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STEVE - In a 1980 address (The Seven Deadly Heresies) at B.Y.U., Bruce R.
McConkie stated that God had presided in the universe for 2,555,000,000
years. He made the same statement to Eugene England in a
letter addressed to Mr.England in 1981. My question is where
brother McConkie came up with 2.5 billion years. Was he
stating that God was 2.5 billion years old or did he mean
that God had no interest in the universe for the first 10.5
billion years of its existence.
JOEL - I believe Elder McConkie meant that the universe has existed for that length of time. On Christmas day in 1844, W. W. Phelps wrote a letter that was published in The Times and Seasons (5:758), wherein he spoke of the meaning of eternity. Basing his remarks possibly on something he heard Joseph Smith say Brother Phelps wrote:
"That eternity [the one during which Christ's doings have been known], agreeable to the records found in the catacombs of Egypt, has been going on in this system . . . almost two thousand five hundred and fifty-five millions of years." (2,555,000,000 years)
Elder Bruce R. McConkie, quotes from this letter in his book, "The Mortal Messiah (Book I, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1979], pp.
32-33, footnotes)
"All of the prophets who have seen within the veil have known many things that were never preserved and passed on to their posterity and to the residue of men. Joseph Smith and the early brethren in this dispensation knew much that we do not know and will not know until we attain the same spiritual stature that was theirs. This matter of how long eternity has been going on in our portion of created things is one of these matters. The sliver of information that has been preserved for us is found in an epistle of W. W. Phelps, written on Christmas day, 1844, and published to the Church in the Times and Seasons. Brother Phelps speaks of "Jesus Christ, whose goings forth, as the prophets said, have been from of old, from eternity," in what is a clear allusion to Micah's prophecy that Bethlehem shall be the birthplace of our Lord. "Out of thee [Bethlehem Ephratah] shall come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." the Lord said through that ancient prophet. (Micah 5:2.) Then, in an interpolative
explanation of what is meant by "from eternity," or "from everlasting," Brother Phelps says, "And that eternity [the one during which Christ's doings have been known], agreeable to the records found in the catacombs of Egypt, has been going on in this system [not this world], almost two thousand five hundred and fifty-five millions of years." (Times and Seasons 5:758.) That is to say, the papyrus from which the Prophet Joseph translated the Book of Abraham, to whom the Lord gave a knowledge of his infinite creations, also contained this expression relative to what apparently is the universe in which we live, which universe has been created by the Father through the instrumentality of the Son. The time mentioned has no reference, as some have falsely supposed, to the period of this earth's existence." ("The Mortal Messiah (Book I, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1979], pp. 32-33, footnotes)
Here's the exact quote from the letter by William W Phelps (who by the way assisted Joseph Smith as a scribe during translation of the hieroglyphics) to William Smith the prophet's brother in its context:
"Well, now, Brother William, when the house of Israel begin to come into the glorious mysteries of the kingdom, and find that Jesus Christ, whose goings forth, as the prophets said, have been from of old, from eternity; and that eternity, agreeably to the records found in the catacombs of Egypt, has been going on in this system, (not this world) almost two thousand five hundred and fifty five millions of years: and to know at the same time, that deists, geologists and others are trying to prove that matter must have existed hundreds of thousands of years;—it almost tempts the flesh to fly to God, or muster faith like Enoch to be translated and see and know as we are seen and known" ( Times and Seasons (5:758))
The fact that the number he quotes is "agreeeable to the records found in the catacombs of Egypt", means that it must have been a number that Joseph
Smith learned about as he was translating the Book of Abraham. It is also possible that this information was found in the writings of Joseph in Egypt, which were in the prophets posession but were never translated. This is most likely where Elder McConkie got his information. Apparently brother McConkie, and others, believe this number represents the length of time our universe has existed, which although still short of what todays scientists claim, is much longer than what most Bible-believing Christians believe.
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