Professional Documents
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H E N R Y J. E Y R I N G
d ®
—JOHN 15:13
— H E N RY E Y R I N G
CONTENTS
FA I T H
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MORMON SCIENTIST
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FAITH
saying, “God does not play dice with the universe.” Einstein’s real
statement, written in a letter to fellow physicist Max Born, is more
complex and revealing.
Einstein was writing to Born about quantum mechanics, the
theory that aided Henry’s creation of ART. A key tenet of the the-
ory is the “uncertainty principle,” which holds that the exact posi-
tion and speed of an electron cannot be known, only guessed at
probabilistically. Quantum mechanics’ enthronement of uncer-
tainty as a principle overthrew centuries of science dedicated to
understanding the universe with mathematical precision. To some,
it cast into doubt the order and rationality of the universe, an
order and rationality that many scientists took as evidence of a
divine architect. That is the context for Einstein’s actual statement
to Born, which amounts to a caution:
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AN ECCLESIASTICAL RESPONSE
Leaders of the Church moved to counteract this trend. The
centerpiece of their response was an address given to the Church’s
full-time educators in 1938 by J. Reuben Clark Jr., a counselor in
the Church’s First Presidency. President Clark was an attorney by
training, a former U.S. State Department lawyer, Undersecretary
of State, and Ambassador to Mexico.
Speaking for the Church, President Clark made a powerful
case for honoring faith. He reaffirmed the two key tenets of LDS
faith, first that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Savior of the
World, and second that Joseph Smith was divinely authorized to
restore the Church. Building upon that foundation, he then
addressed the subject of religious education. He described the nat-
ural faithfulness of young LDS students, and he challenged the
Church’s teachers to have courage in their instruction:
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CALLING ON HENRY
It was natural, then, for LDS scientists and educators to won-
der what Henry Eyring had to say on the subject. Here was not
only the Church’s most preeminent scientist, but a chemist whose
early specialty was metallurgy or, in other words, the chemistry of
metals such as those in radioactive “clocks.”
Henry was also a faithful Church member. Throughout his
fifteen years in New Jersey he served in lay leadership positions.
At the time of the 1946 move to Utah, he was president of the
New Jersey District, a fact recognized in the Church’s official
newspaper under the headline, “Noted American Scientist
Presides over Church Unit.”6
Upon arriving in Utah, Henry received an appointment to the
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The four gospels tell the story of the Son of God who
came into the world, lived an exemplary life, died, and
was resurrected. If accepted as accurate, this record puts
the necessity of being religious beyond question. History,
unlike laboratory experiments, cannot be tried over again,
just because we are not quite sure what the happenings
meant. In this sense, religion differs from such laboratory
sciences as chemistry and physics. We must depend in part
on inference. In the end however, if the inquiry is broad
and careful enough, we need be no less sure of our final
conclusions.
The Lord himself outlined the procedure when he
said: “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the
doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of
myself.”8
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FAITH
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MORMON SCIENTIST
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FAITH
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Dear Brethren:
I just returned from a Conference on Religion at the
University of Oklahoma, where I gave twenty-two lectures
and seminars during Sunday through Thursday, February
12–17. I treated various aspects of science and religion.
The visit was pleasant, though strenuous, and what was
said seemed well received. I hope that some good was
done. This is my fourth religious conference in Okla-
homa, twice at Oklahoma A. & M. and twice at the
University of Oklahoma. I thought that you would be
interested in this brief report.23
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Henry also gave advice, when asked, about the Church’s edu-
cational strategy. For instance, a senior Church leader forwarded
to him a complaint from a rank-and-file member who felt that
Brigham Young University was being spiritually compromised by
requiring Ph.D. degrees of its faculty. Specifically, the complainant
alleged that “men are incapable of serving more than one master at
a time and this practice tends to enforce upon the teachers the
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obligation to serve those who issue these degrees rather than the
Lord.”27 The Church leader wrote to Henry asking what he would
consider “a proper reply to such an inquiry.” Henry responded as
follows:
A DELICATE DIALOGUE
Henry continued to receive requests from Church leaders for
his scientific opinions, particularly after 1954. That was the year
that Elder Joseph Fielding Smith published a book called Man,
His Origin and Destiny. In the book Elder Smith reiterated the
position that scripture should be read literally as it pertained to
the Creation.
One of Henry’s wife’s cousins, Elder Adam S. Bennion, wrote
asking what Henry thought of Man, His Origin and Destiny.
Henry responded with comments about both the book’s strengths
and also its shortcomings. On the latter score, he particularly
noted the book’s inconsistency with scientific findings and with
the beliefs of two deceased Church leaders, James Talmage and
John Widtsoe, both accomplished scientists and both former
members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Henry
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concluded, “Since the Gospel is only that which is true, this book
cannot be regarded as more than the private opinion of one of our
great men to be admired for the fine things in it.”29 Significantly,
he ended the two-page letter with this invitation:
Henry likely knew that, given this license, the letter would cir-
culate. It did. Before long Henry heard from Elder Smith. In fact,
it wasn’t the first time that Elder Smith had written him. Four
years earlier, in 1950, Elder Smith penned a five-page letter to
Henry, explaining his view of the creation of the Earth.31
The 1954 letter from Elder Smith was similarly lengthy, but
the tone was more emphatic.32 Elder Smith stated his pleasure at
Henry’s achievements and his confidence in the divine inspiration
behind great scientific discoveries. However, he reiterated his con-
trary views and challenged Henry to respond. He also warned
sternly against scientific arrogance, and he referenced and even
quoted from Henry’s letter to Elder Bennion. Though the tone of
Elder Smith’s letter wasn’t confrontational in a personal way, it
seemed to invite a formal debate.
