Week 6 – Geologic Time Scale, Evolution, Hypothesis of Time Comprehension

The last week of our geological experience is upon us! With the remaining time this year we’re going to learn about the stories we can connect with within the geological time scale of earth and human existence. We’ll discuss how this knowledge helps us appreciate life and your relationship with God. We’ll also delve into the subject of “time comprehension” and helping you develop your own novel thoughts and hypotheses upon the subject of “time” and “evolution” in relation to God.

Watch the following videos and answer the questions below them:

1. What exactly is a hypothesis?
2. What are the 6 steps of developing a hypothesis of your own?
3. As you watch and study the remaining homework below get ready to develop your own hypothesis on the topic of how you view God’s “time” and “evolution” in relation to your human development and understanding this earth better.

1. Write down in your journal your thoughts about what you found interesting in this video. If your perspective about understanding how scientists in general measure “time” in which ways do you see time differently so far?

1. What are the 5 GTS sub-groups?
2. What is the longest GTS and what time span does it roughly cover?
3. Which Era, according to science, did “visible” life start to show up such as trees, aardvarks, lizards etc?
4. What type of fossil has been used for a long time as an “index fossil”?
5. What Era is called the “Age of Reptiles” where dinosaurs only show up in the time scale?
6. What was the “last linage” of the dinosaurs to survive?
7. What is the Era called in which we currently reside in as humans?
8. What is the “Sahelanthropus”? Look this up on Google or AI and tell me what geologic dating method was used to determine the age of this extinct hominin? How does that geologic dating method work exactly and what’s the half life of the isotope used?

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Action Steps

1. Read this article on “Organic Evolution” on the LDS site and then write about 100 to 300 words explaining your own thoughts so far about the “evolution” of earth and mankind.
   
2. Read the entire document page 143 from Brigham Young here about his thoughts about the Earth falling into orbit. From there, write down your thoughts about this in your journal and come prepared to discuss this in class. (source link)
   
3. Now that you’ve studied all the information presented so far I want you to create your own hypothesis following the 6 steps you learned earlier for this questions here:
   • Knowing God is all-powerful and could create the Earth in a heartbeat, why do you think He chose a process (Evolution/GTS) that took billions of years? What does this ‘slow-cook’ method teach us about how we are meant to grow and eventually become like Him?
     
4. Reference the following comparison timeline chart below and then answer the questions below it. I’ve presented a list of thought provoking questions for you to think about and write down your ideas and even hypothesis on to discuss together in class. There are no right or wrong answers to the following questions:

Side-by-Side Comparison: Creation Days vs. Geologic Time

Creation Day	Scriptural Description	Geologic Timeframe	Date Range	Major Earth Developments	Interpretive Notes (LDS Perspective)
Day 1	Light created; divided from darkness	Hadean Eon → Early Archean	4.54 – 3.5 billion years ago	• Earth forms from solar nebula • Molten surface begins cooling • Thick atmosphere forms • Light begins penetrating surface	Light may refer to the establishment of energy/light reaching Earth’s surface, not the creation of the sun itself.
Day 2	Waters divided; firmament (sky) created	Archean Eon	4.0 – 2.5 billion years ago	• Water vapor condenses into oceans • Atmosphere stabilizes • Early hydrologic cycle begins	“Firmament” may represent atmospheric separation between ocean and sky.
Day 3	Dry land appears; vegetation created	Late Archean → Proterozoic Eon	3.5 billion – 541 million years ago	• Continents (cratons) form • First photosynthetic life (cyanobacteria) • Oxygen begins accumulating (Great Oxygenation Event)	“Plants” may include early photosynthetic organisms rather than modern plants.
Day 4	Sun, moon, stars set for signs and seasons	Proterozoic Eon	2.5 billion – 541 million years ago	• Atmosphere clears significantly • Sun, moon, stars become visible from Earth’s surface • Stable day/night cycles established	Rather than creation of celestial bodies, this may describe their visibility and functional role from Earth.
Day 5	Sea creatures and birds created	Paleozoic → Mesozoic Era	541 – 66 million years ago	• Cambrian Explosion (rapid diversification of life) • First fish and marine ecosystems • Later development of flying creatures (birds from dinosaurs)	Sequence aligns with life beginning in oceans before air-based creatures.
Day 6	Land animals and humans created	Mesozoic → Cenozoic Era	252 million years ago – present	• Dinosaurs dominate, then go extinct (~66 MYA) • Mammals rise and diversify • Humans appear (~300,000 years ago) • Civilization develops	Humans are described as created in God’s image—emphasizing divine identity beyond biological development.
Day 7	God rests; creation completed	Holocene Epoch → Anthropocene (proposed)	11,700 years ago – present	• Stable climate supports civilization • Human influence shapes planet (Anthropocene concept)	“Rest” signifies completion and order, not inactivity; humanity continues stewardship.

 

1. If God spent 4 billion years “organizing” the earth before Adam and Eve, what does that tell us about His character? Why wouldn’t He just “snap His fingers” and have it done in a second?
   
2. The GTS shows millions of years of animals living and dying (dinosaurs, trilobites). How do we reconcile this with the idea that there was “no death” before the Fall? Could “The Fall” be a local event in the Garden of Eden, or does “death” mean something different in a spiritual context?
   
3. Why would God take time to create separation and boundaries (ex: sky vs water) before creating life; what does that possibly teach you about the role of God’s boundaries in your personal growth?
   
4. Why would God spend such a long time creating simple life (like plants and microbes) before anything exciting or complex appeared; what does that teach you about small beginnings? What “small, boring habits” in your life might actually be laying the foundation for something great?
   
5. What are your thoughts about why God would fill the oceans with life long before humans ever existed? What does that teach you about creating abundance before it’s immediately needed? Give some specific examples.
   
6. If even God “rested” after creation, what does that teach us about the role of rest, reflection, and gratitude in achieving meaningful success?
   
7. We know God gives us agency, but does He give “agency” to nature? If evolution involves mutations and survival, could that be God allowing the Earth to “choose” its own path within certain boundaries? Is the variety of the GTS a result of God’s creativity, or the Earth’s own creative response to His commands?
   
8. If God dwells in a place where “time is not measured unto man” (Alma 40:8), could the billions of years of the GTS feel like six literal days to Him? If you were a Being who lived for billions of years, how would your “work week” look different than a human one?
   
9. We are here to learn and be tested. Could the Earth have gone through its own “schooling” during the GTS? Did the Earth need to experience the “trial” of the Ice Ages or the “test” of mass extinctions to be “exalted” into the beautiful world we have today?
   
10. Doctrine & Covenants 77 mentions the “seven thousand years” of Earth’s temporal existence. If the GTS is billions of years old, could the “7,000 years” refer only to the time after the Earth was fully organized and ready for human covenants? Why would God use “7” as a symbol instead of the actual number of years?