I have a question...

[workofart2]

The moon is widely thought to have formed after an object roughly the size of Mars crashed into the Earth 4.5 billion years ago, throwing up a cloud of debris that eventually coalesced into a rocky sphere.

[rameumptom]

Brigham Young spoke to an exclusively Mormon population. In doing so, he sought to have them think outside the box, so as to open them to new possibilities and revelation. Often he speculated on things, even in Conference.

At one Conference, he spoke all morning on a topic. That afternoon when they reconvened, he said, "this morning I told you Brother Brigham's opinion on the subject. This afternoon, I'll tell you the Lord's will on the matter." IOW, Brigham often spoke from his opinions, not always from revelation.

[Pa Pa]

Originally Posted by PassionForHisWord

I read where Brigham Young, the second president of the LDS Church, taught that both the moon and the sun were inhabited by people (Journal of Discourses, 1870, v.13, p.271). Has the Mormon Church ever found scientific evidence of that to be true?

"We are called ignorant; so we are: but what of it? Are not all ignorant? I rather think so. Who can tell us of the inhabitants of this little planet that shines of an evening, called the moon? When we view its face we may see what is termed "the man in the moon," and what some philosophers declare are the shadows of mountains. But these sayings are very vague, and amount to nothing; and when you inquire about the inhabitants of that sphere you find that the most learned are as ignorant in regard to them as the most ignorant of their fellows. So it is with regard to the inhabitants of the sun. Do you think it is inhabited? I rather think it is. Do you think there is any life there? No question of it; it was not made in vain. It was made to give light to those who dwell upon it, and to other planets; and so will this earth when it is celestialized."

I think that there was a time when someone serving in the role of Prophet, could not even state opinion without it being misunderstood as doctrine.

Pa Pa

[Dale]

There is one way the sun and moon can be inhabited. The Bible says invisible beings were created by God. So if such inhabitants lived on the moon, or the sun God would make them able to survive. And such beings if invisible could only be seen through a spiritual view not by astronauts, or telescopes.

[rameumptom]

We believe the Spirit World for this earth is upon the earth - yet we cannot see it. Invisible beings, those who dwell on another dimensional plane, or of matter so fine we cannot see them, is not impossible. As it is, astronomers cannot detect dark matter in the universe, but they know it is there and making up the majority of the mass of the universe.

[Loudmouth_Mormon]

Originally Posted by PassionForHisWord

So it is with regard to the inhabitants of the sun. Do you think it is inhabited? I rather think it is. Do you think there is any life there? No question of it

So, what conclusions do you feel justified in drawing from this quote?

Here's what most LDS folks draw:
* Prophets are error-prone fallible humans who can be wrong like anyone else.
* Prophets are never wrong when saying stuff God wants them to say.
* Brigham wasn't saying what God wanted him to say here - he was offering the opinion of an 1800's era frontier-American opinion offerer.
* It's ok to think he was wrong. I do.

Here are some conclusions that are not warranted:
* BY wasn't a prophet.
* The church is not true.

LM

[Moksha]

"Nearly all the great discoveries of men in the last half century have, in one way or another, either directly or indirectly, contributed to prove Joseph Smith to be a Prophet.
"As far back as 1837, I know that he said the moon was inhabited by men and women the same as this earth, and that they lived to a greater age than we do -- that they live generally to near the age of 1000 years.
"He described the men as averaging near six feet in height, and dressing quite uniformly in something near the Quaker style.
"In my Patriarchal blessing, given by the father of Joseph the Prophet, in Kirtland, 1837, I was told that I should preach the gospel before I was 21 years of age; that I should preach the gospel to the inhabitants upon the islands of the sea, and to the inhabitants of the moon, even the planet you can now behold with your eyes."

(The Young Woman's Journal, published by the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations of Zion, 1892, vol. 3, pp. 263-64)

[MrNirom]

Originally Posted by Moksha

"Nearly all the great discoveries of men in the last half century have, in one way or another, either directly or indirectly, contributed to prove Joseph Smith to be a Prophet.
"As far back as 1837, I know that he said the moon was inhabited by men and women the same as this earth, and that they lived to a greater age than we do -- that they live generally to near the age of 1000 years.
"He described the men as averaging near six feet in height, and dressing quite uniformly in something near the Quaker style.
"In my Patriarchal blessing, given by the father of Joseph the Prophet, in Kirtland, 1837, I was told that I should preach the gospel before I was 21 years of age; that I should preach the gospel to the inhabitants upon the islands of the sea, and to the inhabitants of the moon, even the planet you can now behold with your eyes."

(The Young Woman's Journal, published by the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations of Zion, 1892, vol. 3, pp. 263-64)

And who is to say this is not true? Has anyone heard of the Hollow Earth Theory? Many prominent scientist of our day and age are trying to prove this now. Who says that the same is not possible on the Moon or Sun... or any other planet? There are many things that when we look at it.. are invisible to us. God is. Is it not possible that that we just are not given the means by which to see?

Why I was watching TV last night and found out that people had been reporting seeing flying objects in the sky before airplanes were even invented. Who knows? Can one say for sure it is not true?

[Book_of_Mormon_Warrior]

Jacob 4

1. [14] But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it God hath done it, that they may stumble.

[Dove]

Passion for his Word left looong ago from this site.
It's too bad we made him feel uncomfortable here.....