Angels & Dinosaurs

What do Angels & Dinosaurs have to do with each other?  It’s probably a question that has kept you up late at night as well as countless others…well, perhaps not.  But what do Angels & Dinosaurs have in commen other than sounding interesting when put together in the same sentence?

Well, perhaps Angels and Dinosaurs don’t have much in common except for that I was reading some articles on LDS.org and read an article about Dinosuars and then read an article about angels.  But the things that the articles did have in common were insights into science (dinosaurs) and faith (angels).

The first article by  Morris S. Petersen, at the time a professor of geology at Brigham Young University and president of the Provo Utah East Stake, adresses some questions about science and faith and that the two topics are not mutually exlusive but compliment one another.  The article was posted in various Church magazines in 1987 and 1988.  A snippet from the article:

…the scriptures testify of Jesus Christ and how we may receive the blessings of salvation and exaltation through his atonement. They reveal  why (not necessarily how) the earth was created, and what laws and principles a person must follow to obtain eternal life. The goal of science, on the other hand, is to learn  how (not why) the world was made and to understand the laws and principles governing the physical world.

The different roles science and religion play is illustrated in a study of the dinosaurs. From the fossil record it is theorized that the dinosaurs were the dominant animals on earth between 225 and 67 million years ago. Some were meat-eating, others lived on plants. Some were small, while others were gigantic, weighing up to seventy-two metric tons and growing to lengths of more than twenty-seven meters.

The existence of these animals is unquestionable, for their remains have been found in rocks all over the world. What eternal purpose they played in the creation and early history of the world is unknown. The scriptures do not discuss the subject of dinosaurs, and it is not the purpose of science to explain why they were here. We can only conclude, as Elder Talmage did, that “The whole series of chalk deposits and many of our deep-sea limestones contain the skeletal remains of animals. These lived and died, age after age, while the earth was not ready for human habitation.”

The relationship between scripture and what is currently understood in science is always changing. Science continually learns more about the history of life on earth, and we have every reason to believe that much more will be learned as research continues.

The article about Angels and spiritual development/experiences comes from Bruce C. Hafen and provides interesting insight into the various periods of our lives and experiences we may have and offers a connection to the members and experiences of the days of the early Church in the 1800′s.  A few snippets from the article:

The ministry of angels in the lives of ordinary, devoted people often goes unrecognized….

The veil between heaven and earth usually hides the angels from our sight. Yet often in the early stages of our spiritual development, we may experience unmistakable contact with the angels of the unseen world. These experiences may move our sense of belief to a sure sense of knowledge, as we exclaim with Alma, “O then, is not this real?” And Alma replies to us, “Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is  discernible.” (Alma 32:35; italics added.)

Yet our discerning this light does not yield perfect knowledge. We must nourish the tree of faith to “get root” against the day “when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it.” (See  Alma 32:37–38.) As we wait for additional flashes of spiritual light, our days of nourishment and testing can last many years.

The early manifestations of “discernible” angelic contact in our spiritual development frequently occur in youthful conversion experiences, missionary service, or times while we are attending college. These crucial, formative periods of spiritual breakthrough in a young person’s life may be compared with the Kirtland period in Church history; and the years that follow may be compared with the period of Nauvoo and beyond.

Youthful Kirtland Years

The early years of Kirtland were an unusually happy time for Joseph Smith and the Saints. What wonderful events had blessed them in only a few years: the Vision in the grove, the publication of the Book of Mormon, the formal organization of the Church, the optimistic launching of missionary work, the school of the prophets, and mighty revelations outlining a glorious future. It was a youthful, buoyant time. The Saints had no inkling of what waited for them, coiled like a deadly snake barely around the corner of history: mobs, persecution, apostasy, and martyrdom.

But first the angels came. Indeed, the dedication of the Kirtland Temple in March of 1836 represented the greatest spiritual outpouring in modern Church history. Joseph wrote that, shortly after the dedicatory prayer was offered, “Frederick G. Williams arose and testified that [during the prayer] an angel entered the window and took his seat between Father Smith and himself. David Whitmer also saw angels in the house.”

