Creation


In Mormon theology, Gods created the heavens and the earth. Maybe others were involved too?

You may all be familiar with the verse that says, "In the beginning, God created".  This is the first line of the Book of Genesis in the Bible.

But in the Pearl of Great Price, the Book of Abraham says that the Gods created the earth and then rested on the seventh day (Abraham 4:9-10). This is also found on page 16 of the Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual. "In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan ...".

It is unclear why God would need such a council to concoct a plan with the assistance of other Gods.

Also, according to page 16 of the same student manual, it says that other persons besides the Gods were involved in creation.  "It is true that Adam helped to form this earth". " ... Perhaps Noah and Enoch; and why not Joseph Smith, and those who were appointed to be rulers before the earth was formed?"

"In the beginning, God created" is a reliable statement for one to believe in.

In Mormon theology, the earth was not created in 6 literal days as we know it.

According to both the Book of Mormon and the Bible, the earth was created in 6 days, and God rested from His works on the 7th day. This seventh day became the Sabbath day that is mentioned in the Ten Commandments.

But according to page 17 of the Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual, the heavens and the earth were not created in 6 literal days as we know it.  "But first, what is a day? It is a specified time period, it is an age, an eon, a division of eternity ... There is no revealed recitation specifying that each of the six days involved in the Creation was of the same duration".

It should be worth noting that the Bible gives us God's account to man on how long a day actually is. "Morning came, evening came, one day". The Bible defines the duration of a day. The same thing happens today. Morning comes, evening comes, one day has passed.

If the six days are not literal days as the Bible explains, why have people then made the assumption that the seventh day (the Sabbath) is a literal day constituting 24 hours (as we measure it)?

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