (Garden City, N.Y.:
Doubleday and Co. Inc., 1968).
80. Era 28:1090-1091, Sept. 1925. The understandable sympathy of the LDS people for
the general religious position in the 1925 Scopes episode is reflected in the remarks of various
speakers, both general authorities and otherwise, during the October general conference
(cf. LDS General Conference Reports, Oct. 1925). Of the First Presidency, however, counselor
Charles W. Nibley made no reference to the matter; President Heber J. Grant went no
further than to recall favorable impressions of William Jennings Bryan, the chief religious
spokesman (and prosecutor) at the Scopes trial, who died shortly after the trial. Anthony
W. Ivins, first counselor, addressed the topic of evolution directly and at some length, essentially
articulating a middle-of-the-road position. The speech (ibid., 19-28) is too loaded
with hypothetical statements and qualifiers to be easily categorized.
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
capable, by experience through ages and aeons, of evolving into a God." Seen against the background of the theological ferment of the day, this is an amazingly temperate document; none of the sloganeering and overdrawn rhetoric characteristic of the day, just a calm focusing on the critical matter of man's spiritual affinity with God. The church was concerned for the well-being of religion in general, and thus sympathized
with the plight of the religionists, but it could ill afford any extreme statements in the matter.
The subsequent years of calm were broken in 1930, although the resulting perturbation was kept quietly within the closed circle of the general authorities. The relatively young apostle, Joseph Fielding Smith, delivered a lecture to the Genealogical Conference on April 5. In his characteristic style, he enthusiastically delivered himself of his thoughts on the creation of man, acknowledging that "The Lord has not seen fit to
tell us definitely just how Adam came for we are not ready to receive that truth." Yet he also spelled out very clearly a disbelief in "pre-Adamites," peoples of any sort upon the earth before Adam, declaring that ". . .the
doctrine of 'pre-Adamites' is not a doctrine of the Church, and is not advocated nor countenanced in the Church." Furthermore,
There was no death in the earth before the fall of Adam. .. .All life in the sea,
the air, on the earth, was without death. Animals were not dying. Things
were not changing as we find them changing in this mortal existence, for
mortality had not come.81
Shortly after the publication of the speech, these concepts became a bone of contention: Brigham H. Roberts, the long-standing apologist of the church, directly challenged the legitimacy of the remarks, in a letter to the First Presidency. Both Roberts and Smith were given opportunity to present their positions, both orally and in writing, to the Twelve and the presidency. Roberts developed his ideas primarily from scripture, from science, and from Apostle Orson Hyde and President Brigham Young.
Smith also used scripture, but leaned heavily on the Adam teachings of Orson Pratt, and on paragraph 13 of the 1909 statement of the First Presidency.
This last item comprised his major piece of evidence. At last, convinced that continuation of the discussion would be fruitless, the First Presidency issued a seven-page directive to the other general authorities,
reviewing in detail the entire discussion as described and then stating:
The statement made by Elder Smith that the existence of pre-Adamites is not
a doctrine of the Church is true. It is just as true that the statement: "There
_________
81. Joseph Fielding Smith, "Faith Leads to a Fulness of Truth and Righteousness,"
Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine 21:145-58, Oct. 1930.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
were not pre-Adamites upon the earth," is not a doctrine of the Church. Neither
side of the controversy has been accepted as a doctrine at all.
Both parties make the scripture and the statements of men who have
been prominent in the affairs of the Church the basis of their contention; neither
has produced definite proof in support of his views.
.. .Upon the fundamental doctrines of the Church we are all agreed. Our
mission is to bear the message of the restored gospel to the people of the
world. Leave Geology, Biology, Archaeology and Anthropology, no one of
which has to do with the salvation of the souls of mankind, to scientific research,
while we magnify our calling in the realm of the Church.82
In addition to this written directive, the First Presidency called a special meeting of all the general authorities, the day after general conference closed, to discuss the matter and deliver oral counsel. Apostle James E. Talmage records the following account of the meeting:
Involved in this question [Roberts's original query] is that of the beginning
of life upon the earth, and as to whether there was death either of animal or
plant before the fall of Adam, on which proposition Elder Smith was very
pronounced in denial and Elder Roberts equally forceful in the affirmative.
As to whether Preadamite races existed upon the earth there has been much
discussion among some of our people of late. The decision reached by the
First Presidency, and announced to this morning's assembly, was in answer
to a specific question that obviously the doctrine of the existence of races of
human beings upon the earth prior to the fall of Adam was not a doctrine of
the Church; and, further, that the conception embodied in the belief of many
to the effect that there were no such Preadamite races, and that there was no
death upon the earth prior to Adam's fall is likewise declared to be no doctrine
of the Church. I think the decision of the First Presidency is a wise one
in the premises. This is one of the many things upon which we cannot preach
with assurance and dogmatic assertions on either side are likely to do harm
rather than good.83
However, this proscription left the public record with only one side of the story, the speech of Elder Smith, which in many ways is an avowal of the position of the nineteenth-century theologians. Not everyone in
_________
82. Typescript copy in author's possession, 7 pp. Cf. also n. 54, which relates to a 1972
commentary on the question of pre-Adamites.
83. "Personal Journal of James Edward Talmage," 29:42, under date of 7 Apr. 1930; cf.
also relevant entries under dates of 2, 7,14, and 21 Jan. 1931, all in vol. 29.
