The fifth day in Genesis closes as does the fourth; and the fifth time in Abraham closes as does the fourth. The remarks made concerning the fourth creative period apply to the fifth.
Concerning the sixth creative period, Gen. 1:31, says, "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."
Of the same period Abraham says, "And the Gods said: We will do everything that we have said, and organize them; and behold, they shall be very obedient. And it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called night; and it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that they called day; and they numbered the sixth time."
As in the previous periods, the sixth ended by the Gods numbering the days of the creative period; the sixth period, like those preceding, being indeterminate as to time.
Repeated reading and study of the Abrahamic account, as revealed through Joseph Smith, make it certain beyond doubt that the intent is to convey the idea that the creative periods included much time, and that, at the end of each period, the measure of night and day, was applied to the period, in order that its length might be determined. Whether or not the different creative periods represented days to the mighty beings concerned in the creation, we do not know, and it matters little to the argument of this article.[A]
[Footnote A: The writer understands the creation, reported in Abraham, 4th chapter, to be spiritual in its nature; but he also believes that this spiritual account is a perfect picture of the actual material creation. If chapter 4 of Abraham represents the Gods planning creation, the measuring of time becomes easily understood. It then means, "How long will it take to accomplish the work?" All this, however, has no bearing upon the present argument.]
Now, then, we must remember that Joseph Smith made this translation long before the theologians of the world had consented to admit that the Mosaic days meant long periods of time; and long before geology had established beyond question that immense time periods had been consumed in the preparation of the earth for man.
Joseph Smith, the humble, unlearned, despised boy, unfamiliar with books and the theories of men, stated with clear and simple certainty, if his works be read with the eye of candid truth, this fundamental truth of geological science and the Bible, long before the learned of the world had agreed upon the same truth.[A]