Later, “Brother George A. Smith arose and began to prophesy, when a noise was heard like the sound of a rushing mighty wind, which filled the Temple, and all the congregation simultaneously arose, being moved upon by an invisible power; many began to speak in tongues and prophesy; … and I beheld that the Temple was filled with angels. … The people of the neighborhood came running together (hearing an unusual sound within, and seeing a bright light like a pillar of fire resting upon the Temple,) and were astonished at what was taking place.”

Of one of the concluding meetings, Joseph wrote, “The Savior made his appearance to some, while angels ministered to others, and it was a Pentecost and an endowment indeed, long to be remembered, for the sound shall go forth from this place into all the world, and occurrences of this day shall be handed down upon the pages of sacred history, to all generations.” (History of the Church, 2:427–33.)…

We Lived Once in Kirtland

Our youthful years as missionaries and students are, despite their typical growing pains, frequently a kind of Kirtland for us: a simple and beautiful time, filled with intellectual breakthroughs, private spiritual moments, and emerging idealistic convictions. Those years may lift us for a time above the noise and smoke and confusion of worldly valleys to a high mountain peak, where we develop a growing closeness to the Infinite.

But the day always seems to come when we must leave our Kirtlands. When we do, sooner or later, we may have our own kind of Nauvoo, perhaps more than once. We will have our own frozen rivers and parched deserts to cross, a moral or financial or intellectual wilderness to tame. It will not always be fun. Perhaps we will feel bewildered and disappointed, and we may look back longingly to those youthful years, wondering why we cannot recapture the way things were in our days of Kirtland.

When our Nauvoo comes, we may find ourselves living in a culture that offers little reinforcement for our belief in the ideals of family life. The surrounding environment may even discourage and attack our devotion to marriage and children. Some of us may begin to feel a growing sense of distance in our marriages, as those around us take for granted that modern men and women should not feel bound by unconditional family commitments. But we will know better, for we lived once in Kirtland, where the Spirit whispered to us that the doctrine is true: marriage is sacred and love is forever….

Such  unseen angelic manifestations in the “extremities” of our lives may, over time, have more profound meaning than the more visible outpouring of Kirtland. The Lord has promised that if you are true and faithful, the Lord himself may be “in your midst and ye cannot see me.” (D&C 38:7.) Even if you do not see him, he can “be on your right hand and on your left, and [his] Spirit shall be in your hearts,” and the angels who came to Kirtland will be “round about you, to bear you up.” (D&C 84:88.)…

When do the angels come? If we seek to be worthy, they are near us when we need them most. The mountain might even be full with the horsemen of Israel and their chariots of fire.

Another interesting article that I read after reading the first two is by Susan Easton Black and refers to witnesses, those who saw and testified.  Along with the article about witnesses, I came across an article by Keith W. Perkins that detailed the story of the Whitmer family who were eye witnesses to the Book of Mormon.

Also of interest are the recent updates to  Mormon.org which now has video lessons that visitors can watch and learn about the Church.

References in Print:

Morris S. Petersen, “Questions and Answers,”  Tambuli, Apr. 1988, 29–31

Also found in:  Morris S. Petersen, “I Have a Question,”  Ensign, Sept. 1987, 28–29

Bruce C. Hafen, “When Do the Angels Come?,”  Ensign, Apr 1992, 12

Susan Easton Black, “‘I Am Not Any Longer to Be Alone’,”  Ensign, Jan 1989, 51

Keith W. Perkins, “True to the Book of Mormon—The Whitmers,”  Ensign, Feb 1989, 34

Article Web Sources:

Do we know how the earth’s history as indicated from fossils fits with the earth’s history as the scriptures present it?  (1988, April). In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Official Website. Retrieved 16:13, March 29, 2009, from  http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=f318118dd536c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&
sourceId=f2418b5c1dbdb010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1

When Do the Angels Come?. (1992, April). In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Official Website. Retrieved 16:13, March 29, 2009, from http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&
sourceId=5b3f94bf3938b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1