Comments on: Noah’s Flood

By: Bus

Bus — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 03:31:02 +0000

I’m not sure that Mormons believe that black people descended from Cain. We believe that God put a mark on Cain as the scriptures say but the idea that the mark was a black skin was a fairly widely accepted Christian belief throughout the past few centuries, often being used as a justification for African slavery. The idea that darker skinned people came through the flood is based on Genesis 9:18 because Noah’s third son Ham married a Canaanite.
If you want to read a fun version of these events get a copy of the Book of Jasher, it gives much greater detail to all these stories but then you have to decide whether its right or not.

By: Adam D'Aragon

Adam D'Aragon — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 02:21:08 +0000

How is that Mormons believe that black people are descendents of Cain if they also believe in the Flood, which narrowed all of humanity down to Noah and his family?

By: Bill G

Bill G — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 00:13:31 +0000

Funny that geologists say there has never been a time in earths history when water covered the whole earth. The Flood is purely mythical/allegorical. So are many other things written of in the Bible.

By: Curtis "Curtis" Wiederhold

Curtis "Curtis" Wiederhold — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 05:16:03 +0000

Depends on which Mormon you ask. As it’s not a matter of terrible importance, there isn’t much discussion on the subject. It may have been a localized flooding event, it may have been a worldwide phenomena; either way it was a miracle powerfully displaying God’s supernatural command of the elements. Thanks for your question!

By: woogieman

woogieman — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 22:55:08 +0000

So did the flood cover the entire earth or not? What do mormon believe on this? You never say.

By: Bus Gillespie

Bus Gillespie — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:26:10 +0000

The flood is quite a story that people have tried to explain to fit their particular level of scientific knowledge. I’ve heard that it might have been when the Black Sea broke through the Sea of Marmara and caused giant waves and a rise in the Mediterranean. I’ve also read where geologist have found a layer of sediment 6 feet thick which dates back about 4,000 years as far away as Africa. Many cultures have stories about a flood in their early histories. Whether it was a worldwide flood or a localized event we may not know. As for me I’ll just go with the simple story related in the Bible.

By: Kia M

Kia M — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:26:59 +0000

In my opinion the flood was either a localized event, or allegorical in nature. From Noah’s point of view and his understanding of the current world it may have seemed like a world wide event. But the scientific data from geology, biology, genetics,archeology,anthropology, biogeography and biodiversity overwhelmingly negate the traditional view; that the flood was a worldwide event that covered the earth and destroyed all living things. My testimony is not affected one bit by my belief that that flood story is not what the genesis account records.

I suggest you read two papers from BYU professors on the subject.
-Duane E. Jeffery, “Noah’s Flood: Modern Scholarship and Mormon Traditions,” Sunstone (Issue #134) (October 2004): 27–45
-Clayton M. White and Mark D. Thomas, “On Balancing Faith in Mormonism with Traditional Biblical Stories: The Noachian Flood,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 40:3 (Fall 2007): 85–110

By: DavidH

DavidH — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:21:36 +0000

“There was a man named Noah who gathered up a bunch of animals, put them on an ark, and then weathered one crazy storm with the miraculous help of God.”

I think most LDS believe that. Some active Latter-day Saints believe that the flood occurred, but was not worldwide. However, it is probably true that most active LDS also believe that the flood was worldwide, and that Noah in fact was able to gather all the species of then existing oxygen breathing animals onto the ark.

The Pew poll shows that Mormons are less likely to believe in evolution as the origin of human beings than any group except Jehovah Witnesses. http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-chapter-2.pdf
I suspect, but do not know, that belief in a worldwide flood would probably be about the same.