creation005

Dear Gramps, I sure like to add another question concerning the age of the earth, for the answer of Brigham Young that you gave to the earlier question on the same subject does not satisfy my curiosity, namely, you said: “death came with the fall of Adam” . . .At the BBC TV, not available for you I guess, there is an animation series going on about the dinosaur, drawn with the latest computer techniques, then we must conclude for ourselves that the pre-historic animals must have lived also in Adam and Eve times in the terrestrial world, or not? Otherwise where is the logic, should Spock (Startrek) say? Tell me, and thanks for the fine job you are doing now. Elder Anton van Wamelen, Bruges branch, Antwerp Stake

Dear Elder Van Wamelen,

It is impossible to piece together the chronology of the earth from the few statements of revealed word on the subject. However, the revealed word is truth. It is always intriguing to attempt to rationalize revealed truth with scientific evidence and theory, but this is seldom possible. In the earlier communication that you refer to, I touched upon two conflicting scientific theories on which geologic chronology is based. I also suggested that we can have confidence in neither of these two theories because the a priori conditions on which they are based do not concur with revealed truth. So, we are simply left with insufficient information to answer such questions as you ask.

I would add one caution. Although scientific method is extremely practical for predicting the results of experimental conditions, scientific theory considers only telestial phenomena, and cannot be expected to make valid conclusions related to non-telestial conditions. Therefore, it would seem well to accept the revealed word as truth, and where it may not concur with scientific evidence it would be well to withhold judgment until additional scientific data would concur with the revealed word.

Gramps

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