What words do the scriptures use to describe the earth at this point? It was "without form, and void." Joseph Smith suggests some other terms, "In the translation, 'without form and void' should read, 'empty and desolate.'" (The Words of Joseph Smith, p. 60)
"To be void means that the earth was empty of life--unoccupied, or destitute. And in comparison with the finished product, the earth at that time was probably lacking in form and symmetry.
In speaking of the state of the earth after it had been formed on the first day, Orson Pratt said: “The earth when created, according to the accounts we have, was covered with a flood of waters; no dry land, in fact no land at all, appeared, but a flood of waters seemed to encompass it.” Both Abraham and Moses indicate that at this time the earth was inundated with water and that “darkness reigned upon the face of the deep.'" (Hyrum L. Andrus, God, Man, and the Universe, Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, 1968, p336).
• Abraham 4:5, the first or the beginning of that which they called day and night. This was the first creative period—certainly not a day according to our present time. The sun and moon weren’t organized with respect to the earth until the 4th creative period (v. 14-19). The sun and the moon were created to give order to the seasons, days, and years. Prior to that, the scripture says that the Gods were operating on Kolob’s time, “for as yet the Gods had not appointed unto Adam his reckoning” (Abraham 5:13). We know that a day in Kolob’s time is 1000 of our years (Abraham 3:3-4). That would provide plenty of time to gather the materials.
That this verse is not referring to the organization of our sun makes sense given other
scriptures. Few realize
that this earth was probably made nigh unto Kolob, then later placed in its
current solar system. What evidence do we have for this? Consider the
following, "In answer to the question--Is not the reckoning of God's time,
angel's time, prophet's time, and man's time, according to the planet on which
they reside? The answer is Yes"
(D&C 130:4). To Abraham was given the knowledge that in the creation,
before the Fall, the earth had not yet been appointed its current reckoning of
time, "Now, I Abraham, saw that it was after the Lord's time, which was
after the time of Kolob; for as yet the Gods had not appointed unto Adam his
reckoning" (Abraham 5:13).
"Apparently the earth was not organized in relation to the sun at this time, and the way the Gods caused the light to be divided from the darkness was to make the newly formed orb rotate according to Kolob's schedule of time. This was the system which the Gods used for reckoning time in the creation" (Hyrum L. Andrus, God, Man, and the Universe, Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, 1968, p337).
When the earth was framed and brought into existence and man was placed upon it, Brigham Young tells us it was near the throne of our Father in heaven. And when man fell--though that was designed in the economy, there was nothing about it mysterious or unknown to the Gods, they understood it all, it was all planned--but when man fell, the earth fell into space, and took up its abode in this planetary system, and current sun became our light.
When the Lord said-"Let there
be light," there was light, for the earth was brought near the sun that it
might reflect upon it so as to give us light by day, and the moon to give us
light by night. This is the glory the earth came from, and when it is glorified
it will return again unto the presence of the Father, and it will dwell there,
and these intelligent beings that I am looking at, if they live worthy of it,
will dwell upon this earth. (Journal of
Discourses, 26 vols. [London: Latter-day Saints' Book Depot,
1854-1886, 17: 143)
Along this line, Orson F. Whitney added, “When man wants light he must strike a match, or press a button, or turn a switch, or rub two pieces of wood together as do the Indians, in order to create a flame. But when God wants light, He has only to say, Let there be light, and there is light. Nay, He would not have to do even so much as that, for God Himself is Light, dwells in the midst of light, in the midst of eternal burnings, and He would only have to appear, and darkness would flee away (Conference Report, April 1914, Second Day-Morning Session 40).
Just about everyone wants to know how long it took the Gods to create the earth, but we do not know and have not been told specifically. While some scriptures tell us it was days, other tell us it was a “time period.” The bottom line is, however, the scriptural record does tell us that one day to the Lord (or the time of Kolob) is 1000 years to man, thus we can draw a close parallel to the fact that the earth was organized in six time periods or days, or somewhere around 6000 years give or take a little. In fact, Joseph Fielding Smith said, “When this earth was created, it was not according to our present time, but it was created according to Kolob's time, for the Lord has said it was created on celestial time which is Kolob's time. Then he revealed to Abraham that Adam was subject to Kolob's time before his transgression. "Now I, Abraham, saw that it was after the Lord's time, which was after the time of Kolob; for as yet the Gods had not appointed unto Adam his reckoning" (Doctrines of Salvation, 3 vols., edited by Bruce R. McConkie, Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, 1954-1956, 1:79).
Yet, we need to keep in mind that
the time frame was not the issue. Whether it took a little over or a little
under seemed not to matter, for as Hugh Nibly pointed out, “In the "fourth
time," we read, "the Gods watched those things which they had ordered
until they obeyed." (Abraham 4:19, 18.) That important word
"until" tells us... that they took all the time that was necessary,
no matter how long it might have been, measuring the period in terms not of a
terminal date but in terms of the requirements of the task... how long do you
think that took? Again, the record is deliberately vague. (Old Testament and
Related Studies, edited by John W. Welch, Gary P. Gillum, and Don E.
