Noah's Ark

Conflicts with Science: Noah's Ark

(A response to MormonThink)

It is occasionally taught in the church that Noah's flood was global and that it represents a baptism of sort.  As a scientist, I find it challenging to reconcile a global flood with the scientific data.  MormonThink is informative in this regard with links to TalkOrigins, etc.  However, it turns out that this is not an official doctrine of the church, and can scarcely be found outside the opinion of some of its members.

MormonThink quotes an Ensign article by Donald Parry where he says the church believes in a global flood based on the testimony of many prophets.  They comment:

How much clearer can you get? The Ensign article makes it extremely clear what the LDS position is on Noah and the Flood. [The Ensign articles are all approved by the First presidency and almost considered scripture.]

The bracketed comment is key.  Ensign articles are almost considered scripture.  But they are not scripture.  The Encylopedia of Mormonism has a section dedicated to the Great Flood under the "Earth" entry:

THE GREAT FLOOD. The Old Testament records a flood that was just over fifteen cubits (sometimes assumed to be about twenty-six feet) deep and covered the entire landscape: "And all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered" (Gen. 7:19). Scientifically this account leaves many questions unanswered, especially how a measurable depth could cover mountains. Elder John A. Widtsoe, writing in 1943, offered this perspective: The fact remains that the exact nature of the flood is not known. We set up assumptions, based upon our best knowledge, but can go no further. We should remember that when inspired writers deal with historical incidents they relate that which they have seen or that which may have been told them, unless indeed the past is opened to them by revelation.

The details in the story of the flood are undoubtedly drawn from the experiences of the writer. Under a downpour of rain, likened to the opening of the heavens, a destructive torrent twenty-six feet deep or deeper would easily be formed. The writer of Genesis made a faithful report of the facts known to him concerning the flood. In other localities the depth of the water might have been more or less. In fact, the details of the flood are not known to us [Widtsoe, p. 127].

The Old Testament Teacher's manual has an entire chapter dedicated to Noah's story--surely we'd find some mention of the flood being global in there if the case is as clear as MormonThink makes it to be.  However, no mention of a global flood is found there.

Now, MormonThink has obviously read FAIR's take on this, but they take an isolated quote to misrepresent FAIR's response:

Even the LDS apologists admit that the church clearly teaches that story of Noah was a real event and it was a global flood:

Without a doubt, the flood is always treated as global event as it is taught by Church leaders. This is not likely to ever change, since it is based directly upon a straightforward reading of the scriptures. Ref:http://en.fairmormon.org/Mormonism_and_science/Global_or_local_Flood

However, the first response of FAIR is the Great Flood section of the EOM article on the Earth (which leaves the question open), and the final conclusion is this:

Like other Christians, Latter-day Saints hold different views on the issue of whether Noah's flood was local or global. Members of any given LDS congregation may have of a variety of points of view, and many have no firm opinion one way or the other.
A belief in either a global or local flood is not a requirement for Latter-day Saints; traditionally, many earlier members and leaders endorsed the global flood views common in society and Christendom generally. The accumulation of additional scientific information have led some to conclude that a local flood — one limited to the area in which Noah lived — is the best explanation of the available data. People of either view, or neither, can be members in good standing.

On the face of it, it would appear that MormonThink is deliberately misleading when quoting that isolated statement from FAIR (although I don't know what the wiki page looked like when MormonThink looked at it, to be sure).

Response to Our thoughts

First off it should be noted that not all LDS believe in the historicity of Noah's Ark or that Adam and Eve were the first humans, etc. However, these beliefs were definitely taught in Mormonism from its beginnings and for the most part are still taught today. I was in a Gospel Doctrine class just a couple of years ago and we had a lesson covering Noah's Ark and it was taught as a real, literal event. Gordon B. Hinckley also taught that the Great Flood was real. Ensign articles in modern times also plainly say that these are real events (see above). So those that do not believe in some of the more fantastic biblical stories do so against past and current church teachings. Many LDS apologists do not support these events as historical but they are not General Authorities and do not speak for the church.

I will again point out that the latest Old Testament lesson on Noah has no reference to a global flood and that the EOM does not teach it either.

So those that do not believe in some of the more fantastic biblical stories do so against past and current church teachings.

The teaching of some church leaders does not equate to the "current church teachings"--the two are not synonymous, although they tend to correlate.

Many LDS apologists do not support these events as historical but they are not General Authorities and do not speak for the church.

But General Authorities also do not speak for the church when they are not acting in that role.  Global flood statements have never been spoken in a way that is binding on the church.

Modern day scripture and the Flood

[Book of Moses/ earth/land, etc ....]