I realized from yesterday's post that people might get the mistaken impression that I am an evolution advocate. I think all the dinosaur bones and monkeys and carbon dating and stuff are stumbling blocks to throw us off. For the test to be fair, we had to have some chance to experience semi-plausible doubt.
To have to rely on faith, we have to be deprived of (most) physical proof. If archaeologists could just dig up Zarahemla tomorrow and find a thousand plates in a temple there that completely corroborate the Book of Mormon, well, you just kind of blew the entire test. "Ah, got it. Indisputable proof that the BoM is real and therefore the First Vision happened and all the rest is true." Kind of ruins the entire point.
Why do you need faith? Because "We will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them." It's always funny to me when Saints get asked about stuff like that and kind of dodge it with 'well, that hasn't been revealed yet." Sure, it has. Are you paying attention? Maybe not word for word, but the truth is plain for those with an eye to see...
Does it mean dinosaurs didn't really exist? No, not necessarily. They could just be bones, they could have been creatures that walked the earth, they could be something else. If the Master can create a planet and fill it with life, He can create some dinosaurs and have them exist in some manner that makes them appear ancient. And on this point, the standard trope is exactly right: "it doesn't really matter. We have the fullness of the gospel." True that-it doesn't matter. But it is kind of interesting to think about, and there's the important lesson about faith to be learned there.
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