Is Evil Necessary?: Good, Evil, Sin, And The Nature Of Reality with additional paper on Eternal Spirits And The Necessity Of Contingency The prophet Lehi asserted that “it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.” The opposition between good and evil is often regarded as the fundamental opposition. But if evil were an essential part of reality, if it were necessary, would it not in some sense be good, because good would depend on it? If good and evil were inextricably connected, how could we distinguish between them? I will explore these questions and show that the belief that evil is a necessary part of reality has far-reaching and pernicious consequences. An alternate view of the nature of reality, which sees the feminine- masculine duality as the fundamental opposition in universal reality, will be presented. I will also distinguish sin from evil and argue that while sin is an inevitable part of existence, evil is not. 2nd Abstract- (Dr Huff) I use the work of contemporary philosopher Alvin Plantinga to draw support for the LDS belief that persons exist uncreate. Plantinga presents perhaps the most convincing explanation by a traditional Christian of how there can be evil in the creation of a perfectly good and perfectly powerful creator. However, Plantinga concedes there must be a contingent state of affairs that holds independent of God’s will. I argue this concession entails a greater compromise to the classical notion of God’s sovereignty than Plantinga admits.

Janice Allred