First, I’ve added a new section to the menu at left on Travel/Speaking plans.
Second, our book is now available to order from BYU Bookstore for $9.50, or a free pdf from the Life Sciences webpage.
Historian of Religion, Science, and Biblical Interpretation
First, I’ve added a new section to the menu at left on Travel/Speaking plans.
Second, our book is now available to order from BYU Bookstore for $9.50, or a free pdf from the Life Sciences webpage.
For several years, I have been one of several co-editors nursing a book on Latter-day Saints, faith, and evolution through the production stage. I’m pleased to announce it’s now available. Free. Continue reading
Now available from ProQuest, in Pdf, paperback, or hardcover, the new hot dissertation EVERYONE wants to read!
“The Scientist is Wrong”: Joseph Fielding Smith, George McCready Price, and the Ascent of Creationist Thought among Latter-day Saints in the Twentieth Century
A few notes, followed by the Dissertation Abstract, and my story:
As many of my readers may know, President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876-1972) considered evolution not just incorrect, but devilish; he believed scripture taught a young earth, with no death of any kind anywhere before the fall of Adam c. 4000 BC. His key scriptural evidence was 2 Nephi 2:22-25, which he cited dozens of times in books, articles, and private letters. I want to explore and document a few related questions here.
I’m deep in my third (and final, I hope) dissertation chapter, covering the period 1960-1980. My research has always included archival work, interviews, and just generally pulling on every thread I can until the sweater unravels.
History is not merely what happened, but the stories we tell about what happened and how we tell them. Better understanding of the past can change our perception of the present, change our choices and understandings. Better history seems to have been a factor leading up to the 1978 revelation re: the priesthood/temple ban, for example. (See the long version of the Kimball biography.)
It’s also definitely the case with the Church and biological evolution. Joseph Fielding Smith told the story of evolution in the Church in the first half century in a particular way. And funny enough, it is Joseph Fielding Smith who ultimately undermines the very story he tells, leaving us instead a history that allowing much more theological openness to evolution. Continue reading
I’ve linked below to the video of my recent talk at the University of Utah, and further reading for those interested.
I was recently asked, is evolution compatible with the Gospel?
So let’s talk about it. But first things first; to be productive, any good conversation needs to start with clear definitions.
A new Church History Topic essay on Organic Evolution appeared recently. These are not full-blown essays, like the Gospel Topics. Rather, they are meant as concise historical/conceptual summaries provided as background for the Saints volumes, not as a stand-alone lengthy exploration of a subject. You can find them linked, in footnotes, in Saints online. I’d like to provide some notes and comments on this short background essay.
Today’s take-away is simple: Don’t use the Old Testament Institute manual for Genesis. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk…
We begin interpreting scripture before we even crack open the cover, through the assumptions and premises that we bring to scripture.
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