Bertrand Russell once said, “Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.” I know that I am a little eccentric and others know it too. That is the only reason I expose my opinion about such a complex issue as, ‘The Origin of Man.’ When I first became aware of what the scientist have published about evolution, I had just started attending Utah State University. Shortly after getting used to college level studying, ‘getting my legs’ so to speak. I found myself in a Beginning Science class. I thought it was a very interesting class for the most part. But when we got to Darwin and the theory of the ‘Evolution of man,’ I started to question Darwin and his theory since it was diametrically contrary, or opposed to what I had been learning about man. I was a little more mature than most of the other freshmen in the class. Though yet only twenty one years old I had been in the military and had been a working man for several years before that. My assumption was that professors were brilliant, well educated people and that questioning them would be advertising my ignorance. So, while in class I seldom questioned a professor even though I got to a point where privately, I did quite a lot of it. Paleoanthropology is the scientific study of human evolution. They are the ones that I primarily disagree with. I had recently joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (Mormons) and had read the scriptures and other related books. In my mind Adam was the first man, created by God. He was first created spiritually and then physically in the image of none other than God our Father. Not in the image of an Ape. That was the image in my mind. Paleoanthropologist would dismiss that concept as, at least childish and maybe even imbecilic. I would argue that their theories were interesting but even more far fetched and even more unconvincing than the Genesis story. God created the world, including man in six days and rested on the seventh. Those were God’s days, meaning six thousand years. A year in God’s reckoning is one thousand of our years. They (Paleoanthropologist) say for a Homo or Homo habilis, to emerge from animal status, it took around 2.8 million years. Does anyone living, have any concept about what took place 2.8 million years ago? They say we evolved from a chimpanzee like creature. Man knows very little about what happened historically, even five thousand years ago, five thousand years ago there were few records kept at that time and writing was done using pictures that very few ancients drew. So what do they know about two or three million years ago. Yes, data testing can tell them approximately how old a skull or a rock might be, but their claim to know more than that about that skull or what was in it! Is pure speculation. Because they are professors, well educated, they expect that we will believe everything they say and write. Even though it may be ninety nine percent speculation. There are many traditions about where or how man came to be but the Paleoanthropologist is the most far fetched, in my opinion. The Ojibwe Indians in Minnesota will tell you that they are part of the Anishinaabeg Nation and they were the ‘Original Men.’ They will not try to pass that knowledge off as a theory but it is a well known fact to them. The Israelites will tell you that the original man was Adam, they are Adamites. All others in this world who are Christians will tell you the same thing if they know anything about the scriptures. Someone has said that we should; “Listen to all that is said for even a foolish man may have a wise thought” I know that from a Paleoanthropologist point of view I may be foolish. I don’t think anyone listening to my story would think it is as foolish as the one below. The following discourse was submitted to the Wikipedia (free Encyclopedia) titled “Human evolution” by a Paleoanthropologist. True it is in summary form, but if you had any more of it you would probably be sleeping. You will notice that there are no small number of scientists belonging to several fields of study looking at this issue including: physical anthropology, primatology, archaeology, paleontology, neurobiology, ethology, linguistics, evolutionary psychology, embryology and genetics.[1] They have a lot of support in theory. The following summary describes their theory, a theory that gets very little support from this writer. Don’t get me wrong I do believe in evolution and human progress. I have no question that we can evolve from uneducated to educated, for example. I also believe that men 100 years ago were smaller in stature than we are today but they were men. We evolved from 5’8” to 6’ average height because of better nutrition. But they were still men created in God’s image, just shorter. “Human evolution.”