Norton, Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, Foundation
for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1986, p74).
What we do know is that it was not in the evolutionary scale of time, i.e., millions or billions of years. To some, how long it too doesn’t matter, while to others it is of major importance. The issue, however, is not how long it took, but how long it did not take and therein lies the problem between science and religion, or Old Earth advocates (mostly the scientific community) and Young Earth proponents.
To us, the importance lies in the
understanding of how the Land of Promise changed and when during the 1000 year
history of the Nephite Nation. If the Earth was made in some 6000 years, then
the idea of the movement of continents, the growth of mountains, etc., occurred
in a time frame when man was on the Earth; if the earth is as science tries to
insist, of 4.55 billion years old, then the continents and mountains did not
move or change in man’s time. Therein lies an important issue. In fact, so
steeped in the American conscience that the Earth is billions of years old,
even members have a hard time thinking of a mountain range rising in 3 days, or
a continent lifting upward in a matter of hours. Yet, that is what a Young
Earth would require, and since Moses tells us that the Earth was organized or
created in six days, or at most 6000 years, then we have a working model of the
Land of Promise being in South America as all other factors demand.
While atheists and scientists mock a six thousand year creation, Moroni recorded in his abridgement of the Jaredite record, “Fools mock but they shall mourn” (Ether 12:26). In addition, while science simply cannot comprehend “who” created the Earth, we are on safe ground in stating that it was done by the Gods, under the direction of Eloheim and the supervisory capacity of Jehovah.
(See the next post, “Understanding Abraham and the Creation – Part V,” for more information regarding Abraham’s account of the creation and the principles behind it so we can better understand how the Earth was changed during the crucifixion and why it was not merely a cosmetic event, but a change that was extremely complex and performed in a specific and exact manner)
"Apparently the earth was not organized in relation to the sun at this time, and the way the Gods caused the light to be divided from the darkness was to make the newly formed orb rotate according to Kolob's schedule of time. This was the system which the Gods used for reckoning time in the creation" (Hyrum L. Andrus, God, Man, and the Universe, Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, 1968, p337).
When the earth was framed and brought into existence and man was placed upon it, Brigham Young tells us it was near the throne of our Father in heaven. And when man fell--though that was designed in the economy, there was nothing about it mysterious or unknown to the Gods, they understood it all, it was all planned--but when man fell, the earth fell into space, and took up its abode in this planetary system, and current sun became our light.
Along this line, Orson F. Whitney added, “When man wants light he must strike a match, or press a button, or turn a switch, or rub two pieces of wood together as do the Indians, in order to create a flame. But when God wants light, He has only to say, Let there be light, and there is light. Nay, He would not have to do even so much as that, for God Himself is Light, dwells in the midst of light, in the midst of eternal burnings, and He would only have to appear, and darkness would flee away (Conference Report, April 1914, Second Day-Morning Session 40).
Just about everyone wants to know how long it took the Gods to create the earth, but we do not know and have not been told specifically. While some scriptures tell us it was days, other tell us it was a “time period.” The bottom line is, however, the scriptural record does tell us that one day to the Lord (or the time of Kolob) is 1000 years to man, thus we can draw a close parallel to the fact that the earth was organized in six time periods or days, or somewhere around 6000 years give or take a little. In fact, Joseph Fielding Smith said, “When this earth was created, it was not according to our present time, but it was created according to Kolob's time, for the Lord has said it was created on celestial time which is Kolob's time. Then he revealed to Abraham that Adam was subject to Kolob's time before his transgression. "Now I, Abraham, saw that it was after the Lord's time, which was after the time of Kolob; for as yet the Gods had not appointed unto Adam his reckoning" (Doctrines of Salvation, 3 vols., edited by Bruce R. McConkie, Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, 1954-1956, 1:79).
What we do know is that it was not in the evolutionary scale of time, i.e., millions or billions of years. To some, how long it too doesn’t matter, while to others it is of major importance. The issue, however, is not how long it took, but how long it did not take and therein lies the problem between science and religion, or Old Earth advocates (mostly the scientific community) and Young Earth proponents.
While atheists and scientists mock a six thousand year creation, Moroni recorded in his abridgement of the Jaredite record, “Fools mock but they shall mourn” (Ether 12:26). In addition, while science simply cannot comprehend “who” created the Earth, we are on safe ground in stating that it was done by the Gods, under the direction of Eloheim and the supervisory capacity of Jehovah.
(See the next post, “Understanding Abraham and the Creation – Part V,” for more information regarding Abraham’s account of the creation and the principles behind it so we can better understand how the Earth was changed during the crucifixion and why it was not merely a cosmetic event, but a change that was extremely complex and performed in a specific and exact manner)
Fascinating summary re Koloa. Thank you for your excellent work Del.
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