Creation
Water and the Pacific Northwest
My second great grandfather, Thomas Condon, was the pioneer geologist of Oregon. He arrived in Oregon in 1853 and spent half a century exploring Oregon’s fossils and contemplating its ancient history.
Read MoreIs It Happenstance?
I’m up each morning in time to observe the sunrise. I live where I have an unobstructed view of a range of high mountains to the east over which the sun rises. I watch as the sun reaches its farthest point of rising to the north on June 21st, the day summer officially begins. It then starts a slow march back to the south, rising a minute later each morning. On December 21st, winter has set in, and it reaches its farthest point south. It then begins its march back to the north.
Read MoreOn the Way to Twin Lakes
High above the valley, atop a treeless ridge, one glimpses eternity. The view is vast and endless. God’s creations are exposed to view, and roll on and on until swallowed by distance.
And yet they continue.
The Creation
This I Believe
1. The earth was not created out of nothing. I believe that it was created out of existing materials brought together and organized by God, the Creator. (Abr. 3:24).
2. The earth was not created in a 24-hour day, nor in a 7-day week as we know them. One day in God’s time is as 1,000 years to man. (Abr. 3:4, 5:13). When the scriptures speak of the seven days of creation, they are symbolically referring to periods of time that might have been thousands or millions of years long.
Ornithological Errors
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland made an ornithological error in his October 2020 conference address. Ornithology is the study of birds. He said that Elijah received a skimpy sustenance “in a raven’s claw.” I’ve never seen ravens or other corvids carry anything in their claws. I’ve seen them carry things in their beaks, but I think they lack the ability to grasp and carry things with their feet.
Read MoreExquisite Creations
As a boy wandering around the woods above my house, I fixed May 20th in my mind as the date on which I could find a fairy slipper. A fairy slipper is a pink, exquisitely-formed flower into which you can imagine a fairy’s dainty foot being inserted. Its real name is calypso orchid. It is a low-growing plant which sends up a 5-inch stem topped by a one-inch-long mottled, pink blossom. “Exquisite” is the best word to describe its shape and color. It is unique, and somewhat rare. It belongs to a genus that contains just this one species.
Read MoreI Have A Project
I wake in the morning feeling excited. I’m excited because I have a project. I’m eager to start the next step, and to continue putting together my creation. I’m bringing something into existence which has never existed before. I’m developing an idea, and the result is going to be beautiful and useful.
Read MoreSunrise
I have an appointment each morning with the rising of the sun. I try to be in front of my big window as the sun slowly prepares to make its appearance.
Read MoreNarrow Viewpoints
When I got out of bed at 5:45, I looked out the back window and noticed a long, narrow strip of sunlight across the lawn. It was perhaps 6-inches wide, and two dozen feet long. It was made by the light of the rising sun coming in the north side of our east window and exiting through the south side of our west window. The sun now rises (3 May) toward the north. As the sun gets higher in the sky it moves south and makes an arc across the sky.
Read MoreA Lesson in Astronomy
Samuel the Lamanite made a one-of-its-kind prophecy. Matthew, half a world away, recorded the prophecy’s fulfillment. (Matthew 2). The prophecy was that at the time of Christ’s birth a new star would arise. (Helaman 14:5). The star was to be a sign that the event had happened. It was a sign looked for and anticipated by not only the Nephites, but by certain wise men who lived some-where far to the east of Jerusalem.
Read MoreCreation Versus Chaos
The first law of thermodynamics says that energy in a system cannot be created or destroyed. It can, however, be converted into another form, or transferred to another system.
Read MoreVenus and the New Day
October 9, 2017, 6:30, and the entire eastern horizon is a brilliant rainbow. Venus is bright and shining. It rises higher and higher, doing its best…
Read MoreAstronomical Questions and Numbers
1. How many people have lived upon the earth? The Population Reference Bureau says 107 billion.
Read MoreVast World, Vast Plans
It is a beautiful, cloudless day. In the east there is an area of sky that gets more and more orange…
Read MoreThe Religion of Evolution
Someone recently made the statement that evolution is a religion. As I think about it, I agree that the theory of evolution certainly carries all the signs of a false religion.
Read MoreGod’s Focus and Greatest Creation
In 1956 Harry de Leyer went to the auction to buy a horse for his children to ride. He got there too late. All the good horses had already been sold.
Read MoreThe Apprentice and the Master Craftsman – James’ Parables
There was once a man who apprenticed himself to a master craftsman. The master craftsman was able to work with every material, in every medium, and to create beautiful things.
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