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
the governing quorums of the church was content with such a situation. Nor was the record long in being balanced. On Sunday, August 9, 1931, Apostle Talmage took the stand in the Salt Lake Tabernacle worship service, and there delivered an address: "The Earth and Man."84 Talmage's position, in light of the above restriction from the First Presidency, was admittedly a bit presumptive, which likely accounts for some of the
characteristics of the text. The speech as we now have it in printed form is a rather neat bit of nimble footwork, a careful avoidance of any explicit stance that would come into direct conflict with particular sensitivities on the issue. Affirming his deep belief in the ultimate synthesis of God's word in both the rocks and the scriptures, Talmage promulgated a clear message of sensitivity to, and reception of, science and the scientific method—a point which is amply recognized in the vigorous, even scathing, denunciations of his speech by certain later commentators.
Careful though he was, at least the public record was now more balanced, and Talmage (as was customary) sent a copy of the manuscript to the printers for publication.
From certain quarters within the Twelve, however, opposition developed to the speech's publication. The subject was a matter of consideration in at least four subsequent meetings of the Twelve and/or the First
Presidency, but eventually the First Presidency after going over the manuscript very carefully with Elder Talmage, directed him to send it back to the publisher for inclusion in the next Church News. Furthermore, they instructed him to have it published also as a separate pamphlet, to be available upon request from the church offices. Both publications were released to the public November 21, 1931, and the speech has since
enjoyed a long and favorable treatment from the Mormon publishing fraternity.85
_________
84. J. E. Talmage, "The Earth and Man," Church News, 21 Nov. 1931, 7-8. In pamphlet
form, it was "Published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," 16 pp. The
speech has been republished various times, including by BYU Extension Publications, and
was most recently published in the Instructor 100 (12): 474-77, Dec. 1965, and 101 (1):9-11,
15, Jan. 1966.
85. Cf. n. 84. Elder Talmage discusses the matter thusly in his journal, after reviewing
the Roberts-Smith episode:
Many of our students have inferred from Elder Smith's address that the Church refuses to
recognize the findings of science if there be a word in scriptural record in our interpretation of
which we find even a seeming conflict with scientific discoveries or deductions, and that therefore
the "policy" of the Church is in effect opposed to scientific research.
In speaking at the Tabernacle on August 9 last I had not forgotten that in the pronouncement
of the First Presidency mentioned under date of April 7 last it was advised and really required that
the General Authorities of the Church refrain from discussing in public, that is preaching, the debatable
subject of the existence of human kind upon the earth prior to the beginning of Adamic
history as recorded in scripture; but, I had been present at a consultation in the course of which
the First Presidency had commented somewhat favorably upon the suggestion that sometime,
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
The resulting stalemate continued for over two decades. Cognizant of the fact that writings and expressions of general authorities, no matter how intended, tend to become canonized by various elements of the church community, the First Presidency continued the proscription against publication of the Roberts manuscript. In 1933 both Roberts and Talmage died. The essence of their philosophical legacy was continued by Apostles Widtsoe and Merrill. Apostle Smith, in the immediately ensuing years, also completed a manuscript of book-length, which outlined his objections to evolutionary concepts, and once again drove home his commitment to many of the basic concepts of nineteenth-century theologians—
not drawing such concepts from them, of course, but arriving at essentially the same position by a similar, strongly literalistic interpretation of the scriptures. The record indicates that his manuscript was subjected
to the same publication injunction as that of Roberts.86 Widtsoe and Merrill, not sharing the views of Elder Smith in these matters, also acted as damping forces on overly literalistic interpretation. Their deaths
in 1952 marked the end of an era.
Apostle Smith began an open exposition of his views on April 22,
1953, in a speech at Brigham Young University entitled "The Origin of
_________
somewhere, something should be said by one or more of us to make plain that the Church does not
refuse to recognize the discoveries and demonstrations of science, especially in relation to the
subject at issue. President Anthony W. Ivins, of the First Presidency, presided at the Tabernacle
meeting, and three members of the Council of the Twelve were present—Elders George F. Richards,
Joseph Fielding Smith and Richard R. Lyman. Of course, Elder Smith, and in fact all of us, recognize
that my address was in some important respects opposed to his published remarks, but the other
brethren named, including President Ivins, expressed their tentative approval of what I had said.
I am very grateful that my address has come under a very thorough consideration, and I may
say investigation, by the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve. The discussions throughout
as relating to the matter have been forceful but in every respect friendly, and the majority of
the Twelve have been in favor of the publication of the address from the time they first took it
under consideration. I have hoped and fervently prayed that the brethren would be rightly guided
in reaching a decision, and, as the Lord knows my heart, I have had no personal desire for triumph
or victory in the matter, but have hoped that the address would be published or suppressed as
would be for the best. The issue is now closed, the address is in print. ("Personal Journal of James
Edward Talmage," 29:68-69, under date of 21 Nov. 1931. Cf. also the comments under dates of 9
Aug., 5,16, and 17 Nov. 1931, all in vol. 29.
86. While considerable evidence verifying this account is already available in the public
record, the primary documentation lies in confidential interviews conducted by the author
with persons closely associated with this matter.
The title of the Roberts manuscript, still unpublished, is "The Truth, The Way, The
Life: An Elementary Treatise on Theology." Consisting of nearly 600 manuscript pages, it
was considered by Roberts to be "the most important work that I have yet contributed to
the Church, the six-volumed Comprehensive History of the Church not omitted" (letter of
9 Feb. 1931 to the First Presidency). Though it is in many critical ways contrapositive to the
theology championed by Elder Smith, the reader should not infer that it is an acceptance or
affirmation of evolution per se.
