If, as here stated, all men were created in the beginning, after the image of God, attempts to find room in the account of Creation as recorded in Genesis, for the so-called Darwinian theory of the origin of man, must be given up. In the philosophy of evolution man appears first as a germ, a one-cell organization in the ocean. This creature, origin not accounted for, began to grow and evolve until at first it became a big denizen of the sea; then a land animal, and, finally, man.
In support of this theory—for it is but a theory, notwithstanding the evidence claimed for it—it is generally argued that the human body contains the same kind of matter as other bodies, and that it is, in the beginning similar in form to these in every way or detail. This is quite generally repeated as a valid argument.
And yet, what does it prove? Let us attempt an illustration. On the same piece of ground there may be a modest hut and a pretentious palace. They may have been constructed of the same kind of material—wood, stone, iron, steel, glass, etc.,—but that does not prove that the palace grew, or evolved out of the hut. A plain horse car may be standing at a railroad station by the side of a luxurious Pullman sleeper. There may be a striking similarity in some of the main features of the two vehicles—wheels, axles, windows, seats, doors, etc.,—but that does not prove that they had a common origin. It does prove that the maker intended that the features mentioned perform similar functions in the two structures—wheels to facilitate movement, seats to furnish rest, windows to admit light and air, doors to give egress and ingress. But this similarity in design does not prove identity of origin. The two cars may have been built in the same factory, by the same architects, or one may have come from New York and the other from California, yet each is a separate organization, independent of the other.
Logic leads us to the same conclusion when we consider the similarity of the matter of which animal bodies including the bodies of men are made; or the similarity of purpose of some of the organs of the bodies—eyes to see with, ears to hear with, organs to digest food with, to circulate blood, to utilize air, and so on. As similarities do not prove the Pullman car to have been a horse car at some stage of its existence, and still further back a wheel barrow; neither do they prove that man originally came from an insect.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). “All men were created in the beginning after mine own image.”
That is more reasonable. It is the revealed word of God.
A word from scientists. Only a short time age, a convention of scientists at Cambridge, England, were told by Oxford professors that after careful examination of a human skull, found in some remote geological formation, human beings 250,000 years ago did not differ materially from modern man. The brain, for instance, had already at that early day assumed the status it has today. Without considering the improbability of the age assigned to the skull—a mere assumption—we naturally ask, if no material change has occurred in the human brain in 250,000 years, how long time has been required for a germ in the ocean to become a statesman, an accomplished musician, an artist of note, or a Shakespeare or George Washington?
Never have I shown Myself to man. In the Gospel of 11)
The Prophet Joseph Smith, on a beautiful morning early in the spring of 1820, in a secluded grove, where he went and prayed for divine light, saw, after a struggle with the powers of darkness, a pillar of light gradually descending until it rested upon him. The Shekinah, the glory of God of the Old Testament sanctuaries (43:4) was returning. The Prophet writes: “When the light rested upon me, I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other—this is My Beloved Son, hear Him.” The Prophet further says: “When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into the heavens” (Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith, p. 48). The young prophet had actually been given a vision during a moment of heavenly ecstasy in which he saw the Father and the Son, and heard Them speak.
The Apostle Paul had a somewhat similar experience (Revelation 1:9-10) appeared on this side.
The mission of the Prophet Joseph was to be that of a herald proclaiming the coming of the King of kings to His Millennial Kingdom, for the completion and perfection of the Plan of Salvation, from the power of the adversary and from all evil. The appearance of God, the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, on this epochmaking occasion in God’s Kingdom was fully consistent with its world-wide importance. On the occasion of the baptism of Jesus at the beginning of His earthly mission in the meridian of time, a similar manifestation appeared and a similar testimony was heard.
“Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that, Jesus also having been baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily form, as a dove, upon Him, and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art My beloved Son; in Thee I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:21-22)