Human evolution is the evolutionary process that led to the emergence of the modern humans. The topic typically focuses on the evolutionary history of the primates—in particular the genus Homo, and the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species of the hominids (or “great apes”)—rather than studying the earlier history that led to the primates. The study of human evolution involves many scientific disciplines, including physical anthropology, primatology, archaeology, paleontology, neurobiology, ethology, linguistics, evolutionary psychology, embryology and genetics.[1] Genetic studies show that primates diverged from other mammals about 85 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous period, and the earliest fossils appear in the Paleocene, around 55 million years ago.[2] Within the Hominoidea (apes) superfamily, the Hominidae family diverged from the Hylobatidae (gibbon) family some 15–20 million years ago; African great apes (subfamily Homininae) diverged from orangutans (Ponginae) about 14 million years ago; the Hominini tribe (humans), Australopithecines and other extinct biped genera, and chimpanzees) parted from the Gorillini tribe (gorillas) about 8 million years ago; and, in turn, the subtribes Hominina (humans and biped ancestors) and Panina (chimps) separated about 7.5 million years ago.[3] The basic adaptation of the hominin line is bipedalism. The earliest bipedal hominin is considered to be either Sahelanthropus or Orrorin; alternatively, either Sahelanthropus or Orrorin may instead be the last shared ancestor between chimps and humans. Ardipithecus, a full biped, arose somewhat later, and the early bipeds eventually evolved into the australopithecines, and later into the genus Homo. The earliest documented representative of the genus Homo is Homo habilis, which evolved around 2.8 million years ago, [4] and is arguably the earliest species for which there is positive evidence of the use of stone tools. The brains of these early hominins were about the same size as that of a chimpanzee, although it has been suggested that this was the time in which the human SRGAP2 gene doubled, producing a more rapid wiring of the frontal cortex. During the next million years a process of rapid encephalization occurred, and with the arrival of Homo erectus and Homo ergaster in the fossil record, cranial capacity had doubled to 850 cm3.[5] (Such an increase in human brain size is equivalent to each generation having 125,000 more neurons than their parents.) It is believed that Homo erectus and Homo ergaster were the first to use fire and complex tools, and were the first of the hominin line to leave Africa, spreading throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe between 1.3 to 1.8 million years ago. According to the recent African origin of modern humans theory, modern humans evolved in Africa possibly from Homo heidelbergensis, Homo rhodesiensis or Homo antecessor and migrated out of the continent some 50,000 to 100,000 years ago, gradually replacing local populations of Homo erectus, Denisova hominins, Homo floresiensis and Homo neanderthalensis. Archaic Homo sapiens, the forerunner of anatomically modern humans, evolved in the Middle Paleolithic between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago. Recent DNA evidence suggests that several haplotypes of Neanderthal origin are present among all non-African populations, and Neanderthals and other hominids, such as Denisovans, may have contributed up to 6% of their genome to present-day humans, suggestive of a limited interbreeding between these species between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago. Recent DNA evidence suggests that several haplotypes of Neanderthal origin are present among all non-African populations, and Neanderthals and other hominids, such as Denisovans, may have contributed up to 6% of their genome to present-day humans, suggestive of a limited interbreeding between these species. The transition to behavioral modernity with the development of symbolic culture, language, and specialized lithic technology happened around 50,000 years ago according to many anthropologists[17] although some suggest a gradual change in behavior over a longer time span.
To prove their point they even included a picture of a male and female Homo Sapien in their article. This couple were selected from Thailand, possibly because they portrayed more closely the Homo erectus and Homo ergaster’s talked about above. To me they are just a normal couple who probably work hard to farm their little piece of ground. But they had to picture them as Homo Sapiens to maintain their jargon.
Henry Fairfield Osborn challenged the above information about the origin of man with a 1927 paper provided in abstract form below: Recent Discoveries Relating to the Origin and Antiquity of Man. Let us therefore conclude with a consideration of the ancestry of man according to the modified concept of “dawn men,” not “ape-men.” In the first place, over an incredibly long period of time the Dawn Men have been toolmakers, of high adaptability
and wonderful technique. We have then a biped, a being with a hand capable of
grasping and controlling tools, a toolmaker with as fine a sense of touch as
that of any of the present-day etchers, engravers and artists. In my opinion,
the pro-man psychology, leaving out the evidence of anatomy and morphol-
ogy, is certainly to that of a Dawn Man and not of an “ape-man.” I agree with
my colleagues that man passed through an arboreal stage, but I believe that this stage did not progress so far as to carry man into a stage approaching that of the anthropoid apes. Dollo has stated the law of the irreversibility of evolution. The brachiating hand of the ape was used as a hook—apes do not grasp a branch with the fingers and thumb but hook the whole hand over the branch, as trapeze workers do today—and the thumb was therefore a grave danger. If man had gone through a pro- longed period of brachiating in the branches of trees he would have lost his thumb. I agree to putting our arboreal ancestors back to Eocene time, but I predict that even in Upper Oligocene time we shall find pro-men, and if we find Oligocene pro-man—in Mongolia, for example—that he will have pro-human limbs, not pro anthropoid ape limbs.
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Before I try to describe my theory I have summarized the 1909 paper on the origin of man by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Origin of Man—First Presidency of the Church “God created man in his own image” (Gen. 1:27): From Improvement Era, Nov. 1909, 75–81
“God created man in his own image” (Genesis. 1:27). In the early 1900s, questions concerning the Creation of the earth and the of evolution became the subject of much public discussion. In the midst of these controversies, the First Presidency issued the following in 1909, which expresses the Church’s doctrinal position on these matters. Inquiries arise from time to time respecting the attitude of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints upon questions which, though not vital from a doctrinal standpoint, are closely connected with the fundamental principles of salvation. The latest inquiry of this kind that has reached us is in relation to the origin of man. It is believed that a statement of the position held by the Church upon this subject will be timely and productive of good.