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
Man."87 His speech to the June 1953 MIA Conference88 continued the same theme: scriptural literalism on scientific matters, coupled with a virtually complete disregard for scientific data. A rapid though minor
updating of his book manuscript followed, and it was apparently again submitted for publication. Although it was not approved, he pushed ahead with its publication, and by mid-1954 it was made available to the
public under the title, Man His Origin and Destiny?9
The work marks a milestone. For the first time in Mormon history, and capping a full half-century of publication of Mormon books on science and religion, Mormonism had a book that was openly antagonistic
to much of science.90 The long-standing concern of past church presidents was quickly realized: The book was hailed by many as an authoritative church statement which immediately locked Mormonism into direct
confrontation with science and sparked a wave of religious fundamentalism that shows little sign of abatement. Others, mindful of the embarrassment which other Christian churches had suffered on issues
of science, and fearful of the consequences for their own church if the new stance was widely adopted, openly expressed their consternation.
The president of the church, David O. McKay, was a giant of tolerance; the differences in philosophy (within the church framework) between the book's author and himself could hardly have been more
disparate. Yet a president's actions are essentially authoritative; one tends to act cautiously in such a position, and a public settling of issues was apparently not acceptable to him. While there is no formal record available of the deliberations involved, the ensuing reactions indicate a low-key, indirect, and peace-making response, at least as far as public utterances are concerned.
Apostle Smith vigorously presented his basic thesis to the seminary and institute teachers of the church, assembled in their periodic summer
_________
87. Joseph Fielding Smith, "The Origin of Man," 22 Apr. 1953, published by Brigham
Young University Extension Division, 6 pp.
88. Joseph Fielding Smith, "Entangle Not Yourselves in Sin," speech of 12 June 1953,
Era 56:646f, Sept. 1953.
89. Joseph Fielding Smith, Man, His Origin and Destiny (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book
Co., 1954).
90. So far as I am aware, the first book in Mormonism that can really be said to be directed
to a discussion of science and religion is Scientific Aspects of Mormonism, by Nels L.
Nelson (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1904). Others followed sporadically over the years,
by Widtsoe, Nelson, Pack, and Merrill. All of these, while not preaching a scientific humanism
or anything of the sort, exhibit a deep recognition of the validity of scientific knowledge.
Man, His Origin and Destiny is a clean break with that long tradition, opting as it does
for schism rather than synthesis.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
training session at Brigham Young University, on June 28,1954.91 Exactly nine days later, President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., second counselor in the First Presidency and a veteran of over twenty years' service in the presidency, delivered (by invitation) his speech "When are the Writings or Sermons of Church Leaders Entitled to the Claim of Scripture?" His message was clear and hard-hitting, and has no peer in Mormon literature.
Emphasizing that only the president of the church may declare doctrine, give interpretation of scripture, "or change in any way the existing doctrines of the Church," he proceeded to an examination of the scriptural
affirmation that whatever the holders of the priesthood speak "when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture."92 He readily acknowledged that the scripture applied with special force upon the general
authorities, but that:
They must act and teach subject to the over-all power and authority of the
President of the Church. . . .Sometimes in the past they have spoken "out of
turn," so to speak. . . .
There have been rare occasions when even the President of the Church in his preaching and teaching has not been "moved upon by the Holy Ghost." You will recall the Prophet Joseph declared that a prophet is not always a prophet. . . . . . .even the President of the Church, himself, may not always be "moved upon by the Holy Ghost," when he addresses the people. This has happened about matters of doctrine (usually of a highly speculative character) where subsequent Presidents of the Church and the peoples themselves have felt that in declaring the doctrine, the announcer was not "moved upon by the Holy Ghost."
How shall the Church know...? The Church will know by the testimony of the Holy Ghost in the body of the members; . . .and in due time that knowledge will be made manifest.. . .93
President Clark continued to hammer this concept home, referring to accounts in the New Testament of doctrinal differences among the apostles, relating the concept to our own day, reiterating continually that
. . .even the President of the Church has not always spoken under the direction of the Holy Ghost, for a prophet is not always a prophet. . in our own Church, leaders have differed in view from the first.
.. .not always may the words of a prophet be taken as a prophecy or revelation.
...
_________
91. Joseph Fielding Smith, speech of 28 June 1954, published in the Church News, 24
July 1954, under the caption "Discusses Organic Evolution Opposed to Divine Revelation."
92. Cf. ref. 5.
93. Cf. ref. 6. Words in parentheses, grammatical errors, etc. are in the original.
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
In his final paragraphs, he moved from the position of trying to define what is scripture to identifying what is not scripture, emphasizing that when any one other than the president of the church attempts to proclaim any new doctrine, etc., unless acting specifically under the president's direction, the church may know that the utterances are not scripture. His final expository paragraph reads:
When any man, except the President of the Church, undertakes to proclaim one unsettled doctrine, as among two or more doctrines in dispute, as the settled doctrine of the Church, we may know that he is not "moved upon by the Holy Ghost," unless he is acting under the authority of the President.
