"The Mormon church teaches that God did not create Ex Nihilo (from nothing) as the Bible clearly says (Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Hebrews 11:3). They say that matter is eternal and that the gods (even the original god they call ‘Heavenly Father’) arranged pre-existing ‘elements’ to form the world(s).
From the Church of Latter Day Saints’ own website by searching ‘Creation’ we read;
This idea comes from Mormonism’s founding father Joseph Smith who also wrote; Now the word create came from the word baurau, which does not mean to create out of nothing; it means to organize; the same as a man would organize materials and build a ship. Hence we infer that God had materials to organize the world out of chaos—chaotic matter, which is element, and in which dwells all the glory. Element had an existence from the time He had. The pure principles of element are principles which can never be destroyed; they may be organized and reorganized, but not destroyed. They had no beginning, and can have no end.
So to put the Mormon’s proposed view of origins into a chronological sequence it would state;
From the Church of Latter Day Saints’ own website by searching ‘Creation’ we read;
Under the direction of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ created the heavens and the earth (see Mosiah 3:8; Moses 2:1). From scripture revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, we know that in the work of the Creation, the Lord organized elements that had already existed (see Abraham 3:24). He did not create the world “out of nothing”, as some people believe.
This idea comes from Mormonism’s founding father Joseph Smith who also wrote; Now the word create came from the word baurau, which does not mean to create out of nothing; it means to organize; the same as a man would organize materials and build a ship. Hence we infer that God had materials to organize the world out of chaos—chaotic matter, which is element, and in which dwells all the glory. Element had an existence from the time He had. The pure principles of element are principles which can never be destroyed; they may be organized and reorganized, but not destroyed. They had no beginning, and can have no end. So to put the Mormon’s proposed view of origins into a chronological sequence it would state;
- First there was matter (which always existed).
- This matter somehow produced the first man who grew in wisdom and became (the first) God.
- This God produced other humans.
- From these humans came other Gods.