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Source:New Era:Feb 2016:What does the Church believe about dinosaurs?
New Era (Feb 2016): "The details of what happened on this planet before Adam and Eve aren’t a huge doctrinal concern of ours"
The February 2016 issue of the official Church magazine, the New Era, addresses this question:
What does the Church believe about dinosaurs?
Did dinosaurs live and die on this earth long before man came along? There have been no revelations on this question, and the scientific evidence says yes. (You can learn more about it by studying paleontology if you like, even at Church-owned schools.)
The details of what happened on this planet before Adam and Eve aren’t a huge doctrinal concern of ours. The accounts of the Creation in the scriptures are not meant to provide a literal, scientific explanation of the specific processes, time periods, or events involved. What matters to us is that as part of His plan for us, God created the earth and then created Adam and Eve, who were our first parents and were instrumental in bringing about the Fall, which enabled us to be born on earth and participate in God’s plan. (See Jeffrey R. Holland, “Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet,” Ensign, May 2015, 105.)[1]
Notes
- ↑ "What does the Church believe about dinosaurs?," New Era, February 2016.