I attended Institute class ever Tues, Wed, and Thurs while I was active. I loved how they would gloss over where these glorious massive battles occurred in the New World.

My favorite memory by far was on evening. There was a young man in the Ward who was born with Mild Mental Retardation. He was a little slow and sometimes talked out of place and couldn't follow a conversation but he was a good guy.

Anyway one day he raises his hand and asks a very simple direct to the point question:

"How old is the planet earth?":
The teacher winces at the question and says "Errr Ummm, I don't know how old the earth is....moving right along"

The man was smart enough to realize he would offend the lunatics that think the earth is 6,000 years old if he gave the proper scientific answer. He might even be tattled on, and then he might lose his teaching position and have to find another way to supplant his income for his massive family.

Classic.

It's annoying that we can't answer a simple question about the age of Earth without hearing an outcry from idiots.

I have no clue either, but it just slays me when I watch this History Channel or Discovery and some scientist is claiming as fact how big dinosaurs were, what their faces looked like, how old this or that rock is, or better yet, how the cosmos was formed. They don't know either, but would lead you to believe they do.

I can't believe how may times I've looked at my sweetheart on the couch while watching and both of us say "how the fuck do they know that?" and start laughing.

I know the Morg version is bullshit, but so is half the crap handed out as scientific "proof".

Just sayin'...

Ron

but they back up their claims with observable testable evidence. If you think they are wrong then study the evidence and prove them wrong! Just because you have no clue how the f@ck they know something doesn't mean they are making everything up out of thin air! Just sayin.

helemon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> but they back up their claims with observable
> testable evidence. If you think they are wrong
> then study the evidence and prove them wrong!
> Just because you have no clue how the f@ck they
> know something doesn't mean they are making
> everything up out of thin air! Just sayin.


Didn't say they were making it up. Just filling in the questionable parts by adding 2 + 2 and coming up with eleventeen doesn't make it correct either. I'm totally sure you have a fucking clue however, because you say so.

You did say they were making it up:

"so is half the crap handed out as scientific "proof"."

Moronron Wrote:
> Just filling
> in the questionable parts by adding 2 + 2 and
> coming up with eleventeen doesn't make it correct
> either.

Please provide examples of what you mean, Ron. As a scientist, I would be happy to help clarify what might have been meant in the studies that you think are without basis.

Unlike jesus...

Ron I suggest you get a good book on science from the library or Barnes & Nobel or even read some Wikipedia.They know how old the earth is from various dating methods and they cross check each other.

Also a related story. Back in the mid 1990s this group of people that believed the earth had to be young set out to prove it by coming up with a dating method of their own, turns out their dating method cross referenced the other dating methods. When the man presented his findings to his group of 6,000 year old believers he was promptly kicked out of his group due to "lack of faith"

Reminds me I need to read up on it so I know the details exactly. Was like 10 years ago when I read that story in college.

doesn't mean that people who dedicate their career to answering the questions also don't know.

Even if you are not familar with it, there's this little thing called evidence.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11715120

Don't go bashing what you clearly do not understand.

I wish I could remember more details... it would certainly make this story more credible...but...

I was taking a night health class (as a grad student) from a major private university (Christian, I believe), and I was really confused by what the teacher said. She was really confused that I was confused.

Fortunately, another student interceded... (his words I remember): "She [the teacher] is going with the Earth being 6000 years old, and you [me] are looking at it as being much older."

I was dumbfounded. How do you respond to a teacher who's overtly believing and teaching from that?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/2010 06:11PM by jpt.

If you could remember the details of the question you asked that would be great, would love to hear the rest of the story.

I thought all Mormons believed the earth was only 6000 years old. Isn't that in the D&C?

In the spirit of correctness...

The dictionary in LDS scriptures contains a brief chronology which states that Adam was 'born' 4000 BC and Noah went wind surfing with millions of animals in tow circa 2000 BC

oddcouplet Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I thought all Mormons believed the earth was only
> 6000 years old. Isn't that in the D&C?


D&C 77:6 says the temporal age of the earth is to be 7000 years in total.

2 Ne 2:22 says that nothing (all creation) could die until Adam fell.

Moses 3:7 says that Adam was the first man (first flesh even).

(and so on with many other verses saying similar)

Tying all that together and it makes it very hard for the LDS to accept scientific evidence without waving away direct revelation.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/09/2010 12:10PM by Jesus Smith.

As a TBM I was taught, in high school seminary, that pieces of other planets were taken to form this planet, earth, and that is why we have dinosaur bones and older fossils here.

What year was this?

Hey Teach, why then are all the dinosaur footprints right-side-up?

Brigham Young and others taught that the earth was made up from other materials.

emanon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As a TBM I was taught, in high school seminary,
> that pieces of other planets were taken to form
> this planet, earth, and that is why we have
> dinosaur bones and older fossils here.

I was taught this in seminary too. Even as a TBM teen I recall thinking that was the dumbest effing thing I've ever heard.

(sometime in the 1980's)
I was discussing 'Lucy' - the fossil found in Kenya - with another member. One of the bishprick came over and asked what we were talking about.
I explained "Lucy, the earliest Hominid fossil discovered in Kenya"
"Ah" he said, "I'm not sure if we believe in that"... and scurried away.

In our institute class we had a lesson on whether cussing was a sin or just bad manners. (Just bad manners unless it was taking the lord's name in vain or using the d word.)

The question was also asked- are spirit children were we born one at a time over billions of years or did we all just "pop out" at the same time in big groups in milliontuplets?