Such teachings, to say the least, were not characteristic of what was usually taught over the pulpit. There was no mention in the sermon of any specific contemporary teachings to which these principles were to be
applied, but there also was left no doubt that they were to be applied. President McKay himself avoided any direct public statement on the matter. His closest approach to public commentary came from his beginning-
of-the-school-year speech to the BYU faculty, September 17, 1954.94 He handled therein various categories of knowledge, and touched briefly upon the matter of science and religion. He averred that it is a
"stern fact of life" that all living things obey fixed laws of nature and divine commands. He referred to the creation of man thusly: "When the Creator 'breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,' (and never mind
when it was), 'and man became a living soul' God gave him the power of choice." In his closing sentence, he felt moved to .. .bless you [the faculty] with wisdom to know the truth as it is given by revealed
word in the authorized books of the Church, bless you with the power to discern between truth and error as given by individual
However, this public response by the First Presidency obviously would not satisfy the questions in the minds of many members. Over the years, there seems to have been an almost constant stream of inquiries,
both written and oral, concerning the doctrinal soundness of Apostle Smith's book and similar teachings. The response from the First Presidency has been a consistent: an avowal that the church has taken no official
position on the matter of evolution and related subjects, that it has made no official statement on the subject, that the book in question is neither "authorized" by the church nor "published by" the church, that it
"is not approved by the Church," and that it contains only the author's
_________
94. David O. McKay, "Some Fundamental Objectives of a Church University," Church
News, 25 Sept. 1954, 2f.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
personal views. On occasion the inquirer was sent two documents: the 1909 statement by the First Presidency, and the 1931 speech by Talmage, with the admonition that the entire matter should be dealt with by "suspending judgment as long as may be necessary" until the complete truth should be perceived.95 Throughout all such communications ran the sentiment of tolerance, open-mindedness, and a dedication to final truth. Even those who sought the First Presidency's evaluation of materials to be used in their teachings got no further response.
So here, it seems, the matter rests, as far as authoritative statements are concerned. There has been no further official response, and it would appear that none is forthcoming. Rather lengthy explanations by past
First Presidencies (among the materials mentioned, ref. 95) indicate that since such authoritative statements must be applicable to future developments as well as to the current state of knowledge, it is deemed wisest
to let the matter rest without further development.
Authoritative statements concerning scientific matters seem neither necessary nor desirable, even if the knowledge to make them did exist, and it seems clear that it does not. Effective arguments can be marshaled
to support the point that such pronouncements, necessarily restrictive in their nature, would stifle the very experience that life is supposed to provide; they would be inimical to the very roots of the process of "evolving into a God." The 1931 First Presidency's observation that these matters do not directly relate to "salvation" is astute as well as practical. Those who argue against evolution, for instance, do so usually from the proclaimed motivation that the concept is inimical to religion, that it leads necessarily to atheism and associated evils. This position is tenuous at best. Cases where such a process is alleged to have occurred appear to be far more often the result of the intense conflict and polarization between popular expressions of theology and biology, rather than the result of the concept of evolution -per se. Darwin perceived that his views bore no necessary antagonism to religion,96 and a non-LDS commentator recognized
that fact in the following expression: Evolution, if rightly understood, has no theological or antitheological influ-
_________
95. I have photostatic copies in my files of several of these inquiries and responses,
and know of additional oral discussions of the matter. Before his death, Pres. McKay gave
formal permission for the publication of at least one of the written responses. It is not
deemed appropriate here to anticipate that publication in excessive detail.
96. As expressed in the Conclusion to The Origin:"! see no good reason why the views
given in this volume should shock the religious feelings of any one." Although Darwin,
once a candidate for the ministry, came to feel that the entire question of rational evidence
for design and/or the existence of God was "insoluble," he was clear that religious commitment
was a matter separate and distinct from belief or disbelief in either evolution or
natural selection.
Jeffery: Seers, Savants and Evolution
ence whatever. What is evolution? It is not an entity. It is a mode of creation. It leaves the whole field of Christian faith where and as it found it. Its believers and advocates may be theists, pantheists, or atheists. The causes of these radically different religious views cannot be sought in the one theory. They are to be found elsewhere.97
There are too many devout religious evolutionists to argue defensibly that a belief in evolution per se, stripped of the "either God or evolution" polemics, leads to religious deterioration. Indeed, there are many
both within the church and without who will argue from personal experience that the concept of evolution can have precisely the opposite effect: a deepening of religious sentiment and spirituality due to the recognition
that God is a God of law, of order, of rational behavior, rather than a deity of mystery, of transcendent and capricious whims. At the same time, there can be no denying the fact that the intense polemics of the
theology-biology debate has polarized people into opposite camps detrimental to the cause of both. In our day and time, we do not need further schism; what the world is crying for is synthesis. People have been driven to opposite extremes in this matter because of respective truths that they found in whatever position they finally choose. Is it not time to recognize that each camp has truth, and try to take the best from both?
Mormonism is committed to the concept of a lawful, loving, orderly deity to whom capriciousness and deceit are anathema. The concept that God works through universal law, that he is God because of his obedience to and operation within the framework of such law, is fundamental.
This gives Mormonism a basis for synthesis that exists in few if any other Western religions; it cannot be ignored with impunity. Mormonism's view that truth can be obtained empirically or pragmatically98 must also
be kept constantly in mind; God speaks in more ways than just scripture
or open revelation.
It would appear that teachers in the church cannot be honest in their teachings if they present only one point of view as the position of the church. Whoso among them picks just one position from among the
many articulated on these matters by church leaders becomes guilty of teaching a part-truth, and witnesses immediately that he "is not moved upon by the Holy Ghost." And will not students who permit such teaching
without clarifying the matter be equally guilty of perpetuating parttruths? It would seem high time that we insist on a greater honesty and
_________
97. W. R. Thompson, Catholic World 34 (1882): 692.
98. Cf. Wendell O. Rich, Distinctive Teachings of the Restoration, ch. 7, "The Nature of
Truth" (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1962). The First Presidency's straightforward
statement: "That which is demonstrated, we accept with joy" (Deseret News, 17 Dec. 1910,
part 1, p. 3), can be coupled with dozens of further references.
