Testimony of a faithful scientist

By Gary Stradling

As a faithful disciple of Christ in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and as a life long scientist, I bear my testimony that God lives, that Jesus Christ is the Savior, that Christ’s Church is true, inspired and authorized to conduct the work of salvation for all mankind. God has told me that Joseph Smith is a true prophet and that the Book of Mormon is truly an ancient inspired record preserved by Him to teach us the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ today. 

I also testify that there exist within the disciplines of science many truths that are well founded and give profound insight into the nature of the universe, of this Earth, and the nature of all living things. All things bear witness of the excellent work of God. I believe that God is a God of truth, and not a trickster that plants misleading evidences in nature to mislead mankind.

While many science truths are well and solidly established by experimentation, analysis, modeling, and confirmatory research, there remain many areas of speculation and conjecture which are not established. Some of these are purported by some scientists to “established science”, but which are not. These include theories of: The Big Bang, Abiogenesis, spontaneous and undirected evolution, Climate Crisis, gender fluidity, and many others. While these may have value as models for looking at particular aspects of the universe, they should be used with skepticism and caution.

Because many of us are exposed to assertive scientists that tell us that belief in God and religion is foolish and incompatible with the clarity and knowledge of science, I bear my testimony that Faith and Science are compatible. 

Two particular and related assertions by these atheistic opponents of faith in God and the practice of religion require my comment here. 

• First is the idea that the development and refinement of life is the spontaneous result of natural selection through random mutations. 
• Second is that primordial life occurred spontaneously in some pool of water infused with spontaneously-occurring amino acids, stimulated perhaps by a lightning strike. 

Darwin’s theory of evolution is 160 years old. Abiogenesis, the theory of spontaneous generation of life, is 100 years old. However, key elements of both of them are unscientific.  

No-where in human scientific experience is there any evidence that basic biological molecular building blocks spontaneously assemble into sophisticated and refined mechanisms. We have no experience of spontaneous engineering refinements of less sophisticated systems than cells. Research has been done for more than 100 years to find how life spontaneously came about. That research has been resoundingly unsuccessful. Science does not understand the nature of life, and cannot replicate it.
Computer programs are not, and will never be, intelligent, much less living. 

As a lifelong scientist and technology developer, I understand what it takes to initiate and develop any new technical concept or to refine technical designs. Spontaneous life and random evolution are nonsense. 

When I have prayed for understanding of the extensive paleontological and paleoDNA evidences of the connected progression of life over billions of years, the Spirit has whispered to me, “We call it adaptive engineering.” That means to me that there is both a spontaneous adaptation process built into living things (which is well documented in evolutionary biological science), and engineering intervention through which new, discontinuous, capabilities, are inserted into living development sequences by God.

I believe in God and in His great works, among mankind, and across the eons of time. I believe that He built this Earth and that part of that Creation of this earth included the geological refinements caused by living things, over billions of years. 

As we attend the LDS temple, we learn some of these things, and there is much more to know. Latter-day Saints are in a position of advantage because of the additional spiritual and scientific knowledge that comes to us through the scriptures of the Restoration. 

God, the Scriptures, and the Prophets tell us to seek personal revelation from God, concerning all things.  This is unique in Christianity. I testify that He is generous in pouring knowledge out on the faithful. 

In the name of Jesus Christ,