…Truth is what we wish to present, and truth—eternal truth—is fundamentally old. To tell the truth as God has revealed it, and commend it to the acceptance of those who need to conform their opinions thereto, is the sole purpose of this presentation. “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” In these plain and pointed words the inspired author of the book of Genesis, Moses, made known to the world the truth concerning the origin of the human family…when making this important announcement he was not voicing a mere opinion…. He was speaking as the mouthpiece of God, and his solemn declaration was for all time and for all people. No subsequent revelator of the truth has contradicted the great leader and lawgiver of Israel. All who have since spoken by divine authority upon this theme have confirmed his simple and sublime proclamation. Nor could it be otherwise. Truth has but one source, and all revelations from heaven are harmonious with each other. The omnipotent Creator, the maker of heaven and earth, had shown unto Moses everything pertaining to this planet, including the facts relating to man’s origin…“God created man in his own image” (Gen. 1:27; see Moses 1:27–41). The creation was twofold—first spiritual, secondly temporal. …All men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity. “God created man in His own image.” This is just as true of the spirit as it is of the body, which is only the clothing of the spirit, its complement—the two together constituting the soul. The spirit of man is in the form of man, and the spirits of all creatures are in the likeness of their bodies. This was plainly taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith (see D&C 77:2). Here is further evidence of the fact. More than 700 years before Moses was shown the things pertaining to this earth, another great prophet, known to us as the brother of Jared, was similarly favored by the Lord. He was even permitted to behold the spirit-body of the foreordained Savior, prior to His incarnation; and so like the body of a man was gazing upon a being of flesh and blood. He first saw the finger and then the entire body of the Lord—all in the spirit. The Book of Mormon says of this wonderful manifestation: “And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear. “And the Lord saw that the brother of Jared had fallen to the earth; and the Lord said to him: Arise, why hast thou fallen? “And he saith unto the Lord: I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should smite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood.
“And the Lord said unto him: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood; and never has man come before me with such exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger. Sawest thou more than this? “And he answered: Nay; Lord, show thyself unto me.“ And the Lord said unto him: Believest thou the words which I shall speak? “And he answered, Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie. “And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: “Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. … In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters. “And never have I showed myself unto man whom I have created, for never has man believed in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own image. “Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh” (Ether 3:6–16). What more is needed to convince us that man, both in spirit and in body, is the image and likeness of God and that God Himself is in the form of a man? When the divine Being whose spirit-body the brother of Jared beheld took upon Him flesh and blood, He appeared as a man, having “body, parts and passions,” like other men, though vastly superior to all others, because He was God, even the Son of God, the Word made flesh. …It is held by some that Adam was not the first man upon this earth and that the original human being was a development from lower orders of the animal creation. These, however, are the theories of men. The word of the Lord declared that Adam was “the first man of all men” (Moses 1:34), …Man began life as a human being, in the likeness of our Heavenly Father. True it is that the body of man enters upon its career as a tiny germ embryo, which becomes an infant, quickened at a certain stage by the spirit whose tabernacle it is, and the child, after being born, develops into a man. There is nothing in this, however, to indicate that the original man, the first of our race, began life as anything less than a man, or less than the human germ or embryo that becomes a man. Man, by searching, cannot find out God. Never, unaided, will he discover the truth about the beginning of human life. … The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, basing its belief on divine revelation, ancient and modern, proclaims man to be the direct and lineal offspring of Deity. God Himself is an exalted man, perfected, enthroned, and supreme. By His almighty power He organized the earth and all that it contains, from spirit and element, which exist coeternal with Himself. He formed every plant that grows and every animal that breathes, each after its own kind, spiritually and temporally. That fact has been made plain in this dispensation (see D&C 77:3). Man is the child of God, formed in the divine image and endowed with divine attributes, and even as the infant son of an earthly father and mother is capable in due time of becoming a man, so the undeveloped offspring of celestial parentage is capable, by experience through ages and aeons, of evolving into a god.
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This Author’s Thoughts or Theory:
“There is nobody so irritating as somebody with less intelligence and more sense than we have.” (Don Herold) I am not claiming to have more intelligence than the scientist making the claims and writing papers and even books about the evolution of man but it may be true that I have more sense. I won’t argue with them about that.
I remember reading in a psychology book about a little boy that was lost in a wilderness area for several years. When he was finally found, he was more animal than he was boy. He had lived among animals, learned to run on all fours, ate raw meat, berries and anything else he could find to survive. He made noises like the animals he lived around. The wild animals had compassion on an infant even of another species. This was not a single incidence, there have been several, as I recall. The point of that story appearing in that psychology book was to demonstrate the adaptability of man. Human beings populate this earth from one end to the other, they say about seven billion of us at this very time. Yet, there are hundreds of different languages, not all of which have a written form. These languages were developed locally by the tribe or people in order to communicate. Various communities of people have developed their own food preferences, their own housing, even be it a cave, they have their own tribal rules and regulations. When there were few people populating the earth, we were much more independent and variable than we find ourselves today. Communities were sometimes divided or separated by a mountain range or even a river or water barrier of some kind. What has evolved is our ability as human beings to travel, to communicate and to share information and knowledge with one another. Now our homes, food, transportation, clothing, etc. are all becoming more common and universal. At one time there were vast differences in cultures but now cultures are merging and looking more and more alike. That too, goes to showcase the adaptability of man.
