There has been some recent excitement in the Latter-day Saint scholarly community about the recent publication of BYU Life Sciences, The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and Evolution. It’s a publication that’s been years in the making, and highly anticipated during the last few years, so it’s good to see it come to fruition. Co-editor Jamie Jensen recent discussed the book in an interview at the Latter-day Saint history and theology site, From the Desk. What follows here is a copost to the full interview.
What Should Latter-day Saints Know About BYU’s Evolution Book?
Jamie Jensen started out by explaining some of the background and purpose of the book:
Ultimately, the BYU evolution book was published to provide students with a tool to help them embrace truths discovered through science about the origins and history of modern-day diversity while maintaining a strong and unflappable testimony in the Savior Jesus Christ, His restored Gospel, and the Plan of Salvation.
For years, I have taught biology at BYU and watched students wrestle with evolution, sometimes for the first time in their lives—and how to reconcile it with the religious beliefs they hold dear.
I have seen them reach out, sometimes in desperation, for a bridge, for resources to help them overcome cognitive conflict, and for advice on adjusting their schemas to accommodate additional truths they are learning. At the beginning of my career here, I watched them struggle with a lack of readily available resources about this topic. …
Five and a half years ago, the editors of this book (myself included) were approached by BYU Studies to consider compiling an academic collection of essays that address both religious and scientific components of the evolution-religion complexity. We thought it was a great idea, and we set out to find the best experts in both religion and evolutionary science who shared a genuine desire to help students (and all members of the Church) find successful reconciliation.
Through a long and convoluted series of events, most of which had nothing to do with evolution and all of which were well beyond our control, we decided the best way to get this tool into the hands of students in the most efficient and accessible manner was to publish it through the BYU College of Life Sciences.
I believe it will be a useful resource for discussing evolution in the Church.
Evolution is a fraught topic for many, partly because it has been weaponized in arguments against religion. But the Church as a whole has tried to remain neutral on the topic, leaving room for this type of discussion to take place:
The Church does not have an official position on evolution, or you could say, it has a “neutral” position.
Here is the latest from the Church:
The packet also included an entry from the 1992 publication The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, produced with Church leader approval, which explained that “the scriptures tell why man was created, but they do not tell how.
In 2016, the Church’s youth magazine published articles on pursuing scientific truth. These articles reiterated that “the Church has no official position on the theory of evolution” and characterized it as a “matter for scientific study.”
Neutrality leaves possibilities open for discussion. And given that evolution is a widely-accepted part of the scientific worldview, it’s useful to have discussions that make it so people don’t feel like they have to choose between their faith and their learnings from biology.
Now, my personal background is in biology and engineering with hobbies in religious history and theology, so this book is right up my alley. And one thing that I’ve noticed is that there is often too much certainty on either side when evolution and religion are discussed combatively. A basic tenet of science, after all, is that nothing can truly be proven. I have come to be comfortable with living in uncertainty as a result of this. In the interview, Jensen was asked: “How Does the Book Help Students Grow Comfortable With Uncertainty?” Her response didn’t seem to be directed to the question, but did provide insight into the book itself:
Rarely, at least in a science class, do we talk about the religious aspects of this intersection. I think this is where our book offers a unique tool. Most of the resources we have created previously are focused on science. The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and Evolution offers an accurate and in-depth treatise of the religious and scientific sides of the intersection by experts in each field, making it a more complete resource for students.
That combination does make The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and Evolution an important resource.
For more on the BYU evolution book, head on over to the Latter-day Saint history blog From the Desk to read the full interview with Jamie Jensen.
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