We begin interpreting scripture before we even crack open the cover, through the assumptions and premises that we bring to scripture.
Category: evolution
Tales from the Archives: Cleon Skousen, George Hansen, and Geology
My last post talked about Cleon Skousen’s book, The First 2000 Years. Today I came across an interview with BYU professor Bertrand Harrison, a biology and botany professor. If you’ve ever been to the garden or duck pond on the south end of BYU campus, on 800 North, that’s the Bertrand F. Harrison Arboretum, pictured above
Harrison had written one of the most pro-evolution articles ever published in a Church magazine, and it was specifically read and approved by President McKay to appear in the magazine. That article was part of a controversial pro-science series in Church magazines in 1965, which I detailed here.
I came across this interview with Harrison, wherein he relates an anecdote about George Hansen and Cleon Skousen. Continue reading
Tales from the Archives: Neal A. Maxwell and the Creationist Filmstrip
A brief and incomplete story, illustrating Elder Maxwell’s language fun… even in internal memos.
Science as a Legitimate Contributor to our Knowledge of Creation and Earth History
As noted in a prior post, Orson F. Whitney authored the 1909 First Presidency statement on “The Origin of Man.” He sent a letter to John Widtsoe with that draft, along with some notes. Although Whitney was strongly opposed to evolution, he acknowledge that science could play a role in clarifying earth history. Continue reading
The 1909 First Presidency Statement in Its Historical Context
Some Latter-day Saints have touted the 1909 First Presidency statement as the definitive doctrinal repudiation of evolution for all time; Elder McConkie wanted it canonized and added to the 1978/82 scripture revisions, for example.
Joseph Fielding Smith on Scriptural interpretation and Scientific Conflict
My dissertation involves a lot of President Joseph Fielding Smith, particularly the way he interpreted scripture, his influential assumptions, and conclusions. Continue reading
Tales from the Archives 4: Science, Interpretation, and Bad Feeling in 1965
In June 1965, the LDS Sunday School presidency informally began a new series on science and religion, written by LDS scientists. Continue reading
Tales from the Archives 2: Wait, what?
In 2007 General Conference, President Monson told the story of an unusual convert to Christianity. Continue reading
Tales from the Archives part 1: “So, things are normal.”
I will occasionally post things from the archives, with minimal explanation or point, sometimes. Here’s a fun one recently.
Interpreting Science and Scripture: Joseph Fielding Smith, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Hermeneutics in LDS History
I was set to present a paper at the Mormon History Association this year (now pushed to next year), “Seventh-day Adventist Influence on LDS Creationism, from Joseph Fielding Smith to Ezra Taft Benson.”
Here’s an expanded teaser with some analysis of philosophical underpinnings.
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