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
scholarship in our gospel discussions; we owe future generations far better teaching than the current ones have been getting. In these respects, it is encouraging to note that the current Gospel Doctrine manual," which deals directly with the creation scriptures from both the Bible and modern scripture, steers deliberately clear of any interpretational hang-ups. It propounds with Brigham Young that the critical message is not what method was used in Creation, but that God was responsible for Creation.
Above all, it would appear that teachers should grow beyond pushing their own views or those of their favorite general authority, to embark on a quest for truth rather than an indoctrination of one-sided dogma. Perhaps the sentiments of Apostle John Taylor are relevant:
I do not want to be frightened about hell-fire, pitchforks, and serpents, nor to be scared to death with hobgoblins and ghosts, nor anything of the kind that is got up to scare the ignorant; but I want truth, intelligence, and something that will bear investigation. I want to probe things to the bottom and to find out the truth if there is any way to find it out.100
Furthermore:
.. .[O]ur religion.. .embraces every principle of truth and intelligence pertaining to us as moral, intellectual, mortal and immortal beings, pertaining to this world and the world that is to come. We are open to truth of every kind, no matter whence it comes, where it originates, or who believes in it. . . .
A man in search of truth has no peculiar system to sustain, no peculiar dogma to defend or theory to uphold; he embraces all truth, and that truth, like the sun in the firmament, shines forth and spreads its effulgent rays over all creation, and if men will divest themselves of bias and prejudice, and prayerfully and conscientiously search after truth, they will find it wherever they turn their attention.101
_________
99. In the Beginning, Gospel Doctrine Course Teacher's Supplement (1972, Corporation of
the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Deseret News Press).
100. JD 11:317 (1867).
101. JD 16:369-70 (1874).
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You searched for
"PLAYED" in the KJV Bible
17 Instances - Page 1 of 1 - Sort by Book Order - Feedback
- Ezekiel 16:28chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.
- Judges 19:2chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.
- 2 Kings 3:15chapter context similar meaning copy save
- But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.
- 1 Samuel 18:7chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
- Ezekiel 23:19chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.
- 1 Samuel 26:21chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have playedthe fool, and have erred exceedingly.
- Ezekiel 23:5chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbours,
- 2 Samuel 6:5chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.
- Jeremiah 3:8chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.
- Genesis 38:24chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
- 1 Samuel 19:9chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand.
- Hosea 2:5chapter context similar meaning copy save
- For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.
- Jeremiah 3:6chapter context similar meaning copy save
- The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.
- 1 Chronicles 13:8chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets.
- 1 Samuel 18:10chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand.
- Jeremiah 3:1chapter context similar meaning copy save
- They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 16:23chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
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You searched for
"GATE" in the KJV Bible
220 Instances - Page 1 of 8 - Sort by Book Order - Feedback
- Ezekiel 48:34chapter context similar meaning copy save
- At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.
- Nehemiah 12:39chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate.
- Ezekiel 40:23chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate an hundred cubits.
- Ezekiel 48:33chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.
- Ezekiel 48:32chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gateof Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.
- Ezekiel 46:2chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.
- Ezekiel 48:31chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.
- Ezekiel 46:9chapter context similar meaning copy save
- But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.
- Ezekiel 40:27chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits.
- Ezekiel 43:1chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east:
- Esther 4:2chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And came even before the king's gate: for none might enter into the king's gateclothed with sackcloth.
- Zechariah 14:10chapter context similar meaning copy save
- All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.
- Matthew 7:13chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
- Ezekiel 40:44chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south: one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north.
- Ezekiel 40:6chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Then came he unto the gate which looketh toward the east, and went up the stairs thereof, and measured the threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad; and the other threshold of the gate, which was one reed broad.
- 2 Chronicles 26:9chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them.
- Ezekiel 40:15chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits.
- Acts 12:14chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
- Nehemiah 12:37chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the water gate eastward.
- Ezekiel 40:28chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures;
- Ezekiel 40:11chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits.
- Ezekiel 47:2chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
- Ezekiel 40:9chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward.
- Nehemiah 3:13chapter context similar meaning copy save
- The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung gate.
- Ezekiel 11:1chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the LORD'S house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.
- 2 Kings 7:17chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.
- 2 Kings 11:6chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down.
- 2 Kings 14:13chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Bethshemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits.
- 2 Samuel 19:8chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his tent.
- 2 Chronicles 25:23chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And Joash the king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Bethshemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits.
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You searched for
"WHEEL" in the KJV Bible
12 Instances - Page 1 of 1 - Sort by Book Order - Feedback
- Ezekiel 10:10chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And as for their appearances, they four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel.
- Ezekiel 10:9chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubims, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl stone.
- Ezekiel 1:16chapter context similar meaning copy save
- The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
- Ezekiel 10:13chapter context similar meaning copy save
- As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my hearing, O wheel.
- Psalms 83:13chapter context similar meaning copy save
- O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.
- Proverbs 20:26chapter context similar meaning copy save
- A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.
- Isaiah 28:28chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.
- Ezekiel 1:15chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.
- Ecclesiastes 12:6chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
- Isaiah 28:27chapter context similar meaning copy save
- For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheelturned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.
- 1 Kings 7:33chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all molten.
- 1 Kings 7:32chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.
