Lessons from the Doctrine and Covenants 2021
Lesson No. Twenty-Nine

The Prophet Joseph Smith, Fossils, and the Sanctification of the Earth - D&C 77:12

Introduction – Susan and I have had two Church assignments that took us to Louisville Kentucky for a total of six years.  One of the many things we love about Louisville is that it is the location of The Falls of the Ohio River which is one of the greatest fossil beds in the world, dating 387 million years ago.  At The Falls there are vast numbers of plant and animal fossil that thrived under prehistoric waters.  The fact that such fossils exists cause many people to question the scriptural account of creation.  We believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ, as restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, has the answer.

The creation of the earth has four parts – The basics of what has been revealed are:

The spirit creation – In the premortal realm all human beings were created in the image of God, and each is a beloved and begotten son or daughter of heavenly parents, and as such each has a divine nature and destiny.  (See The Family – A Proclamation to the World)  Also, in the premortal realm the spirit earth and the spirits of all other life forms were created. 

The physical creation – After the spirit creation next came the creation of the physical earth and its preparation to sustain life as we now know it.  Many preparatory life forms, including dinosaurs, and organic matter that is the source of our oil, gas, and coal deposits, were placed on the earth.

The earth was sanctified – This is the final part of the physical creation. Before Adam and Eve and other higher life forms were brought to the physical earth it was “sanctified” (Abraham 5:3) or elevated to an immortal condition.  This resulted in the elimination of all prehistoric and preparatory life forms.  They had accomplished their purpose which was to help prepare the earth as a suitable place for children of God to live while in mortality.

All higher life, culminating with Adam and Eve, were put on the sanctified earth – All higher life when put on the earth was immortal and not subject to death.  Everything was now in place so that Adam and Eve could choose to fall, death would result, and the plan of salvation would go forward.

The Prophet Joseph Smith in D&C 77:12 reconciled the existence of fossils with the scriptures – In explaining the book of Revelation the Prophet taught important creation doctrine concerning the creation of the physical earth and what it means for God to “sanctify it”.

“We are to understand that as God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day he finished his work, and sanctified it, and also formed man out of the dust of the earth, even so, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years will the Lord God sanctify the earth, and complete the salvation of man…” (D&C 77:12, emphasis added).

From this scripture we learn that the earth is to be sanctified both in the beginning and in the end of its temporal existence.  In both cases the process of sanctification follows the same pattern.  In the beginning, God “finished his work” and all preparatory life forms that could not abide a higher order died, but their prior existence is confirmed by their fossils that remain.   Now the earth was “sanctified” (D&C 77:12, emphasis added) and raised to a higher level in preparation for the arrival of Adam and Eve and other higher, modern life forms.  

In like manner, at the end of the earth’s temporal existence, those who cannot live in a higher order will be removed, and the earth will be sanctified and raised to a terrestrial order so it will be prepared for the Savior’s millennial reign.

Testimony – I believe the thoughts presented here are consistent with the doctrine of creation and the plan of salvation.  They also testify of divine calling of Joseph Smith.  I look forward to the time when all things will be revealed (see 2 Nephi 27:10-11) including a greater knowledge of the creation. 

What has now been revealed about the creation is sufficient for us to understand that the creation is an essential part of the plan of salvation.  Central to the plan of salvation is the atonement of Jesus Christ.  The plan of salvation and the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ are the greatest manifestation of the love that our Heavenly Father has for his children.