Henry replied to Elder Smith without delay. His letter was
brief and conciliatory, but gave no ground:
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Believing that others felt the same as this bishop, Dr. Kirkham
proposed to collect Henry’s published speeches and articles on the
subject of science and religion and have the Church distribute
them in book form. The idea to publish such a book was ten years
in coming to fruition. Moreover, the book, The Faith of a Scientist,
was published privately, rather than by the Church. It was long, a
collection of twenty-seven articles and two biographical sketches.
Some of the articles on science were quite technical. Nonetheless,
The Faith of a Scientist proved popular, selling more than eight
thousand copies. Scientifically minded Church members espe-
cially liked the book. One of them sent the following letter to
Henry:
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I’m sure that [the author] is a fine man, and I like his
zeal for the gospel. I feel that he has overstated his case to
the point that it will offend many faithful Latter-day
Saints who feel that God created the world but doubt that
any man can find out how without intense study, and
then only in part.45
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NOTES
CHAPTER 2: FAITH
1. Albert Einstein to Max Born, December 12, 1926, quoted in Clark,
Einstein: The Life and Times, 414.
2. Clark, “The Charted Course of the Church in Education,” 7.
3. John 17:3.
4. Clark, “The Charted Course of the Church in Education,” 10.
5. See Jeffrey, “Seers, Savants and Evolution,” 41–75.
6. “Noted American Scientist Presides over Church Unit,” Deseret News
Church Section, February 24, 1945.
7. Except as noted, all of the following quotes are taken from “Science
and Faith,” reprinted in Eyring, Faith of a Scientist, 31–37.
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NOTES
8. John 7:17.
9. See Doctrine and Covenants 93:36; 131:6; 130:18.
10. Eyring, “Henry Eyring Speaks to Youth,” 132–33.
11. Matthew 7:7.
12. Doctrine and Covenants 50:24
13. Eyring, “Henry Eyring Speaks to Youth,” 132–33.
14. Ibid.
15. Eyring, “Science and Religion,” 1.
16. Matthew 5:48.
17. Doctrine and Covenants 88:78–79.
18. See Doctrine and Covenants 93:36; 130:18; 131:6.
19. Journal of Discourses, 14:116.
20. Eyring, Reflections of a Scientist, 40.
21. Letter of July 20, 1951, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 5.
22. Letter of November 12, 1952, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 5.
23. Letter of February 21, 1955, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 5.
24. Letter of March 28, 1952, 1, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 5.
25. This is the classic 6,000-year Earth age inferred from the Bible. It is
attributed to the Archbishop of Usher, born in 1581.
26. Letter of March 28, 1952, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 5.
27. Letter of September 26, 1967; forwarded via letter dated October 19,
1967, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 6.
28. Letter of October 19, 1967, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 6.
29. See photocopy reproduction in Heath, “Henry Eyring, Mormon
Scientist,” 270.
30. Ibid.
31. Letter of June 12, 1950, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 3.
32. See photocopy reproduction in Heath, “Henry Eyring, Mormon
Scientist,” 272–76.
33. Ibid., 277.
34. Eyring, “A Tribute to President Joseph Fielding Smith,” 16.
35. Kimball, “A Dialogue with Henry Eyring,” 102.
36. Letter of December 28, 1954, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 8.
37. Letter of May 23, 1957, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 7.
38. Letter of February 21, 1970, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 10.
39. Letter of March 2, 1970, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 10.
40. Letter of April 18, 1969, 1, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 7.
41. Ibid., 2.
42. Letter of July 22, 1969, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 7.
43. Letter of October 28, 1969, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 7.
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NOTES
CHAPTER 3: FRIENDSHIP
1. Mr. Darrow refers to Henry’s responsibilities as Dean of the Graduate
School at the University of Utah.
2. Letter of January 10, 1982, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 11.
3. David O. McKay would become President of the Church; the school
over which he presided at the time the writer speaks of was the Weber Academy
in Ogden, Utah; it is now Weber State University.
4. Logan is home to Utah State University.
5. This is an argument that Henry often made.
6. Letter of October 1, 1978, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 11.
7. Eyring, “Unforgettable General Board Experiences,” unpublished
manuscript, February 6, 1973; found in Heath, “Henry Eyring, Mormon
Scientist,” 161–62.
8. I.e., crazy.
9. I.e., abuse.
10. A type of carbon-chain molecule.
11. Eyring, “Science and Religion,” 7–8.
12. Student evaluation.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Letter of April 13, 1976, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 11.
16. Henderson, Journal of Physical Chemistry, 2640.
17. Eyring, “Henry Eyring and the Birth of a Graduate Program,” 5.
18. Heath, “Henry Eyring, Mormon Scientist,” 101.
19. Eyring, Address to members of the University of Utah Athletics
Department, about 1968, Henry Eyring Papers, box 34, folder 42.
20. Heath, “Henry Eyring, Mormon Scientist,” 102.
21. Henderson, Journal of Physical Chemistry, 2639.
22. Heath, “Henry Eyring, Mormon Scientist,” 148.
23. Letter of August 22, 1973, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 10.
24. Letter of March 26, 1979, Henry Eyring Papers, box 22, folder 11.
CHAPTER 4: LOVE
1. Eyring, Interview by Leonard R. Grover, 2.
2. Ibid., 8.
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