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Hi Gramps, I was just reading through your page, which I enjoyed, and I was interested by the statement from Brigham Young about Adam being brought here from another world. I've read it before in Discourses of Brigham Young and Skousens First 2000 Years, but I have also read statements to the contrary, i.e. Joseph Fielding Smith is quite adamant in Doctrines of Salvation that Adam was literally made from the dust of THIS earth. How are these two completely different views to be reconciled? How do we explain when two prophets of God contradict each other on what should be a relatively straight-forward issue? And are there any sources other than Brigham Young that give evidence for the extraterrestrial transplantation argument? Thanks Dave, England |
Dear Dave,
It’s one thing to hear a talk given, for instance, and then read the words years later. It’s always important to consider, where possible, the context in which such statements are made. If there are apparent contradictions, before I would judge one of the prophets to be wrong I would hold the apparent differences in abeyance while waiting for further light and knowledge.
There is no doubt that Adam was born on another world, and came here as a terrestrial being. The earth was not transformed into a telestial world until the fall of Adam and Eve. Now, you and I are made from the dust of this earth, but we were not put together in some geological factory. As a matter of fact, all of the elements of the body are replaced at least every seven years. So, in that sense, you are continually made and re-made. In the same sense Adam and Eve were made of the dust of this earth, but they did not originate here. So, I see no conflict between the two statements to which you refer.
—Gramps