You searched for
"WHEELS" in the KJV Bible
25 Instances - Page 1 of 1 - Sort by Book Order - Feedback
- Ezekiel 10:6chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubims; then he went in, and stood beside the wheels.
- Ezekiel 10:12chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had.
- Ezekiel 1:20chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
- 1 Kings 7:32chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.
- Ezekiel 10:9chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubims, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the appearance of the wheelswas as the colour of a beryl stone.
- Ezekiel 10:16chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And when the cherubims went, the wheels went by them: and when the cherubims lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also turned not from beside them.
- Ezekiel 1:21chapter context similar meaning copy save
- When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
- Ezekiel 1:19chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
- Ezekiel 10:13chapter context similar meaning copy save
- As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my hearing, O wheel.
- Jeremiah 18:3chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
- Isaiah 5:28chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:
- Judges 5:28chapter context similar meaning copy save
- The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?
- Ezekiel 11:22chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
- Jeremiah 47:3chapter context similar meaning copy save
- At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands;
- Ezekiel 3:13chapter context similar meaning copy save
- I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.
- Exodus 14:25chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.
- Nahum 3:2chapter context similar meaning copy save
- The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots.
- 1 Kings 7:33chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all molten.
- Ezekiel 10:2chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.
- 1 Kings 7:30chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And every base had four brasen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every addition.
- Ezekiel 10:19chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD'S house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
- Daniel 7:9chapter context similar meaning copy save
- I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
- Ezekiel 26:10chapter context similar meaning copy save
- By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach.
- Ezekiel 1:16chapter context similar meaning copy save
- The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
- Ezekiel 23:24chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.
You searched for
"THUS FAR" in the KJV Bible
869 Instances - Page 1 of 29 - Sort by Book Order - Feedback
- Jeremiah 51:64chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
- Luke 22:51chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.
- 2 Samuel 20:20chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
- Jeremiah 48:47chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD. Thusfar is the judgment of Moab.
- Jeremiah 2:5chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
- Deuteronomy 20:15chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
- Psalms 103:12chapter context similar meaning copy save
- As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
- 2 Samuel 17:15chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Then said Hushai unto Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled.
- Mark 6:35chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:
- Ezekiel 6:12chapter context similar meaning copy save
- He that is far off shall die of the pestilence; and he that is near shall fall by the sword; and he that remaineth and is besieged shall die by the famine: thus will I accomplish my fury upon them.
- Ezekiel 11:16chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.
- 2 Kings 9:12chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And they said, It is false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel.
- Genesis 18:25chapter context similar meaning copy save
- That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
- 1 Kings 2:30chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.
- Genesis 32:4chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:
- Judges 18:4chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And he said unto them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest.
- Isaiah 46:12chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness:
- Luke 24:46chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
- 2 Kings 5:4chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.
- Proverbs 25:25chapter context similar meaning copy save
- As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
- Joshua 7:20chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
- Psalms 22:19chapter context similar meaning copy save
- But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
- Psalms 55:7chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
- Lamentations 3:17chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity.
- Ecclesiastes 7:24chapter context similar meaning copy save
- That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out?
- Proverbs 31:10chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
- Psalms 119:155chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes.
- Job 13:21chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.
- Ecclesiastes 7:23chapter context similar meaning copy save
- All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me.
- Job 11:14chapter context similar meaning copy save
- If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.
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You searched for
"BUNDLE" in the KJV Bible
4 Instances - Page 1 of 1 - Sort by Book Order - Feedback
- Song of Solomon 1:13chapter context similar meaning copy save
- A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.
- Acts 28:3chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
- Genesis 42:35chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.
- 1 Samuel 25:29chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.
Friday, July 18, 2025
Title: Words put it in California while in word his Toyota and word It was an Automatic and word We had just driven in from words an errand, so word House stood. Word House equated word stood and word stood and word House equated words muffled: Words Put it in California were not muffled words.
Cantore Arithmetic is able to state word difficult equated words due to the Works of Albert Einstein. Words To Date equated words local and national administrations equated word ignoring, words this word mentality equated word old.
Words David Dean Dyas word stated.
1. 4806 Chapel Springs Ct.
a. Arlington, TX 76017 is currently not for sale. The 2598 Square Feet single family home is a 4 beds, 2 baths property word propertyequated word proper[Prime].
Word House equated word defined and lengthens word state to word comprehend[horse[dressage[3 Day Eventing word stride[16ft]]]]: Now word application to word motion[16ft] equated word number 60.
a. 12 feet
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Flying
Driving
| Flight Distance | 1,468 miles / 2362 km |
| Flight Time | 3 hours, 20 minutes |
| Time Difference | San Francisco is 2 hours behind |
| Airports near Destination | San Francisco International Airport (SFO) Oakland International Airport (OAK) Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) |
| Book a Flight | |
| Direct Flights | American Airlines Frontier Airlines Southwest Airlines Spirit Airlines |
| Sports Stadiums | AT&T Park |
| Book a Hotel | Sleep Over Sauce Rodeway Inn Downtown Travelodge Central Market St Oakwood At Ava 55 Ninth Inn at the Opera |
| View Map |
| Driving Distance | 1,799 miles / 2895 km |
| Driving Time | 25 hours, 51 minutes |
| Cost of Driving | $267.22 |
| Stopping Points | Amarillo, TX Albuquerque, NM Flagstaff, AZ Bullhead City, AZ Fresno, CA |
| Cities near Destination | Daly City, CA Tiburon, CA Alameda, CA Oakland, CA South San Francisco, CA San Bruno, CA Albany, CA Berkeley, CA |
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You searched for
"PROPER" in the KJV Bible
4 Instances - Page 1 of 1 - Sort by Book Order - Feedback
- 1 Corinthians 7:7chapter context similar meaning copy save
- For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
- Acts 1:19chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.
