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.

The second law of thermodynamics deals with the natural direction of energy processes.  For example, according to this law, heat will, of its own accord, flow only from a hotter object to a colder object.

Also according to this law things will go from a state of order to a state of disorder unless energy is introduced into the system to keep things ordered.  A room, for example, will trend toward disorder unless someone puts forth an effort to clean it.

It occurs to me that this law was in effect at the creation.  God said that "we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth."  (Abraham 3:24).  What they did was to take unorganized matter and organize it into a world.  The matter was already there, but was in a state of chaos.

Chaos is the natural state.  It's the state that all things devolve to unless energy is introduced into the system to counteract that trend.

Men's lives, too, devolve to chaos unless energy is introduced to counteract the process.  King Benjamin said that, "The natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit and putteth off the natural man…"  (Mosiah 3:19).

As we look around us we see people every day whose lives are in chaos.  Unless the trend is arrested, they lose their love one for another and become "without affection, and they hate their own blood."  (Moses 7:33).  They and the world become "corrupt" and "filled with violence."  (Moses 8:28).

The antidote is the scriptures.  When a person immerses himself in the scriptures, he introduces the Holy Ghost into his life.  The natural man is then suppressed, and a new creature emerges.  If energy from the Holy Ghost continues to be introduced into the system, the man eventually evolves into a God.

This is the true law of evolution.

Darwin's theory is false.  His theory says that organisms develop from simple to complex—from lower to higher.  That theory flies in the face of the second law of thermodynamics.  Energy flows from places of higher energy to places of lower energy, not the other way around.  Animals never will evolve into men, but men devolve into animals unless they yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit.

In the creation, God took unorganized matter, and organized it into a world.  One of His next steps was to separate the light from the darkness.  The scriptures do that in our individual lives, too.  They bring us out of the darkness and into the light.  They separate the light from the darkness, teach us right from wrong, direct us how to be happy, and keep us from descending back into the natural man and chaos.

The second law of thermodynamics also has to do with the path of least resistance.  The path of least resistance is the natural way, and all things follow it.  Electricity does.  So does water.  Water follows the path of least resistance all the way to the ocean.  There it would stay but for the energy of the sun that raises it back to the clouds.  The energy of the wind then moves it back over land where the cycle can repeat itself.

The natural man likes this path, too.  Without the scriptures and the resultant influence of the Holy Ghost, no new energy is introduced into the family system, and each generation gets worse.  What the parents do in moderation, the children do to excess.

The opposite objective is achieved in families where active scripture study, teaching, and example are practiced.  Each succeeding generation becomes better than the last.

Margie remembers no encouragement by the Church for the youth of her day to read the scriptures.  It was generally felt that young people were incapable of understanding such deep things.

Look at the change in our day.  The youth, and even little children, are the most avid readers of the Book of Mormon.  Such youth grow up and establish stronger families than the ones they came from.

Hence, the youth of the Church are getting better, while their peers and the world are effortlessly sliding closer and closer to the precipice from which there will be no retrieval.

The world is edging closer to chaos.  That's where Satan wants it.  He has "a great chain in his hand, and it veil(s) the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he look(s) up and laugh(s), and his angels rejoice."  (Moses 7:26).

That's one of the most chilling verses in all scripture.  Imagine Satan laughing!  The only way he can have happiness is at our expense.  He looks up and laughs.  He's laughing at God because he thinks he's winning and foiling the plan.

For some, this is so.  Why would anyone willingly make Satan happy and subject themselves to darkness and chaos?  It's because they take the path of least resistance.  Someone must inject some light into their lives or chaos will be their reward.  That's what the missionaries are trying to do.

God has a mission statement.  He says, "This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."  (Moses 1:39).

Each of us should have a mission statement, too.  I'd suggest that we should adopt that one as our own, because it can't be improved upon.

Satan has a mission statement, also, "for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."  (2 Ne. 2:27).  His mission statement is the opposite of the Father's.  He might say, "This is my work and my intention—to bring to pass the misery and eternal death of man."

The Father's plan is one of order, happiness, and ultimate joy.  He has given us the instruction manuals so that we can individually assemble His plan in each of our lives.  We must put forth effort to read the manuals and to implement the instructions found therein.  Each effort, however small, is always rewarded.  Each effort builds the desire and resolve for more effort until the person finds himself "hungering and thirsting after righteousness."

This is a contest between creation and chaos.  The tools are all before us to make ourselves "in the similitude of (the) Only Begotten."  (Moses 1:6).  The other choice is chaos—which is the direction to which we tend if we fail to introduce any energy into the system.  I would call this the theory of devolution.  In contrast to the theory of evolution, the theory of devolution is true.