Church and Gospel Questions

Religion and Science

Seeking answers to our questions can draw us closer to the Savior if we apply sound principles. Faith in Jesus Christ is vital to our pursuit of answers to life’s most challenging questions. See “Center Your Life on Jesus Christ” to explore more tips on answering questions.

Overview

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seek and embrace truth. President Brigham Young taught, “There is no truth but what belongs to the Gospel.” On another occasion, he shared, “If you can find a truth in heaven [or] earth … , it belongs to our doctrine.”

It’s true that at times the conclusions of science and religion seem inconsistent with each other. But these apparent conflicts are simply reminders that we do not yet understand all there is to know about either religion or science. Our pursuit of truth requires us to be humble and patient, recognizing the limits of our knowledge. The Lord has promised that in a coming day He will “reveal all things.”

The Church does not take a position on most scientific matters. Instead, the Church focuses on teaching revealed, spiritual truths and helping God’s children live by those truths. At the same time, many Latter-day Saints seek to understand and contribute to scientific knowledge, following the Lord’s invitation to Joseph Smith to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”

Related gospel study guides:

• Creation

• Fall of Adam and Eve

• Priesthood Blessing

Exploring Your Questions

• Are science and religious belief compatible with one another?

• What does the Church teach about evolution and the origin of humans?

• How can I reconcile the findings of science regarding the history of the earth with scriptural teachings about the Creation of the world?

• What does the Church teach about the relationship between medical science and blessings of healing?

Are science and religious belief compatible with one another?

President Russell M. Nelson, a prophet of God as well as a renowned heart surgeon and medical researcher, declared that conflict between science and religion “only arises from an incomplete knowledge of either science or religion, or both. … All truth is part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether truth comes from a scientific laboratory or by revelation from the Lord, it is compatible.” Any apparent conflicts between science and religion will ultimately be resolved through more careful study, further scientific research, or continuing revelation.

Some believe that science disproves the existence of God. However, this position is not supported by the scientific method. Science does not prove or disprove God’s existence. Similarly, some religious people reject scientific discoveries as being incompatible with their beliefs. But their conclusions are often based on a misunderstanding of science or of the scriptures.

Science and religion have different but complementary goals. Science seeks to explain the physical universe in which we live. Scientific discoveries have revolutionized travel and communication, helped treat disease and alleviate suffering, and transformed many other aspects of life.

Religion, on the other hand, helps us understand spiritual things, including our relationship with God, the purpose of life, and our eternal destiny. It helps us to find meaning in our trials; to treat others with dignity and love; to understand and to choose good over evil; and ultimately to find hope, peace, and eternal salvation through Jesus Christ.

Accepting or pursuing scientific or other secular knowledge need not diminish our faith. Many Latter-day Saints, including members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, have pursued careers as physicists, geologists, chemists, and biologists. We are blessed as we seek both spiritual knowledge and scientific knowledge and use them to guide our lives and help those around us.

What does the Church teach about evolution and the origin of humans?

The Church affirms that we are all children of God and are created in His image. Ancient scripture and modern revelation teach us why our bodies were created and who created them, but not how. The details of what happened on earth before Adam and Eve lived on it, including how their bodies came to be, have not been revealed. But Church teachings regarding our divine origin are clear and have been revealed by God.

Over the years, Church leaders have expressed differing views about evolution. However, the Church takes no position on the topic. In 1931, in the wake of a public controversy over evolution, the First Presidency urged Church leaders not to take sides on the issue but to “leave Geology, Biology, Archaeology and Anthropology, no one of which has to do with the salvation of the souls of mankind, to scientific research, while we magnify our calling in the realm of the Church.”

For more information, see Church History Topics, “Organic Evolution” (Gospel Library).

How can I reconcile the findings of science regarding the history of the earth with scriptural teachings about the Creation of the world?

Using reliable methods of measurement, such as radiometric dating, scientists currently estimate the age of the earth to be approximately 4.5 billion years. Some people believe such estimates contradict the scriptural teaching that the earth was created in six days.

It may be helpful to remember that the Creation accounts in the scriptures are not scientific descriptions and that some aspects of them may be figurative. It might also be helpful to note that the book of Abraham speaks of the days of creation as periods of unspecified length.

The most important truth that the scriptures teach about creation is that God created the earth through His Son, Jesus Christ, to fulfill His eternal purpose to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

While we have not received detailed revelation about how the earth was created, we rejoice that a loving God created it for our good. Today, many believers of different religious backgrounds accept scientific discoveries, while still affirming that God created the world.

What does the Church teach about the relationship between medical science and blessings of healing?

Medical science and faith are not mutually exclusive. As President Dallin H. Oaks taught: “Latter-day Saints believe in applying the best available scientific knowledge and techniques. We use nutrition, exercise, and other practices to preserve health, and we enlist the help of healing practitioners, such as physicians and surgeons, to restore health. The use of medical science is not at odds with our prayers of faith and our reliance on priesthood blessings.”

President Brigham Young encouraged Latter-day Saints to seek out available remedies while praying and exercising faith. Otherwise, he said, “I might as well ask the Lord to cause my wheat and corn to grow, without my plowing the ground and casting in the seed.” At the same time, Latter-day Saints do not wait until all other methods are exhausted before praying in faith or receiving priesthood blessings of healing.

Learn More:

• Russell M. Nelson, “The Tie Between Science and Religion” (Brigham Young University devotional, Apr. 9, 2015), speeches.byu.edu

• Alicia K. Stanton, “Science and Our Search for Truth,” New Era, July 2016, 26–29

• Church History Topics, “Healing,” Gospel Library

• Church History Topics, “Organic Evolution,” Gospel Library

Notes

1. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young (1997), 16.

2. See Doctrine and Covenants 101:32–34.

3. Doctrine and Covenants 88:118.

4. Russell M. Nelson, in Marianne Holman Prescott, “Elder Nelson Dedicates Life Sciences Building: ‘There Is No Conflict Between Science and Religion,’” Church News, Apr. 14, 2015, thechurchnews.com.

5. See Doctrine and Covenants 88:78–80.

6. See Genesis 1:26–27; Moses 2:26–27. Latter-day prophets have testified: “All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Gospel Library).

7. First Presidency, Memorandum to the Council of the Twelve, First Council of the Seventy, and Presiding Bishopric, Apr. 5, 1931, First Presidency Miscellaneous Correspondence, Church History Library. See also Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, vol. 3, Boldly, Nobly, and Independent, 1893–1955 (2022), 321.

8. See Abraham 4:8, 13, 19, 23, 31; see also Russell M. Nelson, “The Creation,” Ensign, May 2000, 84–86.

9. See Mosiah 3:8; Moses 2:1.

10. Moses 1:39.

11. Dallin H. Oaks, “Healing the Sick,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 47.

12. Teachings: Brigham Young, 253.