{"id":70726,"date":"2019-02-22T16:18:56","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T23:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=70726"},"modified":"2019-02-22T16:18:56","modified_gmt":"2019-02-22T23:18:56","slug":"tyrannosaurus-rex-an-asteroid-volcanoes-and-gordon-b-hinckley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/02\/tyrannosaurus-rex-an-asteroid-volcanoes-and-gordon-b-hinckley.html","title":{"rendered":"Tyrannosaurus Rex, an Asteroid, Volcanoes, and Gordon B. Hinckley"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Dinosaur National Monument straddles the border between northeastern Utah and northwestern Colorado. \u00a0\u00a0(Wikimedia Commons public domain photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m happy to report that there is a Utah connection to this story:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Species of Tiny Tyrannosaur Foreshadows Rise of T. Rex\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tiny<\/em> is a relative term here. \u00a0Personally, I\u2019m quite content that none of these dainty little creatures live in my neighborhood. \u00a0Their demise leaves me with no challengers for my role as the alpha predator in the region (essentially a punk and a bully, as my Malevolent Stalker recently described me), the meanest and most vicious person known to modern science.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another account of the discovery:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA deer-sized\u00a0T. rex<\/em>\u00a0ancestor shows how fast tyrannosaurs became giants: The newly discovered fossil\u2019s name,\u00a0Moros intrepidus<\/em>, means \u2018the harbinger of doom\u2019\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But even the fully evolved and considerably larger Tyrannosaurus Rex couldn\u2019t survive what was coming his way:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDid Huge Volcanic Eruptions Help Kill Off The Dinosaurs?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another take on the same story:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDueling dates for a huge eruption reignite the debate over dinosaurs\u2019 death: Two teams come up with different timing for the bulk of the Deccan Traps volcanic outpourings\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a certified dinosaur \u2014 an outdated remnant of the \u201cOld Guard\u201d from FARMS and the Maxwell Institute, left cruelly behind by the relentless march of Progress \u2014 I pay serious attention to the fate of Tyrannosaurus Rex. \u00a0I have a stake in such things. \u00a0I feel a strong sense of kinship to him.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I insist on learning the lessons of the past. \u00a0It\u2019s why I have health insurance.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A new study that might prove useful in the location of habitable exoplanets and even, potentially, of inhabitable exoplanets:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEarth\u2019s Atmosphere Stretches Far Beyond the Moon, Scientists Find: A group of researchers discovered that Earth\u2019s atmosphere extends almost twice the distance to the Moon after analyzing data gathered in the 1990s.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

What follows is an excerpt from\u00a0William Evenson, \u201cEvolution,\u201d in\u00a0Daniel Ludlow,\u00a0et al.<\/em>, eds.,\u00a0Encyclopedia of Mormonism\u00a0<\/em>(New York:\u00a0Macmillan, 1991). It\u2019s important to note, however, that, although Professor Evenson is identified as the author, President Gordon B. Hinckley was closely involved with the writing of this particular article and approved every word of it. \u00a0He was also the source for the 1931 First Presidency letter that the article cites:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The position of the Church on the origin of man was published by the First Presidency in 1909 and stated again by a different First Presidency in 1925:<\/span><\/p>\n

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>, basing its belief on divine revelation, ancient and modern, declares man to be the direct and lineal offspring of Deity. . . . \u00a0Man is the child of God, formed in the divine image and endowed with divine attributes <\/strong>(see Appendix, \u201cDoctrinal Expositions of the First Presidency\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n

The scriptures tell why man was created, but they do not tell how, though the Lord has promised that he will tell that when he comes again (D&C 101:32-33). In 1931, when there was intense discussion on the issue of organic evolution, the First Presidency of the Church, then consisting of Presidents Heber J. Grant, Anthony W. Ivins, and Charles W. Nibley, addressed all of the General Authorities of the Church on the matter, and concluded,<\/span><\/p>\n

Upon the fundamental doctrines of the Church we are all agreed. Our mission is to bear the message of the restored gospel to the world. 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. . . .<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Upon one thing we should all be able to agree, namely, that Presidents Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder, and Anthon H. Lund were right when they said: \u201cAdam is the primal parent of our race.\u201d<\/strong> [First Presidency Minutes, Apr. 7, 1931].<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, relating to President Hinckley, here\u2019s an item from\u00a0Larry A. Witham,\u00a0Where Darwin Meets the Bible\u00a0<\/em>(New York:\u00a0Oxford University Press, 2002, pg. 176-177]:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Few American theologies are more complex than that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but its flagship Brigham Young University teaches off-the-shelf, industry-standard evolution. \u00a0That has been the case since 1931, when the church officially said: \u201cLeave biology, archaeology, and anthropology, no one of which has to do with the salvation of the souls of mankind, to scientific research.\u201d . . . \u00a0What the church requires is only belief \u201cthat Adam was the first man of what we would call the human race,\u201d says Gordon Hinckley, the church\u2019s living prophet. \u00a0Scientists can speculate on the rest, he says, recalling his own study of anthropology and geology: \u00a0\u201cStudied all about it. Didn\u2019t worry me then. Doesn\u2019t worry me now.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 I\u2019m happy to report that there is a Utah connection to this story: \u00a0 \u201cNew Species of Tiny Tyrannosaur Foreshadows Rise of T. Rex\u201d \u00a0 Tiny is a relative term here. \u00a0Personally, I\u2019m quite content that none of these dainty little creatures live in my neighborhood. \u00a0Their demise leaves me with no challengers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nTyrannosaurus Rex, an Asteroid, Volcanoes, and Gordon B. Hinckley<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    I'm happy to report that there is a Utah connection to this story:   "New Species of Tiny Tyrannosaur Foreshadows Rise of T. 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