Does it not appear to you that it is a foolish and ridiculous notion that when God created this earth he had to begin with a speck of protoplasm, and take millions of years, if not billions, to bring conditions to pass by which his sons and daughters might obtain bodies made in his image? Why not the shorter route and transplant them from another earth as we are taught in the scriptures?

Joseph Fielding Smith, President Joseph Fielding Smith, in his book: Man, His Origin and Destiny, pp 276‑277

Ah yes, Adam is gawd and all that. When Smith was young, the "Journals of Discourses" were still considered scripture. Good Ol' BY, he never told the saints anything that wasn't holy scripture, by his own admission. Haw!

I think they were scripture even when I was young, but are now reduced to "unofficial" history and even "unauthorized" resources. Part of the great Mormon historical revisionist movement.

+1 THIS

Imagine, if you will, what life must be like for the top 15 at the Church Office Building. Things are definitely trending downward. To wit,

1. The Church is not achieving the growth that was forecast in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Growth rates are down. Tithing receipts are down. Activity rates are down. No growth to speak of in the USA or Canada where 95% of the tithing comes from. Members are only joining in the 3rd world and are consumers of tithing dollars, not providers. Furthermore, retention rates in the mission field are sucking ditch water.

2. Every bit of LDS historical news is negative -- DNA evidence, Book of Abraham, etc. The trend shows no signs of stopping.

3. Gay marriage is winning in Utah and elsewhere, even after TSCC continues to "double down" against it. Even in the Church, more members want acceptance of gays. It is only a matter of time until equality in marriage becomes the law of the land.

4. Young people are leaving TSCC in droves. The Church has lost its appeal to many of them.

5. More missionaries are called but the number of converts per missionary is way down.

6. At every turn, the Church has to publicly walk back statements by its previous leaders on blacks, gays, polygamy, polyandry, interacial marriage, the First Vision, Book of Mormon, Book of Abraham, men on the moon, etc. You can get whiplash from all of the repudiations.

7. Criticism of Mormonism can be found across all forms of media. Tons of books on Amazon written by former members -- all available on Kindles and cell phones.

8. The mocking and insulting musical "The Book of Mormon" is a smashing success at the box office.

9. The internet is absolutely destroying testimony, as church members are looking things up and are shocked to see what they discover. Furthermore, lots of discussion groups out there consisting of members who voice their concerns about TSCC.

10. No revelations coming from the First Presidency to effectively solve any of the problems. No surprise there.

I would love to be a fly on the wall at one of their weekly meetings.

How do the rest of you see the future over the next 20 years or so?

Pretending to know all of the answers is a sure way Mormons shut themselves off from spiritual and intellectual growth.

Isaiah 55:8-9

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts."

Nevertheless, church authorities continue to think that they can understand the workings of the Eternal and can speak for God. What hubris!

I'm not a Christian, but if I were, I'd say that God set up natural laws and allowed them to function, resulting in the creation of earth and then humans. If Christian scriptures provide accurate descriptions of their deity and their universe, we can conclude from them that God likes to use natural laws and processes to accomplish His goals. While it's true that occassionally he might bypass them or use them in ways not understood by ancient Hebrews or New Testament writers ("miracles"), He's generally a God of order and reason. Why set up science and nature just to ignore it?

From a Christian perspective, God is not limited by human notions of time, because He's eternal and there's no death -- so who cares if it takes bazillions of human years for the creation process to happen according to natural laws and processes? Time doesn't matter to Him because, in His realm, it doesn't even exist.