Rather than man evolving from an animal-like creature, could it possibly be that some early men may have been crowded out or ostracized from his primitive community and had to forage and do for himself? In that process, he may have become more animal like to survive. Not having the collective knowledge and genius of his clan. He may have kidnapped a woman from his or another clan for comfort and to propagate his species but he continued living off the land learning from animals and whatever inventiveness he was able to come up with on his own. Such a man would, in a sense, reverse evolve or devolve. He would degenerate and become like Cro Magnon or Homo erectus and/or Homo ergaster as a paleoanthropologist might say. I have seen a few and read about certain mountain or back hills people that have been isolated from “civilization” and want to keep it that way. They have evolved, if you will, into borderline Homo sapiens, rather than forerunners of anatomically modern humans, in their case the reversal of modern humans. In some cases they have interbred with siblings and after a few generations of doing so they become as royalty, degenerative blue bloods. To me, it makes more sense to believe that men went backwards from Adam than that Adam evolved from an animal.
I have a Salt Lake Tribune newspaper clipping I kept from 11 March 1956, about the time I was in that college science class. It was an article written by a New York Times writer by the name of Robert K. Plumb. He wrote about the remains of a man found in Northern Italy, a man that was tested scientifically and found to be 10,000,000 years old. They said he had none of the characteristics of an ape. Two of the scientists said it was possible the remains are those of a group of ancestors of man that died out. Re-reading the above statements of Paleoanthropologists, they said the transition to man from apes happened 2–2.5 million years ago. This man was a “Man,” not an ape, and he was ten million years old. My question is, How do findings contrary to the scientists findings get swept under the rug so easily. The reason is that no one wants to get in a fight with scientist who will overwhelm them with scientific jargon.
I know many will think this author thinks more like a Homo erectus than modern man. However, I feel more pride in my origin than to assume that my ancestors evolved from creatures that were less than intelligent men and women. I am an Adamite, a descendent of Father Adam, the ‘Ancient of Days,’ as he is so named in modern scripture. I feel sad to think that there are those who would make lite of such a proud and beautiful heritage as we have, as the human race. Someone quipped; “If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why are there still monkeys and apes.” Wouldn’t they all have wanted to be like those of their kind who advanced into modern man status with all of his comforts?
Pay attention now—for the following is the true nature of man that I want my children and all my descendants to have. This is the perspective that man should have in his mind always, because it would make him a better man. A man with greater appreciation of his ancestors. That perspective is the “Eternal Perspective” of man. We always have existed and we always will exist in one stage or another of our progressive destiny, but never less than the human embryo. It is very important for us to know and to understand that man’s existence as an intelligence is eternal. Dr. Ashael D. Woodruff stated: “Our existence does not depend on the greatness and goodness of God; That the core of man is one of the uncreatable elements of eternity, That the portion of him which is his core essence was not created nor made, neither indeed can be” The scriptures tell us that; “Man was also in the beginning with God.” (D & C 93:29). We were ‘intelligent matter’ that God convened and offered a plan whereby we might progress and improve our stature. Why would we follow Him?. Because it was apparent to us that He was the most intelligent of us all, as well as the most Just and Loved of all. He first created spirit bodies from our intelligent matter before He created physical bodies. There is nowhere written what our intelligent matter may have looked like. “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26) or “What is man, that You are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor and placed everything under his feet.” (Heb 2:7) The way we have evolved is not in physical stature but rather in spiritual stature. Once we received our physical bodies it is true that some have regressed, devolved and become animal like in thinking and in behavior. As in Job we learn, “our days upon earth are a shadow.” ( Job 8:9) “He that overcometh (earth) shall inherit all things; and he shall be my son.” (Rev. 21:7) I pray that we may all overcome the hardships and temptations of earth and become His sons and His daughters.
Brother N.L. Nelson put forth in his article, “Heaven Versus Nirvana.” He put it this way: “Water, it is said tends to seek its level; man also, with this difference: that man’s level is a question of his ideals. Let him believe truly that he is a child of God, and given an eternity for growth and development, he will uplift himself to the level of his eternal Father. But inspire him with such a conviction as that set forth in this quotation (one concerning the natural depravity of man), and he will rest content when his mind stream reaches the level of the ooze-pond from which he believes himself to have originated.” May God bless all men to know their origin and future.