The Biology of the Fall explores the harmony between Latter-day Saint theology and the natural world, using science, art, and personal reflection to illuminate spiritual truths.
Drawing from neuroscience, evolutionary biology, scripture, and sacred imagination, this book offers a deeply interdisciplinary view of the human condition—what it means to be fallen, to receive revelation, and to seek redemption.
Across four chapters, the book unfolds as follows:
Chapter 1: The Biology of the Fall
Examines how mortality and instinct shape the “natural man.” Through examples from nature—mold, macaques, voles—it shows how competition, fear, and impulse are wired into our biology. Yet through the Spirit, our brains can be rewired for holiness.
Chapter 2: The Biology of Revelation
Explores how our brains receive divine light. Revelation, like learning, is a process—one that depends on neural pathways, memory, and effort. The Spirit speaks through the mind, not around it.
Chapter 3: Perspective
Shows how spiritual insight deepens when refracted through science and the arts. Microscopes, paintings, and Shakespearean tragedies all become lenses through which eternal truths come into focus.
Chapter 4: Sacred Vignettes
A visual and literary gallery of 30 illustrated meditations—from Eden to the pandemic, from Genesis to Palmyra. Each vignette is an imaginative reflection on scripture, history, or personal memory. You can explore some of the vignettes in the links below.