Recently I had the opportunity to hike the Grand Canyon and go on a cruise to Alaska. The trips were a great showcase of God’s creation. As I reached the top of the Grand Canyon after having hiked down to the river and back, I thought, “There’s no way this was created by chance or coincidence.” The scene was surreal, yet I knew that God had created this wonder for humans to enjoy and as a testament that He is real.
I had a similar experience in Alaska. Seeing the mountains, tundra rainforest and the ocean passages again reminded me that this couldn’t have “just happened.” Another gift from God for humans to enjoy.
I have a Bachelor in Computer Science. I have learned about logic and how things fit together. I understand how designs lead to creations. I know I can’t just expect to have what I want come out of the computer by chance or coincidence. It doesn’t work. There has to be a design and then an implementation to produce a system that meets a set of predefined requirements.
The logical part of my mind knows inherently that the world could not have been formed due to randomness and chance. The world is not here by luck or coincidence. There is no way that the Grand Canyon was formed without a design in place. The same goes for the mountains and rainforest of Alaska.
A Gift God Has Given Us
The Earth is one of God’s gifts to us. God stated, “We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;” (Abraham 3:24-25).
This means the Earth was created for us. It was made so we might have a chance to prove ourselves to God. Before the earth was created, we lived as spirits in God’s presence. There we learned about God’s plan to give us a body and the ability to choose to follow Him. When we accepted His plan in our pre-mortal existence, the creation of the Earth was implemented.
In reading the account of the creation, we see the following components that make up this gift:
- Dividing the water from the land – a place prepared for us to dwell on
- Plants – Some for food, some for beauty, some not so beautiful, all to remind us of Him
- The Sun, the Moon, and the Seasons – To bring us light and diversity in our environment
- The fowls and the fishes – Some for food, some for beauty, some as helps in our lives, some as pests
- Cattle, creeping thing, and beast – Similar to the fowls and fishes, but also to help regulate the planet and make it hospitable to man
- Finally, man – To have dominion over the creations of God
Our creation would not be near as wonderful without the Earth created for our existence. Alma, in Chapter 30 verses 41 through 44 testifies of this to Korihor, an Anti-Christ who was trying to lead the people astray.
“But, behold, I have all things as a testimony that these things are true; and ye also have all things as a testimony unto you that they are true; and will ye deny them? … The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.”
I agree with Alma, “I have all things as a testimony” that God is real and that He made the Earth and all things upon it. There is no reasonable way that all this occurred by chance or accident. The Earth is a gift to help us in our mortal lives to draw closer to God and someday return to live with Him.
Whether By Mine Own Voice 
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