---
title: "Mormon views on evolution"
chunk: 3/8
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_views_on_evolution"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:31:57.700246+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== General conference speeches ===
The LDS Church has published several general conference talks mentioning evolution. In the October 1984 conference, apostle Boyd K. Packer stated that "no one with reverence for God could believe that His children evolved from slime or from reptiles" as well as affirming that "those who accept the theory of evolution don't show much enthusiasm for genealogical research." In the April 2012 conference, apostle Russell M. Nelson discussed the human body stating "some people erroneously think that these marvelous physical attributes happened by chance or resulted from a big bang somewhere". He then compared this to an "explosion in a printing shop produc[ing] a dictionary".

=== Instruction manuals ===

==== Old Testament Student Seminary Manual ====
The Old Testament Student Manual, published by the Church Educational System, contains several quotes by general authorities as well as academics from a variety of backgrounds (both members of the church and non-members) related to organic evolution and the origins of the earth. The 2003 edition states that there is no official stance on the age of the earth but that evidence for a longer process is substantial and very few people believe the earth was actually created in the space of one week. However, it also includes a quote from Joseph Fielding Smith indicating his interpretation of church doctrine as it pertains to the theory of organic evolution. He asserts that organic evolution is incompatible and inconsistent with revelations from God and that to accept it is to reject the plan of salvation.

==== Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Seminary Teacher Manual ====
Doctrine and Covenants mentions "the seven thousand years of [the earth's] continuance, or its temporal existence", which has been interpreted by Joseph Fielding Smith and Bruce R. McConkie as a statement suggesting that the earth is no more than about six thousand years old (the seventh thousand-year period being the future millennium). Speciation generally occurs over very large spans of time.
However, in relation to this verse, the manual for seminary teachers explains: "It may be helpful to explain that the 7,000 years refers to the time since the Fall of Adam and Eve. It is not referring to the actual age of the earth including the periods of creation."

==== BYU Library packet on evolution ====
Since 1992 at the LDS-owned universities, a packet of authoritative statements approved by the BYU Board of Trustees (composed of the First Presidency, other general authorities, and general organizational leaders) has been provided to students in classes when discussing the topic of organic evolution. The packet was assembled due to the large number of questions students had about evolution and the origins of man and is intended to be distributed along with other course material. The packet includes the first three Official First Presidency statements on the origin of man as well as the "Evolution" section in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism which includes elements from the 1909 and 1925 statements as well as the 1931 "First Presidency Minutes".

=== Official magazines ===

==== Ensign ====
In 1982, the Ensign, an official periodical of the church, published an article entitled "Christ and the Creation" by Bruce R. McConkie, which stated that "[m]ortality and procreation and death all had their beginnings with the Fall." In an earlier edition of the Ensign published in 1980, McConkie stated that "the greatest heresy in the sectarian world ... is that God is a spirit nothingness which fills the immensity of space, and that creation came through evolutionary processes."

==== New Era ====
A July 2016 article for young adults in the New Era acknowledged questions about how the age of the earth, dinosaurs, and evolution fit with church teachings, stating "it does all fit together, but there are still a lot of questions." The article offered no further explanation to how science and LDS teachings fit together, and stated "nothing that science reveals can disprove your faith" and told youth "not to get worried in the meantime."
A few months later in the same magazine, the church published an anonymously authored article stating that "the Church has no official position of the theory of evolution." The article continues by stating that the theory of organic evolution should be left for scientific study and that details about the what happened before Adam and Eve and how their bodies were created have not been revealed, but the origin of man is clear from the teaching of the church.
A much earlier anonymously authored article from 2004 did not attempt to reconcile church teachings and scientific views of evolution, but stated that not having the answers does not discredit the existence of God, and that God will not reveal more unto us until we prove our faith. An example was provided of how the author avoided a classroom debate on evolution by stating that they knew God existed and created us. The article also quoted past church president Gordon B. Hinckley giving his own example of how he chose to drop the question and not let it bother him. Subsequent letters from youth stated that the youth viewed themselves as against evolution and supportive of intelligent design. A previous article in the New Era also showed youth viewing evolution as an antagonistic idea to their faith and becoming upset when it was taught and another featured a church seventy using scientific arguments in an attempt to disprove evolutionary natural selection and adaptation.