Mormons and Creationism

[Piscivore]

We have school board elections next month, and while none of the candidates mention the issue, the most obviously religious of them are LDS. Are Mormons commonly creationists?

[Tanstaafl]

I think so. The Book of Mormon doesn't address the issue, as far as I can recall, but I'm pretty sure they're basic young earth creationists.

[RSLancastr]

Probably depends on the Mormon.

I don't think that the church has an official stnce on it.

I have a good friend who is Mormon, and he definitely is not a creationist. But I don't know how typical he is.

Another Mormon recently told me that after studying evolution, he had realized there was nothing about it which conflicted with Mormon doctrine.

But I would imagine that there are plenty of Mormons (Utah Mormons, Hal! :) ) who feel that evolution and Mormonism are at odds.

[Zygar]

Officially, the LDS Church does not have a stance on evolution. But the average Mormon believes in the creation. It's very common in the religion that if there is no official position on something, the average person takes on the fundamentalist Christian view.

[Zygar]

Utah Mormons, Hal! :)

The scourge of Mormonism is the Utah Mormon.

[Nick Bogaerts]

I've met Mormons who are young-earth creationists, and I've met some who are not. Though Mormon apologetics can get quite creative at times.

[RandFan]

When I grew up I can't remember the authorities (top dogs in SLC which is the headquarters) ever taking a stand against it but I knew a number of Bishops (local leaders) who did. It was the source of discussions at my house and friends. I don't remember it ever being mentioned in seminary and I don't remember it being mentioned at the Mission Training Center. When I went on my mission I believed in macro evolution and an old earth. IIRC most Mormons don't accept evolution but aren't too certain how hold the earth is. Creation is seen as both symbolic and literal with no firm demarcation as to what is literal and what is symbolic. You just kinda know, ya know!? ;) FWIW my mom is an ardent anti-darwinist but couldn't care less how old the earth is.

[Bill Thompson]

I have had the misfortune of being drawn into a debate with a mormon. I was not the wisest thing I have done. There is a good video in IFILMS about the mormon church.

ifilm.com/posts/list/104771.page

[RandFan]

I have had the misfortune of being drawn into a debate with a mormon. I was not the wisest thing I have done. There is a good video in IFILMS about the mormon church.

ifilm.com/posts/list/104771.pageMormons can actually be quite educated on a number of topics. However they are often very naive on many more.

I couldn't get your link to work.

[Piscivore]

I couldn't get your link to work.

Ditto.

[Kopji]

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2757097

I think it might be that one.

It's so sad
when cartoonists go bad.

[Piscivore]

I called two of them, and left a message for a third. I didn't tell them my position. The two I spoke with said they would support teaching ID in school. The fourth doesn't give contact info, and she's the one that makes the most of her faith. :(

[RenaissanceBiker]

Mormons can actually be quite educated on a number of topics. However they are often very naive on many more.

I used to work witha mormon who was also a licensed professional engineer (I am too). We would have some interesting philosophical discussions while playing chess at lunch. We never convinced each other of much, but I think it gave me a much needed edge at the game. He was a pretty good chess player. I needed to distract him as much as possible. IIRC, he remained undecided on creationism. He would just say, "It's all possible. God's pretty cool that way. Check."

[Bill Thompson]

The deeper I get into Mormon ideology the stranger it sounds. I wonder if anyone has heard of any scandals like the deaths that occured in Scientology Cult.

[Zygar]

The deeper I get into Mormon ideology the stranger it sounds. I wonder if anyone has heard of any scandals like the deaths that occured in Scientology Cult.

The Mormon scandals pretty much ended when they moved to Utah. But, having grown up in Utah, I've never really gotten anything but the Mormon perspective on them. I think that only one well known in Utah is the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and that's hardly the type of thing you are referring to.

[Bill Thompson]

So they are not into the whole prayer-heals-all sort of thing?

