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G R Kane - Having to do with dinosaurs. Everything we have about them and all the information gathered over the years is from science. But I'd like to get away from the scientific answers and ask if it's possible to explain dinosaurs from the spiritual aspect? Like latter day revelation? Latter day scripture? Prophets and Apostles? Do we have any further information on dinosaurs given to us by the Lord other than science? ?
JOEL - The short answer to your question is, No. We really don't have anything on the spiritual or scriptural side regarding the dinosaurs that probably lived and died before Adam and Eve.
According to a New Era article:
"Did dinosaurs live and die on this earth long before man came along? There have been no revelations on this question, and the scientific evidence says yes. (You can learn more about it by studying paleontology if you like, even at Church-owned schools.)The details of what happened on this planet before Adam and Eve aren't a huge doctrinal concern of ours. The accounts of the Creation in the scriptures are not meant to provide a literal, scientific explanation of the specific processes, time periods, or events involved. What matters to us is that as part of His plan for us, God created the earth and then created Adam and Eve, who were our first parents and were instrumental in bringing about the Fall, which enabled us to be born on earth and participate in God's plan. ("What does the Church believe about dinosaurs?," New Era, February 2016).
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said:
I do not know the details of what happened on this planet before that (Adam and Eve), but I do know these two were created under the divine hand of God, that for a time they lived alone in a paradisiacal setting where there was neither human death nor future family, and that through a sequence of choices they transgressed a commandment of God which required that they leave their garden setting but which allowed them to have children before facing physical death. (See Jeffrey R. Holland, "Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet," Ensign, May 2015, 105.)
There is no official position on the age of the earth and dinosaurs. We only know it has been about 6000 years since the fall of Adam.Before that the creation was done in 6 periods of time called days, each of which could have been a thousands or a millions of years in length. Plenty of time for God to possibly use evolution to create all creatures including the dinosaurs. But such a theory is only speculation.
Scott Trotter, spokesman for the LDS Church said:
"Science and religion are not at odds in our faith. We accept truth wherever it is found and take the pragmatic view that where religion and science seem to clash, it is simply because there is insufficient data to reconcile the two."
President Joseph Fielding Smith said the following as far as the church leaders think regarding the subject:
"The Lord pronounced the earth good when it was finished. Everything upon its face was called good. There was no death in the earth before the fall of Adam. I do not care what the scientists say in regard to dinosaurs and other creatures upon the earth millions of years ago, that lived and died and fought and struggled for existence. When the earth was created and was declared good, peace was upon its face among all its creatures. Strife and wickedness were not found here, neither was there any corruption"(DOCTRINES OF SALVATION, VOL. 1 by Joseph Fielding Smith, Bruce R. McConkie)
I am a scientist myself and the evidence is certain that dinosaurs lived and died millions of years ago. But all of that happened before Adam and Eve. When they say there was no death before the fall, meaning separation of body and spirit, they are talking about human beings that came after the fall of Adam. Perhaps any creatures before that did not have spirits and so that kind of death doesn't apply to them. But this is also speculation.
The main purpose of the scriptures is to reveal why (not necessarily how) the earth was created, and what laws and principles a person must follow to obtain eternal life. The goal of science, on the other hand, is to learn how (not why) the world was made and to understand the laws and principles governing the physical world.
We know that eventually the Lord "shall reveal all things -Things which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth, by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof - Things most precious, things that are above, and things that are beneath, things that are in the earth, and upon the earth, and in heaven." (D&C 101:32–34.)
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