A LETTER TO A LIBERAL MORMON
Dear Liberal Mormons,
I have heard things and read things as they have come across my Face Book feed that are concerning and need to be addressed. There seems to be a rise among liberal and so-called “intellectual” Mormons to give science primacy over the Word of God. Allow me to expound upon the areas in which you do error:
- Despite what science may teach, God created the world in six days; not thousands, millions or billions of years (Doctrine and Covenants 77:12 and Genesis 1:31).
- Despite what science tells us by way of carbon dating, radioisotope dating methods, ice core dating methods, geological dating methods, dendrochronology, the Earth is not billions of years old. It is only thousands of years old (Doctrine and Covenants 77:6).
- There was no death before The Fall and thus evolution is wrong (2 Nephi 2:22, 23). Joseph Fielding Smith was very clear where the Church stands when he said the following:
“I say most emphatically, you cannot believe in this theory [evolution] of the origin of man, and at the same time accept the plan of salvation as set forth by the Lord our God. You must choose the one and reject the other for they are in direct conflict and there is a gulf separating them which is so great that it cannot be bridged, no matter how much one may try to do so…for according to this theory, death had always been in the world. If, therefore, there was no fall, there was no need of an atonement, hence the coming into the world of the Son of God as the Savior of the world is a contradiction, a thing impossible. Are you prepared to believe such a thing as that?”1
- The prophets do not make mistakes. In a June 1945 New Era Article, the following was said:
“When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done. When they propose a plan–it is God’s plan. When they point the way, there is no other which is safe. When they give direction, it should mark the end of controversy. God works in no other way. To think otherwise, without immediate repentance, may cost one his faith, may destroy his testimony, and leave him a stranger to the kingdom of God”2
In a letter dated April 15, 1955, to scientist Dr. Henry Eyring, Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith also said the following:
“No one realizes more than I that I am “a fallible man”; and I accord to every other man, including the scientists, the same compliment. There is one place, however, where I feel that men are infallible. That is when they, as prophets, reveal to us the word of the Lord.”3
- God is immutable. His word does not change and will not change on this subject (Malachi 3:6).
So what of the fossil records, of carbon dating, etc? Can’t you see it? God is testing the faith of scientists and of you, liberal Mormons.
This came into clear focus for me the other night when I was called into the emergency room to take care of a two-year old child who’s femur had been broken. We took the child into the operating room to fix the femur surgically and suddenly it dawned on me. None of my training, none of the medical research pointing that our treatment of this particular fracture was the correct treatment, mattered. It was all illusory. God would heal this fracture whether or not we treated it surgically. Just as the geologists, anthropologists, and archaeologists are being tested by so-called science, all the medical science was just testing my faith in God. God will ultimately decide who will and who won’t be healed. He will determine what is true. And so now, when I get called into the hospital in the middle of the night, I will only pray with my patients.
So, liberal and intellectual Mormons, please, please listen and heed the scriptures. Please repent and make a course correction before it is too late. Isn’t it clear? When science and God’s chosen prophets collide, we need to realize that science is just wrong and we should always go with what our prophets say without questioning.
Sincerely,
Michael Barker
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1Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1, compiled by Bruce R. McConkie, pages 141-142
2Improvement Era,Ward Teachers’ Message for June, 1945, “SUSTAINING THE GENERAL AUTHORITIES OF THE CHURCH”. To read the full text, click here.
3To read this correspondence and more between Joseph Fielding Smith and Dr. Henry Eyring, click here.
Miguel Barker-Valdez
Miguel is a Guatemalan-American Mormon living in the Northwest with his family. He is one of the proprietors of the Rational Faiths blog.
All posts by Miguel Barker-Valdez
All due respect, Mike, but I’m not sure what constructive purpose this particular posting serves. It seems to simply be cynical belly-aching, which certainly many of us are prone to from time to time, but it doesn’t really help anyone, liberal or not.
Or perhaps you should join the Christian Scientists.
Michael,
“So what of the fossil records, of carbon dating, etc? Can’t you see it? God is testing the faith of scientists and of you, liberal Mormons.”
Could you expand on what you mean here, and since you prefer a literal interpretation of scripture, could you provide evidence of God “testing the faith of scientists and [me]”, speaking as a “liberal Mormon”. Also, are you suggesting conservative Mormons are against science?
Furthermore, could you also provide evidence disproving the science behind carbon dating?
Thank you.
Brilliant satire!
You made me laugh on this sunny Sunday afternoon. Fantastic satire, thanks Michael!
A dangerously biased post full of dogmatic claims.
– A disagreeing mormon.
Umm, people, this is satire. Did you read to the end??
Let me summarize. Claiming science is wrong about evolution, the age of the earth, etc. is as ridiculous as thinking a surgeon will be able to heal a shattered femur just by praying for it to happen.
Some people are really dense.
Brilliant job, Michael!
That sums it up!
People who think this is good satire are idiotic. Evolution is the official explanation for human origins at church schools like BYU. Evolution happened, no doubt.
Believing in evolution doesn’t make anybody a “liberal” Mormon. Like the First Presidency said, “That which is demonstrated, we accept with joy; but vain philosophy, human theory and mere speculations of men, we do not accept nor do we adopt anything contrary to divine revelation or to good common sense.”
Complete straw man.
As a liberal Mormon, I totally agree with you Namsan. This would be a lot more funny, if it were directed at Young Earth Creationists or something, but Mormons are actually pretty great about embracing Science, so…yeah, it’s a Straw Man Satire.
I love it Mike!
Brilliant! Very witty. I may share this with my dad, with whom I had a surprisingly heated conversation a couple years ago, over my subscription to evolution and natural selection.
Well put. I would share this on my wall, but the last time I shared one of these rational pieces on my wall, I got the stupid comments from my “doubt your doubts” ward family.
A little note to a confused Mormon: This is a very strange collection of ideas that haven’t the slightest correlation to the Church’s current position on these issues. You might be more comfortable among the Young Earth Creationists — or the anti-vaccinationists.
As a fellow doctor I really enjoyed the satire you have crafted. Unfortunate that people like Shane apparently do not understand what satire is and how it can be used to illustrate a point in a…..wait for it…… satirical way.
Wow! That was crazy! This was satire right? Or if not, You haven’t done your studies, what you have written is not the church’s official opinion.
I got through the first couple quotes before it dawned on me this was satire. Based on the comments, I’d say this is great satire.
Bravo! Encore!
Such a stir stick! Nicely done.
Satire, like parables, may be enlightening to some and not to others. Thanks for this piece, Dr. Barker
In the pearl the creation says that they waited for it to conform . To me that could mean a million years for each time they waited … Am I wrong …?