Digital Shadow,
Ok, this ended up really long, but bear with me...
Let me start off by saying I have never actually posted to this forum before, nor had I ever come across it until, by chance, a blog-search brought up your post. After reading what you had to say, and listening to the concerns that are obviously weighing very heavily on your mind, I hope that my personal point of view helps a little or at least maybe gives you a different point of view, although it may all be things you've heard before :)
I've been LDS all my life... during that time I've heard many points of view on the evolution of man, earth, animals etc. from different church members ranging from open-minded ideas to people practically crying blasphemy if you look at things from a scientific angle. From Adam & Eve to Noah's Ark, sometimes people have a solid notion set in their heads of how a biblical story must have happened, and will hear nothing otherwise. Take Noah's Ark, for an example... as we all know, the bible is not a perfect translation - aside from the missing pieces, what is already there is sometimes open to interpretation. A few years ago, the Discovery Channel had a few specials on the study of the story of Noah's Ark, setting out to prove or disprove that it actually could have happened. After various studies, many scientists came back with the statement that there is no evidence to support a world-wide flood, also siting that for Noah to have loaded two of every kind of animal, his Ark would have had to be impossible proportions - conclusion... it couldn't have happened. On the other hand, as presented on this same program, the biblical story refers to the flooding of the "earth" - well, (and this is very simplified) the Hebrew translation/language use of the word 'earth' was also used for the word "land". So, if you look at that from that perspective and superimpose "land" in that same story, the whole LAND was flooded - and there is scientific evidence of massive floods in the land they believe Noah inhabited at the time. What about the story of Moses and the signs he gave Pharoah - plagues, water to blood, etc. Scientists have gone back on many of those stories to show that the "water being as blood" could have been caused by red mud being washed down from other sources, changing the water to a dark red. Also, scientific explanations have been given for the presence of plagues and other "signs" that were given. So what? If we are to believe that there is a divine being that is responsible for all creation, it seems to make equal sense that God works through the laws of nature & science in many cases. Does that make Moses' presentation of these signs any less of a miracle?
So, what does this do for the story of Adam & Eve? I guess it all depends on your point of view - there are so many possibilities for explanations (I'm no church scholar, so please don't take these as anything more than my own attempts at examples)... Were Adam & Eve the only 2 people to begin life here, or could others have existed outside the garden? Is the fact that we share so much genetic code with chimps a reason to think of them as anything more than a close genetic creation on God's earth? Could their presence even be a test of our faith? Or could evolution have been part of how men were brought to the earth, and Adam & Eve were the first to receive the spirits of men? Missing links, cave men... there are so many possibilities that could support or disprove the story of Adam & Eve - and there are no truly conclusive arguments on either side. If all things we believe in could be scientifically proven, this life wouldn't be much of a test, would it? I personally do believe that life evolved on the planet, because I believe that God uses the rules of nature & science to accomplish His means. Does that include humans? I honestly don't know, and that IS where it becomes a matter of faith... the reason we pursue beliefs that there isn't much scientific medium for, but also not really against. The story of Adam & Eve, I do believe, is also full of symbolism, and while that could change the way we interpret parts of the story, I don't think it makes it any less important, or true. For me, if we did evolve from apes, it doesn't rule out Adam & Eve at all - maybe just change our perception of how it all lead up to that point.
You made a statement in your post suggesting that your pleas for an answer had not brought you results. I don't know you, and it can be easy to mis-interpret something when it is typed and not spoken, but it would seem that there IS something there prodding you on, even when your logic tells you it doesn't make sense. Only time will tell, but I don't believe that there is a scientific discovery anywhere that could disprove what we believe in. And, as I said, I think we would be missing the point if we based our faith on something that had to be completely conclusive.
Best of luck to you - I really do hope you find the answers you are looking for. (And I don't think there is anything wrong with looking at scientific angles - if it's all true, then it has nothing to hide from other truths - just be careful as, even with science, some things are presented as conclusive fact... only to be questioned again 10 years later when a new method comes up to disprove them :)