- Hebrews 11:23chapter context similar meaning copy save
- By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.
- 1 Chronicles 29:3chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house,
Introduction to Long and Short Strides
As a horse rider, it is important to have a good understanding of strides, their lengths, and how to measure them.
Stride length is a measurement made between two neighbouring successive steps or jumps made by the same leg. This length is usually measured in feet or metres.
Before any equestrian event, it is important to have a good idea of your horse’s stride length. It is also very important to have the ability to shorten or lengthen strides whenever required. Most equestrian events are designed according to a standard stride length. There is generally a 57 – 60 foot distance between two obstacles. If you are jumping an oxer of up to 3 feet, there should be 57 feet between obstacles; if you are jumping 3 feet or more, there should be 60 feet between obstacles. 12 feet is considered to be a standard stride length which means the the horse will have four strides between two obstacles.
Before starting an equestrian event, you should check whether your horse does indeed take four strides between two obstacles. If your horse takes 3 or 5 strides, the rider should work to adjust the horse’s strides to the standard length. This will improve the horse’s performance, and will help to build a better relationship between rider and horse. If the rider is able to lengthen and shorten the horse’s stride at will, the horse will be able to balance well whilst being ridden. This will allow adjustments to be made with the rider in the saddle without stopping the horse or even changing from one gait to another. When increasing stride length, the front legs should stretch more towards the front, whilst the hind legs stretch more towards the back of the horse. The ultimate result will be that the horse covers more ground in the same number of strides.
Short stride is a common effect of hind limb lameness. Neurological problems can also cause short stride in horses. Identifying a short stride is simple, however identifying lameness is more difficult. To help diagnose lameness, eliminate pain, and reduce the spread of inflammation it can be very helpful to engage the assistance of a professional. It is also vital to seek professional knowledge about how to treat lameness in your horse, and how to properly manage horses which are suffering from lameness.
Horses sometimes develop short stride as a result of practising in small, indoor areas. If this is the case, try selecting a better arena with a better floor for your horse.
Normal stride length and movement
12 feet is considered to be a standard stride length. Modern riders place huge effort into achieving standard stride with their horses. It is important to remember, however, that “driving” the horse forward is not an acceptable method. As a horse rider, you must “allow” the horse to move forward keeping your body in a position vertical to the horse’s back. Achieving longer strides without losing the horse’s balance is important. For this to happen, the horse must relax its topline musculature, so it can be very helpful for the rider to allow the horse a free ride.
Diagnosing issues
First, it is important to know the causes of short stride in order to be able to diagnose any issues. As mentioned previously, lameness is the main cause of short stride, however false riding can be another cause of this.
Let’s discuss how to diagnose this issue. First, find an outdoor arena with a good amount of space and a good surface to allow for clear footing. Warm the horse up before starting a walk and observe the horse while it is walking. If the horse appears unwilling to walk and shows abnormal behaviours while walking, it is usually safe to assume that lameness is the problem. If there are no abnormal walking behaviours but the horse’s strides are short, work on lengthening the stride. Remember, over-lengthening of the horse’s stride can also be a problem.
Place two obstacles at a 57 to 60 feet distance from one another and then canter or trot. Count the horse’s strides. If your horse makes three strides for a distance of 60 feet, your horse’s strides are lengthened; if your horse makes five strides, your horse’s strides are shortened. Both lengthened and shortened stride can reflect badly on riders who participate in equestrian events.
In modern dressage, most riders say that it is easier to lengthen a canter than a trot. Select an outdoor area with a good terrain and mark two points on a straight line with 60 feet between them. Say “Go!” loudly when you pass the first point and say “Stop!” when you pass the second point. Continue riding until the number of strides becomes consistent. Your target is to make four strides between these two points. Remember that it is important to maintain the rhythm and tempo of the canter.
Measuring the length of a horse’s stride can be very useful. A standard stride length is 12 feet. There are two basic methods used to measure a horse’s stride length.
- The intuitive method
We have already discussed this method in different ways. You will need a vertical, an oxer, and a measuring tape. If your horse jumps less than 3 feet, place the two obstacles with 57 feet between them, or if the horse jumps 3 feet or more than then place the obstacles 60 feet apart. Start your workout and count each stride loudly.
- The mechanical method
For this method you will need a rake, a clear and unmarked arena, and a measuring tape. First, rake the floor to make a clean riding path. Warm your horse up and then allow it to canter along this path. Allow the horse to make several cantering movements. Finally, you can find the length of your horse’s strides by measuring the spaces between the hoof marks with a measuring tape.
Conclusion
Shortened strides are quite common, so it is often necessary to lengthen your horse’s stride to a standard level. Here are some golden tips for improving your horse’s stride:
First and foremost, be aware that a horse is an animal just like you. They feel love, and they can sense kindness, anger and sadness. Stay calm while you are riding. Many riders become angry when their horse is not making the desired strides, and this can be extremely counterproductive. Be calm and kind-hearted to your animal. Then start performing lengthening activities. Place vertices at various heights and allow the horse to jump over them. Maintain a good rhythm of movement. This will boost your horse’s confidence, and will passively increase stride length. When measuring stride length, count out loud. This will help familiarise the animal with your voice and will help it to maintain a good rhythm.
