Mormon Scientist: The Life and Faith of Henry Eyring [Hardcover]

Henry J Eyring (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2008

Twice in the final years of his life, Elder Neal A. Maxwell told a grandson of Henry Eyring's, You need to write your grandfather's story. This is that story of Henry Eyring, perhaps the most acclaimed scientist ever to come from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a book about science and Mormonism, written to be easily understood by newcomers to both subjects. It demonstrates why one of the Church's highest-profile intellectuals was also one of its humblest believers. In fact, this story of Henry Eyring shows how intellect and belief go hand-in-hand and how simple, faithful people can change the world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This interesting biography of Henry Eyring, a famed and charismatic Mormon scientist, is revealing about both the man's intellectual acuity and scientific accomplishments as well as his powerful personal impact on people. Eyring, while educated at Princeton and known for excellence in research, returned to Utah to raise his family. In both New Jersey and Utah, he made an impression as a down-to-earth, genuinely funny human being who made a deep impression on young people struggling with religion and science. His grandson, Henry J. Eyring, whose academic degrees are in geology, business administration and law, has effectively captured his illustrious relative. --Deseret News

About the Author

Henry J. Eyring is a grandson of Henry Eyring. He attended Brigham Young University, earning a bachelors degree in geology and graduate degrees in business administration and law. He has worked as a consultant for Monitor Company, as director of the BYU MBA program, and as president of the Japan Tokyo North Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is currently an administrator at BYU-Idaho. He and his wife, Kelly, are the parents of five children, and they live in Rexburg, Idaho.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Deseret Book (February 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590388542
• ISBN-13: 978-1590388549
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #506,909 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fusing Faith & Science, November 29, 2007

By 

Benjamin Spaulding (Lawrence, Kansas, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mormon Scientist: The Life and Faith of Henry Eyring (Hardcover)

Henry Eyring fused science and religion. He never felt that his faith and profession were at odds. On the contrary, he felt that science enhanced his faith, and vice versa. I was impressed not only with Dr. Eyring's profession of faith and science, but I was amazed at his level of active involvement in each of them. He led Mormon congregations and scientific organizations, gave faith-promoting talks and wrote ground-breaking scientific papers.

The organization of the book is refreshing for a biography. As the author says in the Introduction, "Rather than proceeding chronologically through his life, we'll look first at the things he accomplished (his Legacy), then at the family experiences that shaped him (Heritage), and then at the unusual way he thought (Paradoxes). We will close with a section called Testament, in which Henry bears witness to those things of greatest importance."

This book not only gives insight into the life and mind of a world-renonwned scientist, but proves that a person does not have to choose science or religion -- both "disciplines" can be embraced.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nobel Prize Nominee's Life Combined Faith and Science, April 7, 2008

By 

C. G. "CG" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mormon Scientist: The Life and Faith of Henry Eyring (Hardcover)

In response to "science?" I'd like to respectfully point out that Dr. Henry Eyring was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize due to his scientific work which is still included in current scientific textbooks due to its relevancy and usefulness.

This book is about an incredible scientist and how he not only contributed to our world scientifically, but how he also believed strongly in God and Christ and remained true to, and active in, his religious beliefs as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

For those who read this book, I hope you do so to see how a person can believe in the importance of science and that this world was created by a loving God who wants us to learn to understand it. If evolution was used to create all life on earth, or not, is really only known to the Creator of us all, Who also knows the truthfulness, or falseness, of statements made by each of us about ourselves and others.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great scientist who was able to reconcile science with religion, April 28, 2009

By 

Jeffrey Van Wagoner (Gilbert, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mormon Scientist: The Life and Faith of Henry Eyring (Hardcover)

Henry Eyring was a hero of mine as a kid growing up in Utah. He was the greatest scientist Utah or Mormonism had ever produced, and he influenced my decision to go into science. In fact, I went to the University of Utah in the late 70's and early 80's and took many undergraduate chemistry classes in the then newly named Eyring building. I never met him personally, but heard a lot of stories about him.

I was excited to read this book and was not disappointed. The true value of this book is the story of how he mixed his faith with science. This is a subject that I have spent a lot of time on recently - meeting with several fellow engineers of various religious persuasions discussing religion, science, and truth. The bottom line is that all truth is from God, and we are encouraged and free to discover it. Revealed religion tends to focus on the plan of salvation, and the scriptures are not meant to be a science textbook.

The book was organized differently than a traditional biography. Part 1 is a summary of his legacy. Part 2 goes into his heritage. Part 3 discusses the many paradoxes in his life. Part 4 is a final testament to his life.

The detail is not as great as many people would like to see for a biography, but I thought the format useful and taught me many important lessons from his life that I could apply to my own. It also gave me a desire to look into more of his writings.

I highly recommend this book, especially for someone who wants a good example of one who successfully reconciled science with religion.