This discussion between the viewpoint of Science and the viewpoint of Scripture was credited to “Beth” when it was published in 1874. “Beth” was really Joseph Lindsay Barfoot (1816-1882). His positions as curator of the Deseret Museum and menagerie and as territorial fish commissioner, together with his mentoring of the young scientist/apostle James E. Talmage, suggest his interest in natural history, while missionary service in his native England, his membership on the Salt Lake High Council, and the frequent references to him as “Elder Barfoot” in the writings of men like George Reynolds (Barfoot’s boyhood friend) speak for his faith loyalties.

It was inevitable that he consider the apparent conflicts between what he read in the Bible and what he read in the rocks. He reconciled those seeming conflicts to his own satisfaction, chiefly by assigning distinct purposes to the scriptural and scientific accounts. The cooperation between religion and science was so clear in his own mind that he could explain his ideas to children, for whom this dialogue was intended.
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