Fetal Tissue and the Perfect Plan

When in pathology I had the opportunity to look at many specimens. These included everything from pancreas, colon, prostate, lung tissue and even fetal tissue. It was the fetal tissue in particular that stood out to me. As we looked at it, the pathologist pointed out the developing nervous system, he pointed out the heart, he pointed out the developing lungs, the liver which had been actively making red blood cells since only a few weeks after conception, and even the cartilage that had been developing. As I looked at all of this, it was evident that there were millions of cells, each with a specific program and purpose to fulfill in order to make the physical body develop and eventually perform. Even though for some reason this particular fetus didn't make it, the thought that I had, was "How could anyone not believe that God created this? How could anyone believe that this just randomly occurred?" Do they really understand what they are saying? Yes evolution occurs and is a principle set forth by God, but the way mankind has misconstrued it is baffling. The only way it occurred from a single celled organism is if that is how God decided to make it work.

Let me explain. One researcher has stated that if you were to put all the essential life building blocks into an ocean soup and let them sit, the probability of them becoming a simple functional cell would be greater than one in 340 million!1 If that is the likelihood of just a funcation cell generating, how much more unlikely is it to be joined by millions of other cells, all with a completely different function, coming together to work perfectly. Imagine it, say this one simple functional cell did occur as the one in 340 millionth chance, and it just happened to be a muscle cell. Great! That is fantastic that it works, now all it needs to be joined by to create a living human being is another brain cell, a heart muscle cell, a skin cell, a pancreatic cell, a thyroid cell, a hair cell, a retinal cell (eye), a bone marrow cell, etc. You get my point. So this one cell that did occur needs to have all these other cells necessary for the human body to function, numbering over 200 differing types, to all come together. Each cell with the same probability of 1 in 340 millionth chance, then combine all those chances occurring at the same time in the proper way. The chance is zero.

Elder Russell M. Nelson, a world-renounced cardiothoracic surgeon now called to be an apostle in the quorum of the 12 apostles, stated,

Through the ages, some without scriptural understanding have tried to explain our existence by pretentious words such as ex nihilo (out of nothing). Others have deduced that, because of certain similarities between different forms of life, there has been a natural selection of the species, or organic evolution from one form to another. Many of these people have concluded that the universe began as a “big bang” that eventually resulted in the creation of our planet and life upon it. To me, such theories are unbelievable! Could an explosion in a printing shop produce a dictionary? It is unthinkable! Even if it could be argued to be within a remote realm of possibility, such a dictionary could certainly not heal its own torn pages or renew its own worn corners or reproduce its own subsequent editions!2

Unless it comes from divine design. If Heavenly Father were to say, be thou made, it is done. Genesis 1:26 and 27 tells us, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over...all the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." God came down to earth and created Adam and Eve in His image. All of this process took place because God came and organized man Himself. Without His help and guidance, this would not have occurred.

Elder Nelson put it very well when he states:

Each organ is an amazing creation. The eye has a self-focusing lens. Nerves and muscles allow two eyes to make a single three-dimensional image. The ear converts sound waves into audible tones perceived in the brain.

The heart has four delicate valves that control the direction of blood flow. They open and close more than 100,000 times a day—36 million times a year. Unless altered by disease, they are able to withstand this stress almost indefinitely. No man-made material can be flexed so frequently and so long without breaking. Each day, the adult heart pumps enough fluid to fill a 2,000-gallon (7,570-L) tank. At the crest of the heart is a source of electricity that transmits energy down special lines, causing myriads of muscle fibers to work together.

Think of the body’s backup systems. Each paired organ has instant backup available from the other of the pair. Single organs, such as the brain, the heart, and the liver, are nourished by two routes of blood supply. This protects the organ if blood flow should be impeded through one of those routes.

Think of the body’s capacity to defend itself. To protect it from harm, the body perceives pain. In response to infection, it generates antibodies. They not only help to combat an immediate problem, but they persist to bolster resistance to any future infection.

Think how the body repairs itself. Broken bones mend and become strong again. Skin lacerations heal themselves. A leak in the circulation can seal itself. The body renews its own outdated cells.

The body regulates its own vital ingredients. Levels of essential elements and constituents are adjusted continuously. And regardless of wide fluctuations in temperature of the environment, the temperature of the body is carefully controlled within narrow bounds.3

Isn't this amazing!!! God not only created a wonderful tabernacle for us to come to earth in, but He made it this perfect that it is able to perform all these functions without us even having to think about them! I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father who gave us this opportunity. The divine nature we are given a mortal body is truly a testimony that God lives. The way He created us in His own image is a testimony that He truly loves us. I am so grateful for this knowledge and for my opportunity to have my mortal body to learn and grow.

1. H.J. Morowitz, Energy Flow in Biology (Academic Press, New York, 1968), p. 99.

2. R.M. Nelson. "Faith in Jesus Christ." Jesus Christ, The Son of God. 2010. http://jesuschrist.lds.org/SonOfGod/eng/faith-in-jesus-christ/articles/faith-in-jesus-christ. 04 Feb. 2012.

3. R.M. Nelson. "The Magnificence of Man." Ensign. Jan. 1988. (see also http://www.lds.org/ensign/1988/01/the-magnificence-of-man?lang=eng&query=human+body for full article online.)