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Karen A. Placek, aka Karen Placek, K.A.P., KAP
- Karen Placek
- Presents, a Life with a Plan. My name is Karen Anastasia Placek, I am the author of this Google Blog. This is the story of my journey, a quest to understanding more than myself. The title of my first blog delivered more than a million views!! The title is its work as "The Secret of the Universe is Choice!; know decision" will be the next global slogan. Placed on T-shirts, Jackets, Sweatshirts, it really doesn't matter, 'cause a picture with my slogan is worth more than a thousand words, it's worth??.......Know Conversation!!!
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Karen A. Placek, aka Karen Placek, K.A.P., KAP
- Karen Placek
- Presents, a Life with a Plan. My name is Karen Anastasia Placek, I am the author of this Google Blog. This is the story of my journey, a quest to understanding more than myself. The title of my first blog delivered more than a million views!! The title is its work as "The Secret of the Universe is Choice!; know decision" will be the next global slogan. Placed on T-shirts, Jackets, Sweatshirts, it really doesn't matter, 'cause a picture with my slogan is worth more than a thousand words, it's worth??.......Know Conversation!!!
Know Decision of the Public: Popular Posts!!
- It began on a mid of night News court. A freeway with flames shot the scene to Kaiser. In such the heat of each ember ran into the touc...
- Bay Bridge traffic is so terrible that as a native San Franciscan I have found it very difficult to both come home and at an earlier tim...
- Should I voe an egg to the hatch of it's clutch than the via is of the Turtle at it's bae'd, of that is the batch of Hu...
- USA to Russian Tsar: Stop Your Cruel Oppression of the Jews, 1904. Chromolithograph. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:190...
- As the humpback whale has been studied for it's majestic manner it is not said how that whale came through our evolutionary reason t...
- 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) Yeti From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search "Abominab...
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You searched for
"RANGE" in the KJV Bible
1 RESULTS - PAGE 1 OF 1 - SORT BY BOOK ORDER - FEEDBACK
- Job 39:8chapter context similar meaning copy save
- The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing.
You searched for
"PLANT" in the KJV Bible
41 RESULTS - PAGE 1 OF 2 - SORT BY BOOK ORDER - FEEDBACK
- Jeremiah 31:5chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things.
- Job 14:9chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
- Psalms 107:37chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.
- Matthew 15:13chapter context similar meaning copy save
- But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
- Jeremiah 2:21chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?
- Jeremiah 29:5chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
- Jeremiah 18:9chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;
- Deuteronomy 28:39chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.
- Jeremiah 29:28chapter context similar meaning copy save
- For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
- Amos 9:15chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.
- Deuteronomy 16:21chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
- Ezekiel 34:29chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.
- Isaiah 65:21chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
- Ecclesiastes 3:2chapter context similar meaning copy save
- A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
- Daniel 11:45chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
- Jeremiah 32:41chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.
- Deuteronomy 28:30chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.
- Ezekiel 36:36chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.
- Jeremiah 42:10chapter context similar meaning copy save
- If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you.
- Jeremiah 35:7chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.
- 2 Samuel 7:10chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,
- Zephaniah 1:13chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.
- Isaiah 17:10chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:
- Jeremiah 1:10chapter context similar meaning copy save
- See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
- Exodus 15:17chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.
- Isaiah 53:2chapter context similar meaning copy save
- For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
- Isaiah 51:16chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
- Isaiah 5:7chapter context similar meaning copy save
- For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
- 1 Chronicles 17:9chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning,
- Jeremiah 31:28chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD.
You searched for
"ON DECK" in the KJV Bible
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- Job 40:10chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty.
- Jeremiah 10:4chapter context similar meaning copy save
- They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
- 2 Samuel 6:5chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.
- Exodus 37:8chapter context similar meaning copy save
- One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
- Colossians 3:2chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
- Matthew 5:45chapter context similar meaning copy save
- That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
- 2 Samuel 13:19chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.
- Nehemiah 9:32chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.
- 1 Samuel 17:3chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
- 1 Samuel 9:20chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house?
- 1 Chronicles 12:40chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Moreover they that were nigh them, even unto Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen, and meat, meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly: for there was joy in Israel.
- Philippians 2:27chapter context similar meaning copy save
- For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
- Revelation 7:1chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
- John 12:44chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.
- Luke 15:22chapter context similar meaning copy save
- But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
- 2 Samuel 3:29chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Let it rest on the head of Joab, and on all his father's house; and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue, or that is a leper, or that leaneth on a staff, or that falleth on the sword, or that lacketh bread.
- 1 Samuel 16:7chapter context similar meaning copy save
- But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
- Exodus 26:13chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it.
- Revelation 21:13chapter context similar meaning copy save
- On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
- Romans 12:7chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
- 2 Chronicles 3:17chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.
- Matthew 27:25chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
- Matthew 18:33chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
- Matthew 27:38chapter context similar meaning copy save
- Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.
- Luke 21:35chapter context similar meaning copy save
- For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
- 1 Kings 22:19chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
- 1 Kings 18:33chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
- Ezekiel 41:26chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And there were narrow windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch, and upon the side chambers of the house, and thick planks.
- Matthew 25:33chapter context similar meaning copy save
- And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
- Esther 9:18chapter context similar meaning copy save
- But the Jews that were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.
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