My ponderings about Evolution:

First of all, let me say that I believe in God, and that “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1) However, I do not know “HOW” He created the heaven and the earth. Although I believe that God created the earth, I am not a proponent of teaching “Intelligent Design” (ID) as a scientific theory in the classroom. Pursuing ID as a scientific theory does not help me to understand “HOW” the heaven and the earth were created. I have done quite a bit of reading on Darwinian evolution, and although I am not a scientist of any kind, the evidence seems to indicate that evolution explains much, but not all, of the “HOW” of the origin of species. There are gaps in evolution that I don’t think will ever be fully explained by scientific enquiry. That is where my faith comes in, believing that I will be led to the truth, or the truth will be revealed to me, as I pursue an honest quest to understand, and as I have need to know. The answers to these questions are not necessary for my salvation in the kingdom of God, but as an intelligent being created by God, I must “seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118), and I must teach my children to do the same. With regards to the origin of species, I believe that using the theory of evolution, combined with my faith in God, as the basis for my study will get me closer to the truth than any other path available at this time.

I have read articles on the controversy that ID should be taught as an alternative theory to evolution in our science classrooms. My problem with teaching ID as a scientific theory in classrooms is that we don’t know how God created the earth. There are telltale markers that don’t seem to be explained by evolution, or at least can’t be explained from evidence that can be tested, but those markers, or lapses in evidence, don’t explain how God did what he did. I also believe that God works through natural laws, and that those laws and their affect upon our world can be understood. It seems that following a theory of ID would run the risk of decreasing our scientific efforts to understand the world around us, because whenever we came up against an unexplained phenomenon, it could easily be attributed to the Hand of God, or the touch of the Intelligent Designer, and we would possibly believe that it is beyond our comprehension, just as many evangelical Christians believe that God is unknowable and incomprehensible. Therefore, in spite of my belief in God, or possibly because I believe that “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.” (D&C 93:36), it is incumbent upon me as a seeker after truth to pursue the most valid avenues for the discovery of truth, and I believe that evolution, until a better theory can be presented, provides that avenue with regards to the origin of species.

I can never prove to the satisfaction of non-believers that God exists, or that a Higher Power was the Master Planner of Creation, unless they are open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and are able to believe things they cannot prove. However, I can follow the admonition of Brigham Young to “Teach the children, give them the learning of the world and the things of God; elevate their minds, that they may not only understand the earth we walk upon, but the air we breathe, the water we drink, and all the elements pertaining to the earth.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 245) I don’t need ID taught in the schools, because I will teach it in my home. To me, ID is a religious belief rather than a scientific theory. I believe in the U.S. Constitution and in the freedom of religion, and that trying to mandate that we teach one particular religious belief (ID) would be a violation of the Constitution, and would lead to erosion of the basic freedoms and rights enjoyed by all Americans. I agree with H. Allen Orr in his article published in the New Yorker magazine entitle “Devolution” regarding the trial in Dover, Pennsylvania in 2005, where the Dover Area School Board decreed that “students will be made aware of gaps/problems in Darwin’s theory and of other theories of evolution including, but not limited to, intelligent design”, that “intelligent design is junk science.”

I have no problem reconciling my belief in God and His guiding hand in the creation of this earth with geologic evidence showing that the earth is possibly as old as 4.5 billion years. Henry Eyring said “so the evidence seems to me to point toward an age of the earth of between four and five billion years and to the existence of pre-Adamic man. I don’t think that it is reasonable to explain the observed geologic formations on the theory that they were moved from some other world. Since as Latter-day Saints we believe life exists in other worlds I have no difficulty in reconciling myself to the idea of life before Adam and to a great age of the earth.” “Mormon Scientist - p. 125) However, that does not mean that evolution explains everything about the creation of this world. In my readings on evolution, I have noticed some of the unexplained gaps in the theory of evolution. For instance, in an article entitled “The Big Bloom - How Flowering Plants changed the World” in the July 2002 issue of National Geographic, author Michael Kleisius states that flowering plants took firm root in earth’s history about 100 million years ago, but asks“just when and how did the first flowering plants emerge? Charles Darwin pondered that question, and paleobotanists are still searching for the answer.” In an article entitled “The Rise of Mammals” in the April 2003 issue of National Geographic, author Rick Gore states that mammals appeared on the earth around 210 million years ago, but there is no answer as to how they suddenly emerged. He suggests that new “fossil finds continue to yield hints about how mammals arose, adapted, and thrived”, but admits that we don’t know. Michael J. Behe, a professor of biological sciences at Lehigh University suggests another gap, called “irreducibly complex” structures in nature, such as the cell, which he contends cannot be explained by natural selection. (See H. Allen Orr’s article “Devolution”) I believe that during the creation of the world God set in motion various laws of nature, and then allowed them to run their course, and at critical points in the evolution of this world he gave a little nudge to the natural selection to accomplish His intended design. Possibly there was a little nudge by God that suddenly produced flowering plants from what had previously been vines and ferns. Perhaps a nudge from God allowed mammals to develop where previously there had been only reptiles and amphibians. Possibly a nudge by God made an irreducibly complex cell possible, and then allowed natural selection to run its course. Obviously, more research is needed in these “gap” areas, but that does not behoove me to throw out the entire theory of evolution.

Like I said, I’m not a scientist, so I don’t even pretend to have the answers to any of these questions, but it excites me as a seeker after truth to see the strides that are being made in biology and geology, physics and chemistry, that continue to provide clues as to how God created this world. It does not bother me in the least that many scientists pursue their scientific experiments without a belief in God. To me that only means that they will have a harder time finding truth. If they believed in God, they could appeal to Him to point them in the right direction in their search for truth, for He is the possessor of all truth. I will continue to seek after light and truth, wherever it can be found, while keeping myself open to truths revealed from heaven, and I will strive to teach my children and their children to do the same. As we do so, we will ever draw closer to the truth, and ever draw closer to an understanding of God and His ways. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)