doctrine can be obtained from the first of these words--viz., the verb translated create, then the chances are still less for there being any foundation for the doctrine in the verb translated, "made," "formed" or "fashioned." This is in harmony, too, with the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He says "You ask the learned doctors why they say the world was made out of nothing; and they will answer, 'Don't the Bible say he _created_ the world? and they infer, from the word _create_ that it must have been made out of nothing. 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 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 [God] had."[C] [Footnote C: Journal of Discourses, Vol. vi: p. 6.] Professor Baden Powell further says, "The idea of 'creation' as meaning absolutely 'making out of nothing,' or calling into existence that which did not exist before, in the strictest sense of the term, is not a doctrine of scripture; but it has been held by many on the grounds of natural theology, as enhancing the ideas we form of the divine power, and more especially since the contrary must imply the belief in the eternity and self existence of matter."[D] Theologians have held, generally, that to admit the doctrine of the eternity and self existence of matter detracted from the perfection of Deity, though how that can appear is difficult to comprehend. [Footnote D: Kitto's Biblical Literature, Art. Creation.] Not only have so-called theologians been compelled to renounce the unphilosophical idea that the universe was created out of nothing; but they also have to admit that there are indisputable evidences of the earth having a greater antiquity than their interpretations of the word of God allow. That is, the earth itself bears in its own bosom the evidence that it is more than six thousand years old. And though it may turn out, on further investigation, that some of the claims of geology are extremely absurd; owing to the fact, perhaps, that the founders of that science have not considered sufficiently the effect of conditions not now existing and forces not now in operation, but which doubtless existed and operated in the earlier ages of our earth's existence--yet when extremely liberal allowances for all these things are made, the indisputable evidence adduced from the science of geology is sufficient to establish the statement that the earth is more than six thousand years old; and it might be added also that from the same source it is evident that the earth was not created or organized from pre-existing element in six days of twenty-four hours duration.