[Zygar]

I called two of them, and left a message for a third. I didn't tell them my position. The two I spoke with said they would support teaching ID in school. The fourth doesn't give contact info, and she's the one that makes the most of her faith. :(

The official statements from the LDS church regarding creation basically offer 2 acceptable views of the creation of man.

1) Creation somewhat (but not exactly) like the version in the bible.
2) Effectively the modern Intelligent Design theory.

Anyway, the position of the church is basically that the religious texts do not answer the question sufficiently, so it is not worth making a serious religious argument over it.

[Zygar]

So they are not into the whole prayer-heals-all sort of thing?

No, Mormons go to the doctor. Infact, they like to think that all technology is of God. Unfortunately, they also commonly accept all the quack medicine as well. I suppose when your brain is full of garbage, you will accept any reasonably harmless seeming garbage that comes along.

[Bill Thompson]

I used to work witha mormon who was also a licensed professional engineer (I am too). We would have some interesting philosophical discussions while playing chess at lunch. We never convinced each other of much, but I think it gave me a much needed edge at the game. He was a pretty good chess player. I needed to distract him as much as possible. IIRC, he remained undecided on creationism. He would just say, "It's all possible. God's pretty cool that way. Check."

"God's" and "Gods" too. The whole many Gods thing is strange to me. So are the racist undertones as the ifilm shows. The lure of becoming a God I think seduces people. But what does that really hurt?

[Loss Leader]

The only Mormon I ever knew was a creation literalist who quite earnestly believed that faith in the face of overwhelming evidence was a virtue.

I have to say, he was a darn nice guy. Darn nice.

[Foster Zygote]

I had a really good psych teacher in high school who was a member of the LDS. I'm almost certain he was convinced of the validity of evolutionary theory, but that was a long time ago.

Steven

[joobz]

I had a really good psych teacher in high school who was a member of the LDS. I'm almost certain he was convinced of the validity of evolutionary theory, but that was a long time ago.

Steven
Was he LDS? wow, I didn't know that.


Mormons can actually be quite educated on a number of topics. However they are often very naive on many more.

I couldn't get your link to work.

That's true about anyone. I knew a baptist undergrad who worked in a lab I was in. Highly skilled in polymer research, we got on the subject of world politics and discovered
1.) Isreal belongs to the Jews cause it's in the Bible
2.) The world is 5000 years old
3.) Radioactive decay is variable

No, Mormons go to the doctor. Infact, they like to think that all technology is of God. Unfortunately, they also commonly accept all the quack medicine as well. I suppose when your brain is full of garbage, you will accept any reasonably harmless seeming garbage that comes along.
Yup, They do have their Mystical Magical Mormon Underwear.

[money]

I had a really good psych teacher in high school who was a member of the LDS. I'm almost certain he was convinced of the validity of evolutionary theory, but that was a long time ago.

Steven

Well, I'm guessing the people who teach Biology at BYU are mormon...

Come to think of it, my Biology/physics teacher was LDS at my high school.

[Foster Zygote]

Was he LDS? wow, I didn't know that.

Yeah, he mentioned it once in passing. He never brought it up in any academic setting. In fact I'm almost certain that I have a memory of him discussing evolution. If so, then I remember it because I was still a creationist at the time.

Steve

[This Guy]

Mormons can actually be quite educated on a number of topics. However they are often very naive on many more.

I couldn't get your link to work.

I had a Mormon as Dept. Head once. I still consider him to be one of the most intelligent people I've ever known personally.

He was a Doctor of Physiology. Basically created and developed the Medical Information System for the company I worked for. He knew just about anything you could want to know about automobile engines, and even rebuilt them for fun. Could hold a decent conversation on any topic I could come up with.

As smart as he was, he was never smug. Never made you feel like an idiot, though I'm sure he had ample opportunities, in my case anyway. ;)

And he never mentioned religion. Don't even remember how I found out he was Mormon.