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)?