The Infinite Creation: Unifying Science and Latter-Day Saint Theology

by Trent Dee Stephens

In a speech given at BYU in 1981, Elder Bruce R. McConkie, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, described what he called, The Three Pillars of Eternity, "The three pillars of eternity, the three events, preeminent and transcendent above all others, are the creation, the fall, and the atonement. These three are the foundations upon which all things rest. Without any one of them all things would lose their purpose and meaning, and the plans and designs of Deity would come to naught." Elder McConkie said of these three pillars, "If we can gain an understanding of them, then the whole eternal scheme of things will fall into place, and we will be in a position to work out our salvation. If we do not build our house of salvation on a true foundation, we will never make the spiritual progress that will prepare us to enter the Eternal Presence." In a 1991 Ensign, article, the then apostle, Elder Russell M. Nelson, stated, " before one can comprehend the atonement of Christ, one must first understand the fall of Adam. And before one can comprehend the fall of Adam, one must first understand the Creation. These three pillars of eternity relate to one another." As we seek to understand each of those three pillars of eternity, as admonished by our now President Nelson, we can conclude that the first pillar is the eternal or infinite Creation, the second is the eternal or infinite Fall, and the third is the eternal or infinite Atonement.

286 pages, Paperback

Published July 14, 2020

Reviews

[Kole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember first seeing this book in the store and hurrying to order a copy of it from the library to read. The premise of unifying science and Latter-day Saint theology in the infinite creation intrigued me. Sadly, I didn't find myself as intrigued as I was hoping I would.

In the Introduction it states that "The Infinite Creation employs not just the scriptures and the words of modern prophets, but it also includes knowledge revealed by modern science." The author has demonstrated in this book that he knows his science and employs it throughout each chapter. For me, be it either the science or how it was written, the book felt like reading a textbook. I wish there the science was dumbed down for me to understand a little better, that explanations or examples were better. I don't want to feel like I can't read this book because I am not a scientist.

I also felt that the author didn't employ as many scriptures or words of prophets as he could have. There would be a reference to a scripture here and there with maybe a quote and then lots of science. Which I get is the point of the book. It's just that there are many more scriptures that could have been used to unify his points and there are many quotes that could have been used as well that help to explain those scriptures. Scriptures and quotes that shed a broad light on what seems like the author feels science could only do. It almost felt as if he was using science to not only to explain and "unify" Latter-day Saint theology (which I don't feel this book really did), but to say that this is what a scripture or doctrine means because this is what science says.

Now, I get my own limitations. I do not have the understanding of science this author has and may need to read the book a few more times to get at what his points are. It's just that overall, for my first read through, I don't feel that science and Latter-day Saint theology were unified, or at least explained well and that some of the Latter-day Saint theology was misinterpreted or wrong.

[Tom Infanger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the book disappointing and a dull read. The science or the creation of the known universe and the earth was not far from my personal beliefs but the creation of life and the creation of man and the fall of Adam and Eve were not well explained and just a confusing mental exercise by the author.
I don't recommend the book to any one searching for clarification or enlightenment who has the desire to unify science with theology.