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Yesterday in Relief society, the lesson was about the creation. See complete text here . It was a great lesson! The instructor was very prepared and presented the information very well. She used an excerpt from a General Conference talk given by Elder Russell M Nelson in April of 2000, see complete text  here with footnotes. The part that she used for her lesson follows, and she had some great pictures and it was an excellent resource.

"Each phase of the Creation was well planned before it was accomplished. Scripture tells us that “the Lord God, created all things … spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth.”


The physical Creation itself was staged through ordered periods of time. In Genesis 22 and Moses, 23 those periods are called days. But in the book of Abraham, each period is referred to as a time. 24 Whether termed a day, a time, or an age, each phase was a period between two identifiable events—a division of eternity.


Period one included the creation of atmospheric heavens and physical earth, culminating in the emergence of light from darkness. In period two, the waters were divided between the surface of the earth and its atmospheric heavens. Provision was made for clouds and rain to give life to all that would later dwell upon the earth.


In period three, plant life began. The earth was organized to bring forth grass, herbs, trees, and vegetation—each growing from its own seed.


Period four was a time of further development. Lights in the expanse of the heaven were organized so there could be seasons and other means of measuring time. During this period, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the earth were placed in proper relationship to one another. The sun, with its vast stores of hydrogen, was to serve as a giant furnace to provide light and heat for the earth and life upon it.


In period five, fish, fowl, and “every living creature” were added. They were made fruitful and able to multiply—in the sea and on the earth—each after its own kind.


In the sixth period, creation of life continued. The beasts of the earth were made after their kind, cattle after their kind, and everything which “creepeth upon the earth”—again, after its own kind. Then the Gods counseled together and said: “Let us go down and form man in our image, after our likeness. …


“So the Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them.” Thus, Adam and Eve were formed. 35 And they were blessed to “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”


The seventh period was designated as a time of rest." -Elder Russell M. Nelson April 2000

If you look at the footnotes of the talk, we can easily see that this is how it is explained in Genesis Chapter 1. Elder Nelson added some words and explanation of his own, that provides more information, or insight into the scriptural account. Halfway through this visual activity, a Sister in the class told the instructor that she was wrong, and challenged the process of her lesson. I am sure that she meant well (remember that this is how I saw things from my perspective), but I could practically feel the instant stress that this placed on the instructor. The Sister proceeded to read the part of the lesson that I have highlighted in red:

"Under the direction of the Father, Christ formed and organized the earth. He divided light from darkness to make day and night. He formed the sun, moon, and stars. He divided the waters from the dry land to make seas, rivers, and lakes. He made the earth beautiful and productive. He made grass, trees, flowers, and other plants of all kinds. These plants contained seeds from which new plants could grow. Then He created the animals—fish, cattle, insects, and birds of all kinds. These animals had the ability to reproduce their own kind.


Now the earth was ready for the greatest creation of all—mankind. Our spirits would be given bodies of flesh and blood so they could live on earth. “And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and it was so” (Moses 2:26). And so the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve, were formed and given bodies that resembled those of our heavenly parents. “In the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27). When the Lord finished His creations, He was pleased and knew that His work was good, and He rested for a time." -Gospel Principles Lesson 5

At that point, she told the instructor that she was "off on the days" and that she was going to have too many days not leaving any for the day of rest. Well, if you take each of the sentences in the lesson, and use that as a "day" that gives you 7 days right there without having created Man yet. Maybe that is what she was doing? Thinking that each sentence was a day? I have no idea, but it caused the instructor some much un needed stress! As she was trying to recover herself and get the lesson back on track it was mentioned that 'maybe he was wrong, and I thought that if I got my information from a conference talk that I would be OK.' That isn't her exact quote, but it was along those lines... That just really bothered me.

The Gospel Principles Manual contains very basic teachings that we are able to expound upon in class. It is well written and provides us an opportunity to delve deeper into the basic principles of the Gospel. In order to have discussion, it is absolutely appropriate to bring in more information than is contained in the written lesson. As far as I can see, there are no "days" or "creative periods" listed in the lesson, just the things that are created. It is more of a narrative manual. It doesn't say - "this happened on day one, this on day two, and so forth" No, just that this is basically what happened. Again, I am sure that this Sister was well intentioned, but I felt SO bad for the instructor.

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we sustain the Men that are called of God to be Apostles as "Prophets, Seers and Revelators" . We believe these Men are called of God, and are inspired of Him. My take on the conference talk, is that Elder Nelson was possibly giving us a better understanding and further insight into the creation. It surely gave me some things to think about, as well as an opportunity to develop a greater testimony of the "science" of the creation. It was a wonderful talk, and I am grateful to have read it in its entirety. We also have the opportunity to learn by the Spirit, who is the ultimate teacher, to discern the truthfulness of all things. For anyone to say that an Apostle of the Lord was maybe wrong, just really rubbed me the wrong way, and I hope that I didn't offend anyone with my comments, regardless of whether or not one agrees with me, Apostles are indeed inspired Men and we sustain them as such!  I commend the Instructor for her preparation and presentation.  I hope that she wasn't too rattled!